Colombo:
Tamil professionals from across the world will converge in Jaffna next month to discuss ways to facilitate and expedite the development process in the war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka.
A seminar will be held at the Jaffna University on January 12 for the Tamil diaspora to meet and formulate programmes for development, the state-owned 'Daily News' reported.
Social Services and Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda has invited Tamil professionals spread across the world to participate in the rehabilitation of the Northern Province.
Devananda said the time has come for the talented Tamils to return and help rebuild the Northern Province that has been badly affected by nearly three decades of ethnic war.
"Tamil aspirations need to be fulfilled at various levels. It is not confined to politics alone," the newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
Doctors, engineers and other professionals, who left the country in large numbers during the war, now have the opportunity to return home in peace and work for the well-being of people, the newspaper said.
"The Tamil diaspora have much to contribute. We are opening the doors for them to come in. They should not miss this opportunity," Devananda said.
The seminar will provide an opportunity to participants to discuss their proposals that could be incorporated in the development programme of the ministry, Devananda said.
Meanwhile, a high-power committee has been formed by Justice and Law Reforms Minister Milinda Moragoda to review the current situation and recommend reforms to the legal administration system in the Northern Province.
The Committee will be chaired by Supreme Court Judge, Sripavan.
The 13-member committee also includes Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath; Vice Chancellor of University of Jaffna M P de Silva and Jaffna District Secretary K Ganesh, the 'Daily News' reported.
The committee will consider and recommend issues relating to lacunae in the legal administration in the North, where the system has virtually collapsed due to the over 30-year conflict.
It will look into infrastructure, staff, training and resources available and it will also study issues pertaining to the prison system, legal education and indictments, the newspaper said.
Lankan authorities allow refugees to visit relatives
It was new found freedom for thousands of Tamil refugees housed in various welfare camps in
northern Sri Lanka when authorities on Tuesday lifted restrictions on their movement allowing them to visit their kith and kin.
Nearly 7,000 people out of the 1.28 lakh refugees in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vavuniya, located 260 kms north of Colombo, were allowed to leave the welfare villages to meet their relatives after they expressed their wish to see their near and dears ones and got registered with the authorities for the purpose.
Civilians, who have taken shelters in welfare villages, are now free to leave without any conditions, according to authorities.
There will be no restrictions imposed on the duration of their absence from the villages from Tuesday, Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, Risath Bathiyutheen, said on Monday.
The government has declared that civilians will be free to leave the villages once they have given their personal details to the authorities concerned.
A majority of the displaced in the welfare villages have already been resettled.
The government has said all efforts would be made to resettle all displaced people by January 31.
All civilians of the Vavuniya welfare village from Jaffna Peninsula and Eastern Province have already been resettled, an official statement said.
A seminar will be held at the Jaffna University on January 12 for the Tamil diaspora to meet and formulate programmes for development, the state-owned 'Daily News' reported.
Social Services and Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda has invited Tamil professionals spread across the world to participate in the rehabilitation of the Northern Province.
Devananda said the time has come for the talented Tamils to return and help rebuild the Northern Province that has been badly affected by nearly three decades of ethnic war.
"Tamil aspirations need to be fulfilled at various levels. It is not confined to politics alone," the newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
Doctors, engineers and other professionals, who left the country in large numbers during the war, now have the opportunity to return home in peace and work for the well-being of people, the newspaper said.
"The Tamil diaspora have much to contribute. We are opening the doors for them to come in. They should not miss this opportunity," Devananda said.
The seminar will provide an opportunity to participants to discuss their proposals that could be incorporated in the development programme of the ministry, Devananda said.
Meanwhile, a high-power committee has been formed by Justice and Law Reforms Minister Milinda Moragoda to review the current situation and recommend reforms to the legal administration system in the Northern Province.
The Committee will be chaired by Supreme Court Judge, Sripavan.
The 13-member committee also includes Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath; Vice Chancellor of University of Jaffna M P de Silva and Jaffna District Secretary K Ganesh, the 'Daily News' reported.
The committee will consider and recommend issues relating to lacunae in the legal administration in the North, where the system has virtually collapsed due to the over 30-year conflict.
It will look into infrastructure, staff, training and resources available and it will also study issues pertaining to the prison system, legal education and indictments, the newspaper said.
Lankan authorities allow refugees to visit relatives
It was new found freedom for thousands of Tamil refugees housed in various welfare camps in
northern Sri Lanka when authorities on Tuesday lifted restrictions on their movement allowing them to visit their kith and kin.
Nearly 7,000 people out of the 1.28 lakh refugees in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vavuniya, located 260 kms north of Colombo, were allowed to leave the welfare villages to meet their relatives after they expressed their wish to see their near and dears ones and got registered with the authorities for the purpose.
Civilians, who have taken shelters in welfare villages, are now free to leave without any conditions, according to authorities.
There will be no restrictions imposed on the duration of their absence from the villages from Tuesday, Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, Risath Bathiyutheen, said on Monday.
The government has declared that civilians will be free to leave the villages once they have given their personal details to the authorities concerned.
A majority of the displaced in the welfare villages have already been resettled.
The government has said all efforts would be made to resettle all displaced people by January 31.
All civilians of the Vavuniya welfare village from Jaffna Peninsula and Eastern Province have already been resettled, an official statement said.
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