REFUGEE

Sri Lanka says 94,000 civilians remain in the main transit camp in the north as the government tries to meet a January deadline to settle all displaced people held since the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May.

The refugees, held at the Menik Farm center near Vavuniya, were visited yesterday by Robert Blake, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia and a former ambassador to Colombo, the Defense Ministry said on its Web site.

More than 15,000 people are returning to their home towns and villages each week, according to the government. Each family is given about $400 dollars and provided with roofing sheets, building and cooking materials, as well as clothes and food for a week, it said.

The U.S. and United Nations have criticized Sri Lanka for delaying the settlement program, saying prolonged detention of displaced people will fuel resentment among Tamils. President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government says their return was delayed by the need to clear about 1.5 million mines from conflict areas and secure the north to prevent a return of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

More than 280,000 people were housed in camps in May when the army defeated the last forces of the LTTE, ending its 26- year fight for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east of the South Asian island nation.

All displaced people from the Jaffna region in the north have returned to the area where mines have been cleared, Northern Province Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri said, according to the Defense Ministry.

Agriculture Industry

The government is helping families engaged in the agriculture industry in the north and has set a target to cultivate 10,500 acres (4,250 hectares) of rice fields this season, the governor said. The main growing area around Mannar in the northwest has been cleared of mines, the government said last month.

The so-called Mannar rice bowl produced a record harvest in 1991 before falling to 23rd out of 27 growing areas listed by the government before the region was captured from the Tamil Tigers in June 2008.

While Sri Lanka in July received a $2.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, the end of the civil war has boosted agriculture and tourism that will help the country’s $41 billion economy. The central bank forecasts it will grow as much as 6 percent next year after expanding about 3.5 percent in 2009.

Investment, Exports

Overseas investment in Sri Lanka rose about 10 percent in 2009 from about $3 billion last year, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said last month. The country’s exports that include tea, rubber, textiles and clothes may start to grow in the first quarter of 2010 after dropping for 10 consecutive months, he said.

The end to the war that killed about 90,000 people has helped push the benchmark Colombo All-share index up almost 90 percent this year.

Rajapaksa last month called a presidential election two years before his mandate expires as he seeks to capitalize on his government ending the civil war. He will face General Sarath Fonseka, who commanded the army when it defeated the Tamil Tigers, in the ballot.

The government and opposition must allow balanced coverage of the election, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders group said in an e-mailed statement today.

“These elections are crucial for the country’s future, but they will not be considered democratic if there is no press freedom,” the group said.

Free Press

Sri Lanka must ensure a fair and free press, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a Dec. 7 report on relations between the countries.

“Though the war is over, a culture of fear and paranoia permeates society, especially for journalists, which further erodes Sri Lanka’s standing in the international community and hampers its prospects for genuine peace,” it said.

The committee said the U.S. risks losing Sri Lanka as an ally unless it focuses on helping the country’s security and economic development instead of concentrating on the political environment.