NGO nexus hatches conspiracy
against military operations
Sri Lanka News
Triggered by fear and anxiety at LTTE's inevitable defeat at Mullaitivu,
some top officials of a renowned NGO and a nexus of pro-LTTE groups
have held clandestine discussions to sketch-out urgent and drastic methods
to stall the Wanni military operations.
According to informed sources, the discussion has taken place in a
star class hotel at Kollupitiya, Colombo recently, where suggestions
considered were the raising of public agitation against the military
surge in the North, character assassination campaigns against top military
officers, and various other propaganda and agitation moves, informed
sources reveal.
According to these sources, 18 prominent individuals of the Colombo
elite, who are the main beneficiaries of the said NGO, have participated
at the meeting, which was also attended by a well-known cinema actress.
The NGO officials have threatened these individuals of severe sanctions
such as the stopping of current funds, reconsidering proposals for future
funding and other benefits in the event of the supporting nexus fails
to halt the military advances, in the North, through widespread agitation,
media manipulation and every other means.
"If in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu there is an LTTE debacle you
people will soon have to find alternatives ways for a living,"
the NGO officials had reportedly warned their Colombo nexus.
Meanwhile, further discussions were held to obtain details of whereabouts
and sensitive information about government officials, anti-terrorist
activists and media personnel, who are rigorously opposing and voicing
opinions against the LTTE, as well and looking into promoting the 'victim
industry', by giving publicity to so-called victims of the current military
operations. The blue-prints are now being drawn up for the initial stage
of this "anti-war" campaign, highlighting "victims"
problems, varied out in tandem with mudslinging and character assassination
campaign against key military personnel and critics of the LTTE.
Human Rights Watch report issued
after the meeting;
Government Should Lift Restrictions on UN and Other
Groups Now
(New York, November 28, 2008) – The Sri Lankan government should
immediately lift its September order barring humanitarian agencies from
the Vanni conflict area in northern Sri Lanka so they can assist thousands
of persons displaced by flooding from Cyclone Nisha, Human Rights Watch
said today.
Experienced and impartial humanitarian agencies have offered to respond
to the crisis, but face government obstruction. Only government-approved
food convoys have been allowed to enter the Vanni since the government
in September 2008 ordered the United Nations and nearly all humanitarian
agencies to withdraw from the Vanni, severely limiting humanitarian
access to the affected population. Cyclone Nisha hit northern Sri Lanka
on November 25, 2008, causing heavy rains and flooding that reportedly
forced between 60,000 and 70,000 people to relocate. Thousands of shelter
kits and tarps are available from the humanitarian community to provide
emergency shelters for the affected families, but the government has
reportedly insisted that only tarps without logos from humanitarian
agencies will be allowed into the Vanni. Such unnecessary restrictions
on assistance are unacceptable in this time of urgent need. "The
Sri Lankan government should stop playing games with aid organizations
and let them get on with their life-saving work," said Brad Adams,
Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Tens of thousands of people
in flooded areas of the Vanni are without adequate shelter and need
help now."
Government officials and humanitarian agencies estimate that between
230,000 and 300,000 displaced persons have been trapped in a small area
of the eastern Vanni by fierce fighting between the Sri Lankan army
and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE
has refused to allow displaced persons in areas under its control to
leave for government-held territory. It has increased forced recruitment
of civilians, including children, as well as making civilians carry
out regular forced labor in dangerous conflict areas. The LTTE has almost
completely stopped giving out passes allowing civilians to leave the
Vanni, with the exception of some urgent medical cases. Only about 1,000
persons have managed to flee the conflict zone since March 2008.
"The LTTE bears a heavy responsibility for the suffering of the
civilian population in the Vanni," said Adams. "By refusing
to allow civilians their basic rights to freedom of movement, they have
trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians in a dangerous war zone,
in horrible conditions."
The Sri Lankan authorities have not released any figures on the impact
of Cyclone Nisha in the Vanni region. Local authorities have reportedly
been instructed not to release any data to the public about the current
humanitarian situation in the Vanni, but credible assessments indicate
that between 60,000 and 70,000 persons in the Vanni have had to relocate
because of the flooding. According to government figures, more than
20,000 persons have been displaced by flooding in neighboring Jaffna
district, and the local authorities have called for emergency assistance,
indicating the extent of the crisis in the region. The impact of the
storm is likely to be far more severe in the Vanni because so many persons
were displaced in the Vanni prior to the storm and were already living
in flood-prone areas. Because of the flooding in the Vanni, a government
aid convoy traveling on November 25 was forced to turn back, unable
to deliver its supplies.
Human Rights Watch has previously reported that the Sri Lankan authorities
have detained many displaced persons leaving the Vanni, holding them
in closely guarded militarized camps near Mannar town. The government
claims this is necessary for the safety of the detained civilians themselves,
but the families detained in the camps have repeatedly stated their
desire to leave; the government's detention policy violates the rights
of these displaced persons to freedom of movement.
On September 5, the Sri Lankan authorities ordered all UN agencies
and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations to withdraw their staff
and operations from the Vanni conflict zone, only allowing the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Catholic church-affiliated
Caritas, which employs local staff only, to continue their operations.
Since the forced humanitarian withdrawal in September, only six UN convoys
with limited amounts of mostly food aid have entered the Vanni, as well
as a smaller amount of government-supplied aid. India has donated more
than 1,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to be distributed through
the ICRC, but the restrictions on humanitarian operations have prevented
the distribution of India's aid to date.
Human Rights Watch rejected the government's position that the forced
withdrawal of aid agencies was necessary for the security of the humanitarian
staff. The ICRC and Caritas continue humanitarian operations in the
Vanni without significant security problems, and many of the most urgent
humanitarian needs are found in areas away from the active fighting.
The most serious security incident against humanitarian groups in Sri
Lanka in recent years concerned the execution-style slaying of 17 local
aid workers with the Paris-based Action Contre la Faim in August 2006;
credible investigations found that Sri Lankan security forces were responsible,
but to date no one has been arrested, let alone convicted, for the killings.
"If the humanitarian community can operate in conflict zones like
eastern Congo, Somalia, and Iraq, they can operate in the Vanni as well,"
said Adams. "The government's argument that the safety of humanitarian
workers in the Vanni cannot be guaranteed comes across as more of an
excuse to conduct military operations without scrutiny than a statement
of concern."
Prior to the cyclone striking Sri Lanka, the humanitarian community
repeatedly warned that living conditions for the displaced population
trapped in the Vanni were deteriorating and urgently needed to be addressed.
They found that the food supplied by the humanitarian convoys has been
insufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of the population.
There is also a desperate need for shelters, water and sanitation services
(particularly toilets and safe water to prevent the spread of disease),
medical assistance, and other basic needs. An October humanitarian assessment
by a United Nations team concluded that at least 20,000 shelters were
immediately needed at that time.
"The Sri Lankan government has prevented aid agencies from assisting
thousands of desperate people in the Vanni," said Adams. "Now
is the time for the authorities to rethink these restrictions on humanitarian
activities or be held responsible for the resulting deaths and suffering."
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Sri Lanka, please visit: http://www.hrw.org/en/asia/sri-lanka
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