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SRI LANKA: NAVY CONFISCATES HOUSES BUILT BY JRS
JRS Dispatches dispatches.editor@jrs.net
On 5 March, JRS accused the Sri Lankan navy of confiscating permanent houses
built for internally displaced persons affected by the country's civil war.
"Families who had been living in 50 houses on the country's western island of
Mannar were forcibly removed recently, and the land has been taken over by
government forces. All the houses have been completely vandalised by the
navy", said Paul Newman, JRS South Asia advocacy officer.
“Government forces took over the land, saying the houses were too close to the
sea, making them vulnerable to attacks by rebels and crossfire in the event of a
battle between rebels and troops based on the island. But the government base
is actually quite far away”, Mr Newman said.
The JRS advocacy officer visited the housing project last month and described it
as a very sad picture to see these places abandoned in this way. JRS has no
legal recourse to contest the takeover of the land and housing, he said.
JRS' main concerns now are "lack of access to food and medicine
for the people, multiple displacement, and violations of all forms of human rights
including arbitrary detention, killings, rape and torture."
Posted on 2008-03-17
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