Sri Lanka

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  • UNICEF: fuel and foot shortages in north

    Oct 26
    The 600,000 inhabitants of Sri Lanka’s Jaffna Peninsula, already buffeted by decades of conflict, are now facing food and fuel shortages as a result of a recent upsurge in fighting between Tamil separatists and Government forces, with many businesses closed due to security concerns, according to the latest update from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

    “Many people have no work, and transportation into Jaffna is currently limited to air and sea,” UNICEF said in a report from the area.

    “In the town, queues form outside food shops. Although the government is continuing to bring in supplies by ship and has set up a rationing system, almost everyone talks about shortages of flour, rice, sugar and lentils. On the black market, sugar and petrol are now about four times their normal prices.”

    More than 50,000 people have been displaced across the peninsula by renewed fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Government forces.

    “The majority have squeezed into the houses of relatives and friends,” UNICEF reported. “Others have gathered at temporary accommodation centres.”

    The agency cited the experiences of one child.

    “A shell landed on our village and I was wounded in the leg,” Jeyapiria Jeyaratnam, 10, recalled.

    “I’ve seen a lot of fighting. I hear noises in the night and I’m very scared. I feel that a shell is going to fall here, and I get frightened when I hear about fighting on the radio.”

    Her mother, Mary Angaleena, said the family decided to sleep in a church when the shelling started. She was wounded as well, and the family was evacuated by ambulance. “We lost everything, even our clothes,” she said.

    Jeyapiria now spends her time with other children at Our Lady of Refuge. She is in Grade 5 and said she’s disappointed she had to miss her exams because of the conflict. Children like Jeyapiria are registering for school and hope to start lessons soon.

    UNICEF has been working with the government and other partners to support the families at the church and other centres in the area, creating spaces for children to play and take informal lessons.

    Northeast of Jaffna town, in the Karaveddy area, 7,000 people have been displaced, two thirds of them living with host families. They fled fighting at the front line in the east. In one small village, four families with 11 children between them live together in a single-storey house.

    “Food is the main problem,” said the owner of the house. “There’s not enough flour and rice, but everyone will stay here until the problem is solved.

    ” Because of the security situation, the families are afraid to return to their village.

  • Violence roundup: week ending 22 October

    October 22

     

    ● Gunmen shot and killed Sivapatha Sharma, 40, a Saivite priest, in Vavuniya. He was one of the organisers of a vigil group against theft and robberies. The police said there was no known political or military motives for the killing.

     

    ● The body of Jeyaratnam Jesuthadasan, 27, was found with gun shot injuries along St. Antony's Lane in Trincomalee town.

     

    ● Armed men opened fire on a police sentry point at 39th Colony, Amparai, seriously injuring a home guard. The STA, STF and police cordoned off the area and conducted a search operation, recovering a T56 type assault rifle with its magazine.

     

    ● A SLA trooper was seriously injured when a claymore attached to a tree along the Uddupiddy-Vathiry road near Irumpu Mathavady exploded on soldiers returning to their camps in Nelliyady after conducting a cordon and search operation in Vathiry.

     

    ●

     

    The SLA’s 51-4 Brigade operates in the area west of Chemmani and another brigade of the SLA's 55th division operate in the FDLs near Ariyalai South, Kilali areas. The two brigades control the areas of Navatkull, Kaithadi and Chemmani and are widely believed responsible for the disappearances of the youths. However, officials from both brigades have rejected the accusation and said that they are unaware of the disappearances.

     

    ● There were reports that the SLA and LTTE exchanged artillery fire near Muhamalai FDL.

     

    October 21

     

    ● The body of a youth abducted by armed men on Wednesday was recovered Saturday with assault injuries. Kanthasamy Sureshkumar, 17, of Mavadivembu in Eravur, was abducted at Santhanamadu in Sithandy, and his body was discovered in the centre of Sithandy three days later.

