Boycott Sri Lankan Products & Services
please join facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44298440269
One examle of embargo is to avoid using Sri Lankan banking services for foreign currency transaction. The remittance of foreign currency benefits Sri Lanka tremendously. Money is being sent as direct investment or as drafts into that country. The money thus earned by the state never reaches the Tamils or for the develoment of Tamil areas. Instead this money received by the state, through Tamils living in foreign countries, exclusively goes to urchase arms and in the develoment of Sinhalese areas
Boycott Sri Lankan Products & Services and Save Tamil Lives!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLvwi0vqdg0&feature=email
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
"Allow citizens to remain where they wish to, instead of detentions camps"
"Allow citizens to remain where they wish to, instead of detentions camps"
Monday, March 30, 2009 Leave a Comment
(March 31, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) Allow citizens to remain where they wish to, instead of detentions camps says Former Attorney General of Sri Lanka & Chairman of Australians for Human Rights of the Voiceless , Shiva Pasupati in an appeal to Navi Pillai, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Full Text;
APPEAL TO THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
We are Australian citizens who share a deep concern about the escalating civilian crisis in Sri Lanka. We appeal to you to bring about an immediate cease-fire between the Sri Lankan Forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and to induct a United Nations Peace-Keeping Force, to ensure a cessation of hostilities. We also urge that, in the meantime, diplomatic personnel, non-government agencies and independent journalists, be allowed access to the affected areas, so that urgent relief could be provided and there could be a true and independent disclosure and assessment of the prevailing situation.
Foreign and local media have been banned from entering the conflict zones since January 2008, when the government unilaterally withdrew from the Cease-fire Agreement and commenced its military offensive. In fact, the local media have been banned from publishing reports adverse to the government and media persons not complying have been killed or subject to assaults and threats. In the absence of independent reporting, it has not been possible to distinguish between facts and propaganda, disseminated by the parties to the conflict.
We are deeply concerned about the lack of medical staff and personnel of aid agencies, serving the estimated around 300,000 civilians trapped in the conflict zones. In September 2008, the Sri Lankan government evicted United Nations and international aid agencies from these areas.
The departure of the only international and independent witnesses from the conflict areas, has removed the accountability of the parties to the conflict. The Sri Lankan government has also issued orders to doctors and other health staff to leave the conflict areas immediately. We appeal to you to take steps to allow international monitoring and to allow medical and aid agencies unrestricted access to the conflict zones immediately.
In direct violation of the Geneva Convention, civilian hospitals in the conflict zones have repeatedly come under aerial bombing and shelling. Furthermore, on 2 February 2009 the Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Mr Gotabaya Rajapakse, stated that every place outside a government declared “safe-zone” is a military target and no exception will be given to any places providing medical facilities. We urge you to require the Sri Lankan government to stop the aerial bombing of hospitals and that both parties ensure the safety of the civilians, until a cease-fire becomes operational.
As you are aware, the detentions centres setup by the government, have been described by recognised human rights organizations as concentration camps, in view of the ban on person interned to leave the camps and access to the camps being denied to relatives, media and international organizations. Further statements made by internees who are subject to intense pressure by the armed forces, have been disseminated as voluntary and credible statements.
We, therefore , appeal to you to take such steps as you deem appropriate, to allow citizens to remain where they wish to, instead of compelling them to enter detentions camps and to allow access to them by the United Nations representatives, international aid agencies and the media.
Monday, March 30, 2009 Leave a Comment
(March 31, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) Allow citizens to remain where they wish to, instead of detentions camps says Former Attorney General of Sri Lanka & Chairman of Australians for Human Rights of the Voiceless , Shiva Pasupati in an appeal to Navi Pillai, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Full Text;
APPEAL TO THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
We are Australian citizens who share a deep concern about the escalating civilian crisis in Sri Lanka. We appeal to you to bring about an immediate cease-fire between the Sri Lankan Forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and to induct a United Nations Peace-Keeping Force, to ensure a cessation of hostilities. We also urge that, in the meantime, diplomatic personnel, non-government agencies and independent journalists, be allowed access to the affected areas, so that urgent relief could be provided and there could be a true and independent disclosure and assessment of the prevailing situation.
Foreign and local media have been banned from entering the conflict zones since January 2008, when the government unilaterally withdrew from the Cease-fire Agreement and commenced its military offensive. In fact, the local media have been banned from publishing reports adverse to the government and media persons not complying have been killed or subject to assaults and threats. In the absence of independent reporting, it has not been possible to distinguish between facts and propaganda, disseminated by the parties to the conflict.
We are deeply concerned about the lack of medical staff and personnel of aid agencies, serving the estimated around 300,000 civilians trapped in the conflict zones. In September 2008, the Sri Lankan government evicted United Nations and international aid agencies from these areas.
The departure of the only international and independent witnesses from the conflict areas, has removed the accountability of the parties to the conflict. The Sri Lankan government has also issued orders to doctors and other health staff to leave the conflict areas immediately. We appeal to you to take steps to allow international monitoring and to allow medical and aid agencies unrestricted access to the conflict zones immediately.
In direct violation of the Geneva Convention, civilian hospitals in the conflict zones have repeatedly come under aerial bombing and shelling. Furthermore, on 2 February 2009 the Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Mr Gotabaya Rajapakse, stated that every place outside a government declared “safe-zone” is a military target and no exception will be given to any places providing medical facilities. We urge you to require the Sri Lankan government to stop the aerial bombing of hospitals and that both parties ensure the safety of the civilians, until a cease-fire becomes operational.
As you are aware, the detentions centres setup by the government, have been described by recognised human rights organizations as concentration camps, in view of the ban on person interned to leave the camps and access to the camps being denied to relatives, media and international organizations. Further statements made by internees who are subject to intense pressure by the armed forces, have been disseminated as voluntary and credible statements.
We, therefore , appeal to you to take such steps as you deem appropriate, to allow citizens to remain where they wish to, instead of compelling them to enter detentions camps and to allow access to them by the United Nations representatives, international aid agencies and the media.
Tamil journalists applaud “Women of Courage” award to Srinithy Nandasekaran
Tamil journalists applaud “Women of Courage” award to Srinithy Nandasekaran
[TamilNet, Monday, 30 March 2009, 11:46 GMT]
Magistrate Srinithy Nandasekaran, who had served earlier in the courts of Vavuniyaa, Jaffna, and Oorkaavattu'rai (Kayts), and currently a Magistrate in the Colombo Juvenile Court, was recognized as a South Asia Regional Finalist for the US Secretary of State's Women of Courage Award by the U.S. Ambassador Blake in Colombo on 24th March. Commenting on the award, a senior journalist said: "Ms Nandasekaran took strong, legally admissible steps to reign in on the Sri Lankan military's attempts to encroach into basic freedom of movement and rights of Jaffna residents. She ruled that the military cannot wear black masks during duty, and was a staunch critic of the road blocks the military forces set up that created hardship to the normal life of civilians."
Srinithy Nandasekaran
Srinithy Nandasekaran
Ms Nandasekaran served as Vavuniyaa district Magistrate and District Judge from 15 October 2002. She was then appointed as the Magistrate for the Oorkaavattu'rai (Kayts) Court on 16 June 2003.
After serving for three months, Judge Nandasekaran was appointed as the Magistrate and Additional District Judge for the Jaffna High Court.
"Ms Nandasekaran earned the admiration of the Jaffna district residents for her impartial dispensation of justice, and established her reputation as a courageous upholder of human rights in a difficult environment. During her Jaffna tenure nearly 50,000 members of Sri Lanka Security forces were deployed to maintain security in the district with 500,000 residents. Paramilitary groups working with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) added further difficulties to law enforcement in Jaffna," commented an exiled journalist who earlier worked for TamilNet.
After serving nearly three years and six months in Jaffna, she was transferred to Colombo to function from February 2007 as a Magistrate in the Juvenile Magistrate Court in Colombo. Civil society sources in Jaffna believe that Ms Nandasekaran's judicial independence was increasingly becoming an irritant to Colombo, and the transfer was planned to silence her voice.
During the Allaippiddi massacre where 8 civilians were massacred and 3 were seriously injured in Mandaitheevu islet in May 2006, allegedly carried out the soldiers of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), Ms Nandasekaran was instrumental in promptly attending to the welfare of the victims. She worked closely with the Sri Lanka Red Cross to facilitate immediate medical attention to the injured, and worked to recover expeditiously the bodies of those killed.
Later in August 2006, when Rev.Fr. Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown, 34, Parish Priest Allaippiddi, was reported missing, Ms Nandasekaran entered the SLN camp and conducted investigations, directing the Commander of the SLN to appear before the Court. SLN was widely suspected of complicity in the disappearance and murder of Fr. Jim Brown. The Judge's actions helped internationalize the case and help to expose the ferocity of crimes being perpetrated against civilians in Jaffna.
"Ms Nandasekaran took strong, legally admissible, steps to reign in on the Sri Lankan military's attempts to encroach into basic freedom of movement and rights of Jaffna residents. She ruled that the military cannot wear black masks during duty, and was a staunch critic of the road blocks the military forces set up that created hardship to the normal life of civilians," said a senior journalist in Jaffna.
"When Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers threatened her with death along Jaffna Palaali Road near Thirunelveali Ms Nandasekaran exposed the incident, and earned the ire of Colombo," he adds.
"She has been a strong advocate for child rights, and has worked with child welfare organizations to institute safeguards to prevent children from sexual abuse."
Ms Nandasekaran is a strong believer in Media Freedom, and she has earned a good reputation among the journalists. When two Uthayan staffers were shot dead and two seriously injured by attackers in May 2006, she rushed to the scene to facilitate speedy attention to the injured, and directed the law enforcement authorities to provide police protection to Uthayan premises. Police presence near the premises still continues.
“Women of Courage” is an honour bestowed by the U.S. Department of State on women who demonstrate exceptional courage and leadership.
Secretary Clinton paid tribute to eight honourees representing Afghanistan, Guatemala, Iraq, Malaysia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Yemen on March 11 during a ceremony at the Benjamin Franklin Room in the White House. The eight are among over 80 exceptional women nominated by U.S. Embassies worldwide for their extraordinary work in advancing human rights.
Srinithy Nandasekaran
Srinithy Nandasekaran receiving award from the US Ambassador
Full text of the press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo follows:
U.S. Ambassador Blake recognized Magistrate Srinithy Nandasekaran on 24 March as a South Asian Regional Finalist for the Secretary of State's Women of Courage Award. “Women of Courage” is an honor bestowed by the U.S. Department of State on women who demonstrate exceptional courage and leadership. In recognizing Ms. Nandasekaran, Ambassador Blake said, “Throughout her career as an attorney and magistrate, Srinithy has shown exemplary commitment and courage in the dispensation of justice to Sri Lankans of all ethnic groups, often while serving in the country’s most difficult conflict-torn areas.” Ambassador Blake noted especially Magistrate Nandasekeran's tireless efforts on behalf of Sri Lanka's children.
U.S. Embassies around the world annually select outstanding women leaders to receive “Women of Courage” recognition. This year, U.S. Embassies worldwide nominated over 80 exceptional women by for their extraordinary work in areas such as advancing human rights and advocating for the promotion of women’s issues. Srinithy Nandasekeran was a Regional Finalist for South Asia. The Secretary of State selected eight recipients to receive International Women of Courage Awards at the Department of State in Washington, including women from Niger, Russia, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guatamela, Uzbekistan, and Malaysia.
[TamilNet, Monday, 30 March 2009, 11:46 GMT]
Magistrate Srinithy Nandasekaran, who had served earlier in the courts of Vavuniyaa, Jaffna, and Oorkaavattu'rai (Kayts), and currently a Magistrate in the Colombo Juvenile Court, was recognized as a South Asia Regional Finalist for the US Secretary of State's Women of Courage Award by the U.S. Ambassador Blake in Colombo on 24th March. Commenting on the award, a senior journalist said: "Ms Nandasekaran took strong, legally admissible steps to reign in on the Sri Lankan military's attempts to encroach into basic freedom of movement and rights of Jaffna residents. She ruled that the military cannot wear black masks during duty, and was a staunch critic of the road blocks the military forces set up that created hardship to the normal life of civilians."
Srinithy Nandasekaran
Srinithy Nandasekaran
Ms Nandasekaran served as Vavuniyaa district Magistrate and District Judge from 15 October 2002. She was then appointed as the Magistrate for the Oorkaavattu'rai (Kayts) Court on 16 June 2003.
After serving for three months, Judge Nandasekaran was appointed as the Magistrate and Additional District Judge for the Jaffna High Court.
"Ms Nandasekaran earned the admiration of the Jaffna district residents for her impartial dispensation of justice, and established her reputation as a courageous upholder of human rights in a difficult environment. During her Jaffna tenure nearly 50,000 members of Sri Lanka Security forces were deployed to maintain security in the district with 500,000 residents. Paramilitary groups working with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) added further difficulties to law enforcement in Jaffna," commented an exiled journalist who earlier worked for TamilNet.
After serving nearly three years and six months in Jaffna, she was transferred to Colombo to function from February 2007 as a Magistrate in the Juvenile Magistrate Court in Colombo. Civil society sources in Jaffna believe that Ms Nandasekaran's judicial independence was increasingly becoming an irritant to Colombo, and the transfer was planned to silence her voice.
During the Allaippiddi massacre where 8 civilians were massacred and 3 were seriously injured in Mandaitheevu islet in May 2006, allegedly carried out the soldiers of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), Ms Nandasekaran was instrumental in promptly attending to the welfare of the victims. She worked closely with the Sri Lanka Red Cross to facilitate immediate medical attention to the injured, and worked to recover expeditiously the bodies of those killed.
Later in August 2006, when Rev.Fr. Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown, 34, Parish Priest Allaippiddi, was reported missing, Ms Nandasekaran entered the SLN camp and conducted investigations, directing the Commander of the SLN to appear before the Court. SLN was widely suspected of complicity in the disappearance and murder of Fr. Jim Brown. The Judge's actions helped internationalize the case and help to expose the ferocity of crimes being perpetrated against civilians in Jaffna.
"Ms Nandasekaran took strong, legally admissible, steps to reign in on the Sri Lankan military's attempts to encroach into basic freedom of movement and rights of Jaffna residents. She ruled that the military cannot wear black masks during duty, and was a staunch critic of the road blocks the military forces set up that created hardship to the normal life of civilians," said a senior journalist in Jaffna.
"When Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers threatened her with death along Jaffna Palaali Road near Thirunelveali Ms Nandasekaran exposed the incident, and earned the ire of Colombo," he adds.
"She has been a strong advocate for child rights, and has worked with child welfare organizations to institute safeguards to prevent children from sexual abuse."
Ms Nandasekaran is a strong believer in Media Freedom, and she has earned a good reputation among the journalists. When two Uthayan staffers were shot dead and two seriously injured by attackers in May 2006, she rushed to the scene to facilitate speedy attention to the injured, and directed the law enforcement authorities to provide police protection to Uthayan premises. Police presence near the premises still continues.
“Women of Courage” is an honour bestowed by the U.S. Department of State on women who demonstrate exceptional courage and leadership.
Secretary Clinton paid tribute to eight honourees representing Afghanistan, Guatemala, Iraq, Malaysia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Yemen on March 11 during a ceremony at the Benjamin Franklin Room in the White House. The eight are among over 80 exceptional women nominated by U.S. Embassies worldwide for their extraordinary work in advancing human rights.
Srinithy Nandasekaran
Srinithy Nandasekaran receiving award from the US Ambassador
Full text of the press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo follows:
U.S. Ambassador Blake recognized Magistrate Srinithy Nandasekaran on 24 March as a South Asian Regional Finalist for the Secretary of State's Women of Courage Award. “Women of Courage” is an honor bestowed by the U.S. Department of State on women who demonstrate exceptional courage and leadership. In recognizing Ms. Nandasekaran, Ambassador Blake said, “Throughout her career as an attorney and magistrate, Srinithy has shown exemplary commitment and courage in the dispensation of justice to Sri Lankans of all ethnic groups, often while serving in the country’s most difficult conflict-torn areas.” Ambassador Blake noted especially Magistrate Nandasekeran's tireless efforts on behalf of Sri Lanka's children.
U.S. Embassies around the world annually select outstanding women leaders to receive “Women of Courage” recognition. This year, U.S. Embassies worldwide nominated over 80 exceptional women by for their extraordinary work in areas such as advancing human rights and advocating for the promotion of women’s issues. Srinithy Nandasekeran was a Regional Finalist for South Asia. The Secretary of State selected eight recipients to receive International Women of Courage Awards at the Department of State in Washington, including women from Niger, Russia, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guatamela, Uzbekistan, and Malaysia.
A new NGO in UK - ACT NOW
The Sri Lankan Government is currently engaged in the ethnic cleansing of the Tamil minority and the International Community is just turning a blind eye. A war that most people don’t even know about , a war not so different to Vietnam, the bombing of innocent civilians, schools, temples, orphanages, refugee camps and hospitals.
Since the beginning of 2009, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, over 2800 Tamil civilians have been killed and 7000 injured in a so called “safe zone” due to bombing and shelling by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
The Government of Sri Lanka has removed all International Volunteer Organizations (INGOs) out of northern region where the conflict is taking place. And as the Government does not allow any International Media into the area there are NO WITNESSES of the ongoing Genocide and the unfolding Humanitarian crisis and the world is mostly oblivious. The Sri Lankan Government is currently using food, water and medicine as a weapon of war against the Tamils.
Over 250 000 Tamil civilians have been squeezed into a very small area, due to the recent government military offensive, the last few years of heavy fighting many people are without shelter, food, water and inadequate medical supplies. But regardless of the humanitarian disaster the government of Sri Lanka continues to bomb their own people on a daily basis.
Many people including a large number of children even babies are having to have limbs amputated as the government will not allow antibiotics into the region. Many of their wounds even those with minor injuries become septic and the doctors are left with no choice but amputation, sometimes without even any anesthetics
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly deplored the mounting civilian death toll - which he said included many children. Speaking in Geneva, the ICRC's head of operations for South Asia, Jacques de Maio, said the civilian population was paying the price for the conflict.
Unicef Sri Lanka spokesman James Elder said" the reports we are receiving show an increasing number of children have been injured and killed in the past week".
"I have seen some of these injuries - babies with shrapnel wounds, gun shot injuries and blast wounds; children whose mothers' last act was to cover their bodies and take the force of the shelling."
"The (government-designated) no-fire zone is believed to be very squalid and overcrowded and the UN has received information that people are dying from lack of food.
"The conditions there could lead to outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever and measles, and a chicken pox outbreak has already been reported."
James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch, said: "This 'war' against civilians must stop. Sri Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones and slaughtering the civilians there."
James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch, said: "This 'war' against civilians must stop. Sri Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones and slaughtering the civilians there."
For more information, please contact:info.actnow.
The Sri Lankan Government is using medicine,food and water as a weapon of war.
Please help us get these life saving humanitarian supplies to northern Sri Lanka.
