by Niyata Kulatunga

    COLOMBO, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- While praising the Sri Lankan government for accelerating resettlement of war displaced civilians in the north, a senior official from the United Nations has stressed the need of further improving the conditions of the camps in the north where more than 100,000 Tamil civilians are still being held six months after the conclusion of the island's bloody civil war.

    UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes who concluded his four-day visit to the island told reporters here Thursday evening that he was impressed by the progress made by the government to send half of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) home.

    "The commitment of the government to resettle the IDPs is encouraging," Holmes said at the conclusion of his trip which included visiting IDP camps in the northern Vavuniya district and holding discussions with Sri Lanka's top officials.

    The camps were set up to shelter about 280,000 fleeing Tamil civilians during the final stages of the war between the military and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

    Government officials said over 130,000 Tamil IDPs have been resettled although the government originally said most of the IDPs would be resettled within 180 days.

    The Sri Lankan government was under pressure from the UN and human rights groups to resettle the IDPs who are under tight security measures.

    Warning the government on prolonging the detention of the IDPs, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it would lead to many issues among Tamils in Sri Lanka.

    Holmes said the major concern of the UN was the IDPs' freedom of movement.

    Holmes said he had raised the matter during his discussions with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, his ministers and other high profile officials including Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse.

    Expressing hopes that the government would take steps to create freedom of movement in future, Holmes said certain security requirements were relaxed and it was a good sign.

    During his visit to Sri Lanka, Holmes met displaced people in IDP camps in Vavuniya. He said the progress had seen a rapid change since May, when there were over 280,000 IDPs but it has now reduced by half.

    Holmes, who was surprised to see the damaged buildings and houses during his visit said the IDPs need to be resettled in properly de-mined areas.

    "People need to be consulted as much as possible on where they are going, the status of their homes and their livelihoods. But I must say that those who have been allowed to return are quite relieved to get out of the camps and rebuild their lives with what little they have," said Holmes.

    Experts estimated there are over 1.5 million mines scattered in northern Sri Lanka, the main battle ground since a civil war between the government troops and the LTTE erupted in the 1980s.

    President Rajapakse told Holmes that he is confident that the resettlement in the north could be completed within next few weeks.

    The president said the resettled civilians have been provided with infrastructure facilities, common amenities with full security.

    He assured Holmes that the rest of the IDPs will also be resettled soon after solving their housing problem.

    During his meeting with Holmes, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama briefed him about the progress made on resettlement and de-mining activities.

    Bogollagama said the number of the IDPs in the camps was decreasing daily due to rapid resettlement drive in the north.

    Meanwhile, Bogollagama sought more assistance from the UN to expedite the resettlement process, infrastructure development and livelihood support for resettled people.

    He especially sought the UN's assistance to de-mine the former conflict zones, where the LTTE had buried thousands of mines in and around buildings and open areas to delay the military push.

    The foreign minister said all the IDPs would be resettled before Jan. 31, 2010.

    Holmes said the UN doesn't believe in time frames but what matters is the commitment and proper resettlement drive to ensure the safety of the civilians.

    Government officials said over 40,000 IDPs from Kilinochchi and Mullativu, once the fully LTTE dominated districts, have been resettled to their original homes recently.

    Another matter discussed during his visit was the rehabilitation of ex-rebels and child soldiers.

    The government said over 10,000 ex-LTTE rebels including about 600 child soldiers are under government care.

    Holmes said that opening of A9 highway linking the northern Jaffna peninsula and the central town of Kandy is a very satisfactory step.

    He assured the UN's willingness to work with the government to speed up the resettlement, particularly in areas of relief supply, health care, education and infrastructure development.

    Analysts said with the presidential and parliamentary elections in sight, accelerating the resettling process will help the government win the minds and hearts of the minority Tamils, whose votes will play a key role in elections.