This week the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has congratulated his government on the successful resettlement of northern islanders who had been caught up in the bloody civil war. The conflict ended in 2009 and according to the U.N. cost the lives of over 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final onslaught by the Sri Lankan army to unite the island. The president was addressing a crowd in the Mullaitivu district where the last resettlements were taking place and boasted that 99 percent of the internally displaced persons were resettled in their original homes, a total of 1,186 people. They were supplied with rations and basic amenities and encouraged to get on with their lives.
The government will no doubt have an answer for this, but local Tamil groups paint a much more sinister version of events. Vast land grabs by the army following massacres of genocidal proportions and continued misappropriation during the process of these forced resettlements. TamilNet, for instance, reports various alleged injustices, such as that concerning the villagers of Keappaa-pulavu who were wrenched from their homes and dumped in barely habitable locations.
This a a time for reparation and reconciliation; not a time for sharing the spoils. If Mr Rajapaksa wants to show he was genuine in his war, he had better start by showing how equitable he is in his peace.
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