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English.news.cn 2013-01-17
20:11:07
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COLOMBO,
Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- France said Thursday that there are signs of communal
tensions in northern Sri Lanka, particularly in the town of Mannar.
French
Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Christine Robichon, in a statement
said that she had toured the areas where both the Tamil and Muslim communities
displaced by the war, are being resettled including recently reopened part of
the former high security zone in Jaffna.
The
purpose of the tour was to see the progress in development activities conducted
by the Sri Lankan government and to have a better understanding of the needs
and the aspirations of the people, with a specific focus on the fishermen.
She
said the briefings of the commander of the northern naval area, representatives
of the government and of fishing societies and cooperatives, enabled her to
assess the damages of the trespassing of Indian trawlers on the livelihoods of
local fishermen, and the consequences of the use of banned methods of fishing on
the environment and natural resources.
The
fishermen underlined other difficulties they are facing, particularly
restrictions imposed by the navy, the embassy statement said.
"It
is encouraging to see that Tamil and Muslim work together to provide support to
all the war affected people in some organizations but it is worrying to
perceive signs of communal tensions particularly in Mannar," the statement
quoted the ambassador as saying.
The
Sri Lanka army defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels four years ago after 30 years of
war. Tens of thousands of Tamils and Muslims were displaced in the fighting.
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Editor: Lu Hui
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