The situation in Gaza caught the attention of the International Community yet with Sri Lanka the world is just looking the other way.
PLEASE ACT NOW DONT LOOK THE OTHER WAY !
PLEASE DONATE / http://vannimission.org/
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: Arundhati Roy: "Colossal humanitarian tragedy"
Pointing an accusing finger at the Indian Government for silence on the unfolding tragedy in Sri Lanka, Arundhati Roy, writer and activisit, in an article appearing in Times of India says, "while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000 face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence from...
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: Elderly detainee in SLA detention centre dies in Jaffna
An elderly civilian held in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centre in Mirusuvil in Thenmaraadchi died Saturday night in Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) due to delayed medical treatment, sources in Jaffna said. Regional Health Service sources said that there is an acute scarcity for ambulances to transport patients in need of urgent treatment from the SLA detention centres to hospitals. Besides, SLA...
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: Youth shot, injured in Jaffna
Two unidentified men on motorcycle shot and seriously injured a youth Sunday around 9:30 a.m in front of his house in Church Lane, Kokkuvil West in Jaffna as he was returning home on his motorcycle, sources in Jaffna said. The youth is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in Jaffna Teaching Hospital.
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: 7th SLA detention centre opened in Jaffna
In addition to the existing six Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centres in Jaffna district SLA has established another in Kaithadi in Thenmaraadchi where there are already four centres, to detain civilians fleeing war in Vanni. Saturday alone more than 200 families arrived in Thenmaraadchi and were placed in temporary makeshift sheds erected in the building complex of Palmyra Development Board...
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: 6 STF commandos killed, 8 injured in 3 separate LTTE attacks in Batticaloa
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched attacks on Special Task Force (STF) commandos at three separate locations Friday and Saturday in Batticaloa district killing a commando and seriously injuring three in the first attack while killing two commandos and seriously injuring one in the second attack. The third attack was on the STF sentry post in Karadiyanaa’ru police division in which...
TamilNet Newswire
Since the beginning of 2009, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, over 2800 Tamil civilians have been killed and 7000 injured in a so called “safe zone” due to bombing and shelling by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
The Government of Sri Lanka has removed all International Volunteer Organizations (INGOs) out of northern region where the conflict is taking place. And as the Government does not allow any International Media into the area there are NO WITNESSES of the ongoing Genocide and the unfolding Humanitarian crisis and the world is mostly oblivious. The Sri Lankan Government is currently using food, water and medicine as a weapon of war against the Tamils.
Over 250 000 Tamil civilians have been squeezed into a very small area, due to the recent government military offensive, the last few years of heavy fighting many people are without shelter, food, water and inadequate medical supplies. But regardless of the humanitarian disaster the government of Sri Lanka continues to bomb their own people on a daily basis.
Many people including a large number of children even babies are having to have limbs amputated as the government will not allow antibiotics into the region. Many of their wounds even those with minor injuries become septic and the doctors are left with no choice but amputation, sometimes without even any anesthetics
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly deplored the mounting civilian death toll - which he said included many children. Speaking in Geneva, the ICRC's head of operations for South Asia, Jacques de Maio, said the civilian population was paying the price for the conflict.
Unicef Sri Lanka spokesman James Elder said" the reports we are receiving show an increasing number of children have been injured and killed in the past week".
"I have seen some of these injuries - babies with shrapnel wounds, gun shot injuries and blast wounds; children whose mothers' last act was to cover their bodies and take the force of the shelling."
"The (government-designated) no-fire zone is believed to be very squalid and overcrowded and the UN has received information that people are dying from lack of food.
"The conditions there could lead to outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever and measles, and a chicken pox outbreak has already been reported."
James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch, said: "This 'war' against civilians must stop. Sri Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones and slaughtering the civilians there."
James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch, said: "This 'war' against civilians must stop. Sri Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones and slaughtering the civilians there."
For more information, please contact:info.actnow.
The Sri Lankan Government is using medicine,food and water as a weapon of war.
Please help us get these life saving humanitarian supplies to northern Sri Lanka.
The situation in Gaza caught the attention of the International Community yet with Sri Lanka the world is just looking the other way.
PLEASE ACT NOW DONT LOOK THE OTHER WAY !
PLEASE DONATE / http://vannimission.org/
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: Arundhati Roy: "Colossal humanitarian tragedy"
Pointing an accusing finger at the Indian Government for silence on the unfolding tragedy in Sri Lanka, Arundhati Roy, writer and activisit, in an article appearing in Times of India says, "while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000 face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence from...
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: Elderly detainee in SLA detention centre dies in Jaffna
An elderly civilian held in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centre in Mirusuvil in Thenmaraadchi died Saturday night in Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) due to delayed medical treatment, sources in Jaffna said. Regional Health Service sources said that there is an acute scarcity for ambulances to transport patients in need of urgent treatment from the SLA detention centres to hospitals. Besides, SLA...
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: Youth shot, injured in Jaffna
Two unidentified men on motorcycle shot and seriously injured a youth Sunday around 9:30 a.m in front of his house in Church Lane, Kokkuvil West in Jaffna as he was returning home on his motorcycle, sources in Jaffna said. The youth is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in Jaffna Teaching Hospital.
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: 7th SLA detention centre opened in Jaffna
In addition to the existing six Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centres in Jaffna district SLA has established another in Kaithadi in Thenmaraadchi where there are already four centres, to detain civilians fleeing war in Vanni. Saturday alone more than 200 families arrived in Thenmaraadchi and were placed in temporary makeshift sheds erected in the building complex of Palmyra Development Board...
Today, 3:02 AM
Sri Lanka: 6 STF commandos killed, 8 injured in 3 separate LTTE attacks in Batticaloa
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched attacks on Special Task Force (STF) commandos at three separate locations Friday and Saturday in Batticaloa district killing a commando and seriously injuring three in the first attack while killing two commandos and seriously injuring one in the second attack. The third attack was on the STF sentry post in Karadiyanaa’ru police division in which...
TamilNet Newswire
Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka, the silence is inexcusable. -Arundhati Roy
Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka, the silence is inexcusable. -Arundhati Roy
30 Mar 2009, 0027 hrs IST, Arundhati Roy
More so because of the Indian government’s long history of irresponsible dabbling in the conflict, first taking one side and then the other. Several of us including myself, who should have spoken out much earlier, have not done so, simply because of a lack of information about the war. So while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000 face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence from this great country.
It’s a colossal humanitarian tragedy. The world must step in. Now. Before it’s too late.
The horror that is unfolding in Sri Lanka becomes possible because of the silence that surrounds it. There is almost no reporting in the
mainstream Indian media — or indeed in the international press — about what is happening there. Why this should be so is a matter of serious concern.
From the little information that is filtering through it looks as though the Sri Lankan government is using the propaganda of the ‘war on terror’ as a fig leaf to dismantle any semblance of democracy in the country, and commit unspeakable crimes against the Tamil people. Working on the principle that every Tamil is a terrorist unless he or she can prove otherwise, civilian areas, hospitals and shelters are being bombed and turned into a war zone. Reliable estimates put the number of civilians trapped at over 200,000. The Sri Lankan Army is advancing, armed with tanks and aircraft.
Meanwhile, there are official reports that several ‘‘welfare villages’’ have been established to house displaced
Tamils in Vavuniya and Mannar districts. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph (Feb 14, 2009), these villages ‘‘will be compulsory holding centres for all civilians fleeing the fighting’’. Is this a euphemism for concentration camps? The former foreign minister of Sri Lanka, Mangala Samaraveera, told The Daily Telegraph:
‘‘A few months ago the government started registering all Tamils in Colombo on the grounds that they could be a security threat, but this could be exploited for other purposes like the Nazis in the 1930s. They’re basically going to label the whole civilian Tamil population as potential terrorists.’’
Given its stated objective of ‘‘wiping out’’ the LTTE, this malevolent collapse of civilians and ‘‘terrorists’’ does seem to signal that the government of Sri Lanka is on the verge of committing what could end up being genocide. According to a UN estimate several thousand people have already been killed. Thousands more are critically wounded. The few eyewitness reports that have come out are descriptions of a nightmare from hell. What we are witnessing, or should we say, what is happening in Sri Lanka and is being so effectively hidden from public scrutiny, is a brazen, openly racist war. The impunity with which the Sri Lankan government is being able to commit these crimes actually unveils the deeply ingrained racist prejudice, which is precisely what led to the marginalization and alienation of the Tamils of Sri Lanka in the first place. That racism has a long history, of social ostracisation, economic blockades, pogroms and torture. The brutal nature of the decades-long civil war, which started as a peaceful, non-violent protest, has its roots in this.
Why the silence? In another interview Mangala Samaraveera says, ‘‘A free media is virtually non-existent in Sri Lanka today.’’
Samaraveera goes on to talk about death squads and ‘white van abductions’, which have made society ‘‘freeze with fear’’. Voices of dissent, including those of several journalists, have been abducted and assassinated. The International Federation of Journalists accuses the government of Sri Lanka of using a combination of anti-terrorism laws, disappearances and assassinations to silence journalists.
There are disturbing but unconfirmed reports that the Indian government is lending material and logistical support to the Sri Lankan government in these crimes against humanity. If this is true, it is outrageous. What of the governments of other countries? Pakistan? China? What are they doing to help, or harm the situation?
In Tamil Nadu the war in Sri Lanka has fuelled passions that have led to more than 10 people immolating themselves. The public anger and anguish, much of it genuine, some of it obviously cynical political manipulation, has become an election issue.
It is extraordinary that this concern has not travelled to the rest of India. Why is there silence here? There are no ‘white van abductions’ — at least not on this issue. Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka, the silence is inexcusable. More so because of the Indian government’s long history of irresponsible dabbling in the conflict, first taking one side and then the other. Several of us including myself, who should have spoken out much earlier, have not done so, simply because of a lack of information about the war. So while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000 face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence from this great country.
It’s a colossal humanitarian tragedy. The world must step in. Now. Before it’s too late.
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File: Lanka army releases pics of Vaiko with Prabhakaran
*
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*
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Colombo air strikes were suicide attacks: LTTE
30 Mar 2009, 0027 hrs IST, Arundhati Roy
More so because of the Indian government’s long history of irresponsible dabbling in the conflict, first taking one side and then the other. Several of us including myself, who should have spoken out much earlier, have not done so, simply because of a lack of information about the war. So while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000 face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence from this great country.
It’s a colossal humanitarian tragedy. The world must step in. Now. Before it’s too late.
The horror that is unfolding in Sri Lanka becomes possible because of the silence that surrounds it. There is almost no reporting in the
mainstream Indian media — or indeed in the international press — about what is happening there. Why this should be so is a matter of serious concern.
From the little information that is filtering through it looks as though the Sri Lankan government is using the propaganda of the ‘war on terror’ as a fig leaf to dismantle any semblance of democracy in the country, and commit unspeakable crimes against the Tamil people. Working on the principle that every Tamil is a terrorist unless he or she can prove otherwise, civilian areas, hospitals and shelters are being bombed and turned into a war zone. Reliable estimates put the number of civilians trapped at over 200,000. The Sri Lankan Army is advancing, armed with tanks and aircraft.
Meanwhile, there are official reports that several ‘‘welfare villages’’ have been established to house displaced
Tamils in Vavuniya and Mannar districts. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph (Feb 14, 2009), these villages ‘‘will be compulsory holding centres for all civilians fleeing the fighting’’. Is this a euphemism for concentration camps? The former foreign minister of Sri Lanka, Mangala Samaraveera, told The Daily Telegraph:
‘‘A few months ago the government started registering all Tamils in Colombo on the grounds that they could be a security threat, but this could be exploited for other purposes like the Nazis in the 1930s. They’re basically going to label the whole civilian Tamil population as potential terrorists.’’
Given its stated objective of ‘‘wiping out’’ the LTTE, this malevolent collapse of civilians and ‘‘terrorists’’ does seem to signal that the government of Sri Lanka is on the verge of committing what could end up being genocide. According to a UN estimate several thousand people have already been killed. Thousands more are critically wounded. The few eyewitness reports that have come out are descriptions of a nightmare from hell. What we are witnessing, or should we say, what is happening in Sri Lanka and is being so effectively hidden from public scrutiny, is a brazen, openly racist war. The impunity with which the Sri Lankan government is being able to commit these crimes actually unveils the deeply ingrained racist prejudice, which is precisely what led to the marginalization and alienation of the Tamils of Sri Lanka in the first place. That racism has a long history, of social ostracisation, economic blockades, pogroms and torture. The brutal nature of the decades-long civil war, which started as a peaceful, non-violent protest, has its roots in this.
Why the silence? In another interview Mangala Samaraveera says, ‘‘A free media is virtually non-existent in Sri Lanka today.’’
Samaraveera goes on to talk about death squads and ‘white van abductions’, which have made society ‘‘freeze with fear’’. Voices of dissent, including those of several journalists, have been abducted and assassinated. The International Federation of Journalists accuses the government of Sri Lanka of using a combination of anti-terrorism laws, disappearances and assassinations to silence journalists.
There are disturbing but unconfirmed reports that the Indian government is lending material and logistical support to the Sri Lankan government in these crimes against humanity. If this is true, it is outrageous. What of the governments of other countries? Pakistan? China? What are they doing to help, or harm the situation?
In Tamil Nadu the war in Sri Lanka has fuelled passions that have led to more than 10 people immolating themselves. The public anger and anguish, much of it genuine, some of it obviously cynical political manipulation, has become an election issue.
It is extraordinary that this concern has not travelled to the rest of India. Why is there silence here? There are no ‘white van abductions’ — at least not on this issue. Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka, the silence is inexcusable. More so because of the Indian government’s long history of irresponsible dabbling in the conflict, first taking one side and then the other. Several of us including myself, who should have spoken out much earlier, have not done so, simply because of a lack of information about the war. So while the killing continues, while tens of thousands of people are being barricaded into concentration camps, while more than 200,000 face starvation, and a genocide waits to happen, there is dead silence from this great country.
It’s a colossal humanitarian tragedy. The world must step in. Now. Before it’s too late.
Related Stories
Below
File: Lanka army releases pics of Vaiko with Prabhakaran
*
India to Lanka: Allow Red Cross to evacuate civilians
*
Let Tamil Tigers lay down arms first: Lanka
*
LTTE intelligence chief leading final battle: Report
*
Nine rebels killed in last LTTE stronghold: Lanka military
*
Who allowed cops to enter Madras HC: SC to TN
*
Lawyers leave law minister red-faced
*
Litigants wait at the gates as HC standoff continues
*
Striking lawyers boycott government talks
*
Judges' body ask lawyers to end stir
*
Put an end to conflict: US to Lanka, LTTE
*
Sri Lanka rejects Tamil Tiger truce call: Military
*
LTTE air raid shows war is far from over
*
Pranab on Sri Lanka: Political solution only way out
*
Colombo air strikes were suicide attacks: LTTE
Supported by Sri Lankan Tamil singer MIA, and other celebrities, Tamils collect medicines and food for Vanni Tamils in London.
Supported by Sri Lankan Tamil singer MIA, and other celebrities, Tamils collect medicines and food for Vanni Tamils in London.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sei-eEjy4g
35 million viewers for MIA's Paper Planes.
Four Hundred Tons of Medical Aid Sets Sail for Sri Lanka
British celebrities, MPs and health professionals gather for launch and signing ceremony in central London, Tuesday 31 March, 2009
Act Now 5
Act Now 5
March 27, 2009 - Press Dispensary - As a major humanitarian crisis unfolds in northern Sri Lanka, campaign group Act Now and a number of other charities are preparing to send 400 tons of food and medicine, to help the country’s internal refugees, on Tuesday 31 March, 2009. Supported by Sri Lankan singer MIA, plus other celebrities, MPs and MEPs, the mission will provide desperately needed medical supplies for thousands of sick and injured people, and raise awareness of the suffering of civilians trapped in the conflict zone.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, bombing and shelling by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces in the so called safe zone has killed 2,800 Tamil civilians and left 7,000 more injured since the beginning of 2009. Furthermore, the UN and aid agencies have been denied access to the region, leaving many without adequate food, water or medical assistance. Agencies fear that the cramped conditions and lack of sanitation will lead to outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever and measles.
Dr T. Varatharaja, a senior Sri Lankan health official in the region where the conflict is taking place, says that the last major medical facility in Tamil-held territory has almost stopped functioning due to a medicine shortage. Surgeons already have to perform operations including amputations without anaesthetics, but the closure of the hospital would put the lives of thousands of sick and injured people at risk.
The Act Now supported mission will deliver a wide range of medicines, from pain-killers, antibiotics and anaesthetic drugs and food supplies to the designated 'Safe-Zone' in northern Sri Lanka, where a quarter of a million people are trapped by the fighting. A professional medical team hopes to join the mission at some point. The supplies are being donated at various collection centres throughout London* and from other British cities, and the trip is being funded by the generosity of British supporters.
Graham Williamson, a director of Act Now, says: “The international community is turning a blind eye to the escalating crisis in Sri Lanka, a war not so different to Vietnam, as innocent Tamil civilians and their schools, temples, refugee camps and hospitals are bombed, in what many human rights groups are calling a form of ethnic cleansing.”
“Now, the Sri Lankan Government is withholding food, water and medicine as a weapon of war against the Tamils. The Act Now boat will bring life saving supplies into the region, but our work doesn’t stop there, we will continue to call attention to the situation in Sri Lanka until this war against its own civilians is stopped.”
The first leg of the journey is planned to leave the UK on Tuesday 31 March, 2009, bound for the 'safe-zone' in northern Sri Lanka.
The launch event will take place on Tuesday 31 March, 2009, from 1:00pm at The Royal Horse Guards, 1 Whitehall Place, 2 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EJ. To view, please visit http://www.theroyalhorseguards.co.uk/index.html).
A global appeal to the Sri Lankan Government to let the aid into the affected region and to call a ceasefire will be launched on the same day. A launch event has been organised to allow celebrities and politicians to sign a special letter (scroll) of appeal. This mission is supported by Grammy and Academy nominated singer M.I.A.
A celebrity committee will be held under the leadership of British models, Jade Parfitt and Jasmine Guinness.
Invited guests are, Claudia Schiffer, Pixie Geldof, Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe, Nicholas Holts, Fearne Cotton (BBC presenter), Lilly Cole (Storm), Denise Van Outen (singer and presenter), Jodie Kidd (model), Lilly Allen (singer), Duffy (singer), Dawn Porter, Sian Evans (singer of Kosheen), Alex Parks and more. Some guests have already confirmed.
Members of the media wishing to take pictures/film of the event should contact Act Now ASAP.
- Ends -
Notes for editors
Act Now is a UK based organisation set up by a group of British former humanitarian aid workers. Act Now has set up campaign groups across the UK working to lobby their MPs. It currently has the support of 45 MPs and a number of Members of the European Parliament.
Act Now is working with a number of charities, including White Pigeon, Tamil Health Organisation, Tamil Aid, Technical Association of Tamils and the Tamil Support Foundation, to send the medical and food supplies to Sri Lanka.
