COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

7 MARCH 2012 SRI LANKA
accommodate these numbers, adding that some of the main hotels were still occupied by the
army.
A Human Rights spokesman based in Jaffna said that tourists from the south were flocking to
Jaffna but language and cultural differences were causing friction between them and the local
Tamil community. Visiting Sinhalese were setting up camp in streets, cooking under trees,
sleeping in the open and openly celebrating Buddhist holidays in Jaffna which was causing
resentment. A lack of accommodation meant that some tourists were knocking doors late at
night to ask locals if they could stay there. There had been instances where the military had
intervened and forced the locals to accommodate tourists in their homes.
Education
A Vice Chancellor from the University of Jaffna said that his university had managed to sustain
education during the conflict. The university itself had been at the war front and used as a camp
for military and the displaced. He pointed out that there was no industry in Jaffna, only
education. He provided interesting statistics: between 350 and 400 students had no parents,
many were recently resettled, 60 male and 30 female students were ex LTTE combatants –
many with injuries or disabilities, 70 female students were married with children, many whose
husbands were either unemployed or detained in camps. He told us that university had planned
to develop the ex-LTTE university in Kilinochchi into an agricultural faculty. They were about the
sign the agreement but the government said that they wished to develop it as the new provincial
government building.
A Senior Government Official in Mullaitivu stated that 62 out of 84 schools were now open in the
district.
A group of returned IDPs in Pooneryn, Kilinochchi told us that whilst some of the schools were
open, teachers were having to travel from Jaffna and as a result were only present from 11am
to 1.30pm. They also commented that some school buildings in Kilinochchi were occupied by
the military.
A Senior Government Agent in Vavuniya stated that in her district there was a real shortage of
teachers, particularly English and science teachers.
Health
Medical staff at Kilinochchi General Hospital explained that the hospital was shelled during the
final weeks of the war and had to be abandoned. It was undergoing a complete refurbishment
and had re-opened in May 2010. A surgical team showed us around and explained that they
have the capacity at the moment to undertake routine surgery. Patients requiring more
complicated surgery were normally transferred to Vavuniya. We also visited the maternity ward
where there were currently around 160 births a month. The staff explained that many IDP
mothers had been deprived of quality food during their pregnancies and this had been reflected
in the babies born. Currently 20% of babies born were under-nourished, but staff did indicate
that this was dropping month by month.
A Senior Government Agent in Mullaitivu said that the hospital in Mullaitivu was operating again
from within a military area. She added that the problem was staffing the hospital as doctors
were not keen to come to the area.
The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.
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