     

    ● The bodies of two Tamil young fishermen who left Pesalai, Mannar, Friday afternoon for fishing, were found with several gunshot injuries Sunday inside their fibre glass fishing boat about 15 km off Pesalai coast. Savarian Robinson Koonja, 19, and Sahayam Ajith Croos, of Pesalai had left in their fibreglass boat to cast nets in deep sea Friday. The villagers had launched a search operation when they failed to return and searchers found the bodies in their boat, drifting at sea. Each body had more than twenty gunshot injuries and the boat had also been heavily shot up.

     

    ● One SLA trooper was seriously injured when a claymore attached to a tree exploded on soldiers returning to their camps in Nelliyady after conducting a cordon and search operation in the Vathiry area of Jaffna. Unconfirmed reports said there were fatalities in the explosion.

     

    ● The family of Karuppiah Sinniah, 32, of Periyakamam in Mannar, who disappeared eight months ago, has sought the assistance of the SLMM and the SLHRC to trace his whereabouts. The family suspect that he could have been arrested by Sri Lankan armed forces. Sinniah had gone on his motorbike to check his paddy fields on 27 December, but he failed to return.

     

    October 20

     

    ● The Sea Tigers retaliated against a SLN flotilla that launched an attack on Tiger vessels in the seas off LTTE territory in Nagarkovil. The Sea Tigers chased the SLN flotilla towards Kudathanai, damaging two Dvora Fast Attack Crafts, LTTE officials said. Fishermen in Point Pedro said the SLN personnel withdrew and landed in Point Pedro following heavy clashes in the seas.

     

    SLAF helicopters and SLN vessels resumed attack on the Sea Tiger flotilla that was returning to Mullaithivu. Sri Lankan military officials in Colombo claimed that they had sunk 3 LTTE boats and killed 20 Sea Tigers.

     

    ● The SLA in Varany, Thenmaradchi, began firing artillery shells towards LTTE controlled areas.


    ● David Vikneswaran, 35, and his wife Thirukeswary Vikneswaran, 30, living at Maththegoda Housing Scheme in Maharagama, were kidnapped around 1:00 am Thursday and their bullet riddled bodies were recovered by Police in the Piliyandala area around 6:00 am in the same morning.

     

    ● Regi Balananthan, 30, was kidnapped at Aluthmawaththa, around 10:00 pm Thursday and his bullet riddled body was found at roadside in Ragama.

     

    ● The People Vigilance Committee, a committee comprising a number of political parties and civil right organizations in Colombo, in press release said nine Tamils have been killed and thirty-three have disappeared in the last few weeks in Colombo. The release added that nine people have been released after paying ransom. In the last two days three more Tamils, a trader Jeyaraja, 46, from Moratuwa, Maheswaratheepan, 25, from Modara, and Shan George, 15, a student from Mattakkuliya, have disappeared, PVC said in its press release.

     

    ● Three members of a family, including a 3 year old boy, were seriously injured when high explosive artillery shells fired by the SLA from Valaichenai brigade and Sinhapura camps hit their house. The soldiers were firing towards residential settlements in LTTE controlled Vaharai. M. Sivanathan 28, M. Sivamalar 22 and M. Siyan 3 were seriously injured in the shelling that continued for more than an hour, and seven houses were badly damaged.

     

    ● Gunmen called Thiyagarajan Thilainathan, 28, out of his house at Karavedy along Arasady-Sonappu Road, shot him dead, and escaped.

     

    ● Kanthan Uthayakumar, 32, a trader from Karavedy East in Vadamardchchy, was shot in Karavedy by gunmen who followed him in on a motorbike, while he was riding his bicycle.

     

    ● Armed men riding a motor-bike followed three friends riding their motor cycles and shot them at Rasa Veethy located between Masivan junction and Nilavarai in Valigamam East. Kulasingham Kunarasa, 28, a mechanic from Thunalai, Vellupillai Thiyagarajah, 59, a vehicle broker from Atchuveli, and Illayathamby Kirupananthan 32, a painter from Atchuveli, were all killed.

     

    ● Unidentified men used a hand pistol to shoot dead Kurusamy Kathiravelu, 44, of Koiathodam in Jaffna, at his food shop in front of Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

     

    ● In Athiyady, Point Pedro, gunmen shot dead Thavarasa, a labourer.