* A list of collection sites can obtained by request, it includes addresses in Edmonton, Ilford, East Ham, Lewisham, Bromley and Woolwich.
For further information, please contact:
Tim Martin, director, Act Now
Tel: 07817 504227
Email: info.actnow@gmail.com
Site: www.act-now.info
Graham Williamson, director, Act Now
Tel: 07970455445
Email: info.actnow@gmail.com
Site: http://www.act-now.info
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sei-eEjy4g
35 million viewers for MIA's Paper Planes.
Four Hundred Tons of Medical Aid Sets Sail for Sri Lanka
British celebrities, MPs and health professionals gather for launch and signing ceremony in central London, Tuesday 31 March, 2009
Act Now 5
Act Now 5
March 27, 2009 - Press Dispensary - As a major humanitarian crisis unfolds in northern Sri Lanka, campaign group Act Now and a number of other charities are preparing to send 400 tons of food and medicine, to help the country’s internal refugees, on Tuesday 31 March, 2009. Supported by Sri Lankan singer MIA, plus other celebrities, MPs and MEPs, the mission will provide desperately needed medical supplies for thousands of sick and injured people, and raise awareness of the suffering of civilians trapped in the conflict zone.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, bombing and shelling by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces in the so called safe zone has killed 2,800 Tamil civilians and left 7,000 more injured since the beginning of 2009. Furthermore, the UN and aid agencies have been denied access to the region, leaving many without adequate food, water or medical assistance. Agencies fear that the cramped conditions and lack of sanitation will lead to outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever and measles.
Dr T. Varatharaja, a senior Sri Lankan health official in the region where the conflict is taking place, says that the last major medical facility in Tamil-held territory has almost stopped functioning due to a medicine shortage. Surgeons already have to perform operations including amputations without anaesthetics, but the closure of the hospital would put the lives of thousands of sick and injured people at risk.
The Act Now supported mission will deliver a wide range of medicines, from pain-killers, antibiotics and anaesthetic drugs and food supplies to the designated 'Safe-Zone' in northern Sri Lanka, where a quarter of a million people are trapped by the fighting. A professional medical team hopes to join the mission at some point. The supplies are being donated at various collection centres throughout London* and from other British cities, and the trip is being funded by the generosity of British supporters.
Graham Williamson, a director of Act Now, says: “The international community is turning a blind eye to the escalating crisis in Sri Lanka, a war not so different to Vietnam, as innocent Tamil civilians and their schools, temples, refugee camps and hospitals are bombed, in what many human rights groups are calling a form of ethnic cleansing.”
“Now, the Sri Lankan Government is withholding food, water and medicine as a weapon of war against the Tamils. The Act Now boat will bring life saving supplies into the region, but our work doesn’t stop there, we will continue to call attention to the situation in Sri Lanka until this war against its own civilians is stopped.”
The first leg of the journey is planned to leave the UK on Tuesday 31 March, 2009, bound for the 'safe-zone' in northern Sri Lanka.
The launch event will take place on Tuesday 31 March, 2009, from 1:00pm at The Royal Horse Guards, 1 Whitehall Place, 2 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EJ. To view, please visit http://www.theroyalhorseguards.co.uk/index.html).
A global appeal to the Sri Lankan Government to let the aid into the affected region and to call a ceasefire will be launched on the same day. A launch event has been organised to allow celebrities and politicians to sign a special letter (scroll) of appeal. This mission is supported by Grammy and Academy nominated singer M.I.A.
A celebrity committee will be held under the leadership of British models, Jade Parfitt and Jasmine Guinness.
Invited guests are, Claudia Schiffer, Pixie Geldof, Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe, Nicholas Holts, Fearne Cotton (BBC presenter), Lilly Cole (Storm), Denise Van Outen (singer and presenter), Jodie Kidd (model), Lilly Allen (singer), Duffy (singer), Dawn Porter, Sian Evans (singer of Kosheen), Alex Parks and more. Some guests have already confirmed.
Members of the media wishing to take pictures/film of the event should contact Act Now ASAP.
- Ends -
Notes for editors
Act Now is a UK based organisation set up by a group of British former humanitarian aid workers. Act Now has set up campaign groups across the UK working to lobby their MPs. It currently has the support of 45 MPs and a number of Members of the European Parliament.
Act Now is working with a number of charities, including White Pigeon, Tamil Health Organisation, Tamil Aid, Technical Association of Tamils and the Tamil Support Foundation, to send the medical and food supplies to Sri Lanka.
* A list of collection sites can obtained by request, it includes addresses in Edmonton, Ilford, East Ham, Lewisham, Bromley and Woolwich.
For further information, please contact:
Tim Martin, director, Act Now
Tel: 07817 504227
Email: info.actnow@gmail.com
Site: www.act-now.info
Graham Williamson, director, Act Now
Tel: 07970455445
Email: info.actnow@gmail.com
Site: http://www.act-now.info
Saturday, March 28, 2009
PSYCHO SOCIAL CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE WANNI REGION
Global order' experiments with body and mind of Vanni civilians
[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 March 2009, 01:17 GMT]
To what extent human beings can survive under extreme conditions was a Nazi research on the ‘dispensable Jews’ of the concentration camps, to find out the levels of extremity the human body and mind can withstand. Academic and professional circles raise an alarm that the Colombo government and the abetting powers, in experimenting political cum military effectiveness of their local and global order through a no-witness genocidal war, are probably at such a research with the Eezham Tamils. "Whether a humanitarian catastrophe faced by them is deliberately ignored by the international community and whether the instruments of humanitarian intervention have given up Vanni people for good," ask Dr. J. Sivamanoharan and S. Edmond Reginold, professionals of mental health working in Vanni.
The professionals of the Psycho Social Co-ordinating Committee of the Vanni Region have come out with a first hand report, Friday, on the alarming mental health conditions of the civilians in the so-called safe zone in Vanni.
Recently a British parliamentarian said that she had never heard of the need of bunkers in a ‘safe zone’.
The report of the professionals is a true story of the trauma of a people, who are forced to live day and night in the bunkers, amidst torrents of SLA shelling and hundreds becoming casualty everyday. All forms of religious rituals to the deceased are abandoned, the report said.
“Many are losing their zest for life and suicidal ideations are widely found”, the report said on the situation, where patients lack medical care and people see their beloved ones pathetically killed in front of their eyes.
“Children seem to have outgrown their youth state. The games they play have military connotations and this is a very unhealthy symptom”, the report said touching a significant point on the mental condition of children.
Scores of children are killed everyday in government shelling, witnessed by these children.
The most dangerous phase of the experiment is the use of terror at a 'safe zone' by a government abetted by powers, in order to imprison the civilians and send them to internment camps for further experiments, said an academic specialized in refugee studies.
The academic also hinted at the connotations behind India starting a military hospital instead of a civilian one at Pulmoaddai. It shows the angle from which they want to experiment with the civilian issue of Vanni, he said.
Full text of the report follows:
PSYCHO SOCIAL CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE WANNI REGION
Maththalan,
Mullaitheevu
Sri Lanka
27th March, 2009
THE PSYCHOSOCIAL SITUATION OF CIVILIANS
LIVING IN THE WAR ZONE IN WANNI, SRI LANKA
A very intensive and fierce war is currently being fought between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam, in Wanni in the North of Sri Lanka. As a result of this intense war more than 330,000 internally displaced people are forced to live in a very narrow coastal stretch which is roughly twelve kilometers long and one and a half kilometers wide. This coastal area, stretching from Maththalan to Mullivaikkal, has been unilaterally declared by the Sri Lankan Government as a ‘no fire zone’.
More than 3000 people have already been killed and more than seven thousand have been injured as a result of shelling which includes artillery, multi barrel, cluster and mortar shells and long range gun fire carried out by the forces of the Sri Lankan Government into the so called ‘no fire zone’. The number of casualties caused by the shelling is quite high since a population which is more than 330,000 is forced to live in a very small area which is less than 30 square kilo meters. It is admitted that this coastal belt is inhospitable and quite unfit for human habitation.
The situation of the civilians living in this war-torn area is further affected by the acute shortage of food prevailing in the same area. The people living here depend totally on food items brought into this area by the ICRC. Sixteen civilian deaths caused by starvation have already been reported by the hospital at Maththalan. The medical institutions functioning in this area are unable to treat the hundreds of civilians who are injured by shelling which takes place within the no fire zone daily as hardly any medicine is available at this makeshift hospital.
It is a very challenging task to assess and to articulate the psychological and the psychosocial impact of the war on the civilians living currently in Wanni. Many families have already lost one or more of their loved ones due to shelling and air attacks. Thousands of civilians have been wounded by shelling and more than five thousand wounded civilians have already been transferred to hospitals in Government controlled areas for further treatment.
Since indiscriminate shelling is carried out within the ‘no fire zone’, the civilians here live with continuous fear of being either killed or being injured by the explosion of artillery and other type of shells. Most of the people spend their days and nights in safety bunkers in order to protect themselves from the horrifying shelling carried out in this area.
State of Children
Sixty five thousand school going children are being affected by this prolonged war as 288 schools failed to reopen in Wanni from the beginning of the current year. Roughly 7800 children who should have been admitted to grade one this year have lost the chance of beginning their education while 13,000 pre-school children have lost the opportunity of gaining pre-school education.
Parents who are affected by the present war situation tend to vent their stress on their children. Spanking of children has increased since many children have become restless due to lack of educational facilities and play activities. Leaving behind their homes, schools and friends has deeply affected these children. Children seem to have outgrown their youth state. The games they play have military connotations and this is a very unhealthy symptom.
Due to scarcity of food and especially due to lack of nutritious food normal physical and mental development of children are affected. Because of the traumatic experiences that mothers go through as a result of the war there is the danger of many children being born in the future with many physical and mental deficiencies. It is recorded that infant mortality rate is high in Wanni. As far as the hospital records are aware of, number of children admitted and dismissed as dead in the period between 1st January, 2009 to date is 128. But the fact remains that many children have not been admitted to hospital and have met their deaths in their own homes and have been quietly buried. In a sense the hospital records are incomplete.
Many children are traumatized by witnessing their loved ones either being killed or being injured by shelling. Many families and children were not able to express their grief normally when their loved ones were killed by shelling since they had to hurriedly leave those places in order protect their own lives. It is important to remember that the Tamil society has elaborate rituals to help people grieve the loss of their loved ones. The most remarkable observation is that all forms of religious burial services have been given up totally.
Care of the elderly and people with special needs
The elderly have become very vulnerable to disease because of the acute shortage of food and lack of medical facilities. Due to the intense war many elderly people have been abandoned by their children and many families are separated permanently resulting in social chaos.
There are several institutions in Wanni that care for children, the elderly, unwed mothers, people with learning disabilities and the mentally ill. In spite of the ongoing war these institutions were doing their best in taking care of their members. But Currently those who manage these institutions are struggling to provide adequate food and other necessities to those in their care. Even these institutions are undergoing military attack indiscriminately.
It is quite important to take into consideration that we are dealing with a society which has already been affected by a three decade long war and the Tsunami which devastated the coastal belt of South Asia and Sri Lanka in December 2004. People who had their own houses are now forced to live a subhuman life under tarpaulin sheets, exposed to extreme heat, in an area that is not at all conducive for the existence of a large number of people.
Having gone through multiple displacements in a short period of time, the people in Wanni are left with depleted financial resources. The people here pass each moment fearing the explosions of destructive shells. They are forced to witness their loved ones being killed and injured. There is no medicine and no medical facilities to treat the injured. Due to acute scarcity of food the prices of food items have skyrocketed and finding food has become a very challenging task. This is a looming starvation situation.
The unending war, indiscriminate shelling, acute shortage of food, lack of medicine and medical facilities and the inability to fulfill the basic needs of life such as having proper toilette facilities have deeply affected the physical and psychological wellbeing of civilians now living in this war zone. A strong sense of frustration has crept in among the people living in Wanni as they are forced to face an extremely trying situation.
Due to stressors caused by this ongoing war, the people have become quite anxious and impatient and manifestation of mutual anger and irritation are easily observed on the roads, in public places and in family relationships. Many civilians have been treated for clinical depression and for anxiety disorders at the mental health unit at Maththalan hospital. Many are losing their zest for life and suicidal ideations are widely found among these patients. Since many are going through traumatic experiences, there is the danger of more patients to be identified with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
In addition to the untold hardships faced by the Tamil civilians living in the war zone, what is most painful for these people is the failure of the international community to intervene effectively in this conflict and the failure to bring an end to their suffering. The question that haunts the minds of these 330.000 people facing the brunt of war is “ whether a humanitarian catastrophe faced by them is deliberately ignored by the international community and whether the instruments of humanitarian intervention have given up Wanni people for good?
Dr.J.Sivamanoharan
Acting Doctor in charge
Mental Health Unit
Maththalan Hospital
S.Edmund Reginald o.m.i.
Co-ordinator
Psychosocial Co-ordinating Committee
Wanni Region
Related Articles:
28.03.09 179 civilians including 76 children killed within 3 days ins..
[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 March 2009, 01:17 GMT]
To what extent human beings can survive under extreme conditions was a Nazi research on the ‘dispensable Jews’ of the concentration camps, to find out the levels of extremity the human body and mind can withstand. Academic and professional circles raise an alarm that the Colombo government and the abetting powers, in experimenting political cum military effectiveness of their local and global order through a no-witness genocidal war, are probably at such a research with the Eezham Tamils. "Whether a humanitarian catastrophe faced by them is deliberately ignored by the international community and whether the instruments of humanitarian intervention have given up Vanni people for good," ask Dr. J. Sivamanoharan and S. Edmond Reginold, professionals of mental health working in Vanni.
The professionals of the Psycho Social Co-ordinating Committee of the Vanni Region have come out with a first hand report, Friday, on the alarming mental health conditions of the civilians in the so-called safe zone in Vanni.
Recently a British parliamentarian said that she had never heard of the need of bunkers in a ‘safe zone’.
The report of the professionals is a true story of the trauma of a people, who are forced to live day and night in the bunkers, amidst torrents of SLA shelling and hundreds becoming casualty everyday. All forms of religious rituals to the deceased are abandoned, the report said.
“Many are losing their zest for life and suicidal ideations are widely found”, the report said on the situation, where patients lack medical care and people see their beloved ones pathetically killed in front of their eyes.
“Children seem to have outgrown their youth state. The games they play have military connotations and this is a very unhealthy symptom”, the report said touching a significant point on the mental condition of children.
Scores of children are killed everyday in government shelling, witnessed by these children.
The most dangerous phase of the experiment is the use of terror at a 'safe zone' by a government abetted by powers, in order to imprison the civilians and send them to internment camps for further experiments, said an academic specialized in refugee studies.
The academic also hinted at the connotations behind India starting a military hospital instead of a civilian one at Pulmoaddai. It shows the angle from which they want to experiment with the civilian issue of Vanni, he said.
Full text of the report follows:
PSYCHO SOCIAL CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE WANNI REGION
Maththalan,
Mullaitheevu
Sri Lanka
27th March, 2009
THE PSYCHOSOCIAL SITUATION OF CIVILIANS
LIVING IN THE WAR ZONE IN WANNI, SRI LANKA
A very intensive and fierce war is currently being fought between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam, in Wanni in the North of Sri Lanka. As a result of this intense war more than 330,000 internally displaced people are forced to live in a very narrow coastal stretch which is roughly twelve kilometers long and one and a half kilometers wide. This coastal area, stretching from Maththalan to Mullivaikkal, has been unilaterally declared by the Sri Lankan Government as a ‘no fire zone’.
More than 3000 people have already been killed and more than seven thousand have been injured as a result of shelling which includes artillery, multi barrel, cluster and mortar shells and long range gun fire carried out by the forces of the Sri Lankan Government into the so called ‘no fire zone’. The number of casualties caused by the shelling is quite high since a population which is more than 330,000 is forced to live in a very small area which is less than 30 square kilo meters. It is admitted that this coastal belt is inhospitable and quite unfit for human habitation.
The situation of the civilians living in this war-torn area is further affected by the acute shortage of food prevailing in the same area. The people living here depend totally on food items brought into this area by the ICRC. Sixteen civilian deaths caused by starvation have already been reported by the hospital at Maththalan. The medical institutions functioning in this area are unable to treat the hundreds of civilians who are injured by shelling which takes place within the no fire zone daily as hardly any medicine is available at this makeshift hospital.
It is a very challenging task to assess and to articulate the psychological and the psychosocial impact of the war on the civilians living currently in Wanni. Many families have already lost one or more of their loved ones due to shelling and air attacks. Thousands of civilians have been wounded by shelling and more than five thousand wounded civilians have already been transferred to hospitals in Government controlled areas for further treatment.
Since indiscriminate shelling is carried out within the ‘no fire zone’, the civilians here live with continuous fear of being either killed or being injured by the explosion of artillery and other type of shells. Most of the people spend their days and nights in safety bunkers in order to protect themselves from the horrifying shelling carried out in this area.
State of Children
Sixty five thousand school going children are being affected by this prolonged war as 288 schools failed to reopen in Wanni from the beginning of the current year. Roughly 7800 children who should have been admitted to grade one this year have lost the chance of beginning their education while 13,000 pre-school children have lost the opportunity of gaining pre-school education.
Parents who are affected by the present war situation tend to vent their stress on their children. Spanking of children has increased since many children have become restless due to lack of educational facilities and play activities. Leaving behind their homes, schools and friends has deeply affected these children. Children seem to have outgrown their youth state. The games they play have military connotations and this is a very unhealthy symptom.
Due to scarcity of food and especially due to lack of nutritious food normal physical and mental development of children are affected. Because of the traumatic experiences that mothers go through as a result of the war there is the danger of many children being born in the future with many physical and mental deficiencies. It is recorded that infant mortality rate is high in Wanni. As far as the hospital records are aware of, number of children admitted and dismissed as dead in the period between 1st January, 2009 to date is 128. But the fact remains that many children have not been admitted to hospital and have met their deaths in their own homes and have been quietly buried. In a sense the hospital records are incomplete.
Many children are traumatized by witnessing their loved ones either being killed or being injured by shelling. Many families and children were not able to express their grief normally when their loved ones were killed by shelling since they had to hurriedly leave those places in order protect their own lives. It is important to remember that the Tamil society has elaborate rituals to help people grieve the loss of their loved ones. The most remarkable observation is that all forms of religious burial services have been given up totally.
Care of the elderly and people with special needs
The elderly have become very vulnerable to disease because of the acute shortage of food and lack of medical facilities. Due to the intense war many elderly people have been abandoned by their children and many families are separated permanently resulting in social chaos.
There are several institutions in Wanni that care for children, the elderly, unwed mothers, people with learning disabilities and the mentally ill. In spite of the ongoing war these institutions were doing their best in taking care of their members. But Currently those who manage these institutions are struggling to provide adequate food and other necessities to those in their care. Even these institutions are undergoing military attack indiscriminately.
