After a spate of attacks on its offices by the Sri Lankan security forces and allied paramilitaries, the Tamil Rehabiliation Organisation this week urged the Sri Lankan security forces to ensure protection for humanitarian aid workers.
“Over the past four days the TRO offices in Colombo (Monday 8th) the government controlled areas of the NorthEast - the Trincomalee and Vavuniya offices (both on January 5th)– have been raided by police,” the TRO said.
Police who thoroughly searched the offices and removed computers, documents, files, and other material from all the offices, the TRO said. “The Trincomalee office was also attacked and ransacked by armed paramilitaries on Saturday and Sunday nights.”
The attackers, who were speaking both Sinhala and Tamil ransacked the Trincomalee office on both nights burning documents and destroying furniture. In the Sunday attack the paramilitaries stole the office’s Toyota Mini-Cab Pickup truck.
TRO requests that “the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) guarantee the safety and security of humanitarian relief workers during this time of conflict.”
“Security for the TRO offices in the GoSL controlled areas is the responsibility of the GoSL of Police and security forces,” the organization said.
“The GoSL has consistently failed to provide any such security and has failed to investigate and charge any persons in the 20 attacks on TRO offices or TRO personnel in the past 2 years.”
In January 2006, seven TRO workers were abducted by Army-backed paramilitaries and have been missing since.
Other attacks in the past six months the TRO listed on its personnel included:
10 December 2006: 40 people killed and 100 injured when GOSL forces shelled 3 TRO refugee camps in Palchchenai, Kandalady and Vammivadduvan.
8 November 2006: Kathiraveli 47 people killed and 136 injured when GOSL forces shelled a TRO refugee camp. The TRO Sonobo Children’s Home was shelled, 12 children injured.
August 2006: TRO boat making yard in Eachchilampattu bombed by the Air Force.
23 August 2006: TRO Jaffna office destroyed.
19 August 2006: A TRO boat making yard to re-supply tsunami affected fishermen was bombed by the Air Force. All boats under construction or finished were destroyed, with the store room and the main building.
15 August 2006: Amparai TRO office attacked – gunfire and grenades.
31 July 2006: Punochchimunai, Muslim Village, “Rebuild a Village Project” The storeroom at the work site was broken into and over 200 bags of cement were stolen. The staff and security guards on the project had resigned or stayed home due to intimidation by the paramilitary Karuna Group.
15 July 2006: Grenade attack on TRO Jaffna office, 100 meters from an Army checkpoint.
13 July 2006: Cement being transported to a tsunami “Rebuild a Village Project” being implemented in Vaharai, Batticaloa District was hijacked in Valaichennai by paramilitary forces.
“Over the past four days the TRO offices in Colombo (Monday 8th) the government controlled areas of the NorthEast - the Trincomalee and Vavuniya offices (both on January 5th)– have been raided by police,” the TRO said.
Police who thoroughly searched the offices and removed computers, documents, files, and other material from all the offices, the TRO said. “The Trincomalee office was also attacked and ransacked by armed paramilitaries on Saturday and Sunday nights.”
The attackers, who were speaking both Sinhala and Tamil ransacked the Trincomalee office on both nights burning documents and destroying furniture. In the Sunday attack the paramilitaries stole the office’s Toyota Mini-Cab Pickup truck.
TRO requests that “the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) guarantee the safety and security of humanitarian relief workers during this time of conflict.”
“Security for the TRO offices in the GoSL controlled areas is the responsibility of the GoSL of Police and security forces,” the organization said.
“The GoSL has consistently failed to provide any such security and has failed to investigate and charge any persons in the 20 attacks on TRO offices or TRO personnel in the past 2 years.”
In January 2006, seven TRO workers were abducted by Army-backed paramilitaries and have been missing since.
Other attacks in the past six months the TRO listed on its personnel included:
10 December 2006: 40 people killed and 100 injured when GOSL forces shelled 3 TRO refugee camps in Palchchenai, Kandalady and Vammivadduvan.
8 November 2006: Kathiraveli 47 people killed and 136 injured when GOSL forces shelled a TRO refugee camp. The TRO Sonobo Children’s Home was shelled, 12 children injured.
August 2006: TRO boat making yard in Eachchilampattu bombed by the Air Force.
23 August 2006: TRO Jaffna office destroyed.
19 August 2006: A TRO boat making yard to re-supply tsunami affected fishermen was bombed by the Air Force. All boats under construction or finished were destroyed, with the store room and the main building.
15 August 2006: Amparai TRO office attacked – gunfire and grenades.
31 July 2006: Punochchimunai, Muslim Village, “Rebuild a Village Project” The storeroom at the work site was broken into and over 200 bags of cement were stolen. The staff and security guards on the project had resigned or stayed home due to intimidation by the paramilitary Karuna Group.
15 July 2006: Grenade attack on TRO Jaffna office, 100 meters from an Army checkpoint.
13 July 2006: Cement being transported to a tsunami “Rebuild a Village Project” being implemented in Vaharai, Batticaloa District was hijacked in Valaichennai by paramilitary forces.
