The Vavuniya farmers say in the fundamental rights application that an Army order in June to the Government Agents of the Vanni has drastically reduced the monthly quota of fuel such as diesel. According to an order issued by the Army on 23 July 1998, permits must be obtained to receive fuel. Each application for permit is examined individually. Farmers complain that the requirement has made cultivation extremely difficult.
Restrictions on essential commodities to the north-east have been in force since 1990 under Emergency regulations. Following the end of the state of Emergency in July, the Defence Secretary issued a notification in August under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), re-introducing the ban on 21 articles to the north.
According Colombo newspaper Virakesari, the Defence Ministry in Colombo and the Army in Vavuniya have imposed restrictions on 75 other commodities, including medicines, surgical instruments, fuel, food, building materials, agricultural implements, spare parts and fertilisers. Apart from affecting the long-term health of the population, the restrictions have had an adverse impact on agriculture, education, local industries and fishing.
NGOs say that only 40% of the food and medicines needed in the Vanni, controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is supplied. Government officers in Colombo have long maintained that food and medicines fall into the hands of the Tigers. But the cuts have placed severe hardship on the civilian population, particularly the internally displaced people who are most vulnerable.
Reports say there is a shortage of medicines in Vanni hospitals. The medicines for the third quarter of the year 2001 were reduced and only a part of the medicines for the fourth quarter has been received. Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts also lack the facilities for preserving vital medicines.
More than 11,100 patients were treated in Mullaitivu’s Mallavi hospital in September, 750 for malaria and 275 for diarrhoea. Government restriction on Malathion insecticide for malarial prevention, continues. Reports say that over 2,350 children, nearly 50% of the total number and 400 pregnant women in the Mallavi Health Division are affected by malnutrition. In the hospital, 22% of the 137 children born in September were underweight. The Jaffna hospital is badly affected by shortage of medicines. Hospital authorities say that despite a number of communications to Colombo, no action has been taken.
In early October, the Army’s Civil Administration Office in Mannar said it would allow Maha seasonal cultivation, in an area extending only one mile in the LTTE-controlled northern side of the Mannar-Vavuniya road. Farmers say they face difficulties in cultivation because of Army restrictions and harassment by the state intelligence agencies. Only 15% of the fuel needed for agricultural purposes has been allowed into the area.
Further south at Kalpitiya in Puttalam District, the Navy imposed a ban on fishing after 6pm from mid-October. Restrictions on outboard motors for fishing boats are being implemented. Under the Prevention of Terrorism (Outboard Motors) Regulations No 6 of 2001, fishermen are prohibited from using engines of power exceeding 25 horsepower (hp). But in the north-east, fishermen can only use outboard motors of 10hp. In Trincomalee District, the Army imposed a ban on fishing around the harbour from October until general elections are completed in December.
In Jaffna, a hartal (general strike) was staged in the Army-controlled north-eastern Vadamaratchy area on 23 October, demanding the removal of restrictions on fishing in a ten-mile region between Thondamanaru and Katkovalam. The fishermen complain that their nets are often ripped by naval vessels and the Navy sometimes confiscates their catch. A World Bank team visiting the peninsula in September expressed concern over the plight of Jaffna fishermen.
In the eastern Batticaloa District, the Army imposed a restriction in October on diesel and other fuel into LTTE-controlled areas through Karuthapalam bridge in Chenkalady. The people crossing the bridge were allowed to take only 10 litres and the rest was confiscated. Farmers are worried that the restriction has come at the beginning of the Maha cultivation season.
President Chandrika made regulations under the PTA in July, establishing Prohibited Zones. The Territorial Waters extending from Hambantota in the south, through Trincomalee and Jaffna, to Puttalam in the west, encompassing the entire coast of the North-East Province, is a Prohibited Zone. No person in any vessel or in any other manner can enter the zone without written permission from a Competent Authority. This means that fishermen in the north-east, who have undergone years of suffering because of restrictions, must have special permits to carry on their occupation.