Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday said that though the Government requested all the UN Agencies, INGOs and NGOs to leave the Wanni, the ICRC was regarded as a "special case" and allowed to continue complementing the Government’s efforts at providing humanitarian assistance to those displaced as a result of the conflict in the region.

He said that the responsibility of providing humanitarian assistance is being taken care of by the Government through the respective Government Agents.

"The ICRC would not be based in Kilinochchi town but in different locations in the district, and will continue to provide their services to the affected people", the Minister noted.

Defence Secretary Gothabhaya Rajapaksa has directed all UN Agencies, INGOs and NGOs to leave the areas of conflict and resettle in Government controlled areas. This order was applicable to the ICRC as well.

"But we pointed out that the ICRC provides special services as manning the Omanthai checkpoint and even undertakes the handing over of bodies between the Security Forces and the LTTE and that they be considered a ‘special case’ and allowed to continue with their services", Samarasinghe explained.

There was never a question of the ICRC saying that they cannot abide by the Government’s decision. It was the Government that told the ICRC to continue and they were agreeable to do so, he said.

"What we did following the issue of the 34 vehicles belonging to the Norwegian People’s Action being taken away forcibly by the LTTE was to take a decision that all the UN Agencies, 15 INGOs and NGOs must declare all their assets and hand over a full list to the Government", the Minister said.

This decision was arrived at after the recent meeting of the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (CCHA) and since last Friday, all of them including the UN Agencies are moving out all their movable assets to Vavuniya from Kilinochchi, he noted.

"No one can mislead the Government as we have a detailed list of what they brought in. Now they must tell us what they had to leave behind. The LTTE will do their utmost to keep back whatever they want", Samarasinghe said.

"The Government’s position is that UN agencies and INGOs came to Sri Lanka on our invitation to complement our efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance. But we told them that they must work within a specified framework and abide by the laws of the land", he said.

If they fail to do so, they will be dealt with sternly, he warned.

"We must acknowledge that all the UN Agencies, INGOs and NGOs were carrying out a lot of work in the uncleared areas of the Wanni though there may have been certain lapses from time to time", the Minister said.