It is quite important to take into consideration that we are dealing with a society which has already been affected by a three decade long war and the Tsunami which devastated the coastal belt of South Asia and Sri Lanka in December 2004. People who had their own houses are now forced to live a subhuman life under tarpaulin sheets, exposed to extreme heat, in an area that is not at all conducive for the existence of a large number of people.
Having gone through multiple displacements in a short period of time, the people in Wanni are left with depleted financial resources. The people here pass each moment fearing the explosions of destructive shells. They are forced to witness their loved ones being killed and injured. There is no medicine and no medical facilities to treat the injured. Due to acute scarcity of food the prices of food items have skyrocketed and finding food has become a very challenging task. This is a looming starvation situation.
The unending war, indiscriminate shelling, acute shortage of food, lack of medicine and medical facilities and the inability to fulfill the basic needs of life such as having proper toilette facilities have deeply affected the physical and psychological wellbeing of civilians now living in this war zone. A strong sense of frustration has crept in among the people living in Wanni as they are forced to face an extremely trying situation.
Due to stressors caused by this ongoing war, the people have become quite anxious and impatient and manifestation of mutual anger and irritation are easily observed on the roads, in public places and in family relationships. Many civilians have been treated for clinical depression and for anxiety disorders at the mental health unit at Maththalan hospital. Many are losing their zest for life and suicidal ideations are widely found among these patients. Since many are going through traumatic experiences, there is the danger of more patients to be identified with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
In addition to the untold hardships faced by the Tamil civilians living in the war zone, what is most painful for these people is the failure of the international community to intervene effectively in this conflict and the failure to bring an end to their suffering. The question that haunts the minds of these 330.000 people facing the brunt of war is “ whether a humanitarian catastrophe faced by them is deliberately ignored by the international community and whether the instruments of humanitarian intervention have given up Wanni people for good?
Dr.J.Sivamanoharan
Acting Doctor in charge
Mental Health Unit
Maththalan Hospital
S.Edmund Reginald o.m.i.
Co-ordinator
Psychosocial Co-ordinating Committee
Wanni Region
Related Articles:
28.03.09 179 civilians including 76 children killed within 3 days ins..
Veil of secrecy over IMF talks with Sri Lanka
Veil of secrecy over IMF talks with Sri Lanka
A veil of secrecy has been cast over 'serious' talks an IMF mission started this week with the Sri Lankan government on the latter's request for a standby facility of $1.9 billion, senior Central Bank (CB) officials said.
At the same time, the CB was preparing to meet with the Board of Investment (BOI), the Labour Ministry, the Finance Ministry and other connected institutions on Wednesday to discuss the situation facing small and medium enterprises (SME) industries arising out of the global financial crisis and local uncertainty.
The CB was tight-lipped about the discussions with the IMF. "We have agreed with the IMF not to make any statement (unless jointly agreed to)," CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said yesterday, when asked for details of what was happening.
CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal
Mr. Cabraal returned to Colombo on Monday after talks in Washington with IMF officials on the standby facility. Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa was also 'informally' involved in some of the discussions, the sources said.
The six-member IMF team led by Kalpana Kochar, Deputy Director of the Asia Division, arrived last Sunday and began discussions on Monday with the CB and Finance Ministry officials. The visiting delegation is expected to be here next week too and will then report to the IMF board by around early April on the loan requirement.
The IMF is returning to the Sri Lankan stage after it closed its Colombo office in 2007. The government two weeks ago requested support from the IMF, saying it would come under a new window available for countries caught up in the global crisis – a facility which did not have too many harsh conditions as in the past.
The IMF, in a March 24 statement about revamping its lending procedures to help countries at risk, said a key element in the new reforms was in 'modernizing conditionality'.
It said the fund aimed to ensure that conditions linked to IMF loan disbursements were focused and adequately tailored to the varying strengths of members' policies and fundamentals (there have been criticisms in the past that some IMF loans had too many conditions that were insufficiently focused on core objectives).
"This modernization is to be achieved by relying more on pre-set qualification criteria (ex-ante conditionality) rather than on traditional (ex post) conditionality. In addition, structural reforms will from now on be monitored in the context of program reviews, rather than through the use of structural performance criteria, which will be discontinued in all Fund arrangements, including those with low-income countries," the statement said.
An economist, who declined to be named, said this provided a hint about what conditions would be seen in the loan to Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the President was not present or did not host a dinner meeting as reported in The Sunday Times on March 8 at which a group of business leaders briefed an earlier IMF team on the Sri Lankan situation. The meeting was held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.
Opposition politicians and some economists have said there will be the normal stiff IMF conditions with the facility that the government hopes to get. The government has disagreed with these views. Yesterday Mr Cabraal declined to comment on these issues.
However, discussing next week's meeting on the issues faced by SMEs, he said that there were various issues faced by small and medium industrialists. "They have a variety of problems and different issues -- some relating to the crisis and some not. Some say they have a problem; some don't. We want to first study the problems and issues and then consider what kind of support is needed," he added.
Small industry experts say some small business units have closed and staff laid off or in other cases, work reduced and wages cut or overtime suspended in view of rising costs and lower business connected in many ways to the global crisis.
The garment industry for example has sought a 5-day working week to reduce costs of working on a Saturday as export orders are drying up. In some cases, factories are planning to give an extended April holiday to staff.
Govt. seeks Rs. 150 b. for spending
A parliamentary request to increase the borrowings limit on Treasury Bills by an additional Rs 150 billion, from the current limit of Rs 600 billion, is essentially to fund rising government spending, economists said.
Listed as a motion in the Parliamentary order paper for April 7, the Prime Minister is seeking authorization to borrow an additional Rs 150 billion through the issue of Treasury Bills in addition to what has already been issued. Any increase in Treasury Bills limits must be approved by the legislature.
Economists said government spending was increasing on many fronts including the war -- not keeping pace with revenue returns.
A veil of secrecy has been cast over 'serious' talks an IMF mission started this week with the Sri Lankan government on the latter's request for a standby facility of $1.9 billion, senior Central Bank (CB) officials said.
At the same time, the CB was preparing to meet with the Board of Investment (BOI), the Labour Ministry, the Finance Ministry and other connected institutions on Wednesday to discuss the situation facing small and medium enterprises (SME) industries arising out of the global financial crisis and local uncertainty.
The CB was tight-lipped about the discussions with the IMF. "We have agreed with the IMF not to make any statement (unless jointly agreed to)," CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said yesterday, when asked for details of what was happening.
CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal
Mr. Cabraal returned to Colombo on Monday after talks in Washington with IMF officials on the standby facility. Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa was also 'informally' involved in some of the discussions, the sources said.
The six-member IMF team led by Kalpana Kochar, Deputy Director of the Asia Division, arrived last Sunday and began discussions on Monday with the CB and Finance Ministry officials. The visiting delegation is expected to be here next week too and will then report to the IMF board by around early April on the loan requirement.
The IMF is returning to the Sri Lankan stage after it closed its Colombo office in 2007. The government two weeks ago requested support from the IMF, saying it would come under a new window available for countries caught up in the global crisis – a facility which did not have too many harsh conditions as in the past.
The IMF, in a March 24 statement about revamping its lending procedures to help countries at risk, said a key element in the new reforms was in 'modernizing conditionality'.
It said the fund aimed to ensure that conditions linked to IMF loan disbursements were focused and adequately tailored to the varying strengths of members' policies and fundamentals (there have been criticisms in the past that some IMF loans had too many conditions that were insufficiently focused on core objectives).
"This modernization is to be achieved by relying more on pre-set qualification criteria (ex-ante conditionality) rather than on traditional (ex post) conditionality. In addition, structural reforms will from now on be monitored in the context of program reviews, rather than through the use of structural performance criteria, which will be discontinued in all Fund arrangements, including those with low-income countries," the statement said.
An economist, who declined to be named, said this provided a hint about what conditions would be seen in the loan to Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the President was not present or did not host a dinner meeting as reported in The Sunday Times on March 8 at which a group of business leaders briefed an earlier IMF team on the Sri Lankan situation. The meeting was held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.
Opposition politicians and some economists have said there will be the normal stiff IMF conditions with the facility that the government hopes to get. The government has disagreed with these views. Yesterday Mr Cabraal declined to comment on these issues.
However, discussing next week's meeting on the issues faced by SMEs, he said that there were various issues faced by small and medium industrialists. "They have a variety of problems and different issues -- some relating to the crisis and some not. Some say they have a problem; some don't. We want to first study the problems and issues and then consider what kind of support is needed," he added.
Small industry experts say some small business units have closed and staff laid off or in other cases, work reduced and wages cut or overtime suspended in view of rising costs and lower business connected in many ways to the global crisis.
The garment industry for example has sought a 5-day working week to reduce costs of working on a Saturday as export orders are drying up. In some cases, factories are planning to give an extended April holiday to staff.
Govt. seeks Rs. 150 b. for spending
A parliamentary request to increase the borrowings limit on Treasury Bills by an additional Rs 150 billion, from the current limit of Rs 600 billion, is essentially to fund rising government spending, economists said.
Listed as a motion in the Parliamentary order paper for April 7, the Prime Minister is seeking authorization to borrow an additional Rs 150 billion through the issue of Treasury Bills in addition to what has already been issued. Any increase in Treasury Bills limits must be approved by the legislature.
Economists said government spending was increasing on many fronts including the war -- not keeping pace with revenue returns.
US Group notifies IMF, US Treasury of filing complaint
US Group notifies IMF, US Treasury of filing complaint
[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 March 2009, 13:42 GMT]
Counsel for the US-based activist group, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), in a letter addressed to Secretary of the US Treasury, Timothy Geithner, and to the US Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Meg Lundsager, Friday, said that TAG will be filing a complaint Monday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia "to obtain a declaratory judgment that a failure of the United States to oppose Sri Lanka’s pending $1.9 billion IMF loan application would constitute a violation of 22 U.S.C. 262d."
* Letter to the IMF, US Treasury
The letter further said: "[t]he lawsuit will be withdrawn at any time the Plaintiff receives a written commitment from you that the United States will oppose Sri Lanka’s pending $1.9 billion IMF loan request."
The complaint asserts: "[i]f Sri Lanka is denied its $1.9 billion loan request by the IMF, it is reasonably likely that its pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights will diminish or end in order to qualify for IMF funding under section 262d; or, the GOSL would be financially disabled from continuing its pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. The GOSL is especially vulnerable to economic sanctions at present because its economy is severely ailing."
"The IMF team would present a report on its review mission to the board of the Fund by the middle of next month [April] and, once approved, the first tranche would be released on the same day," Sri Lanka's weekly Sunday Times said last week, quoting a senior Central Bank official.
But, Inner City Press in a report said Sri Lanka officials have requested the IMF to make the decision on the loan by the 31st of March.
end:
T4J sources have confirmed the IMF funds would be available only after the 15th of May, because the process is going to be long drawn.
The loan will be conditioned upon stringent conditions which has not been finalized or negotiated. There is severe resistance by the GOSL on the conditions that are being discussed.
"In conclusion " Beggars cannot be choosers" is the message of the day.
Chronology:
28.03.09 US Group notifies IMF, US Treasury of filing compl..
22.03.09 US Group to file court action against US vote on I..
14.03.09 Fein invites Patton Boggs for debate at Press Club
06.02.09 Fonseka, Gotabaya Genocide charges filed with US J..
24.01.09 Intent of Genocide provable in Sri Lanka - Fein
16.12.08 Fein responds: Professorial Nonsense on Stilts
14.12.08 Fein: Genocide charges against Sri Lanka officials..
20.08.08 Sri Lanka officials complicit in Tamil Genocide? -..
20.06.08 Fein seeks action against Sri Lanka officials
08.06.08 Fein seeks SL Defence Ministry approval to visit S..
03.06.08 "Plucked peace flower"- Washington Times
26.05.08 Fein: Hold referendum to test support for Tamil St..
20.05.08 International Law, Human Rights will salute Tamil ..
26.03.08 U.S. Rights report fortifies moral, legal entitlem..
28.02.08 Bruce Fein: Independence promotes stability
23.02.08 Fein challenges SL Ambassador on "right to secessi..
16.02.08 Justification for Tamil statehood compelling under..
29.01.08 Bruce Fein: U.S. Declaration of Independence valid..
Related Articles:
21.03.09 US Tamils protest against IMF loan to Sri Lanka
19.03.09 US support to IMF's Sri Lanka loan illegal – Prof. Boyle
24.02.09 US Subcommittee to hear genocide charges against Sri Lanka
19.01.09 Sri Lanka denies FX crisis, banks on 'patriotic Diaspora'
10.10.08 Sri Lanka fiscally vulnerable, says World Bank
External Links:
BBC: Sri Lanka plays hardball with IMF
ICP: On Sri Lanka, UN Official Describes "Nightmare Scenario," Treaty Official "Knows Better"
ICP: Sri Lanka Set for Security Council Dialogue in UN Basement, Beslan Analogy
ICP: At Sri Lanka Dialogue of UN Council, Photos on Wall, Press in the Hall
HRW: Letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sri Lanka's Emergency Support Loan Request
ICP: At UN, Sri Lanka Accused of Shelling Civilians, "Friendly Censure," LTTE Condemned
[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 March 2009, 13:42 GMT]
Counsel for the US-based activist group, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), in a letter addressed to Secretary of the US Treasury, Timothy Geithner, and to the US Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Meg Lundsager, Friday, said that TAG will be filing a complaint Monday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia "to obtain a declaratory judgment that a failure of the United States to oppose Sri Lanka’s pending $1.9 billion IMF loan application would constitute a violation of 22 U.S.C. 262d."
* Letter to the IMF, US Treasury
The letter further said: "[t]he lawsuit will be withdrawn at any time the Plaintiff receives a written commitment from you that the United States will oppose Sri Lanka’s pending $1.9 billion IMF loan request."
The complaint asserts: "[i]f Sri Lanka is denied its $1.9 billion loan request by the IMF, it is reasonably likely that its pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights will diminish or end in order to qualify for IMF funding under section 262d; or, the GOSL would be financially disabled from continuing its pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. The GOSL is especially vulnerable to economic sanctions at present because its economy is severely ailing."
"The IMF team would present a report on its review mission to the board of the Fund by the middle of next month [April] and, once approved, the first tranche would be released on the same day," Sri Lanka's weekly Sunday Times said last week, quoting a senior Central Bank official.
But, Inner City Press in a report said Sri Lanka officials have requested the IMF to make the decision on the loan by the 31st of March.
end:
T4J sources have confirmed the IMF funds would be available only after the 15th of May, because the process is going to be long drawn.
The loan will be conditioned upon stringent conditions which has not been finalized or negotiated. There is severe resistance by the GOSL on the conditions that are being discussed.
"In conclusion " Beggars cannot be choosers" is the message of the day.
Chronology:
28.03.09 US Group notifies IMF, US Treasury of filing compl..
22.03.09 US Group to file court action against US vote on I..
14.03.09 Fein invites Patton Boggs for debate at Press Club
06.02.09 Fonseka, Gotabaya Genocide charges filed with US J..
24.01.09 Intent of Genocide provable in Sri Lanka - Fein
16.12.08 Fein responds: Professorial Nonsense on Stilts
14.12.08 Fein: Genocide charges against Sri Lanka officials..
20.08.08 Sri Lanka officials complicit in Tamil Genocide? -..
20.06.08 Fein seeks action against Sri Lanka officials
08.06.08 Fein seeks SL Defence Ministry approval to visit S..
03.06.08 "Plucked peace flower"- Washington Times
26.05.08 Fein: Hold referendum to test support for Tamil St..
20.05.08 International Law, Human Rights will salute Tamil ..
26.03.08 U.S. Rights report fortifies moral, legal entitlem..
28.02.08 Bruce Fein: Independence promotes stability
23.02.08 Fein challenges SL Ambassador on "right to secessi..
16.02.08 Justification for Tamil statehood compelling under..
29.01.08 Bruce Fein: U.S. Declaration of Independence valid..
Related Articles:
21.03.09 US Tamils protest against IMF loan to Sri Lanka
19.03.09 US support to IMF's Sri Lanka loan illegal – Prof. Boyle
24.02.09 US Subcommittee to hear genocide charges against Sri Lanka
19.01.09 Sri Lanka denies FX crisis, banks on 'patriotic Diaspora'
10.10.08 Sri Lanka fiscally vulnerable, says World Bank
External Links:
BBC: Sri Lanka plays hardball with IMF
ICP: On Sri Lanka, UN Official Describes "Nightmare Scenario," Treaty Official "Knows Better"
ICP: Sri Lanka Set for Security Council Dialogue in UN Basement, Beslan Analogy
ICP: At Sri Lanka Dialogue of UN Council, Photos on Wall, Press in the Hall
HRW: Letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sri Lanka's Emergency Support Loan Request
ICP: At UN, Sri Lanka Accused of Shelling Civilians, "Friendly Censure," LTTE Condemned
Asia media forum honours late Lasantha
Asia media forum honours late Lasantha
Saturday, March 28, 2009 Leave a Comment
(March 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Lasantha Wickremathunga, the slain editor in chief of the Leader Publications, was posthumously presented a special award by the Asia Media Forum.
The award was presented for 'A brave Asian journalist from Sri Lanka for sacrificing his life for the freedom of the press'.
Sonali Wickremathunga, widow of Lasantha Wickremathunga, in a statement said that Lasantha, in addition to being outspoken on human rights issues, espoused a peaceful negotiated resolution to the conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities and was strongly critical of corruption within the government.
While thanking the Asia Media Fourm for honouring Lasantha with the special award, Sonali Wickremathunga noted that for those who continue to fight for freedom, the road ahead would be steep but stated that 'We have to move on'.
She went on to say that it should be done to all journalists killed in the line of duty, for ourselves and the future of our children.
Sonali Wickremathunga further stated that Lasantha had many dreams including the emergence of a classless society, media that existed in the public interest, politicians that worked for the public interest and a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict.
In her statement, the widow of Mr. Wickremathunga added that her husband had died in the pursuit of his dream and so did Martin Luther King.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 Leave a Comment
(March 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Lasantha Wickremathunga, the slain editor in chief of the Leader Publications, was posthumously presented a special award by the Asia Media Forum.
The award was presented for 'A brave Asian journalist from Sri Lanka for sacrificing his life for the freedom of the press'.
Sonali Wickremathunga, widow of Lasantha Wickremathunga, in a statement said that Lasantha, in addition to being outspoken on human rights issues, espoused a peaceful negotiated resolution to the conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities and was strongly critical of corruption within the government.
While thanking the Asia Media Fourm for honouring Lasantha with the special award, Sonali Wickremathunga noted that for those who continue to fight for freedom, the road ahead would be steep but stated that 'We have to move on'.
She went on to say that it should be done to all journalists killed in the line of duty, for ourselves and the future of our children.
Sonali Wickremathunga further stated that Lasantha had many dreams including the emergence of a classless society, media that existed in the public interest, politicians that worked for the public interest and a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict.
In her statement, the widow of Mr. Wickremathunga added that her husband had died in the pursuit of his dream and so did Martin Luther King.
