Amnesty Urges Sri Lanka to Allow Aid

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka –
Amnesty International urged the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels to allow aid to the more than 300,000 people displaced by the fighting in the northern Wanni region.

“More than 300,000 people face the next few months crowded together in temporary shelters, surrounded by mud, with no promise of regular access to food or adequate sanitation. Our information indicates that the situation in Wanni is rapidly becoming critical, despite that government’s statements that it is coping,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Director.

Nearly two-thirds of the civilian population in the Wanni region have been displaced by the conflict. Amnesty International states that the need for shelter is increased by the approaching of the monsoon season. Only 2,100 temporary shelters have been provided, leaving more than 20,000 families without shelter.

Amnesty International urges the government to allow additional aid by human rights groups since it believes that the government lacks the capacity to uphold international human rights standards and to ensure that the support is provided to protect the lives of the civilians. Moreover, the Tigers are called upon to ensure the freedom of movement to safer places.

On Thursday, the Sri Lanka government rejected the charges of humanitarian aid blockage to the people in Wanni. Presidential Secretariat said that the government is satisfied that the maximum assistance is being provided considering the circumstances dealing with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The Tigers have been at war with the government in order to achieve their goal of a separate homeland for the LTTE. The battle taking place in the Wanni region has lasted for several weeks now, causing the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The civilians are trapped because of both the fear they have of the government and the restriction of movement from the Tigers who currently occupy the territory. The government hopes to end the war with the Tigers by taking back this region.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Amnesty in Urgent Sri Lanka Plea – 19 November 2008

Colombo Page –  Sri Lanka Government Rejects Amnesty International Report of Aid Blockage – 20 November 2008

TamilNet – Amnesty Urges Sri Lanka to End Policy of Blocking Humanitarian Aid– 19 November 2008

Author: Impunity Watch Archive