VZCZCXRO1449
PP RUEHBI
DE RUEHLM #1155/01 3520907
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 180907Z DEC 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1009
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2194
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 9218
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 7468
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5317
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3621
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 5243
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0778
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 4365
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 9778
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 7069
RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO 0099
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3933
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001155 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM CE
SUBJECT: PUTTALAM'S "OLD" IDPS: A STABLE, IF LEAN, EXISTENCE 
 
COLOMBO 00001155  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) On December 10-11, Embassy officials visited the Puttalam 
district and held meetings with senior government officials, 
international organizations, civil-society, and NGOs to assess the 
post-war humanitarian conditions and resettlement options of Muslim 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their relations with the 
surrounding Muslim community.  Embassy officials observed that the 
post-war situation for Puttalam Muslims included a marked disconnect 
from and displeasure with the central government in Colombo, high 
unemployment and poverty, and host community dissatisfaction with 
NGOs, contributing to a strained relationship between IDPs and 
locals.  The Puttalam interlocutors from the old "IDP" and host 
community emphasized some key obstacles for their return for local 
integration. END SUMMARY. 
RESETTLEMENT 
------------ 
¶2. (SBU) In October 1990, 72,000 Muslims in the Northern Province 
were forcibly expelled by the LTTE.  In many places, the LTTE gave 
the Muslims only two to 48 hours to leave or face death.  The 
government security forces stationed in the North reportedly did not 
attempt to prevent the ethnic cleansing. According to Government 
Agent (GA) of the Secretariat of Northern Displaced Muslims (SNDM) 
Kingsley Fernando, 18,985 families consisting of 77,335 individual 
Muslims, were still living in 141 open camps called "welfare 
villages," with the vast majority in four divisions of Kalpitya, 
Puttalam, Mundal, and Wanathavilluwa. In an August 2009 government 
survey, 95 percent of the IDPs reported wanting to return to their 
original homes in the North.  In the GA's opinion, however, only 
about 50 percent of the current IDP population would actually 
return. The consensus among the government, civil society, and NGO 
representatives with whom we met was that the first generation was 
likely to return to their original homes while the second generation 
had established roots in the host community where they were raised. 
Current SNDM figures show 791 families have already resettled in 
Mannar and Killinochchi districts, of which 758 families went to 
Museli division, 32 families resettled in Nanata division and one 
family went to the town of Mannar.  After an initial assessment, 
returnees found homes destroyed and little infrastructure.  Fear of 
mines prevented many from returning to areas in Mullaitivu, 
Killinochchi, and Jaffna. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief's Acting 
Commissioner Fahry assisted families in the resettlement process. 
The process involved SNDM notifying the destination district and the 
GA, who then assisted the family in claiming their land.  NGOs noted 
that old IDP returnees had received the returns package of Rs 25,000 
in cash, roofing sheets and 6 months of rations, essentially the 
same package as new returning IDPs in the North had received. (NOTE: 
Mass scale IDP returns would dramatically impact the limited donor 
and government resources. END NOTE.) Land disputes were resolved 
based on parties' documents or government records when available. 
According to the GA, the survey ministry had maps with demarcation 
of property that helped resolve land disputes.  If another person 
occupied a returnee's land and no documents were available, the 
returnee would be granted government land. According to the Puttalam 
citizens group, this was easier in Mannar where there was plenty of 
land available, but more difficult in Jaffna.  In speaking with the 
IDPs in the welfare villages, it appeared that women who were single 
breadwinners in families were reluctant to return home, not knowing 
what was in store for them upon return. NGO workers reported some 
harassment of women by government forces in areas of return. 
 
LIFE IN WELFARE VILLAGES: POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The 2006 UNHCR survey noted 99 percent of the displaced 
community to be Muslims. There were no restrictions on freedom of 
movement among the IDPs in the welfare villages.  The IDPs were 100 
percent Sunni Muslims, 90 percent who whom followed the Shafi School 
of law and 10 percent who followed the Hanafi School.  The GA 
estimated that 80-90 percent of IDPs had bought land in the welfare 
villages and in the Puttalam Township.  Communities reestablished 
themselves in the village under the same social structure of their 
 
COLOMBO 00001155  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
communities in the North, often naming their "camps" after their 
original villages.  The host community and the GA estimated that 
30-40 percent of businesses in Puttalam area were IDP-owned.  In 
2007, under the implementation of the Ministry of Resettlement, the 
World Bank approved the Puttalam housing project (PHP) to construct 
4352 new houses and 2232 partially completed houses in the welfare 
villages and 600 temporary houses for non-IDPs.  Each qualifying 
family had to meet the project criteria for receiving the funding. 
When completed, the project would help upgrade the IDP community 
that contributes to the socio-economic integration of IDPs and 
non-IDPs. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Unemployment was high amongst the IDPs.  A majority of the 
IDPs worked as day laborers; men earned Rs 500-600/ day ($5-6) while 
women earned Rs 350/day ($3-4) mostly working in fields. UNHCR 2006 
survey reflected 61 percent unemployment, of which 46 percent were 
women and 14 percent men.  Some of the IDPs sought work in the 
Middle East through employment agencies.  Recruiters often received 
a finder's fee for bringing women to the agencies.  There was no 
oversight of the employment agencies and no record of transactions, 
often leading to shady deals especially in the case of women.  The 
IDPs' legal status as Northern Province residents made them 
ineligible for government jobs, including teaching and other service 
provisions in Puttalam.  Since government business was conducted in 
Sinhala, Tamil-speaking IDPs faced language barriers to employment 
and services.  Employment assistance services and development 
services were provided by NGOs such as the Community Trust Fund, 
Rural Development Foundation, Norwegian Refugee Council, UNHCR, 
UNICEF, and FORUT in the welfare villages. 
 