Friday, March 27, 2009
IMF Loan to Sri Lanka Should Not Serve "Quasi Military" Purpose, UN Official Says
IMF Loan to Sri Lanka Should Not Serve "Quasi Military" Purpose, UN Official Says
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- A day after the Sri Lankan government's as well as the Tamil Tigers' killing of civilians was criticized in a session of the Security Council, the purpose of its $1.9 billion loan request to the UN-affiliated International Monetary Fund was questioned at the UN.
Two weeks ago in Washington, Inner City Press asked IMF spokesman David Hawley to describe any safeguards that the loan proceeds wouldn't be used in connection with the government's military actions in north Sri Lanka or its detention camps for internally displaced people. Mr. Hawley said that negotiations were continuing.
Since then, the IMF has received extensive written opposition to the loan request as made, most of it quoting the Sri Lankan Central Bank's statement that the aim of the IMF loan is to "continue with the resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the Northern Province, and the continued rapid development of the Eastern Province," which it deems key "not only to uplift the living standards of the people in the areas affected by the decades long conflict, but also to successfully implement the government's efforts to bring a sustainable solution to the conflict."
UN's Jomo Kwame Sundaram, use of Sri Lanka's IMF loan not shown
On March 27, Inner City Press asked the UN's Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General on Economic Development at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, about Sri Lanka's application for an emergency loan from the IMF and the resulting controversy. He replied that IMF loans generally shouldn't be used for "military or quasi-military purposes." It seems clear that the government's "resettlement" camps serve a quasi military purpose. What then will happen on the loan request? Watch this site.
Footnotes: Inner City Press asked asked Jomo K.S., in the run-up to the G20 meeting in London, for his views on the different proposals of the Stiglitz Panel on which he serves and of Ban Ki-moon, whom as an ASG he also serves. His answer was a model of diplomacy, that the reason Ban would not repeat his $1 trillion call while at Wednesday's stakeout interview with Gordon Brown was that Ban was being "a gracious host."
Some opine that it's Gordon Brown that wants to be seen as saving the world. At Friday's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson if it is true that the World Bank's Bob Zoellick, who for more than a month has been promoting his own proposal that 0.7% of rich countries' stimulus packages be devoted to poor countries, called Ban to ask him to not come out with the trillion-dollar request. Ban's spokesperson said they had spoken, and that she would try to get a read-out. For now, an Inner City Press debate on these topic will appear over the weekend here.
Click here for Inner City Press March 12 UN (and AIG bailout) debate
Click here for Inner City Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click here for Feb. 12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- A day after the Sri Lankan government's as well as the Tamil Tigers' killing of civilians was criticized in a session of the Security Council, the purpose of its $1.9 billion loan request to the UN-affiliated International Monetary Fund was questioned at the UN.
Two weeks ago in Washington, Inner City Press asked IMF spokesman David Hawley to describe any safeguards that the loan proceeds wouldn't be used in connection with the government's military actions in north Sri Lanka or its detention camps for internally displaced people. Mr. Hawley said that negotiations were continuing.
Since then, the IMF has received extensive written opposition to the loan request as made, most of it quoting the Sri Lankan Central Bank's statement that the aim of the IMF loan is to "continue with the resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the Northern Province, and the continued rapid development of the Eastern Province," which it deems key "not only to uplift the living standards of the people in the areas affected by the decades long conflict, but also to successfully implement the government's efforts to bring a sustainable solution to the conflict."
UN's Jomo Kwame Sundaram, use of Sri Lanka's IMF loan not shown
On March 27, Inner City Press asked the UN's Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General on Economic Development at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, about Sri Lanka's application for an emergency loan from the IMF and the resulting controversy. He replied that IMF loans generally shouldn't be used for "military or quasi-military purposes." It seems clear that the government's "resettlement" camps serve a quasi military purpose. What then will happen on the loan request? Watch this site.
Footnotes: Inner City Press asked asked Jomo K.S., in the run-up to the G20 meeting in London, for his views on the different proposals of the Stiglitz Panel on which he serves and of Ban Ki-moon, whom as an ASG he also serves. His answer was a model of diplomacy, that the reason Ban would not repeat his $1 trillion call while at Wednesday's stakeout interview with Gordon Brown was that Ban was being "a gracious host."
Some opine that it's Gordon Brown that wants to be seen as saving the world. At Friday's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson if it is true that the World Bank's Bob Zoellick, who for more than a month has been promoting his own proposal that 0.7% of rich countries' stimulus packages be devoted to poor countries, called Ban to ask him to not come out with the trillion-dollar request. Ban's spokesperson said they had spoken, and that she would try to get a read-out. For now, an Inner City Press debate on these topic will appear over the weekend here.
Click here for Inner City Press March 12 UN (and AIG bailout) debate
Click here for Inner City Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click here for Feb. 12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Diaspora conference in London calls for immediate ceasefire with Des Browne participating.
Diaspora conference in London calls for immediate ceasefire
[TamilNet, Friday, 27 March 2009, 22:27 GMT]
45 Tamil dignitaries from 21 countries gathered in London on Wednesday and Thursday to resolve that an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka was essential and that humanitarian access to the Vanni should be permitted immediately. The delegates also said that the Eezham Tamils should determine their own destiny and emphasized that the people of the traditional Tamil homeland had not only given their democratic mandate to the homeland concept, but they also have reiterated that mandate at every juncture of their political discourse.
London Conference 26 March 2009
Des Browne sitting on the far right, with Sen Kandiah (British Tamil Forum), Mike Griffith (Union official) and Lord Falconer
Wednesday saw the delegates take part in an internal session, addressing issues such as the humanitarian tragedy, the genocidal war and the right to defend, the political processes of establishing legitimacy and the role of international actors in the conflict. Based on discussion papers, the delegates established their position on each of the four issues and shared them with the group.
At the end of Wednesday, a resolution was drafted that covered the main points the conference participants wished to be stressed. This resolution was then unanimously affirmed by a show of hands on Thursday.
London Conference 26 March 2009
Lord Falconer speaking at the diaspora conference in London
On Thursday, the delegates were addressed by distinguished speakers including American civil rights campaigner Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rt. Hon. Des Browne MP, the British Special Envoy to Sri Lanka. Other guests included Lord Falconer, Siobhan McDonagh MP, Simon Hughes MP, Keith Vaz MP and Sir Jimmy Saville.
Rev. Jackson spoke of the moral obligation to stop the killing and the need to bring “resolution and visibility” to the conflict in Sri Lanka.
Des Browne spoke of the numbers killed, saying that 70,000 was probably an understatement. He focused on the pressing need, which he identified as the humanitarian crisis, and the hundreds of thousands of Tamil caught in the conflict zone.
Stating that civilians must have the freedom to leave the conflict zone, Mr. Browne said the situation was made worse by the largest number of casualties occurring in the safe zones. He condemned “these acts of violence” and said that he expected the Sri Lankan government to investigate every death.
Siobhan McDonaugh MP
Siobhan McDonaugh MP addressing the delegates of the diaspora conference
The British government is doing everything it can to bring about a ceasefire since Prime Minister Gordon Brown mentioned it in January this year, he said.
Nothing that the intention in appointing the special envoy was to focus on the final solution and the humanitarian crisis, he expressed the disappointment of the UK government that Sri Lanka had turned down the appointment. He mentioned that he would be reaching out to Diaspora groups in order to continue his role as Special Envoy.
Stating that the UK does not wish to impose a solution – “that is for the Sri Lankans to decide” – Mr. Browne said that like Northern Ireland, the only viable solution is a political one, not a military one.
London Conference 26 March 2009
[L-R] Rev. Fr. S. J. Emmanuel, Jan Jananayagam and Ana Pararajasingham, addressing the press conference.
The conference ended with a press conference on Thursday afternoon, attended by many London based Tamil and international media representatives.
The conference resolution is reproduced in full below:
World Tamils Forum: London Conference, 26 March 2009
Conference Resolution
London Conference 26 March 2009
We, the 45 delegates from 21 countries at the Conference of World Tamils, having met and deliberated in London on the 25th and 26th day of March 2009:
* Are severely shocked and deeply concerned by the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Vanni and lack of any substantive reaction by the international community;
* Recognise that the Sri Lankan state is engaged in a genocide of the Tamil people of the island;
* Recognise that the Tamil people have the inalienable right to determine their own destiny;
* Recognise that the Tamil people have mandated the establishment of a free, sovereign state of Tamil Eelam as the only enduring solution;
* Recognise that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are the authentic representatives of the Tamil people;
And hereby we resolve that:
1. All killings and attacks of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan state must cease immediately;
2. Unimpeded humanitarian assistance to those in need in the Vanni must be allowed;
3. The United Nations, International Non-Governmental Organisations, and the ICRC must have unfettered humanitarian access to the Tamil population and be permitted to re-establish a permanent presence in the Vanni;
4. There must be an immediate ceasefire; and
5. Negotiations for a political solution to the conflict must begin immediately after the ceasefire, based on the principle of self determination of the Tamil people.
Chronology:
27.03.09 Jesse Jackson calls for ceasefire
27.03.09 Diaspora conference in London calls for immediate ..
[TamilNet, Friday, 27 March 2009, 22:27 GMT]
45 Tamil dignitaries from 21 countries gathered in London on Wednesday and Thursday to resolve that an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka was essential and that humanitarian access to the Vanni should be permitted immediately. The delegates also said that the Eezham Tamils should determine their own destiny and emphasized that the people of the traditional Tamil homeland had not only given their democratic mandate to the homeland concept, but they also have reiterated that mandate at every juncture of their political discourse.
London Conference 26 March 2009
Des Browne sitting on the far right, with Sen Kandiah (British Tamil Forum), Mike Griffith (Union official) and Lord Falconer
Wednesday saw the delegates take part in an internal session, addressing issues such as the humanitarian tragedy, the genocidal war and the right to defend, the political processes of establishing legitimacy and the role of international actors in the conflict. Based on discussion papers, the delegates established their position on each of the four issues and shared them with the group.
At the end of Wednesday, a resolution was drafted that covered the main points the conference participants wished to be stressed. This resolution was then unanimously affirmed by a show of hands on Thursday.
London Conference 26 March 2009
Lord Falconer speaking at the diaspora conference in London
On Thursday, the delegates were addressed by distinguished speakers including American civil rights campaigner Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rt. Hon. Des Browne MP, the British Special Envoy to Sri Lanka. Other guests included Lord Falconer, Siobhan McDonagh MP, Simon Hughes MP, Keith Vaz MP and Sir Jimmy Saville.
Rev. Jackson spoke of the moral obligation to stop the killing and the need to bring “resolution and visibility” to the conflict in Sri Lanka.
Des Browne spoke of the numbers killed, saying that 70,000 was probably an understatement. He focused on the pressing need, which he identified as the humanitarian crisis, and the hundreds of thousands of Tamil caught in the conflict zone.
Stating that civilians must have the freedom to leave the conflict zone, Mr. Browne said the situation was made worse by the largest number of casualties occurring in the safe zones. He condemned “these acts of violence” and said that he expected the Sri Lankan government to investigate every death.
Siobhan McDonaugh MP
Siobhan McDonaugh MP addressing the delegates of the diaspora conference
The British government is doing everything it can to bring about a ceasefire since Prime Minister Gordon Brown mentioned it in January this year, he said.
Nothing that the intention in appointing the special envoy was to focus on the final solution and the humanitarian crisis, he expressed the disappointment of the UK government that Sri Lanka had turned down the appointment. He mentioned that he would be reaching out to Diaspora groups in order to continue his role as Special Envoy.
Stating that the UK does not wish to impose a solution – “that is for the Sri Lankans to decide” – Mr. Browne said that like Northern Ireland, the only viable solution is a political one, not a military one.
London Conference 26 March 2009
[L-R] Rev. Fr. S. J. Emmanuel, Jan Jananayagam and Ana Pararajasingham, addressing the press conference.
The conference ended with a press conference on Thursday afternoon, attended by many London based Tamil and international media representatives.
The conference resolution is reproduced in full below:
World Tamils Forum: London Conference, 26 March 2009
Conference Resolution
London Conference 26 March 2009
We, the 45 delegates from 21 countries at the Conference of World Tamils, having met and deliberated in London on the 25th and 26th day of March 2009:
* Are severely shocked and deeply concerned by the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Vanni and lack of any substantive reaction by the international community;
* Recognise that the Sri Lankan state is engaged in a genocide of the Tamil people of the island;
* Recognise that the Tamil people have the inalienable right to determine their own destiny;
* Recognise that the Tamil people have mandated the establishment of a free, sovereign state of Tamil Eelam as the only enduring solution;
* Recognise that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are the authentic representatives of the Tamil people;
And hereby we resolve that:
1. All killings and attacks of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan state must cease immediately;
2. Unimpeded humanitarian assistance to those in need in the Vanni must be allowed;
3. The United Nations, International Non-Governmental Organisations, and the ICRC must have unfettered humanitarian access to the Tamil population and be permitted to re-establish a permanent presence in the Vanni;
4. There must be an immediate ceasefire; and
5. Negotiations for a political solution to the conflict must begin immediately after the ceasefire, based on the principle of self determination of the Tamil people.
Chronology:
27.03.09 Jesse Jackson calls for ceasefire
27.03.09 Diaspora conference in London calls for immediate ..
Jesse Jackson calls for ceasefire
Jesse Jackson calls for ceasefire
[TamilNet, Friday, 27 March 2009, 23:13 GMT]
Veteran American civil rights campaigner The Reverend Jesse Jackson, who addressed the diaspora Tamil conference in London on Thursday said that "we [the global community] have a moral obligation to stop the killings" in Sri Lanka. The American civil rights activist also raised the need to increase the international awareness of the crisis and asked what his organisation, the Rainbow Push Coalition could do to help. Rev. Jackson stated that the crisis can only be resolved by "thinking it out, and not by shooting it out." He called for a commitment to a ceasefire because “we cannot negotiate to the sound of bullets whizzing over our heads.”
“We know that there has to be a cessation of violence to get back to the table to resolve the conflict,” Rev Jackson said.
Rev Jesse Jackson
Rev Jesse Jackson
“Whenever there is human misery, whenever there is fear, we have a moral obligation,” he said. Saying that he was aware of the crisis in Sri Lanka, Rev Jackson asked “what can we do to help”.
Referring to the political accommodation that has been achieved in Northern Ireland, Rev. Jackson spoke about the achievements of the civil rights movement, including marches calling for an end to segregation and to free (Nelson) Mandela.
"I am convinced we have never lost a battle we fought, and never won a battle unless we fought," Rev Jackson said.
“There are those who still think that violence is a solution,” he said. “I believe it is not.”
Rev. Jackson said he was convinced that non-violence was strength, not weakness, because it required the use of the mind, not just missiles.
“I think our choices remain non-violence and co-existence,” he said. Referring to the increasingly connected world, Rev. Jackson said “if people know our story they will gravitate to the rightness of our cause.”
Rev Jesse Jackson
Rev Jesse Jackson
The Tamil family must seek some way of reconciliation over elimination, he said, “some plan to co-exist and not co-annihilate.”
Asking what his organisation can do to help, Rev Jackson said one reason for being at the conference was to get the Tamil story told. “Your witnesses must be able to testify,” he said, “and not be drowned out by the sound of bullets and the quiver of fear.”
He called on Tamils to define the help that they seek, saying that US Secretary of State Clinton had spoken and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had called for a ceasefire.
“What can the world do to get you back to the table and away from the battle field?” he asked, stressing the urgency about the matter.
When we fight these battles, there are some rules of the game, he said. “We must affirm international law, human rights, self-determination and economic justice.” With that fight comes the faith to fight on until the morning cometh, he said. “We must not give up.”
In our own country, not long ago, it was almost state-sanctioned terrorism, Rev Jackson said. It is not long ago that we made apartheid in our own country illegal. “We walked behind the caskets of the martyrs, the murdered and the marginalised.”
The reason America is where it is today is “because we didn’t give up; because we turned to each other, not on each other; because we kept reaching out; because we kept building coalitions; because we kept the faith; because we kept out hope alive.” This long process, of each victory leading to another victory and each struggle leading to another struggle, led to Barak Obama becoming the 44th President.
In Sri Lanka also, we need affirmation of respect for international law, human rights, self-determination and economic justice, he said.
“Let us choose negotiation. Let us work it out and not fight it out,” he said. “If the cause is right, you will prevail.”
“It means co-existence not co-annihilation. It means talking with both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil people. It means convincing all involved that beyond the pain on war is a peace that’s possible.”
“We must believe that peace with justice is possible,” Rev. Jackson said.
“We are interested in trying to bring visibility and resolution to this crisis,” Rev Jackson said, and volunteered that his organisation, Rainbow Coalition, would help in any way to achieve this.
“Hope matters, because if you can see beyond the situation, you can get where you see,” Rev Jackson said. “You must conceive it, believe it, achieve it.”
“We have a moral obligation to work together to stop the killing, to end the fear, to provide the hope,” he said.
Rev. Jesse Jackson concluded his speech by stating that “We must live to see the end of the crisis in Sri Lanka as another victory in our quest to make the world a better place in which to live.”
Chronology:
27.03.09 Jesse Jackson calls for ceasefire
27.03.09 Diaspora conference in London calls for immediate ..
[TamilNet, Friday, 27 March 2009, 23:13 GMT]
Veteran American civil rights campaigner The Reverend Jesse Jackson, who addressed the diaspora Tamil conference in London on Thursday said that "we [the global community] have a moral obligation to stop the killings" in Sri Lanka. The American civil rights activist also raised the need to increase the international awareness of the crisis and asked what his organisation, the Rainbow Push Coalition could do to help. Rev. Jackson stated that the crisis can only be resolved by "thinking it out, and not by shooting it out." He called for a commitment to a ceasefire because “we cannot negotiate to the sound of bullets whizzing over our heads.”
“We know that there has to be a cessation of violence to get back to the table to resolve the conflict,” Rev Jackson said.
Rev Jesse Jackson
Rev Jesse Jackson
“Whenever there is human misery, whenever there is fear, we have a moral obligation,” he said. Saying that he was aware of the crisis in Sri Lanka, Rev Jackson asked “what can we do to help”.
Referring to the political accommodation that has been achieved in Northern Ireland, Rev. Jackson spoke about the achievements of the civil rights movement, including marches calling for an end to segregation and to free (Nelson) Mandela.
"I am convinced we have never lost a battle we fought, and never won a battle unless we fought," Rev Jackson said.
“There are those who still think that violence is a solution,” he said. “I believe it is not.”
Rev. Jackson said he was convinced that non-violence was strength, not weakness, because it required the use of the mind, not just missiles.
“I think our choices remain non-violence and co-existence,” he said. Referring to the increasingly connected world, Rev. Jackson said “if people know our story they will gravitate to the rightness of our cause.”
Rev Jesse Jackson
Rev Jesse Jackson
The Tamil family must seek some way of reconciliation over elimination, he said, “some plan to co-exist and not co-annihilate.”
