Geneva: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is relieved the war appears over in Sri Lanka. But he wants the government to address the "concerns and aspirations" of its minority Tamil population.
Ban told a news conference on Tuesday that "we urgently need to treat the wounds of a war that has alienated the communities on the island for almost three decades."
The UN chief said he would travel to Sri Lanka on Friday. He hoped to visit camps for the thousands of people uprooted by the war.
"We have at the moment, basically the largest number of refugees in a camp in the world, currently here in Sri Lanka. At the same time, the number of people has quadrupled in just the last few weeks. It has gone from around 65,000 to more than quarter of a million. That is putting overbearing strain on the basics of water sanitation, nutrition.. in what are already overcrowded camps." |
Ban said "the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Tamil people and other minorities must be fully addressed."
Sri Lanka's president declared victory over separatist Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday, calling it was the first time in 30 years the country was unified.
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