     

    ● A dead body with knife wounds was found dumped in a well at Neeraviady close to Jaffna Hindu College in Jaffna town. The victim was identified as Kuganthan, 28 from Yarl Road, Kantharmadam according to the particulars in the identity card found on his body. The knife wounds on the body led to speculation that Kuganathan was knifed to death before being dumped into the well. Residents said they heard gunshots from Kasthuriar Road and Kankesanthurai Road areas the previous night.

    ● An auto trishaw driver who disappeared after being last seen at a SLA check point in Jaffna Wednesday, escaped from the SLA camp in Chavakachcheri and appeared in Courts under the protection of SLHRC. The driver alleged he was taken to several SLA camps and was tortured while in SLA custody. Kandiah Kandeepan, 30, a father of two of Sivan Kovil Road, Chavakachcheri, told SLHRC officials that he was stopped and interrogated by soldiers at the Sarasalai Army checkpoint on 18 October.

     

    After the interrogations, the soldiers had ordered him to take 3 other soldiers in his vehicle to the nearby Vannaththippalam Army camp in Vatharavaththai. There he was blindfolded and subjected to severe torture and transferred to various camps in Thenmarachchi region, Kandeepan said. On Thursday night SLA soldiers took him to Kompikkulamkadu area in Sarasalai, along the Chavakachcheri- Point Pedro road. Using the night time as cover, he said he managed to escape and took refuge at a house in Puthur. Friday morning he contacted the SLHRC who produced him before the Chavakachcheri judge, who gave orders to keep him in the custody of prison officers in Jaffna prison.

     

    ● Gunmen opened fire on a police road patrol unit at Pandarikulam, Vavuniya, seriously injuring a policeman. Police and the military cordoned off and searched the area immediately after the shooting, but no arrests were made.

     

    October 19

     

    l Sivasubramaniam Suthan, 31, was shot dead by gunmen who went to his home in Sandilippai North, Jaffna.

     

    l Thuraisingam Thavachchelvan, 31, was shot dead by an unknown person who visited him at his house, located 200 meters from a military checkpoint, in Puththur East, Valikamam.

     

    l Unidentified persons shot dead Rajagopal Karunakaran, a Tamil fisherman of Division No: 10 of Trincomalee town.

     

    l A Pillayar temple, a Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society building and 13 houses were badly damaged when SLAF Kfir attack aircrafts bombed civilian settlements in Tharavai and Iralakulam in LTTE Batticaloa district. There were no injuries as residents had sought safety in the jungles and other places when the bombings began Wednesday. However, a large number of livestock including goats and cattle were injured or killed in the bombing.

     

    l Unidentified men activated a claymore mine at Pathiniyar Mahilankulam in Vavuniya killing two SLA troopers of a road patrol unit on the spot.

     

    l A civilian from Thavasikkulam, Mirusuvil in Thenmarachchi region was killed when a shell exploded in the area. Sporadic exchange of artillery fire between the LTTE and the SLA continued across Muhamalai FDL.

     

    October 18

     

    l Heavy fighting between the SLN and LTTE was reported near the coast of Karainagar in Jaffna Islets.

     

    l Armed persons shot and injured Veera Arachchilage Antony Silva, 38, a father of two, at his residence in Pesalai.

     

    l The body of a male, estimated to be 25 years old, with gunshot wounds, was found at Paalpannaiyadi, Thirunelvely within Jaffna Municipal limits. The man was riding a bicycle when he was shot dead.

     

    l Two SLA troopers were seriously injured when unidentified men riding a motorbike hurled a hand grenade towards the soldiers on foot patrol in Neervely. Arumugam Joseph, 60, from Neervely, was seriously injured when soldiers fired indiscriminately following the attack.

     

    l A claymore aimed at a military convey in Chavakachcheri in Thenmarachchi region, exploded but missed the intended target. Following the attack, the SLA conducted a cordon and search operation in the area, but no one was arrested.

     

    l Piriyaliny Karalasingam, 32, a mother of one, living at Selvanayagam Road, Batticaloa, was shot dead by gunmen who called her name and shot her dead at point blank range near her house gate. Mrs. Karalasingam is from Muthur and was staying in a relative's house when she was killed. Her husband is working in a Middle East country.