Asking what his organisation can do to help, Rev Jackson said one reason for being at the conference was to get the Tamil story told. “Your witnesses must be able to testify,” he said, “and not be drowned out by the sound of bullets and the quiver of fear.”
He called on Tamils to define the help that they seek, saying that US Secretary of State Clinton had spoken and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had called for a ceasefire.
“What can the world do to get you back to the table and away from the battle field?” he asked, stressing the urgency about the matter.
When we fight these battles, there are some rules of the game, he said. “We must affirm international law, human rights, self-determination and economic justice.” With that fight comes the faith to fight on until the morning cometh, he said. “We must not give up.”
In our own country, not long ago, it was almost state-sanctioned terrorism, Rev Jackson said. It is not long ago that we made apartheid in our own country illegal. “We walked behind the caskets of the martyrs, the murdered and the marginalised.”
The reason America is where it is today is “because we didn’t give up; because we turned to each other, not on each other; because we kept reaching out; because we kept building coalitions; because we kept the faith; because we kept out hope alive.” This long process, of each victory leading to another victory and each struggle leading to another struggle, led to Barak Obama becoming the 44th President.
In Sri Lanka also, we need affirmation of respect for international law, human rights, self-determination and economic justice, he said.
“Let us choose negotiation. Let us work it out and not fight it out,” he said. “If the cause is right, you will prevail.”
“It means co-existence not co-annihilation. It means talking with both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil people. It means convincing all involved that beyond the pain on war is a peace that’s possible.”
“We must believe that peace with justice is possible,” Rev. Jackson said.
“We are interested in trying to bring visibility and resolution to this crisis,” Rev Jackson said, and volunteered that his organisation, Rainbow Coalition, would help in any way to achieve this.
“Hope matters, because if you can see beyond the situation, you can get where you see,” Rev Jackson said. “You must conceive it, believe it, achieve it.”
“We have a moral obligation to work together to stop the killing, to end the fear, to provide the hope,” he said.
Rev. Jesse Jackson concluded his speech by stating that “We must live to see the end of the crisis in Sri Lanka as another victory in our quest to make the world a better place in which to live.”
Chronology:
27.03.09 Jesse Jackson calls for ceasefire
27.03.09 Diaspora conference in London calls for immediate ..
TAMIL EELAM STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
TAMIL EELAM STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
US, China, War in Sri Lanka & Diplomatic Posturing
Peter Symonds in World Socialist Website
24 March 2009
"Last week UN Security Council members Austria, Mexico and Costa Rica, backed by the US and Britain, called for an informal briefing on the humanitarian crisis facing tens of thousands of people trapped by the war in northern Sri Lanka. China, supported by Russia, blocked the move declaring that it was "an internal matter" for Sri Lanka and was not a threat to international security. None of this diplomatic posturing should be taken at face value. All of a sudden Washington has begun to express concern about the plight of tens of thousands of civilians caught in fighting as the Sri Lankan army closes ... The US media is now peddling a similar line.. Until recently, however, the US has quietly backed President Rajapakse, the war and the military's gross abuse of democratic rights. But as the army made rapid advances into the LTTE's remaining territory from early January and the defeat of the LTTE appeared likely, the US made a tactical shift. It began to call for a "political solution" to the conflict - a deal, not with the LTTE, but with sections of the Tamil elite.. The "humanitarian" issue has been raised as a means of pressuring the Rajapakse regime to make concessions... India and the US share another common concern - the growing influence of China in Sri Lanka.. Like the US, China's manoeuvring in the UN is guided by self-interest "
[see also International Dimensions of the Conflict in Sri Lanka - Nadesan Satyendra, 2 October 2007 quoting Adam Wolfe, Yevgeny Bendersky, Dr. Federico Bordonaro - India's Project Seabird and Indian Ocean's Balance of Power, PINR, 20 July 2005 “…the dynamics of the region calls for a balance of power approach rather than a straight alliance…. The rise of India as a major power, coupled with the better-known - and frequently analyzed - Chinese rise, is changing the structure of the world system. Not only is U.S. ‘unipolar’ hegemony in the Indian Ocean facing a challenge, but the strategic triad U.S.-Western Europe-Japan, which has ruled the international political economy for the past few decades, is now also under question…We can expect the South Asian region to be one of the system's key areas to be watched in the next decade.”
Diplomatic skirmishing in the UN Security Council between the US and China over the war in Sri Lanka underscores their growing rivalry in every corner of the globe. Both powers are intent on staking out their claims in Colombo as the 25-year conflict on the island reaches its climax.
Last week UN Security Council members Austria, Mexico and Costa Rica, backed by the US and Britain, called for an informal briefing on the humanitarian crisis facing tens of thousands of people trapped by the war in northern Sri Lanka. China, supported by Russia, blocked the move declaring that it was "an internal matter" for Sri Lanka and was not a threat to international security.
None of this diplomatic posturing should be taken at face value. All of a sudden Washington has begun to express concern about the plight of tens of thousands of civilians caught in fighting as the Sri Lankan army closes in on the remaining pocket of territory held by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The US media is now peddling a similar line. The New York Times, for instance, published an article on Sunday about the plight of refugees and the "challenges of peace". American ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake declared he was worried that the government was dominated by "certain hard-line Sinhalese elements" and appealed to President Mahinda Rajapakse to "reach out to the Tamil and Muslim communities".
The article described the "cold peace" in the island's eastern province, which has been firmly under army control since mid-2007. In Batticaloa, there are "army checkpoints in the town centre, armed thugs prowling back streets and continuing reports of abductions and disappearances."
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the president's brother, justified such police state measures, saying: "The war is like a cancer. Even after curing a cancer, there is a period for radiation treatment. It is the same with the war on terrorism."
Until recently, however, the US has quietly backed President Rajapakse, the war and the military's gross abuse of democratic rights. But as the army made rapid advances into the LTTE's remaining territory from early January and the defeat of the LTTE appeared likely, the US made a tactical shift. It began to call for a "political solution" to the conflict—a deal, not with the LTTE, but with sections of the Tamil elite to temper the decades of anti-Tamil discrimination that gave rise to the war.
Washington's concern is that ongoing communal tensions will not only destabilise Sri Lanka, but neighbouring India, which has become America's key economic and strategic partner in the South Asia. New Delhi is worried about the potential for political unrest to spill over in southern state of Tamil Nadu where Tamils have historic ties with Sri Lanka. The "humanitarian issue has been raised as a means of pressuring the Rajapakse regime to make concessions.
India and the US share another common concern—the growing influence of China in Sri Lanka. While India has had to be cautious in its support for the Sri Lankan war, China has provided military and financial aid to Colombo with no questions asked. Chinese sales of arms including fighter jets, sophisticated radar, anti-aircraft guns and other military hardware and munitions have helped tip the balance in the country's protracted civil war. Visiting last month, Defence Secretary Rajapakse thanked China for its "steadfast support" in strengthening the "war on terrorism".
China's decision to block a UN Security Council discussion was also welcomed by the Sri Lankan political establishment. An editorial in last weekend's Sunday Times denounced the mounting pressure "from the Western countries where there has been heavy lobbying by Sri Lankan expatriates and a group of international ‘bleeding hearts'. These moves in the UN, it declared, "have been shot down by Sri Lanka's steadfast ally in its war on terrorism—China."
Like the US, China's manoeuvring in the UN is guided by self-interest. Beijing conveniently forgot about its principle of "non-interference in internal affairs" when it came to the US interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the case of Sri Lanka, it has used the argument to curry favour in Colombo by blocking a UN debate and to defend its unconditional support for the government and its criminal war.
The pay-off for Beijing has been a $US1 billion deal with Colombo in 2007 to construct a major port facility in the southern town of Hambantota. The first stage of the project, being built by Chinese corporations and largely with Chinese finance, is due to be completed at the end of 2010. When completed it will include a container port, a bunkering system, an oil refinery, an airport and other facilities that are expected to transform Hambantota into a major transshipment hub.
The importance of the project for China is obvious. Hambantota on the southern tip of Sri Lanka is just six nautical miles from the main east-west trade route across the Indian Ocean. Around 70 percent of China's oil imports is shipped via this sea lane from the Middle East through the Strait of Malacca to Chinese ports. Acutely aware that its shipping would be vulnerable in the event of any conflict, especially with the US, Beijing has been expanding its navy and developing a "chain of pearls"—port facilities along this trade route. Hambantota, like the Chinese-built port of Gwadar in Pakistan, is one such pearl.
The US and India are intent on countering China's strategy. Thus under the guise of humanitarian concern, India has sent a military medical team to Sri Lanka. Earlier this month the US proposed to send a Marine Expeditionary Brigade to northern Sri Lanka to evacuate refugees—an offer that appears to have been turned down.
Like the diplomatic posturing in the UN Security Council, none of these moves—by either side—is motivated by concern for working people in Sri Lanka who have born the brunt of 25 years of war. Rather the small South Asian island, like other parts of the world, is being drawn into the international rivalry that is intensifying as the global economic crisis deepens and foreshadows far more catastrophic conflicts.
Peter Symonds
US, China, War in Sri Lanka & Diplomatic Posturing
Peter Symonds in World Socialist Website
24 March 2009
"Last week UN Security Council members Austria, Mexico and Costa Rica, backed by the US and Britain, called for an informal briefing on the humanitarian crisis facing tens of thousands of people trapped by the war in northern Sri Lanka. China, supported by Russia, blocked the move declaring that it was "an internal matter" for Sri Lanka and was not a threat to international security. None of this diplomatic posturing should be taken at face value. All of a sudden Washington has begun to express concern about the plight of tens of thousands of civilians caught in fighting as the Sri Lankan army closes ... The US media is now peddling a similar line.. Until recently, however, the US has quietly backed President Rajapakse, the war and the military's gross abuse of democratic rights. But as the army made rapid advances into the LTTE's remaining territory from early January and the defeat of the LTTE appeared likely, the US made a tactical shift. It began to call for a "political solution" to the conflict - a deal, not with the LTTE, but with sections of the Tamil elite.. The "humanitarian" issue has been raised as a means of pressuring the Rajapakse regime to make concessions... India and the US share another common concern - the growing influence of China in Sri Lanka.. Like the US, China's manoeuvring in the UN is guided by self-interest "
[see also International Dimensions of the Conflict in Sri Lanka - Nadesan Satyendra, 2 October 2007 quoting Adam Wolfe, Yevgeny Bendersky, Dr. Federico Bordonaro - India's Project Seabird and Indian Ocean's Balance of Power, PINR, 20 July 2005 “…the dynamics of the region calls for a balance of power approach rather than a straight alliance…. The rise of India as a major power, coupled with the better-known - and frequently analyzed - Chinese rise, is changing the structure of the world system. Not only is U.S. ‘unipolar’ hegemony in the Indian Ocean facing a challenge, but the strategic triad U.S.-Western Europe-Japan, which has ruled the international political economy for the past few decades, is now also under question…We can expect the South Asian region to be one of the system's key areas to be watched in the next decade.”
Diplomatic skirmishing in the UN Security Council between the US and China over the war in Sri Lanka underscores their growing rivalry in every corner of the globe. Both powers are intent on staking out their claims in Colombo as the 25-year conflict on the island reaches its climax.
Last week UN Security Council members Austria, Mexico and Costa Rica, backed by the US and Britain, called for an informal briefing on the humanitarian crisis facing tens of thousands of people trapped by the war in northern Sri Lanka. China, supported by Russia, blocked the move declaring that it was "an internal matter" for Sri Lanka and was not a threat to international security.
None of this diplomatic posturing should be taken at face value. All of a sudden Washington has begun to express concern about the plight of tens of thousands of civilians caught in fighting as the Sri Lankan army closes in on the remaining pocket of territory held by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The US media is now peddling a similar line. The New York Times, for instance, published an article on Sunday about the plight of refugees and the "challenges of peace". American ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake declared he was worried that the government was dominated by "certain hard-line Sinhalese elements" and appealed to President Mahinda Rajapakse to "reach out to the Tamil and Muslim communities".
The article described the "cold peace" in the island's eastern province, which has been firmly under army control since mid-2007. In Batticaloa, there are "army checkpoints in the town centre, armed thugs prowling back streets and continuing reports of abductions and disappearances."
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the president's brother, justified such police state measures, saying: "The war is like a cancer. Even after curing a cancer, there is a period for radiation treatment. It is the same with the war on terrorism."
Until recently, however, the US has quietly backed President Rajapakse, the war and the military's gross abuse of democratic rights. But as the army made rapid advances into the LTTE's remaining territory from early January and the defeat of the LTTE appeared likely, the US made a tactical shift. It began to call for a "political solution" to the conflict—a deal, not with the LTTE, but with sections of the Tamil elite to temper the decades of anti-Tamil discrimination that gave rise to the war.
Washington's concern is that ongoing communal tensions will not only destabilise Sri Lanka, but neighbouring India, which has become America's key economic and strategic partner in the South Asia. New Delhi is worried about the potential for political unrest to spill over in southern state of Tamil Nadu where Tamils have historic ties with Sri Lanka. The "humanitarian issue has been raised as a means of pressuring the Rajapakse regime to make concessions.
India and the US share another common concern—the growing influence of China in Sri Lanka. While India has had to be cautious in its support for the Sri Lankan war, China has provided military and financial aid to Colombo with no questions asked. Chinese sales of arms including fighter jets, sophisticated radar, anti-aircraft guns and other military hardware and munitions have helped tip the balance in the country's protracted civil war. Visiting last month, Defence Secretary Rajapakse thanked China for its "steadfast support" in strengthening the "war on terrorism".
China's decision to block a UN Security Council discussion was also welcomed by the Sri Lankan political establishment. An editorial in last weekend's Sunday Times denounced the mounting pressure "from the Western countries where there has been heavy lobbying by Sri Lankan expatriates and a group of international ‘bleeding hearts'. These moves in the UN, it declared, "have been shot down by Sri Lanka's steadfast ally in its war on terrorism—China."
Like the US, China's manoeuvring in the UN is guided by self-interest. Beijing conveniently forgot about its principle of "non-interference in internal affairs" when it came to the US interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the case of Sri Lanka, it has used the argument to curry favour in Colombo by blocking a UN debate and to defend its unconditional support for the government and its criminal war.
The pay-off for Beijing has been a $US1 billion deal with Colombo in 2007 to construct a major port facility in the southern town of Hambantota. The first stage of the project, being built by Chinese corporations and largely with Chinese finance, is due to be completed at the end of 2010. When completed it will include a container port, a bunkering system, an oil refinery, an airport and other facilities that are expected to transform Hambantota into a major transshipment hub.
The importance of the project for China is obvious. Hambantota on the southern tip of Sri Lanka is just six nautical miles from the main east-west trade route across the Indian Ocean. Around 70 percent of China's oil imports is shipped via this sea lane from the Middle East through the Strait of Malacca to Chinese ports. Acutely aware that its shipping would be vulnerable in the event of any conflict, especially with the US, Beijing has been expanding its navy and developing a "chain of pearls"—port facilities along this trade route. Hambantota, like the Chinese-built port of Gwadar in Pakistan, is one such pearl.
The US and India are intent on countering China's strategy. Thus under the guise of humanitarian concern, India has sent a military medical team to Sri Lanka. Earlier this month the US proposed to send a Marine Expeditionary Brigade to northern Sri Lanka to evacuate refugees—an offer that appears to have been turned down.
Like the diplomatic posturing in the UN Security Council, none of these moves—by either side—is motivated by concern for working people in Sri Lanka who have born the brunt of 25 years of war. Rather the small South Asian island, like other parts of the world, is being drawn into the international rivalry that is intensifying as the global economic crisis deepens and foreshadows far more catastrophic conflicts.
Peter Symonds
UN envoy to Sri Lanka. possible? UN Peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno might be a name being considered.
Sri Lanka Set for Security Council Dialogue in UN Basement, Beslan Analogy
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 -- The UN Security Council will meet about plight of civilians in Sri Lanka this afternoon. After weeks of negotiating about whether and how to hold the meeting, it will take place in the UN's basement, not the Council chamber. The Sri Lankan Mission to the UN will be present; sources tell Inner City Press they will show photographs. Top UN humanitarian John Holmes will also brief.
A senior diplomat of one of the countries most vehemently opposed to holding the meeting in the Council repeated to Inner City Press the Sri Lankan government's arguments, that the previous Council briefing was "misused by the Tamil Tigers to convince civilians not to leave" the conflict zone. He analogized the situation to what Russia faced in Beslan, where school children were killed during a government attempt to re-take a terrorist-held school. In that case, Russia acted in the heat of the moment. The assault in northern Sri Lanka has gone on for more than two months.
The UK Mission, which on March 25 promised a read out of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown's meeting with Ban Ki-moon, on March 26 summarized that Brown supported the Secretary General's efforts on Myanmar -- but nothing on Sri Lanka, despite Ban having listed it as one of four countries discussed. To be continued.
On Sri Lanka, UN Official Describes "Nightmare Scenario," Treaty Official "Knows Better"
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 25 -- While the UN allows Sri Lanka's government to claim that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said that both the Tamil Tigers and the government might be guilty of war crimes, "is not the UN," in New York on March 25 a senior UN official described to Inner City Press what the UN is trying to do about Sri Lanka. The trapped civilians, who the official said are being shot at by both the Tamil Tigers and the government, must be extracted. But how?
The official described a plan to convince both the Tamil Tigers and the government, which have so far refused, to accept a cessation of fighting and international observers to get the civilians out.
What we are afraid of, the UN official said, is a nightmare scenario in which in a final drive against the Tigers, tens of thousands of civilians are killed and the UN looks guilty, like in Srebrenica. This must be avoided.
The official said that Norway has been trying to talk with both sides, quietly, to broker such a deal. But the UN is growing dubious that Norway has the necessary connection. The US, he said, offered its military strength but was rejected.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice on March 20 told Inner City Press that the US favors the Security Council getting full information on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. On March 25, Austria's Ambassador to the UN told Inner City Press that a way is being devised to let this happen.
The UN official also described what he called a strategy of letting "the Tamil diaspora" know that any support of the Tamil Tigers might subject them to war crimes prosecution. This gambit seems to ignore something that the Sri Lankan government and is supports brag about, that the country's refusal to join the International Criminal Court makes it -- and crimes on its territory -- unreachable by the International Criminal Court. The threat against Tamil Tiger supporters, then, must involve the War on Terror.
Recently long-time UN official Lakhdar Brahimi wrote an op-ed in the International Herald Tribune warning of the mounting dangers to civilians in Sri Lanka, and urging Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to demand access to the conflict zone and to appoint a special envoy.
The envoy named by the UK, Des Browne, has been denied entry to the country. Following Ban's meeting with the UK's Gordon Brown on March 25, Ban said that Sri Lanka was one of four country conflicts they discussed. The others were Sudan, Afghanistan and Myanmar. Brown offered some specifics on Sudan and Afghanistan, but nothing on Sri Lanka.
