The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says they have two main requests to the government of Sri Lanka.

Speaking to the BBC correspondent in Geneva today, the president of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger said the two main requests are to provide access for the ICRC “to visit rehabilitation camps and to be present in the places where the civilians are been re-located”.

last stages of the fighting

He accepted that the ICRC was the only humanitarian organisation remained in the last stages of the fighting and that they continue to carry out protection work across the country.

Following the release of the 2009 Annual Report ‘drawn-out conflicts require sustained and flexible humanitarian response’, today, he added the “increasingly interminable nature” of wars and insurgencies meant that humanitarian agencies had to be “prepared to provide a diverse range of assistance over a longer period of time.”

separation from families

Apart from the horrendous bombings and attacks the people of the northern area suffers from despair, separation from families, pure health care, displacement and restriction of movement.

He asserts the ICRC should be allowed to carry out extensive humanitarian work for the civilians in the northern part of the country to help them re-build their lives.

visiting over 2000 detainees

Carla Haddad, the Deputy head of public and media relations for the ICRC told the BBC Sinhala Service today, their current humanitarian work is carried out by visiting over 2000 detainees in 53 detention centres and providing their support to the country’s Red Cross.

She added that the request in particular is for the government to grant access to the rehabilitation centres in the Vavuniya District.

^BBC