     

    l Vairamuttu Arasamma, 52, was killed in Karadiyanaru when 2 SLAF Kfir bombers dropped more than five bombs on the civilian settlement. In the same bombing, M. Roshan, 38, and K. Gopu, 10, were wounded in Paalchenai. Both villages are in LTTE controlled territory northwest of Batticaloa town. Six houses were destroyed in the SLAF bombing, and two of the five bombs in Karadiyanaru did not explode.

     

    October 17

     

    l Gunmen in a white van abducted a Muslim youth from his home at Kavathamunai MPCS Road in Valaichenai. Relatives of Mohamed Thaheem 21, a trader, registered a complaint with Valaichenai police. Residents speculated a local business related dispute might have been the reason for the abduction.

     

    l Armed men attacked a police sentry point, manned by five home guards, at Thamanabantha, Amparai, seriously injuring one of the home guards, identified as M. Samantha. Police and home guards reinforcements rushed to the site, cordoned it off and searched the surroundings., but no onewas arrested.  

     

    l Gunmen shot dead a police constable attached to Kallady police station in Batticaloa at a bus halt close to the Kurukal Madam STF camp in Batticaloa. llayathamby Ilankeswaran, 43, a father of four, of Kurukal Madam, died on the spot when gunmen fired at him as he was waiting for a bus on his way to work.

     

    l  SLMM officers Edward and Bjørn Kjelsaas, accompanied by LTTE Amparai District Political Head S. Jeya, inspected the houses and properties destroyed by STF artillery shelling, and spoke with the affected civilians. Earlier, Mr Jeya, had briefed the SLMM on the previous week’s pre-dawn offensive of the Sri Lankan STF into LTTE controlled Kanchikudicharu. The SLMM officers told Mr Jeya that STF had stopped the SLMM from visiting the affected area sooner, saying that fighting was going on between the LTTE and Karuna group and that it was not safe.

     

    l Armed men opened fire on a SLA unit of the Murakodanchenai SLA camp at Sithandy, Eravur, seriously wounding one trooper, M. K. Senivaratne, 33. The SLA retaliated following the attack but no one was hurt and no one was arrested in the search operation conducted by the SLA after the attack.

     

    l Two SLAF Kfir bombers destroyed the main broadcast tower and transmitter of the Thamileelam Radio that broadcasts the Voice of Tigers, official broadcast of the Liberation Tigers, Thamileelam Vanoli, a commercial Tamil service and a Sinhala language broadcast.

     

    l A claymore mine placed near the sixth mile post along Trincomalee-Nilaveli road exploded, but no one was injured. Security officers said the claymore had been targeting a navy vehicle carrying troops, but exploded after the SLN vehicle passed the site.

     

    October 16

     

    l Vehicles along key roads leading to Trincomalee and Batticaloa came under attack by Sinhala gangs in Habarana, following a bomb attack that claimed more than one hundred SLN lives. Gangs have hurled stones at vehicles belonging to Tamils and Muslims, with at least twenty vehicles including state, private buses and cars being damaged. Several passengers were also injured in the incidents. Sinhala gangs operating under the cover of darkness were allegedly being assisted by SLA soldiers and police personnel in uniform, affected passengers said. The attacks also occurred near the Habarana Police Station.

     

    l Arivucholai, an orphanage housing 216 children in LTTE controlled Puthukudiyiruppu, Mullaithivu, narrowly escaped a catastrophic air-strike from SLAF Kfir aircrafts, which dropped two bombs on the playground and the bathing facility of the orphanage. One boy was wounded.

     

    l Muthu Mohanaraja, 24, was shot dead in Anpuvallipuram, a suburb in Trincomalee town, where he had been residing. He was employed as driver in the World Bank funded North East Housing Reconstruction Project.

     

    l A policeman attached to Valvettithurai police station and a SLA trooper were killed by a remotely triggered claymore blast, when the SLA road patrol was attacked between Udupidy and Valvetithurai in Vadmaradchchi north. The unit was on its way to Valvettithurai from the Udupidy junction SLA camp when the attack occurred. The claymore device was attached to a bicycle left leaning on the wall of an abandoned Christian cemetery.