At right, then-UN Palitha
Kohona, now denies UN HCHR is UN
Inner City Press sought to ask for a read-out, but the two men took only four questions. Afterwards, Inner City Press asked both the UK Mission spokesman and Ban's spokesperson for a read out of the meeting, which will be reported on this site upon receipt, as well any response to the unanswered portion of the questions Inner City Press asked at the UN noon briefing on March 25:
Inner City Press: There was a statement by the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka that the country has received no criticism from the UN of how it’s conducting its conflict in the north. He says that Ms. [Navi] Pillay, the Human Rights Commissioner, “is not the UN”, and apparently implies that, in the discussions between the President and the Secretary-General, there’s been no criticism whatsoever of any action of the Government. I wanted to know, is that consistent with your understanding of those calls?
Spokesperson Michele Montas: As far as I know, a number of issues were raised. Humanitarian issues were also raised.
Inner City Press: And also, the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka has put out a statement condemning the OCHA document that says there were 2,683 deaths, saying it’s entirely unverified and asking the UN to retract it. Is the UN considering retracting its own document that’s that specific on numbers?
Spokesperson: As far as I know, OCHA is standing by its numbers.
Question: Okay. Neil Buhne was quoted as saying that he is not standing by it. He’s been quoted in Sri Lanka saying that he doesn’t stand by the number. Maybe he’s been misquoted. The Resident Coordinator, Neil Buhne, has been quoted as saying that he doesn’t stand by the number.
Spokesperson: So he is saying that it’s just an evaluation? That’s what I said earlier…
[The Spokesperson later said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is not in a position to verify numbers put out by local groups on deaths.]
Inner City Press: He’s saying it was a report for donor countries, not meant for public distribution, whatever that means.
Spokesperson: Okay. I can verify what those numbers meant.
Inner City Press: That would be great. Then just one factual thing is that the Voice of America has in a report said that the Government of Sri Lanka makes it such that international employees of NGOs as well as independent journalists are prohibited from travelling to the north. So I know in your report you’d said how the Red Cross and WFP are delivering this aid. Is it your understanding that, as in Darfur currently, that international staff of NGOs can’t go to that region?
Spokesperson: I can ask the people there for you. We can ask for more information.
[The Spokesperson later said that only national United Nations and non-governmental organization staff were in the conflict zone.]
Inner City Press: Okay, that’d be great. I’d appreciate it.
It should be noted that Sri Lanka's foreign secretary Palitha
Kohona, who said the UN High Commission for Human rights "is not the UN" himself served in and led the UN's Treaty Section. "He knows better," one official told Inner City Press. More than one officials questioned Neil Buhne's performance in Sri Lanka, one said that Buhne has been "captured." On that, Inner City Press has repeatedly asked the UN for more information about its staff member forcible recruited into the Tamil Tigers -- for the record, for those pro-government activists who claim that any question about civilians is support for the Tamil Tigers, such recruitment is to be condemned.
Footnote: By happenstance, Inner City Press ran into former UN Peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno on March 25 in front of the UN and asked him about Sri Lanka and Brahimi's proposal, would Guehenno consider the post. Guehenno called the situation in Sri Lanka serious, and with a serious face said he would consider such an assignment, UN envoy to Sri Lanka. He said he has not been assigned any cases since taking up his post as Under Secretary General for Regional Cooperation. (Inner City Press joked that USG for Lost Causes might be a good title; Guehenno jokingly gave himself a promotion to Deputy SG for Lost Causes.) Many hope that northern Sri Lanka and the civilians trapped are not a lost cause. Watch this site.
Click here for Inner City Press March 12 UN debate
Click here for Inner City Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click here for Feb. 12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan. 16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press' review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press' December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
and this October 17 debate, on Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund. Video Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540
How To Contact Us
Here are ways to contact us:
Inner City Press, Inc.
United Nations office:
UN Secretariat building, 42nd Street & 1st Avenue
Room S-453A
New York, NY 10017 USA
Desk tel: 212-963-1439
E-mail Attn: Matthew Lee, Senior Reporter (or appropriate staff) Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com
Mobile: (718) 716-3540
General: Editorial [at] innercitypress [dot] com
Attn: Janine-Marie Boulad or appropriate topic editor
About publications: books [at] innercitypress.com
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For Federal Express only, due to delay in other UN mail: Inner City Press, United Nations Office, Room S-453A, New York, NY 10017 USA
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 -- The UN Security Council will meet about plight of civilians in Sri Lanka this afternoon. After weeks of negotiating about whether and how to hold the meeting, it will take place in the UN's basement, not the Council chamber. The Sri Lankan Mission to the UN will be present; sources tell Inner City Press they will show photographs. Top UN humanitarian John Holmes will also brief.
A senior diplomat of one of the countries most vehemently opposed to holding the meeting in the Council repeated to Inner City Press the Sri Lankan government's arguments, that the previous Council briefing was "misused by the Tamil Tigers to convince civilians not to leave" the conflict zone. He analogized the situation to what Russia faced in Beslan, where school children were killed during a government attempt to re-take a terrorist-held school. In that case, Russia acted in the heat of the moment. The assault in northern Sri Lanka has gone on for more than two months.
The UK Mission, which on March 25 promised a read out of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown's meeting with Ban Ki-moon, on March 26 summarized that Brown supported the Secretary General's efforts on Myanmar -- but nothing on Sri Lanka, despite Ban having listed it as one of four countries discussed. To be continued.
On Sri Lanka, UN Official Describes "Nightmare Scenario," Treaty Official "Knows Better"
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, March 25 -- While the UN allows Sri Lanka's government to claim that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said that both the Tamil Tigers and the government might be guilty of war crimes, "is not the UN," in New York on March 25 a senior UN official described to Inner City Press what the UN is trying to do about Sri Lanka. The trapped civilians, who the official said are being shot at by both the Tamil Tigers and the government, must be extracted. But how?
The official described a plan to convince both the Tamil Tigers and the government, which have so far refused, to accept a cessation of fighting and international observers to get the civilians out.
What we are afraid of, the UN official said, is a nightmare scenario in which in a final drive against the Tigers, tens of thousands of civilians are killed and the UN looks guilty, like in Srebrenica. This must be avoided.
The official said that Norway has been trying to talk with both sides, quietly, to broker such a deal. But the UN is growing dubious that Norway has the necessary connection. The US, he said, offered its military strength but was rejected.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice on March 20 told Inner City Press that the US favors the Security Council getting full information on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. On March 25, Austria's Ambassador to the UN told Inner City Press that a way is being devised to let this happen.
The UN official also described what he called a strategy of letting "the Tamil diaspora" know that any support of the Tamil Tigers might subject them to war crimes prosecution. This gambit seems to ignore something that the Sri Lankan government and is supports brag about, that the country's refusal to join the International Criminal Court makes it -- and crimes on its territory -- unreachable by the International Criminal Court. The threat against Tamil Tiger supporters, then, must involve the War on Terror.
Recently long-time UN official Lakhdar Brahimi wrote an op-ed in the International Herald Tribune warning of the mounting dangers to civilians in Sri Lanka, and urging Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to demand access to the conflict zone and to appoint a special envoy.
The envoy named by the UK, Des Browne, has been denied entry to the country. Following Ban's meeting with the UK's Gordon Brown on March 25, Ban said that Sri Lanka was one of four country conflicts they discussed. The others were Sudan, Afghanistan and Myanmar. Brown offered some specifics on Sudan and Afghanistan, but nothing on Sri Lanka.
At right, then-UN Palitha
Kohona, now denies UN HCHR is UN
Inner City Press sought to ask for a read-out, but the two men took only four questions. Afterwards, Inner City Press asked both the UK Mission spokesman and Ban's spokesperson for a read out of the meeting, which will be reported on this site upon receipt, as well any response to the unanswered portion of the questions Inner City Press asked at the UN noon briefing on March 25:
Inner City Press: There was a statement by the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka that the country has received no criticism from the UN of how it’s conducting its conflict in the north. He says that Ms. [Navi] Pillay, the Human Rights Commissioner, “is not the UN”, and apparently implies that, in the discussions between the President and the Secretary-General, there’s been no criticism whatsoever of any action of the Government. I wanted to know, is that consistent with your understanding of those calls?
Spokesperson Michele Montas: As far as I know, a number of issues were raised. Humanitarian issues were also raised.
Inner City Press: And also, the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka has put out a statement condemning the OCHA document that says there were 2,683 deaths, saying it’s entirely unverified and asking the UN to retract it. Is the UN considering retracting its own document that’s that specific on numbers?
Spokesperson: As far as I know, OCHA is standing by its numbers.
Question: Okay. Neil Buhne was quoted as saying that he is not standing by it. He’s been quoted in Sri Lanka saying that he doesn’t stand by the number. Maybe he’s been misquoted. The Resident Coordinator, Neil Buhne, has been quoted as saying that he doesn’t stand by the number.
Spokesperson: So he is saying that it’s just an evaluation? That’s what I said earlier…
[The Spokesperson later said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is not in a position to verify numbers put out by local groups on deaths.]
Inner City Press: He’s saying it was a report for donor countries, not meant for public distribution, whatever that means.
Spokesperson: Okay. I can verify what those numbers meant.
Inner City Press: That would be great. Then just one factual thing is that the Voice of America has in a report said that the Government of Sri Lanka makes it such that international employees of NGOs as well as independent journalists are prohibited from travelling to the north. So I know in your report you’d said how the Red Cross and WFP are delivering this aid. Is it your understanding that, as in Darfur currently, that international staff of NGOs can’t go to that region?
Spokesperson: I can ask the people there for you. We can ask for more information.
[The Spokesperson later said that only national United Nations and non-governmental organization staff were in the conflict zone.]
Inner City Press: Okay, that’d be great. I’d appreciate it.
It should be noted that Sri Lanka's foreign secretary Palitha
Kohona, who said the UN High Commission for Human rights "is not the UN" himself served in and led the UN's Treaty Section. "He knows better," one official told Inner City Press. More than one officials questioned Neil Buhne's performance in Sri Lanka, one said that Buhne has been "captured." On that, Inner City Press has repeatedly asked the UN for more information about its staff member forcible recruited into the Tamil Tigers -- for the record, for those pro-government activists who claim that any question about civilians is support for the Tamil Tigers, such recruitment is to be condemned.
Footnote: By happenstance, Inner City Press ran into former UN Peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno on March 25 in front of the UN and asked him about Sri Lanka and Brahimi's proposal, would Guehenno consider the post. Guehenno called the situation in Sri Lanka serious, and with a serious face said he would consider such an assignment, UN envoy to Sri Lanka. He said he has not been assigned any cases since taking up his post as Under Secretary General for Regional Cooperation. (Inner City Press joked that USG for Lost Causes might be a good title; Guehenno jokingly gave himself a promotion to Deputy SG for Lost Causes.) Many hope that northern Sri Lanka and the civilians trapped are not a lost cause. Watch this site.
Click here for Inner City Press March 12 UN debate
Click here for Inner City Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click here for Feb. 12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan. 16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press' review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press' December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
and this October 17 debate, on Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund. Video Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540
How To Contact Us
Here are ways to contact us:
Inner City Press, Inc.
United Nations office:
UN Secretariat building, 42nd Street & 1st Avenue
Room S-453A
New York, NY 10017 USA
Desk tel: 212-963-1439
E-mail Attn: Matthew Lee, Senior Reporter (or appropriate staff) Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com
Mobile: (718) 716-3540
General: Editorial [at] innercitypress [dot] com
Attn: Janine-Marie Boulad or appropriate topic editor
About publications: books [at] innercitypress.com
Regular USPS mail: P.O. Box 580188, Mount Carmel Station, Bronx, NY 10458 USA
For Federal Express only, due to delay in other UN mail: Inner City Press, United Nations Office, Room S-453A, New York, NY 10017 USA
Sri Lankan rupee volatility was partly due to the sale of a 1.9 billion rupee stock sale in listed John Keells Holdings by a foreign investor .
27 Mar, 2009 18:25:34
Sri Lanka rupee weakens in volatile trade
Dealers say Friday's volatility was partly due to the sale of a 1.9 billion rupee stock sale in listed John Keells Holdings by a foreign investor to a local buyer this week.
Mar 27, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lanka rupee fell to 115.35/50 levels against the greenback in intra-day trading Friday with heavy buying from foreign banks while the monetary authority briefly took the foot off peg defence, dealers said.
A state bank that usually represents the Central Bank has been in the market offering dollars to defend a peg at 114.25 rupee levels.
The rupee also fell below the peg defence level on Thursday.
An International Monetary Fund team is in Sri Lanka to discuss a bailout package. IMF packages are usually conditional on abandoning peg defence if the country does not have the institutional capacity to support a peg.
"We don't have any date as to the conclusion of those discussions or their likely bringing to the IMF Board, and we don’t have any information yet on how much Sri Lanka will be requiring from the Fund," Caroline Atkinson, head of the external relations department told reporters Thursday responding to a question from LBO.
The rupee opened at 114.35/50 levels Friday and closed around 114.80/115.20 rupees after spiking to 115.35/50 levels, dealers said.
It is not known whether the monetary authority has only temporarily withdrawn from peg defence or it is allowing the currency to be more flexible ahead of an IMF bailout.
A flexible currency is needed to break a peg defence cycle and end foreign reserve losses by the Central Bank.
The rupee hit a low of 115.75 against the greenback when peg defence was eased amidst heavy buying from state banks earlier this year. But peg defence resumed at 114.25 rupees later.
The bank's monetary reserves fell to about 1,142 million US dollars in January according to published data, while gross reserves of the country which includes fiscal reserve were about 1,482 million US dollars in the same month.
Dealers say Friday's volatility was partly due to the sale of a 1.9 billion rupee stock sale in listed John Keells Holdings by a foreign investor to a local buyer this week.
Sri Lanka rupee weakens in volatile trade
Dealers say Friday's volatility was partly due to the sale of a 1.9 billion rupee stock sale in listed John Keells Holdings by a foreign investor to a local buyer this week.
Mar 27, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lanka rupee fell to 115.35/50 levels against the greenback in intra-day trading Friday with heavy buying from foreign banks while the monetary authority briefly took the foot off peg defence, dealers said.
A state bank that usually represents the Central Bank has been in the market offering dollars to defend a peg at 114.25 rupee levels.
The rupee also fell below the peg defence level on Thursday.
An International Monetary Fund team is in Sri Lanka to discuss a bailout package. IMF packages are usually conditional on abandoning peg defence if the country does not have the institutional capacity to support a peg.
"We don't have any date as to the conclusion of those discussions or their likely bringing to the IMF Board, and we don’t have any information yet on how much Sri Lanka will be requiring from the Fund," Caroline Atkinson, head of the external relations department told reporters Thursday responding to a question from LBO.
The rupee opened at 114.35/50 levels Friday and closed around 114.80/115.20 rupees after spiking to 115.35/50 levels, dealers said.
It is not known whether the monetary authority has only temporarily withdrawn from peg defence or it is allowing the currency to be more flexible ahead of an IMF bailout.
A flexible currency is needed to break a peg defence cycle and end foreign reserve losses by the Central Bank.
The rupee hit a low of 115.75 against the greenback when peg defence was eased amidst heavy buying from state banks earlier this year. But peg defence resumed at 114.25 rupees later.
The bank's monetary reserves fell to about 1,142 million US dollars in January according to published data, while gross reserves of the country which includes fiscal reserve were about 1,482 million US dollars in the same month.
Dealers say Friday's volatility was partly due to the sale of a 1.9 billion rupee stock sale in listed John Keells Holdings by a foreign investor to a local buyer this week.
Lanka gets “friendly censure” at UN Security Council
Lanka gets “friendly censure” at UN Security Council
2009-03-27 10:11:55
US accuses Sri Lanka of shelling civilian areas
2009-03-27 10:22:18
The United Nations Security Council meeting in a basement room – an arrangement seen as a diplomatic victory for Colombo – discussed the Sri Lanka crisis and delivered a “friendly censure” on the country, according to reports.
The UN-based Inner-City Press news website quoted Costa Rica’s ambassador Jorge Urbina as saying the council’s second session in a month on the conflict in Sri Lanka was a “friendsly censure” of the government. Costa Rica along with Austria and Mexico is one of the main players of the security council move.
Following a closed door session at which Sri Lanka's Mission to the UN showed pictures of the conflict zone, U.S. representative Rosemary DiCarlo said that Sri Lanka had been shelling areas with civilians, close hospitals. She said that the camps for internally displaced people, which she called internment camps, would only be funded by the UN for three months, the ICP report said.
According to the report, UN Humanitarian Chief John Holmes said he "wouldn't like to put a time" frame on how long the UN would fund these camps, from which IDPs cannot leave or receive visits, even from family members. He also declined again to confirm his own agency's figures of 2,683 civilians killed from January 20 to March 7, a number that only came out because the document was leaked to Inner City Press.
U.S. representative DiCarlo said the number of civilians trapped between the LTTE and the government number from 150,000 to 190,000. The UN's Holmes added the Sri Lankan government's figure, 70,000.
The Inner City Press said: We note that Holmes also wryly stated, on his way into basement Conference Room 7, that "this meeting doesn't exist," a reference to its strange location, title and format, a concession by the Council to its members who wanted no briefing at all. Holmes has to deal with politics. The question is, when must humanitarian principles unequivocally win out?
French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, who spoke as he rushed out of the meeting, said that "both sides must comply with international humanitarian law." He added that the Sri Lankan government is asking countries with Tamil diaspora populations to make sure money is not donated or exported from their soil to the Tamil Tigers. How this would be implemented by the UK is not clear. UK Ambassador Sawers spoke briefly to the Press, but not on this point.
US accuses Sri Lanka of shelling civilian areas
2009-03-27 10:22:18
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 (Reuters) - The United States accused Sri Lanka on Thursday of breaking promises to stop shelling a no-fire zone where thousands of civilians are trapped by fighting between separatists and government forces.
Sri Lanka rejected the allegation, saying the Sri Lankan military was not using heavy weapons to attack the separatist-held, no-fire zone in northern Sri Lanka.
"We are very concerned that the government of Sri Lanka continues its shelling of areas where there are large numbers of civilians, very close to hospitals, very close to civilian facilities," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Rosemary DiCarlo told reporters.
"We have urged the government of Sri Lanka to cease the shelling near civilian areas," she said after the U.N. Security Council met informally behind closed doors to discuss Sri Lanka. "We've had promises, but we need to see results."
Sri Lanka's Ambassador H.M.G.S. Palihakkara rejected the accusation, though he acknowledged that the government was returning fire when attacked by Liberation Tamil Tiger Eelam (LTTE) forces from inside the no-fire zone.
"They (government forces) are not firing heavy weapons into the safe zone," he said. "Because (Sri Lanka's) forces have come so close to the military safe zone there is no sense in firing at short-range heavy weapons."
"As you know, the LTTE is firing from the no-fire zone," he said, adding that the automatic return fire might have resulted in some civilian casualties, but not deliberately.
As expected, the council took no action at Thursday's informal meeting on Sri Lanka.
