Residents in the Valikamam area of Jaffna protested on June
19 saying their lands were still
being held under a high security
zone (HSZ), reports Colombo
Page. Close to 12,000 families
have reportedly applied to resettle
in the HSZ claiming their original
lands are located in the area.
Most families claimed that the
lands had been taken under the
HSZ in 1990. However, Defence
Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
estimates that 40 percent of
HSZ had been vacated by November
2011 and there is the possibility
of further adjustments.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR) on June 19 said that
it would protest if
Sri Lanka
deported registered asylum seekers and refugees living within
its territory, reports Daily
Mirror. UNHCR External Relations
Associate Sulakshani Perera
stated that the UNHCR had been
receiving reports that refugees
and asylum seekers, a majority
of the 243 registered refugees
and asylum seekers in the country,
were receiving letters from
the Department of Immigration
and Emigration asking them to
leave the country within 14
days or face deportation proceedings.
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