     

    l Two girls were killed and 15 civilians wounded when SLAF bombers attacked Kaiveli, a village in Puthukudiyiruppu. (See separate story)

     

    l Gajathu Mohamed Mustafa, 43, of Vinayaga Mudaliyar Road, Point-Pedro, the husband of a Tamil woman, was stopped and shot dead at Oddadi Road in Pt. Pedro while on his way to Pt. Pedro town.

     

    l Vairamuthu Nallathamby, 58, a family man of Thunnalai in Vadmaradchchi, who had gone on a personal errand to Viyaparimoolai, was shot dead by unidentified men.

     

    l A SLAF Israeli-built Kfir bomber came down as it took off to bomb LTTE territory, falling into the Negombo lagoon. The pilot ejected before the Kfir came down, Sri Lankan military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said.

     

    l Markandu Mahendran, 39, who served as Grama Sevaka in Ariyalai for several years was shot dead by unknown gunmen at his residence in Ariyalai, Jaffna.

     

    l Two gunmen arrived at the house of Selliah Nanthan, 42, in Tellipallai Road, Vaddukoddai, and shot and killed him at close range.

     

    l Ariyathurai Ariyasivam, 40, who runs a tea-shop in the central part of Jaffna town, was shot dead by gunmen at his business premises. Ariyasivam, a father of four, was displaced from Mandaitivu and was residing in Kokuvil.

     

    l Iranagama Sooriyasinghe, 56, a Sinhala civilian who settled in Viyaparimoolai in Vadmaradchy, was shot dead by gunmen when he was on his way to a nearby shop to buy provisions. Sorriyasinghe is originally from Galle, according to sources.

     

    October 14

     

    l Wilfred Gamini, 45, a fisherman and father of five, from Thalavai in Eravur, Batticaloa was abducted, by unidentified armed men from his house in Sinnathamby Road. He was forcibly taken by men who had entered the house by breaking the door.

     

    l An unidentified Tamil man was found shot dead with his hands tied behind his back.

     Mohanathas Kannathas, 29, and Rajaji Thavaraj, 28, two brothers from Kantharmadam, Jaffna, were reported missing on their way to Thenmaradchi, near Chemmani, the gateway between Valigamam and Thenmaradchy.
  • Negotiators head to Geneva sans agenda
    Negotiators representing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government began arriving in Geneva this week ahead of Norwegian-brokered talks over the weekend, their first since February. Both sides have sent large delegations. But no agenda has been agreed. And, as simmering violence continues on the ground, there is no goodwill either.
     
    Several weeks after the international community, led by the Co-Chairs of the donor community – the United States, European Union, Japan and peace-broker Norway – demanded a return to the table, the negotiators are on their way to Switzerland.
     
    Since the last round of face-to-face talks in Geneva February 2006, the violence between both sides has escalated.
     
    Sri Lanka agreed then to disarm Army-backed paramilitaries waging a murderous campaign against LTTE supporters and members. The LTTE agreed to cease attacks against the armed forces.
     
    But the military expanded the paramilitaries instead and the ‘shadow war’ between them and the LTTE exploded into direct confrontations, while the background murders of LTTE-supporters also escalated.
     
    In the past few months, amid set-piece battles between the LTTE and Sri Lankan armed forces, hundreds of civilians have either been murdered or disappeared in military custody.
     
    Meanwhile, since heavy fighting in the region in mid-August, the A9 highway to the Jaffna peninsula remains cut off. The government is refusing to open the road, which runs through LTTE-controlled Vanni to the northern peninsula.
     
    The government insists supplies can be taken by sea under the escort of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross). But the LTTE suspects the military plans to resupply its massive garrison in Jaffna in ships flying ICRC flags.
     
    Amid this deadlock, violence has continued. In several offensives throughout the Northeast since late July, the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has captured territory from the LTTE.
     
    Amid the sense of triumph, Colombo adopted a hardline on negotiations, even rejecting the Co-Chairs demand that talks be held immediately in Oslo.
     
