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UN agency welcomes Sri Lanka's decision to let people in camps move freely

314 views · Published 4 December 2009 · 1:15 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: United Nations · 2009 · News & Politics

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United Nations, New York, 4 December 2009 - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that it is encouraged by the Sri Lankan Government's long-awaited decision this week to allow increased freedom of movement for some 135,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) remaining in 20 closed camps in the north of the country.
UNHCR field staff reported that over 7,000 IDPs from the Menik Farm camps in Vavuniya and another 25 people from the camp in Trincomalee left the IDP sites the first day that the new policy came into force. The Agencys teams are in the process of assessing the number of IDPs exercising their new freedom of movement over the past few days, and it reports that people continue to leave the camps.
According to UNHCR teams on the ground, many people left their belongings in the camps, which is an indication that they intend to return to the camps. While authorities say that there is no time limitation to the freedom of movement, there were reports that IDPs would only be allowed to stay away from the camps up to ten days.
The teams also report that, in general, people are happy to go back to their areas of origin where more basic services, such as health clinics and schools, are reopening.
In response to a question on Sri Lanka, asking if a letter from the Elders -- Desmond Tutu and others -- had been received, the Spokeswoman confirmed that it has. 

News story:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33146&Cr=sri+lanka&Cr1=

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