Atrocities continue in Sri Lanka

By Oscar J. Barbosa
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka, Ban Ki Moon, United Nations Secretary-General, called for an immediate ceasefire between the Sri Lankan Government and the revel Tamil forces.  The calling is due to an indiscriminate shelling of the Tamil coastal strip, where the Tamil Tigers have taken as the last stronghold. The region is inhabited by thousands of civilians cut in the crossfire, dying by the hundreds.

A temporal medical facility was attacked with a mortar bomb destroying the only functioning medical facility in the war zone. Due to the attack, 49 patients and bystanders were killed and 50 others were wounded.  The facility had also been attacked on May 2nd, when 64 civilians died.

The figures compiled by the United Nations showed that nearly 6,500 civilians had been killed over the last three months. The casualties’ calculations cannot be verified due to the government position of restricting doctors, aid workers, or foreigners into the war zone.  It is clear that at least 50,000 remain trapped in hell-like conditions.

As the fighting continues, there is an unclear global position in regards to the civil unrest.  Foreign ministers from Britain and France have flown to Sri Lanka to urge restraint and a halt to the bombings. Additionally, the Temils living in London, Toronto and in Tamil Nadu (India), have outspoken and lead demonstrations to demand an international intervention. The UN Security Council failed to take on the issue due to Russia, China, Japan and Vietnam’s block arguing that the fighting was an internal matter.

Priyanth Nallaratnam, a Tamil living in Toronto and participant of the protests said that:  “If the Prime Minister keeps on ignoring this, his ignorance of the community’s plight is just going to fuel the people even more, […] the Prime Minister [should] call for a ceasefire, expel the Sri Lankan ambassador, impose sanctions, send food aid and maybe deploy peacekeepers, among a long list of desired actions.”

Japan has also been pressured by Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group, Amnesty International, and Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. The four human rights groups urged Japan to support a formal action on the situation as a member of the UN.

The communication of the Human Rights groups, sent to the Japanese prime minister said that ” Japan, a powerful player on the humanitarian stage and the largest international donor to Sri Lanka, has an important role to play in saving countless civilian lives.” The letter also said that Japan had an important role to play to implement aid policies that ensure sustainable peace, human rights and development in Sri Lanka.

It is uncertain whether or not the international community will take action amidst intensive fighting with high collateral civilian casualties.

For more information, please see:

Zeenews – Human Rights groups ask Japan to flex muscle on Lanka – 12 May 2009
Posted Toronto – Tamils warn of more traffic chaos in new protest tomorrow – 12 May 2009
Times Online – Slaughter in Sri Lanka – 12 May 2009
The Independent – Forty-nine killed after hospital attacked in Sri Lanka – 12 May 2009

Author: Impunity Watch Archive