    But a severe defeat two weeks ago in a short bloody battle in which at least 130 SLA soldiers were killed and 500 wounded, has sobered the euphoria. As did two subsequent suicide bombings, one on a naval convoy which killed 115 sailors and another on the Galle naval base.
     
    The enthusiasm for further military operations might have been temporarily dulled, but not the animosity between the parties. Unlike the previous seven rounds of talks, both delegations will not even stay in the same hotels in Switzerland.
     
    Most importantly, there is no agreement on the agenda.
     
    The government says it wants to discuss the "core" issues of the conflict. However the rebels said they were more concerned with humanitarian issues and the implementation of the February 2002 ceasefire.
     
    "The agenda for the talks has not been worked out," head of the LTTE Political Wing, Mr. S. P. Tamilselvan told reporters. "However, on our part, we have prepared to focus the urgent humanitarian crisis caused by the Sri Lankan state terrorism in the Tamil homeland."
     
    He defined "state terrorism" as violence by Sri Lankan forces ranging from aerial attacks on civilian targets, extra-judicial killings, use of paramilitaries against civilians, to blocking humanitarian supplies to civilian population.
     
    Analysts say both sides are begrudgingly participating in the talks to avoid alienating the international community.
     
    The LTTE has bluntly said it only agreed to attend the talks out of respect for the international community.
     
    Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse, who was elected to office by a wave of Sinhala nationalist support last November has reportedly told the government delegation to convince the international community of the government's “honest commitment to achieving lasting peace.”
     
    And this week, his ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the main opposition United National Party (UNP). The international community has long urged a bi-partisan consensus on the ethnic question between the two largest southern parties.
     
    But, despite disquiet over rising human rights abuses by the military, including the massacre of 17 aid workers, and repeated offensives into LTTE-controlled areas, it is the government which is enjoying international goodwill ahead of the Geneva talks.
     
    Over the weekend, the United States threw its weight behind Colombo.
     
    “We are signaling our strong support for the government of Sri Lanka. We do not recognise Tami Tigers and we don't support them,” US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns told a round table of South Asian journalists.
     
    "We have excellent relations with the government of Sri Lanka. I have met with President [Mahinda] Rajapakse,” he added.
     
    On Monday the LTTE’s delegation left Kilinochchi for Colombo in a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter. Amid concerns for the safety of LTTE officials in government-controlled areas, they were accompanied by Norway’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar.
     
    The 13-member team LTTE team included Mr. Tamilselvan, Tamil Eelam Police Chief, Mr. B. Nadesan, head of the Peace Secretariat, Mr. S. Puleedevan, the LTTE’s Military Spokesman, Mr. Irasiah Ilanthirayan and Deputy Head of the Women's Section of the Political Wing, Ms. Thamilvili.
     
    These five officials, along with the LTTE's Legal Advisor, Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, based in the USA comprise the LTTE’s negotiating team, TamilNet reported.
     
    The government’s an eight-member negotiating team headed by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, along with several aides, were scheduled to leave for Geneva on Wednesday.
     
    A statement said the delegation would also include Ministers Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Ferial Ashraff and Rohitha Bogollagama; Peace Secretariat head Palitha Kohona; Gomin Dayasiri, adviser to the President, and the former Police Chief Chandra Fernando.
  • UN ‘shocked’ by lack of access to civilians
    The United Nations’ top emergency relief official says there are serious concerns about lack of access to some parts of Sri Lanka’s warzones, especially in the Tamil north.
     
     “I have been shocked by the lack of access for relief agencies to civilian communities in many conflict areas,” Jan Egeland, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said in a statement.
     
    “The parties [to the conflict] should be reminded that they are under international legal obligations to enable unimpeded access to civilians in need of assistance irrespective of where they are or the circumstances under which they live.”
     
    Some 204,000 people currently displaced in the north and east, who have fled their homes as a result of the escalating violence, the UN news agency said.
     
    A small amount of aid is beginning to get through to the north, the UN says.
     
    Sri Lankan officials have cleared some 7,500 litres of diesel fuel for transportation by the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent (ICRC), along with medical supplies and UN relief items, including sleeping mats, jerry cans, soap, emergency health kits, and bed sheets.
     
