Sri Lankan govt to assist thousands of war widows

Colombo: The Sri Lankan government will set up a welfare centre to assist thousands of women widowed due to the country’s three-decade-long war, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday.
The National Centre for the improvement of the Households headed by women will be set up in Kilinochchi, the former stronghold of Tamil Tiger militants, the PMO said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe initiated the decision on a request made by the people of the country’s Northern province to establish the centre in the area since many women, who lost their husbands, live in that region.
“In the north alone, there are nearly 50,000 families that are headed by women. They are made destitute due to their inability to provide food, accommodation and educational needs to their children,” the statement said.
The new government came into power in January pledging to promote reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil community after the war ended in 2009.
Lands previously held by the military and political prisoners have already been released.
However, the new government remains under international pressure to credibly investigate allegations of war crimes and thousands of people who were reported missing during the war.
In 2014, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) initiated a probe into the allegations. The preliminary report will be presented in September. (IANS)