30 Dec 2003

The Red Cross in Madang say not all evicted settlers will leave

4:16 pm on 30 December 2003

The Red Cross in Madang says there is a new attitude developing among evicted settlers to stay put.

Chairperson Maureen Hill estimates about seven thousand settlers are not moving, despite the Red Cross having arranged transport back to their home provinces.

"This new reluctance of people to go, could also see we'll counsel if people aren't going to go, you know now the human rights people and ombudsman commissioned people are supposed to have been seeing what's happened. People are into the waiting game again."

Ms Hill says there is still no sign of the 124,000 U.S. dollars that the government promised for the resettlement operation.

She says the funds are necessary, as they've allocated a large amount of the promised money on transport for thousands of settlers already.

Ms Hill says reports of police preventing non-government organisations assisting evicted settlers, was old news.