    The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has also managed to send a second convoy of 14 trucks carrying 230 tons of wheat flour to the north, after conducting a food security assessment in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts (Vanni) earlier this month – the first since the resumption of hostilities earlier this year.
     
    “The United Nations and indeed the whole international community are watching the dramatic increase in violence in Sri Lanka with deep concern,” Mr. Egeland said.
     
    “All Sri Lankans benefited immensely from the cease-fire and the parties must now return to a cessation of hostilities and to resolving their differences at the negotiating table.”
     
    A nutritional survey, which is being carried out by health ministry and supported by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), started on October 18 in Kilinochchi district.
     
    “All Sri Lankans should remember how we in the international community came to their relief after the tsunami. It will not be understood if the Tamil Tigers and the government now plunge their country into a man-made tsunami that can still be prevented,” added Mr. Egeland.
     
    “The United Nations stands ready to help Sri Lanka in any way that the government and the parties to the conflict deem necessary to prevent violence and promote reconciliation.”
  • Rights violating states point to US
    Several governments around the world have tried to rebut criticism of how they handle detainees by claiming they are only following the U.S. example in fighting terrorism, the UN special rapporteur on torture said Monday.
     
    Manfred Nowak said that when he criticizes governments for their questionable treatment of detainees, they respond by telling him that if the United States does something, it must be all right. He would not name any countries except Jordan.
     
    "The United States has been the pioneer . . . of human rights and is a country that has a high reputation in the world," the Associated Press quoted Nowak as saying.
     
    "Today, many other governments are kind of saying: 'But why are you criticizing us? We are not doing something different than what the United States is doing.' "
     
    Nowak said that because of its prominence, the United States has a greater responsibility to uphold international standards for its prisoners.
     
    State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper told the Associated Press that he had not seen Nowak's comments and had no response.
     
    Nowak has chastised the United States over detainee policy and for maintaining secret prisons.
     
    Nonetheless, he said, the United States had improved its handling of detainees, particularly in Iraq after the Abu Ghraib scandal. 
  • LTTE hands 75 bodies to ICRC

    Liberation Tigers handed over 74 bodies of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in black body bags Thursday evening in Kilinochchi. Another soldier's body was taken to Kilinochchi Thursday evening.

    "The (main) handover took place on Thursday evening at 8pm local time at Omanthai checkpoint on the A-9 road," said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which acted as intermediary.

    Omanthai, 260kms north of Colombo, marks the de facto border separating government and LTTE-held territory and lies just north of Vavuniya.

    More than fifty bodies of SLA soldiers are strewn around in the battlefield in unidentifiable state, according to LTTE officials.

    133 SLA soldiers were killed in action or reported missing according to the official figures released by the Sri Lankan defence ministry media co-ordinating centre Thursday.

    More than 200 SLA soldiers were killed when LTTE defense formations under Special Commander Col. Theepan defeated the SLA forces Wednesday, LTTE officials claimed.

    The LTTE Military Spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said that LTTE had seized 16 Multi Purpose Machine Guns (MPMGs), 4 Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers (RPGs), a Grenade Launcher, lite anti-tank weapon, 98 assualt rifles and large amounts of ammunitions from the Gemunu Watch SLA soldiers.

    More than fifty bodies, severely damaged and decomposed state, were still found strewn around inside the LTTE territory and inside the no-go zone, he added.

    Most of the dead troopers belonged to the Gemunu Watch regiment of the SLA.

    Director of LTTE's NGO Liaison Office, Mr. Pavarasan, handed over 74 black body bags to the ICRC official Katja Lawrence at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Identification details of more than 50 soldiers, gathered from various identity cards and papers, were provided to the media by Mr. Pavarasan.

    Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Liaison Office in Kilinochchi, Lars Bleymann and Gunnar Johannsson also visited the Kilinochchi Central Playground where the bodies were packed into black bags.

    Defence ministry media officials in Colombo reported 78 SLA soldiers as missing in action and 55 dead. 283 SLA soldiers were severely wounded, according to the figures issued by Colombo.

    The bodies were taken to the SLA camp in Vavuniya in four vehicles.

