What happened to the three container loads of goods sent to the war victims?

None of the Ministers contacted would confirm the reasons for the refusal and organisers who are very sympathetic to the government are angry that the government has behaved in such a manner.

by Our Correspondent in Colombo

(October 03, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A Tamil group opposed to the LTTE had sent three containers load of medicine, bicycles, clothes, wheel chairs and many other essential items soon after the end of the war in May 2009 to the war victims held in the rehabilitation camps. One container from Germany and two from Canada were confirmed received at the Colombo Customs by the appointed representatives of the senders in Colombo.

Despite several visits to the Customs and making ministerial contacts with senior government ministers, the containers were not released and were held by the Customs Officials. The source said Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse and Ministers Prof Tisse Vitharane and DEW Gunesekera were approached to help release the containers. Despite knowing and verifying the sources and the bona fide’s of the group involved in the despatch, government had determinedly prevented the goods being sent to the war victims in the camps.

None of the Ministers contacted would confirm the reasons for the refusal and organisers who are very sympathetic to the government are angry that the government has behaved in such a manner.

One of the organiser said the government finally allowed the LTTE’s goods sent by the container ship ‘Vananga Mann’ after considerable international pressure, but it failed to give due attention when dealing with its sympathetic Tamils.

The source asked: ‘how can the government ask the diaspora Tamils to invest in Sri Lanka, when it behaves in a draconian manner with the sympathetic Tamils’.

According to the source, the three container loads of goods have been disposed off by the Customs officials.

Those who responded to the public appeal of the group to fund the purchase of the goods and the shipping costs are asking the organisers for explanations, but the group is said to finding hard to justify failure of their effort.

It is procedure that the Customs Official take larger share of any public auction as bonuses and only about 25% of the proceeds goes into the government coffers.