Opening the Omanthai check-point on five days a week will generate more private trade and help ease the inconveniences suffered by people in the Vanni, according to the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP).

Rohantha Athukorala, Director of Economic Affairs at SCOPP who recently visited Vavuniya and met with citizens’ groups and representatives of local chambers of commerce and industry along with the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Sri Lanka (FCCISL), said, ‘Earlier the check-point was kept open  on 5 days of the week but an incident in June where the LTTE opened fire on a speeding vehicle attempting to escape from the Vanni raised concerns regarding the security of ICRC personnel manning the check-point.’ The incident forced a limitation of access.

Following this private traders could only operate one lorry load of cargo out of the fifteen that passed the point every day.  ‘Thus the cargo transported to the Vanni during a month came down to 23 lorry loads in the month of August and the volume of food and other essential items transported through private trade dropped to a mere 216 MT,’ he said.

Previous attempts by the security forces and government officials to increase the number of days that the check-point was kept open failed due to LTTE intransigence with regard to giving guarantees that firing close to ICRC-manned points would cease.  This had exacerbated the suffering of people living in the Killinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.   It is expected that the current measures will help increase the total volume of goods transported between these districts and other parts of the country.

SCOPP learned from visits to Omanthai and during discussions with officials of the FCCISL, that prices of essential items were escalating and the need for easing access through the check point, by increasing the number of days it is kept open to allow more lorries operated by private traders to cross the check-point was necessary. Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary General of SCOPP took the matter up with the higher officials of the Ministry of Defence as well as the ICRC.  The Defence Secretary was totally in agreement that ICRC needs to facilitate this issue with discussions with the LTTE. Moreover, Prof. Wijesinha had taken up the issue with UN Under Secretary John Holmes during the UN official’s visit to Sri Lanka recently.  Subsequently it was decided to open the check-point on 5 days of the week, from Monday to Friday, so that business can take place between the Vanni and the rest of the country as freely as it does elsewhere, Athukorala said. He also said that discussions are being held to gradually move to a situation where it is kept open everyday.

Earlier this year on a the recommendation made by the District Chambers of Killinochchi a Wholesale Distribution Center was established in Killinochchi to accommodate a warehouse facility to keep sufficient buffer stocks in the Vanni areas. The officials of the Federation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCISL) who are from the private sector are committed to be a part of these strenuous efforts of the Government to meet the demands of the people in Vanni and Jaffna, even though it is well known that the LTTE deliberately creates shortages of supplies of essential goods.

‘The time has come for us to work for all the people of this country be they from the North or the South’ said one of the CEOs of the District Chambers, expressing appreciation of and support for the current policy decision.

Previously, the Government had approved yet a request from the Killinochchi district for the supply of 2600 MT of items, including items such as general hardware, electrical items, bicycles, bicycle spare parts, tyres and tubes, roofing sheets and sewing machines. This was also co-ordinated by the FCCISL.

Already, over the last week, 95 MT of goods have been transported via Omanthai, which is very encouraging, according to Athukorala.. The transporters are now working out the modalities of clearing the accumulated stocks that piled up when the restrictions were more severe. FCCISL is making every effort to facilitate more lorries transporting into the Vanni. This can ensure a free supply of stocks in the Vanni and help stabilize prices, Athukorala said.