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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ramarajan" data-source="post: 1603394" data-attributes="member: 86701">Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in December that there were currently approximately 456,000 IDPs in the north and east. Of these, 312,000 were displaced prior to 2006 by the conflict and the 2004 tsunami, and 208,000 became displaced since the resumption of the conflict in 2006. There is an overlap between the two groups of approximately 65,000 IDPs who have been displaced more than once. An estimated 353,000 IDPs (old and new) live with host families, usually relatives. Since March about 120,000 IDPs have returned to their places of origin in the east. Among the long-term displaced were tens of thousands of Muslims evicted from Jaffna in 1990 by the LTTE, many of whom are still in camps in Puttalam. The government has not permitted other recent IDPs, primarily Tamils, to return home because their places of origins were declared HSZs.Numerous credible sources reported that the government forced resettlement of thousands of Tamil IDPs to areas other than their original homes. Forced resettlement also resulted in the separation of families, including children separated from parents. In March UNHCR formally disassociated itself from the government's resettlement efforts in the east, citing forced resettlement of IDPs. UNHCR subsequently resumed cooperation with the government, noting an improvement in its practices, while stating that "some deficiencies remained." According to multiple reports the SLA occupied housing vacated by IDPs in the Trincomalee area.On May 30, the president established an HSZ in the Muttur East area to protect military bases from LTTE attacks, thus denying thousands of Tamil IDPs access to their homes in the village of Sampur and nearby. Sampur was razed as a result of the fighting between the LTTE and the government in 2006. There are multiple reports that the government plans to establish communities for Sinhalese in the area. In July, August, and September armed government soldiers pressured IDPs in the Trincomalee District to relocate, while the government threatened to stop supplying food to their camps.The UNHCR found sexual abuse to be endemic in IDP camps and engaged in a number of initiatives with local and international NGOs to address the problem. In addition to sexual abuse, numerous credible accounts noted that the Karuna group conducted forced recruitment of children and young adults in IDP camps.The LTTE occasionally disrupted the flow of persons exiting the Vanni region through the two established checkpoints. The LTTE regularly taxed civilians traveling through areas it controlled.Fighting between the LTTE and government forces continued to threaten the safety of IDPs in the north.Protection of RefugeesThe law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. The government has not established a system for providing protection to refugees; however, the government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting IDPs and refugees. There were no reports of refoulement, the forced return of persons to a country where there is reason to believe they feared persecution. According to UNHCR, 3,559 citizens fled to India during the year.There were reported incidents of child and adult deaths as a result of SLN attacks on boats with refugees in the Palk Strait between Sri Lanka and India. Stateless PersonsThe 2003 Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Act provides stateless persons, particularly Hill Tamils, the opportunity to gain nationality. The government took steps to naturalize and provide citizenship documentation to most stateless persons. However, by year's end documentation efforts had not reached some populations which remained vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and detention. According to political parties representing Hill Tamils, there may still be roughly 70,000 Hill Tamils without adequate documentation of their Sri Lankan citizenship.Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens toChange Their GovernmentThe law provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully.Elections and Political ParticipationThe president, elected in 2005 for a six‑year term, holds executive power, while the 225‑member parliament, elected in 2004, exercises legislative power.The EU Election Observation Mission described the 2005 presidential election as generally satisfactory. The LTTE‑enforced boycott of the polls and seven grenade attacks in the north and east marred the election, however, and allowed less than one percent of voters in the north to exercise their right to vote. There were repeated media allegations, supported by claims of former supporters of President Rajapaksa, that his campaign paid large sums of money to induce the LTTE to suppress Tamil votes in the north and east during the 2005 presidential election. The government denied the allegations. Three of the most vocal supporters of the allegations stated that they also played a role in the denial of voting rights on behalf of President Rajapaksa. In October parliament opened an investigation into the allegations. At year's end there was no resolution.There were 11 women in the 225‑member parliament, three women in the cabinet, and two women out of 11 justices on the Supreme Court. There were 34 Tamils and 24 Muslims in the 225‑member parliament. There was no provision for or allocation of a set number or percentage of political party positions for women or minorities.Government Corruption and TransparencyAccording to the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a serious problem. There was corruption in all three branches of government, as well as various bureaucratic agencies. Transparency International (TI) identified nepotism and cronyism in the appointment of officials to government and state‑owned institutions.The tendering and procurement process for government contracts was not transparent, leading to frequent allegations of corruption by the losing bidders. Senior officials served as corporate officers of several newly established quasi-public corporations, including Lanka Logistics and Technologies, which the government designated as the sole procurement agency for all military equipment. Critics questioned the propriety of certain defense contracts, alleging that large kickbacks were paid in the transactions. The government also used state pension funds to set up a new loss-making budget airline, Mihin Air, with many of the same officials serving as corporate officers.TI also noted that corruption was a problem in high value tender processes, including the establishment of business operations.The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption received 3,984 complaints, of which 1,340 were under investigation at year's end.There was no law providing for public access to government information.Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human RightsA number of domestic and international human rights groups continued to operate despite increasing government restrictions, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.The government continued to allow the ICRC unrestricted access to declared detention facilities. The ICRC provided international humanitarian law training materials and training to the security forces. During the year the ICRC also delivered health education programs in LTTE‑controlled areas in the north and east and provided materials, such as hygiene products, clothes, and recreational items, to prison detainees.</blockquote>

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