The resettlement of the thousands of IDPs living in relief centres in the north should be the number one priority for the government and not the pursuance of the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, Government spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said today. 

“The issue of IDPs is the biggest challenge for the government and it is our responsibility to resettle them as soon as possible and bring normalcy into their lives,” the Minister told reporters at a press briefing this morning. 

He said the government is spending large amounts of money to provide relief to IDPs and if they are not resettled soon, it would be a black mark on the humanitarian operations that were conducted to free them from the clutches of the LTTE. 

The Minister added that political parties were giving unnecessary attention to the 13th Amendment issue while not focusing on the issue of the IDPs.