Indian delegation visits Sri Lankan war displaced

Colombo, April 18 (Xinhua-ANI): A high level Indian delegation visited a war displacement camp in the north of Sri Lanka on Wednesday and interacted with the people.

The Sri Lankan Resettlement Ministry said that the delegation led by Indian opposition leader in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj inquired on the wellbeing of the displaced people at the camp in Chettikulam.

Sri Lanka's Minister of Resettlement Gunaratne Weerakoon informed the delegation that some 6,500 war displaced Tamils who are still in the camp will be resettled by June this year.

The war displaced people interacted with the Indian delegation for several minutes and later government officials briefed the Indians on efforts taken to resettle the families following the final stages of the war between the military and Tamil Tiger rebels.

The military defeated the rebels in May 2009 but the fighting saw thousands being displaced in the north, especially from areas which were under rebel control.

The Indian delegation began their tour to Sri Lanka on Tuesday with talks in Colombo which included meeting with Tamil political parties.

The Indian delegation will also meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during their six day tour to the country.

Two major political parties from Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK and DMK, withdrew from the delegation at the last minute as they felt the visit will merely be a sightseeing tour.

The two parties have been calling on the Indian government to act on human rights concerns in Sri Lanka. (Xinhua-ANI)