OTHER RESOURCES ALSO LIMITED 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Access to other Puttalam resources was also limited. 
Educational services were available to the IDPs with Tamil and 
Sinhala children attending school together.  While the government 
schools were free, many in the welfare villages were unable to send 
their children to school because of their lack of transportation 
funds and cost of school materials.  Less than 30 percent of 
Puttalam high school graduates continued on to the University.  IDP 
children had access to Islamic studies at the local welfare village 
mosques.  Classes were held for boys and girls who studied the Koran 
in Arabic. A government hospital was available for services and the 
nearest health clinic was two kilometer from the villages.  A mobile 
clinic for assessing childcare, such as weighing babies, made its 
rounds sporadically.  The GSL provided electricity and water systems 
to the IDP villages, but residents paid for connections to their 
homes. Nearly everyone in the welfare villages had electrical 
hook-ups.  Electricity costs Rs 300-400 ($3-4) per month, "more if 
you had a rice cooker."  The GSL supplied water to all the welfare 
villages, but hook-up for each house required a one-time Rs 10,000 
connection fee. (NOTE: This was the same amount required of the host 
community. END NOTE.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) Since 1990, IDPs had received dry rations through the SNDM 
based on their family size when they originally arrived in the area. 
A family of five received dry rations worth Rs 1260 ($12-13), a 
family of four Rs 1008 ($10), a family of three Rs 840 ($8-9) and a 
single person Rs 336 ($3-4) per month.  No adjustment for inflation 
had resulted in the quantity of food markedly declining over the 
years.  The SNDM had requested an increase from the Ministry of 
Resettlement, but no policy decision had been made. Until 2006, the 
World Food Program had provided the rations; the Ministry of 
Resettlement had undertaken the task since then and had spent Rs. 97 
million every six months for the supply of food to the IDPs.  A 
National Cooperative distributed the rations that included rice, 
sugar, soap, and lentils.  Delays in the cooperative receiving funds 
from the Ministry of Resettlement often delayed purchases and the 
distribution of rations.  One welfare village reported not receiving 
rations for four months, and eating only once a day with help from 
family and friends.  According to the GA, only first generation IDPs 
were eligible for the rations.  Some low-income second- generation 
 
COLOMBO 00001155  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
IDPs were approved on a case-by-case basis by local authorities. 
Acting Commissioner Fahry noted that there was abuse of the ration 
program.  Sometimes the older generation returning to Jaffna to 
their homes left ration documents with the younger generation to 
continue collecting rations.  There were reports of ration documents 
sold for cash. 
 
POLITICAL POWER, LIMITED RESOURCES:  "US VS THEM" 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The influx of the IDPs in the Puttalam district had put 
pressures on the host community's limited resources.  Tensions were 
high because of educational quotas for universities, land for 
agriculture, competition for fishing rights in the lagoon, jobs, and 
businesses.  IDPs increased competition for university slots because 
they were considered part of the Puttalam application pool rather 
than the Northern Provincial educational pool. IDPs and the local 
community remarked that while IDPs voted in Puttalam, their votes 
counted in the Northern Province.  This led to local government 
officials discounting their concerns, effectively giving them no 
local representation.  The host community argued that IDPs had 
political power on a national level because of their connection to 
Minister Bathiudeen from the Ministry of Resettlement (a Muslim IDP 
himself). While the host community benefitted from IDP community 
projects like schools and playgrounds, services to IDPs were 
prioritized.  The host community complained that of the 22 local 
NGOs, 18 were IDP-focused, and the four that focused on the host 
community lacked funding. The World Bank project had also raised 
tensions among the community members.  The PHP allocated only 10 
percent of homes to the host community while 90 percent of the 
benefits went to the IDPs.  Host community members were resentful of 
the UN and INGO mandate of assistance to IDPs only.  The host 
community expressed their frustrations that many of the affluent IDP 
businesses only hired IDPs, and IDPs only patronized other IDP 
businesses, thus cutting locals out of profits. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The government's aid to the "old IDPs" has created a 
dependent community that is leery of giving up their IDP status and 
losing the benefits.  While there has been an international outcry 
for the resettlement of Tamil IDPs, the issue of the Muslim IDP 
resettlement and economic well-being goes largely unmonitored.  The 
Muslim community has been critical of this and some have remarked, 
"there were no generous aid packages to them (Muslims). Perhaps, in 
their eyes, these Muslim refugees were not human beings."  There is 
a clear disconnect between the Muslims (host and old IDPs) and the 
Muslim political leadership in Colombo.  Surprisingly, neither the 
GA nor the Acting Commissioner were aware of President Rajapaksa's 
recent announcement to allow Muslims to return to the North.  While 
Minister Bathiudeen has a stake in the displaced people maintaining 
their IDP status for his voter base, the local Muslim politicians 
would benefit from IDPs integrating and becoming Puttalam voters. 
On the other hand, given that the Muslims were originally only 40 
percent of the Puttalam district population, if the old IDPs do not 
return home but were integrated in the Puttalam district, the total 
Muslim representation would become a concern to non-Muslim Puttalam 
politicians. 
 
BUTENIS