Cablegate: Puttalam's "Old" Idps: A Stable, If Lean, Existence

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

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