HUMAN SHIELDS
U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said dozens of civilians were dying every day and that about 150,000-190,000 remain trapped in the no-fire zone. He added that "forced recruitment" into the ranks of the Tamil Tigers continues.
DiCarlo and British Ambassador John Sawers were among the diplomats who expressed support for Holmes' appeal for a temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the no-fire zone and civilians out of the enclave.
The Sri Lankan envoy said that was fine with his government, but not the Tamil Tigers. "The Sri Lankan government is ready to let the civilians go today," Palihakkara said. "The issue is the LTTE is not willing to let them go."
DiCarlo, Sawers and other council envoys criticized the Tamil Tigers, a group that Western governments have listed as a terrorist organization.
"We condemn the LTTE," DiCarlo said. "And we certainly condemn the fact that they use civilians as human shields."
U.N. diplomats said China and Russia are among those who oppose formal discussion of Sri Lanka, saying the fighting between Tamil Tigers and government forces represents no threat to international peace and security and was therefore no business of the council.
Sawers said it was not clear if the Security Council would take up the issue again, since it is not officially on its agenda.
The United Nations says the Tigers have forcibly kept people there as human shields or conscripts, and has warned the government against shelling the safe zone. It says 2,800 civilians have been killed since Jan. 20.
The government says it is not firing into the no-fire zone and that the U.N. numbers are unsubstantiated. The Tigers say people are choosing to stay with them.
Human Rights Watch has accused the government of indiscriminately shelling the no-fire zone where the civilians are. It also said the Tigers were forcing most civilians to stay.
Comments
2009-03-27 10:11:55
US accuses Sri Lanka of shelling civilian areas
2009-03-27 10:22:18
The United Nations Security Council meeting in a basement room – an arrangement seen as a diplomatic victory for Colombo – discussed the Sri Lanka crisis and delivered a “friendly censure” on the country, according to reports.
The UN-based Inner-City Press news website quoted Costa Rica’s ambassador Jorge Urbina as saying the council’s second session in a month on the conflict in Sri Lanka was a “friendsly censure” of the government. Costa Rica along with Austria and Mexico is one of the main players of the security council move.
Following a closed door session at which Sri Lanka's Mission to the UN showed pictures of the conflict zone, U.S. representative Rosemary DiCarlo said that Sri Lanka had been shelling areas with civilians, close hospitals. She said that the camps for internally displaced people, which she called internment camps, would only be funded by the UN for three months, the ICP report said.
According to the report, UN Humanitarian Chief John Holmes said he "wouldn't like to put a time" frame on how long the UN would fund these camps, from which IDPs cannot leave or receive visits, even from family members. He also declined again to confirm his own agency's figures of 2,683 civilians killed from January 20 to March 7, a number that only came out because the document was leaked to Inner City Press.
U.S. representative DiCarlo said the number of civilians trapped between the LTTE and the government number from 150,000 to 190,000. The UN's Holmes added the Sri Lankan government's figure, 70,000.
The Inner City Press said: We note that Holmes also wryly stated, on his way into basement Conference Room 7, that "this meeting doesn't exist," a reference to its strange location, title and format, a concession by the Council to its members who wanted no briefing at all. Holmes has to deal with politics. The question is, when must humanitarian principles unequivocally win out?
French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, who spoke as he rushed out of the meeting, said that "both sides must comply with international humanitarian law." He added that the Sri Lankan government is asking countries with Tamil diaspora populations to make sure money is not donated or exported from their soil to the Tamil Tigers. How this would be implemented by the UK is not clear. UK Ambassador Sawers spoke briefly to the Press, but not on this point.
US accuses Sri Lanka of shelling civilian areas
2009-03-27 10:22:18
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 (Reuters) - The United States accused Sri Lanka on Thursday of breaking promises to stop shelling a no-fire zone where thousands of civilians are trapped by fighting between separatists and government forces.
Sri Lanka rejected the allegation, saying the Sri Lankan military was not using heavy weapons to attack the separatist-held, no-fire zone in northern Sri Lanka.
"We are very concerned that the government of Sri Lanka continues its shelling of areas where there are large numbers of civilians, very close to hospitals, very close to civilian facilities," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Rosemary DiCarlo told reporters.
"We have urged the government of Sri Lanka to cease the shelling near civilian areas," she said after the U.N. Security Council met informally behind closed doors to discuss Sri Lanka. "We've had promises, but we need to see results."
Sri Lanka's Ambassador H.M.G.S. Palihakkara rejected the accusation, though he acknowledged that the government was returning fire when attacked by Liberation Tamil Tiger Eelam (LTTE) forces from inside the no-fire zone.
"They (government forces) are not firing heavy weapons into the safe zone," he said. "Because (Sri Lanka's) forces have come so close to the military safe zone there is no sense in firing at short-range heavy weapons."
"As you know, the LTTE is firing from the no-fire zone," he said, adding that the automatic return fire might have resulted in some civilian casualties, but not deliberately.
As expected, the council took no action at Thursday's informal meeting on Sri Lanka.
HUMAN SHIELDS
U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said dozens of civilians were dying every day and that about 150,000-190,000 remain trapped in the no-fire zone. He added that "forced recruitment" into the ranks of the Tamil Tigers continues.
DiCarlo and British Ambassador John Sawers were among the diplomats who expressed support for Holmes' appeal for a temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the no-fire zone and civilians out of the enclave.
The Sri Lankan envoy said that was fine with his government, but not the Tamil Tigers. "The Sri Lankan government is ready to let the civilians go today," Palihakkara said. "The issue is the LTTE is not willing to let them go."
DiCarlo, Sawers and other council envoys criticized the Tamil Tigers, a group that Western governments have listed as a terrorist organization.
"We condemn the LTTE," DiCarlo said. "And we certainly condemn the fact that they use civilians as human shields."
U.N. diplomats said China and Russia are among those who oppose formal discussion of Sri Lanka, saying the fighting between Tamil Tigers and government forces represents no threat to international peace and security and was therefore no business of the council.
Sawers said it was not clear if the Security Council would take up the issue again, since it is not officially on its agenda.
The United Nations says the Tigers have forcibly kept people there as human shields or conscripts, and has warned the government against shelling the safe zone. It says 2,800 civilians have been killed since Jan. 20.
The government says it is not firing into the no-fire zone and that the U.N. numbers are unsubstantiated. The Tigers say people are choosing to stay with them.
Human Rights Watch has accused the government of indiscriminately shelling the no-fire zone where the civilians are. It also said the Tigers were forcing most civilians to stay.
Comments
Thursday, March 26, 2009
In an interview with Al Jazeera, smuggled out last month.
Tamil Tigers reject 'human shield' accusations - 27 March 09
Tamil Tigers rebels in Sri Lanka have denied accusations that they are using civilians as human shields. In an interview with Al Jazeera, smuggled out last month.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blYA_HDyztM&feature=channel
Tamil Tigers rebels in Sri Lanka have denied accusations that they are using civilians as human shields. In an interview with Al Jazeera, smuggled out last month.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blYA_HDyztM&feature=channel
Rosemay DiCarlo US AMBASSADOR TO THE UN criticised the Colombo government for continuing to shell areas heavily populated by civilians :
UN urges pause in S Lanka fighting
The UN says there are now 190,000 civilians caught in the crossfire in northern Sri Lanka [Reuters]
DiCarlo also criticised the Colombo government for continuing to shell areas heavily populated by civilians in its efforts to end a 25-year civil war by subduing the Tamil Tiger separatists.
Both sides in the Sri Lankan conflict have been urged to stop fighting and allow for a "humanitarian pause" as UN officials revised their estimate of civilians trapped in the war zone up to 190,000.
The UN, backed by the US and Britain, blamed Tamil separatists for the plight of civilians caught up in the conflict, with dozens believed killed in recent weeks and many more wounded and without medical treatment.
Speaking in New York on Thursday John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, said he was particularly concerned about civilians being prevented from leaving the combat area by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers.
Speaking after an informal UN Security Council briefing Holmes said he was pressing for urgent humanitarian access to the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka.
'Humanitarian pause'
"We suggested the idea of some kind of humanitarian pause to allow that to happen and to allow the civilian population to leave," he said.
"This is an extremely worrying situation and therefore, our first appeal is to the LTTE to let the civilians out in a safe and orderly fashion."
On Thursday Rosemary DiCarlo, the US representative to UN for special political affairs, expressed "real concern" over the increasing death toll and condemned the Tigers' use of civilians as human shields.
"We call on them to lay down their arms, renounce violence and negotiate with the government."
DiCarlo also criticised the Colombo government for continuing to shell areas heavily populated by civilians in its efforts to end a 25-year civil war by subduing the Tamil Tiger separatists.
'Very concerned'
The LTTE has denied claims it is using civilians as human shields [Reuters]
"We are very concerned that the government of Sri Lanka continues its shelling in areas where there are large numbers of civilians, very close to hospitals and civilian facilities, we understand quite a number of civilians have perished because of these attacks," she told reporters on Thursday.
"We've had promises, but we need to see results."
The Sri Lankan government says troops have confined Tamil separatists to an area of about 21 square kilometres, most of which is a government-declared safe zone, on the island's northeastern coast near the town of Puthukudirippu.
Hews Palihakkara, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN, said his government shared concerns about the civilians saying that it had declared a 48-hour ceasefire period.
But he said the Tamil Tigers were preventing civilians from leaving.
"If the LTTE is ready to let the civilians go today, I will persuade my government to agree to any modality, you can call it a pause or something else," he said.
LTTE denial
A senior Tamil Tiger commander has denied using civilians as human shields and rejected government claims that they were being kept hostage in the combat zone.
In a statement smuggled out of the county to Al Jazeera, Lieutenant Colonel Ilampirathi in Puthukudirippu said they were not stopping the Tamils from leaving.
"It's a false allegation by our enemies. Our people are determined and continue to stay here despite the attacks from the enemies," responding to questions posed by Al Jazeera and filmed last month.
"Our people are helping the fighters in everyway possible to fight the Sri Lankan forces. They say they have to fight if they are to survive."
Media access to war zone is tightly controlled and claims by either the Sri Lanka government or the Tamil Tigers cannot be independently verified.
The UN says there are now 190,000 civilians caught in the crossfire in northern Sri Lanka [Reuters]
DiCarlo also criticised the Colombo government for continuing to shell areas heavily populated by civilians in its efforts to end a 25-year civil war by subduing the Tamil Tiger separatists.
Both sides in the Sri Lankan conflict have been urged to stop fighting and allow for a "humanitarian pause" as UN officials revised their estimate of civilians trapped in the war zone up to 190,000.
The UN, backed by the US and Britain, blamed Tamil separatists for the plight of civilians caught up in the conflict, with dozens believed killed in recent weeks and many more wounded and without medical treatment.
Speaking in New York on Thursday John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, said he was particularly concerned about civilians being prevented from leaving the combat area by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers.
Speaking after an informal UN Security Council briefing Holmes said he was pressing for urgent humanitarian access to the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka.
'Humanitarian pause'
"We suggested the idea of some kind of humanitarian pause to allow that to happen and to allow the civilian population to leave," he said.
"This is an extremely worrying situation and therefore, our first appeal is to the LTTE to let the civilians out in a safe and orderly fashion."
On Thursday Rosemary DiCarlo, the US representative to UN for special political affairs, expressed "real concern" over the increasing death toll and condemned the Tigers' use of civilians as human shields.
"We call on them to lay down their arms, renounce violence and negotiate with the government."
DiCarlo also criticised the Colombo government for continuing to shell areas heavily populated by civilians in its efforts to end a 25-year civil war by subduing the Tamil Tiger separatists.
'Very concerned'
The LTTE has denied claims it is using civilians as human shields [Reuters]
"We are very concerned that the government of Sri Lanka continues its shelling in areas where there are large numbers of civilians, very close to hospitals and civilian facilities, we understand quite a number of civilians have perished because of these attacks," she told reporters on Thursday.
"We've had promises, but we need to see results."
The Sri Lankan government says troops have confined Tamil separatists to an area of about 21 square kilometres, most of which is a government-declared safe zone, on the island's northeastern coast near the town of Puthukudirippu.
Hews Palihakkara, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN, said his government shared concerns about the civilians saying that it had declared a 48-hour ceasefire period.
But he said the Tamil Tigers were preventing civilians from leaving.
"If the LTTE is ready to let the civilians go today, I will persuade my government to agree to any modality, you can call it a pause or something else," he said.
LTTE denial
A senior Tamil Tiger commander has denied using civilians as human shields and rejected government claims that they were being kept hostage in the combat zone.
In a statement smuggled out of the county to Al Jazeera, Lieutenant Colonel Ilampirathi in Puthukudirippu said they were not stopping the Tamils from leaving.
"It's a false allegation by our enemies. Our people are determined and continue to stay here despite the attacks from the enemies," responding to questions posed by Al Jazeera and filmed last month.
"Our people are helping the fighters in everyway possible to fight the Sri Lankan forces. They say they have to fight if they are to survive."
Media access to war zone is tightly controlled and claims by either the Sri Lanka government or the Tamil Tigers cannot be independently verified.
Sri Lanka: Heavy SF Shelling on 'Safe Zone' Kills 131 Civilians including 32 Children
Sri Lanka: Heavy SF Shelling on 'Safe Zone' Kills 131 Civilians including 32 Children
Mar 27, 2009, 00:04 Digg this story!
G. Vickram - TNS
Mulaitivu: 131 civilians including 32 children were killed and 242 more were injured including 49 children when indiscriminate rain of shells including cluster types of shells , Sri Lankan Air Forces bombing and RPG attacks by the Sri Lankan Security Forces (SF) hit government announced new 'Safe Zone' in Puthumathalan, Mulivaaikal and Valaingaramadam in Mulaitivu area on Thursday.
The SF troopers also deployed extensively RPG shells, short range mortars and long distance gunfire on the safety zone during the daytime on Tuesday in addition to 12 air strikes in the settlements surrounding the Pachchaip-pulmoaddai junction within the safety zone.
Medical authorities reported that 185 wounded were admitted to the makeshift hospita in Maaththa'lan on Wednesday.
Multi Barrel Rocket Fire (MBRL) was also reported inside the safety zone at Pokkanai around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday. 16 civilians, including 4 children, were killed by a single MBRL rocket that hit an IDP hut in the coastal side of Pokkanai. 9 of the 27 wounded were children. Many of the dead succumbed to burn injuries caused by MBRL fire. 33 more civilians including 11 children were killed and 72 wounded included 27 children in Pokka'nai area in MBRL and artillery fire. Many tarpaulin shelters and properties were destroyed in MBRL fire. 3 shops were destoryed in Pokkanai.
Mortar attack was reported along the same stretch from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. At least one mortar shell hit the area every 5 to 10 minutes, causing 23 deaths. Many of the wounded succumbed to their injuries due to the lack of medical transportation as the road was being continuously targeted by the SLA which used RPG rockets, gun and mortar fire to attack the road and the surrounding tarpaulin huts of the IDPs.
TRO and Tamileelam police officials were struggling to save the lives of the wounded.
Meanwhile, SLAF bombers attacked the area within the 'safety zone' at least 6 times. Two SLAF bombers attacked Pachchaip-pulmoaddai and Mu'l'livaaykkaal, dropping around 29 bombs, killing 27 civilians including 6 children, 12 females and 3 elderly on the spot. The attack destroyed 37 tarpaulin shelters. 85 tarpaulin huts with the properties were destroyed in the attacks inside the safety zone by the SLA and the SLAF on Wednesday.
Children dying in large numbers injuring in large numbers are sure to leave long time scars in their minds of the Tamil community at large and Sri Lanka has to live with the consequences for very many years and decades to come. It is so unfortunate, there is no statement ship emerges from Sri Lanka to guide the country to the lasting peace with the solution satisfying the minority Tamil community, said a local aid worker in Vanni.
SF troopers' indiscriminate aerial and shell attacks killed hundreds and many hundreds injured within past few months while displaced over 300,000 including 40,000 children who are living in subhuman conditions. UNHRC statement last week said, at least 2800 civilians were killed and over 7000 injured within past two months of shelling in the war zone in Vanni. Also, UNICEF said, hundreds of children were killed thousands more were injured within past two months.
Mar 27, 2009, 00:04 Digg this story!
G. Vickram - TNS
Mulaitivu: 131 civilians including 32 children were killed and 242 more were injured including 49 children when indiscriminate rain of shells including cluster types of shells , Sri Lankan Air Forces bombing and RPG attacks by the Sri Lankan Security Forces (SF) hit government announced new 'Safe Zone' in Puthumathalan, Mulivaaikal and Valaingaramadam in Mulaitivu area on Thursday.
The SF troopers also deployed extensively RPG shells, short range mortars and long distance gunfire on the safety zone during the daytime on Tuesday in addition to 12 air strikes in the settlements surrounding the Pachchaip-pulmoaddai junction within the safety zone.
Medical authorities reported that 185 wounded were admitted to the makeshift hospita in Maaththa'lan on Wednesday.
Multi Barrel Rocket Fire (MBRL) was also reported inside the safety zone at Pokkanai around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday. 16 civilians, including 4 children, were killed by a single MBRL rocket that hit an IDP hut in the coastal side of Pokkanai. 9 of the 27 wounded were children. Many of the dead succumbed to burn injuries caused by MBRL fire. 33 more civilians including 11 children were killed and 72 wounded included 27 children in Pokka'nai area in MBRL and artillery fire. Many tarpaulin shelters and properties were destroyed in MBRL fire. 3 shops were destoryed in Pokkanai.
Mortar attack was reported along the same stretch from 4:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. At least one mortar shell hit the area every 5 to 10 minutes, causing 23 deaths. Many of the wounded succumbed to their injuries due to the lack of medical transportation as the road was being continuously targeted by the SLA which used RPG rockets, gun and mortar fire to attack the road and the surrounding tarpaulin huts of the IDPs.
TRO and Tamileelam police officials were struggling to save the lives of the wounded.
Meanwhile, SLAF bombers attacked the area within the 'safety zone' at least 6 times. Two SLAF bombers attacked Pachchaip-pulmoaddai and Mu'l'livaaykkaal, dropping around 29 bombs, killing 27 civilians including 6 children, 12 females and 3 elderly on the spot. The attack destroyed 37 tarpaulin shelters. 85 tarpaulin huts with the properties were destroyed in the attacks inside the safety zone by the SLA and the SLAF on Wednesday.
Children dying in large numbers injuring in large numbers are sure to leave long time scars in their minds of the Tamil community at large and Sri Lanka has to live with the consequences for very many years and decades to come. It is so unfortunate, there is no statement ship emerges from Sri Lanka to guide the country to the lasting peace with the solution satisfying the minority Tamil community, said a local aid worker in Vanni.
SF troopers' indiscriminate aerial and shell attacks killed hundreds and many hundreds injured within past few months while displaced over 300,000 including 40,000 children who are living in subhuman conditions. UNHRC statement last week said, at least 2800 civilians were killed and over 7000 injured within past two months of shelling in the war zone in Vanni. Also, UNICEF said, hundreds of children were killed thousands more were injured within past two months.
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