COLOMBO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse said Saturday that the government will resettle most of the civilians displaced by the civil war within 180 days.

    Rajapakse told the visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that all resettlement will be done under internationally-accepted norms, said a statement issued by the presidential office after the two leaders held talk in the central town of Kandy Saturday afternoon.

    "This would require ensuring the safety of the IDPs (Internal Displaced Person), as well as their rehabilitation, and providing them with new skills for successful livelihood," the statement quoted Rajapakse as saying.

    Ban told Rajapakse that progress must come in three critical areas such as immediate humanitarian relief, followed by reintegration and reconstruction, leading to a sustainable and equitable political solution in Sri Lanka.

    Rajapakse said these areas had already been recognized as those needing the highest priority, and that work was already in place to address them.

    The president said there were still some aspects of security of the IDPs that had to be assured in view of the likely presence of LTTE (Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam) infiltrators among the large numbers who had come to the government areas.

    "All actions are being taken to ensure the safety of the IDPs, and to expedite their resettlement and reintegration into society," Rajapakse assured the UN chief.

    Rajapakse also said the government was committed to a politicalsolution, and for this purpose action would be taken based on the 13th amendment to the constitution aimed at devolving power to the provinces.

    Some 269,000 internally displaced civilians are being accommodated in Vavuniya and Jaffna.

    The secretary general, arrived here early Saturday for a visit, underlined the UN focus on the humanitarian relief effort and explored ways for UN and international relief agencies to work in co-operation with the Sri Lankan government on the IDP issue.

    Sri Lanka's civil war, lasting over 30 years, came to a conclusion early this week with the total defeat of the LTTE.

    Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese dominated governments, the LTTE began to fight for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east since the 1980s, resulting in the killing of more than 100,000 people in Asia's longest civil war.

UN chief asks access for relief agencies into Sri Lanka refugee camps

    COLOMBO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to allow greater international relief access to internal displaced person (IDP) camps in northern Sri Lanka, diplomatic and government sources said Saturday.

    The presidential office said in a statement that Ban, in his meeting with the president in the central town of Kandy Saturday afternoon, expressed his appreciation over the conditions of the relief village at Chettikulam, which he visited in the morning, but noted "there was room for improvement." Full story

UN Secretary General arrives in Sri Lanka

    COLOMBO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Sri Lanka amid celebrations of defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels, government officials said Saturday.

    Ban arrived at midnight local time Friday and would meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday. Full story