Lanka assures safe access to conflict affected people: UN envoy

Colombo, Aug 9 (UNI) Visiting UN envoy today stressed the need to take forward the investigation ''as rapidly as possible'' into the humanitarian workers killed in Sri Lanka during the past year and said the Lankan government had assured to give international aid workers 'safe' and 'easy access' to the affected people in the conflict-hit areas.

''We have got some very concrete assurances when I discussed it with authorities both here in Colombo and in the East with regard to access for the international humanitarian workers to the people in the conflict zone or resettlement areas in the East,'' the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Sir John Holmes told reporters here in Colombo today.

During his four-day fact-finding mission in Lanka, Mr Holmes undertook a visit to the Northern Jaffna peninsula and the Eastern Batticaloa and also held talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other key government leaders.

While conceding that there could be legitimate concerns about possible mine fields in the East in granting free access to these areas, the UN envoy said it was crucial to ensure that the government assurance, ''can be carried through into practice in a sensible, coherent and non-discriminatory way''.

''On the question of the safety of the humanitarian workers, I expressed myself very clearly about need to tackle this, because it has been an enormous problem,'' Mr Holmes said, pointing out that up to 30 humanitarian workers had been killed in Sri Lanka during the past 18 months.

''Humanitarian workers understand that they are working in difficult and dangerous conflict areas very often and, therefore it is not the safest profession in the world. But they have the right to expect to be protected by the authorities and by all people with whom they are working,'' he said.

''What we need to see is that in the future there is better protection and less targeting of these workers, so that we do not see these appalling incidents repeated,'' Sir John Holmes said, referring to the killing of 17 local aid workers in Muttur last year and two local red cross workers early this year.

He said that he also raised the issue of disarming the breakaway rebel group, known as Karuna faction, with the authorities both in Colombo and in the East.

''I found a clear determination that the disarmament of the Karuna faction should happen. I impressed on them the urgency for taking steps towards that as quickly as possible. I think it is a very important confidence building measure for the population and the international workers who are trying to work there,'' Mr Holmes said.

UNI