Sri Lanka It's Happening

February 7, 2005

If the creator of Mr Bean had written the script for the post tsunami relief operations, he would be a happy man indeed.

Refugees have blocked roads demanding that they be given immidiate attention. This comes just after the Commisioner General of essential services said the relief campaign was a failure. The statement was followed by the dismantaling of the Center for No Operations (one that oversaw the relief campaign, headed by two of the presidents closest confidentes).

Both events were followed by the government moving to seize relief aid to sent to various aid groups. The aid that is siezed will probably be destroyed just like some food stocks had to be destroyed because they could not be distributed on time.

There is 100m buffer zone to protect us from our politicians. (According to sinhala legends seas invade the land when rulers are unjust). The zone may be 0m, 100m, 200m or 300m (depends on who is talking about it and where you are located). However it safe to assume this will be no more than 300meters even though in some places the seas rushed inland a lot further than that.

This buffer zone has not been gazetted or passed by parliament and no one has been given eviction notices, so preventing people from rebuilding may actually be illegal.

The president's brother thinks it's stupid.
The president says she is going ahead with it come hell or high water.

Hotels are going to be excempt on a case by case basis (a few greenbacks in a brief case). Fishermen *may* be excempt (no one knows for sure). So someone wanting to rebuild needs to buy a fishing rod before buying bricks.
The JVP are excempt.

Posted by raditha at February 7, 2005 4:04 AM