US to provide Lanka with USD 8 million for IDPs

The US has announced USD 8 million assistance for the Tamil displaced persons in the North, but said the IDPs "need to be out of the welfare camps" soon and return to Wanni following the defeat of LTTE.

"The importance of prompt return (of IDPS) from the camps and we really stressed that is going to be a key objective and (Sri Lankan) government officials said it is but I think it is an issue that we need to keep pushing on", Eric Schwartz, Assistant Secretary, Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration of the US State Department, said. Read more ...

Relief for IDPs from Lankan diaspora in USA

The first consignment of relief goods to the IDPs in Vanni from the Sri Lankan diaspora in USA was handed over to the Disaster Relief Services Minister Ameer Ali at his Ministry in Colombo on Tuesday.

As a totally independent voluntary project the relief program for the IDPs also opened a website futuresrilanka.com and their main coordinating centre was located in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Diaspora in USA had managed to link with a large number of Sri Lankans in every part of the world, project coordinator Priyantha Samarajeewa said. Read more ...