Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Quotes

Well I think what - the way things have improved obviously is that the killing has stopped in so for as there is no war. But if you talk to people in the north and east in general, there is a concern that the freedom that they expected as a consequence of the end of the war has yet to be realised.

The issue here is this, that the Government's argument at the present moment is the argument that now the war is over, terrorism is defeated, we have to focus on economic development which in the north and east particular, being the areas where the war was fought, development has to proceed at a pace. That people from those parts of the country are leaving seems to suggest a lack of confidence and certainty in the trajectory of this kind of economic development.

I think as a consequence of that, there is also a fair amount of uncertainty about engaging in political activity that would be immediately suspect and seen as evidence as a sort of resurgent militancy.

The basic gamut of civil and political rights in terms of disappearances, detainees, people who are surrendered, what happened the missing. Any talk about allegations of war crimes. Those are the kind of thing that lead to a great deal of fear and uncertainty.

As to whether it will increase will depend very much on that feel-good factor and the sense of confidence being restored in the people that life is going to get much better for them here at the end of the day. I do not think you will be able to shut the tap off. It will not stop abruptly like that.

I think a lot of concern of the people in the north is that one hears constant reports in talking to them is about militarisation and the presence of the army, the entry of the army into civic life, into the economy, the lack of a political settlement.