  • Sri Lankan offensive in Amparai

    The Liberation Tigers and Sri Lankan government blamed each other Friday for a flare-up of the conflict in Amparai.

    Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) troopers launched a pre-dawn offensive into Liberation Tigers territory in Amparai Thursday, the LTTE said. "The STF ground troopers have moved in 6 km into our territory inside Kanchikudicharu," said LTTE Amparai District Political Head S. Jeya.

    The Liberation Tigers fighters were engaged in defensive clashes with the STF troopers, according to the Tiger political head of the Amparai district.

    The STF on Thursday regained areas in the Ampara district, bringing them under government control for the first time in 20 years, reported the Sunday Times newspaper.

    "LTTE terrorists launched artillery and mortar shells towards the police Special Task Force (STF) defences," at Kandjikudiaru in Ampara, the defence ministry said. It said there were no reports of casualties in the overnight artillery exchanges.

    The STF was targeting villages in the area surrounding Kanchikudichcharu with artillery shelling from Thirukkovil, Sahama and Kanjirankudah camps and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers were also targeting the villages.

    Kanchikudicharu villagers have fled inwards into other villages via Santhanaru. Some civilian houses have been burnt down by the STF troopers who advanced into Kanchikudicharu, the Tigers said.

    The LTTE Amparai District political head has complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that the STF offensive was a major violation of the Ceasefire Agreement.

  • Soldiers protest deficiencies in hospital care

    Soldiers undergoing treatment in Anuradhapura general hospital for serious injuries caused in their confrontations with Tiger terrorists at Muhamalai, Nagarkovil and Kilali security front line lamented that they do not receive sufficient care and attention due to various deficiencies in the wards reserved for them, reported the Daily Mirror.

    They brought this fact to the light of parliamentarians Jagath Duminda Disanayake and Gamage Weerasena, North Central Provincial Council Chief minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake and President’s coordinating Secretary Ganganath Abeygunawardena who went to see the injured soldiers on the instructions of the President.

    They said that the number of minor employees is not at all sufficient and pointed out and they have to wait for hours when they want to get wheel chairs pushed to go to the toilet.

    "The Number of wheel chairs available at present is not sufficient. The services of at least two more doctors are necessary to cater to the needs of patients in these wards. The sanitary condition in toilets is not satisfactory," they said.

    At present there are 54 injured soldiers undergoing treatment in this hospital. The visitors promptly discuss with the Chief Medical officer the matters pointed out by the injured soldiers and undertook to take remedial action early after discussing the matter with the President

    A serious lapse, in planning the military attack seems the failure to give consideration to casualties if a serious eventuality occurred, reported the Sunday Times of the Muhamalai attack.

    Even ambulances were in short supply and there were no arrangements in Colombo to receive a large number of casualties, the paper said.

  • New threat: remote-controlled toys

    Sri Lanka has banned imports of remote-controlled toy cars, boats and planes because of fears the Tamil Tigers could use them as bombs, a senior military official said last Tuesday.

    "You get remote-controlled planes and cars which can be operated on the road. If it gets into the wrong hands, they can bring a small toy, send it underneath a vehicle and blast it," the official said on condition of anonymity.

    "Two to three kilograms (4.4 to 6.6 lb) of explosives can go in one of those cars without any problem," he added.

    "This can pose a threat. The LTTE are desperate today... There is no telling what they could do. They could make use of some of this equipment."

    However, while imports have been banned, existing stocks of remote-controlled toy cars are still readily available on supermarket shelves in central Colombo.

    The ban comes during a new chapter of Sri Lanka's two-decade civil war and after a spree of roadside bomb attacks and clashes that have killed hundreds of troops, civilians and LTTE fighters since late July.

    The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were not immediately available for comment on the toy ban, which the official said would be a temporary measure.

  • Sectarian violence re-surfaces in Kattankudy

    Police imposed a curfew in Kattankudy as two days of clashes between religious factions resulted in damage to over 30 houses and a number of vehicles. Orthodox Muslims and an Islamic sect that preaches pantheism clashed on October 2 and 3, damaging 32 houses and a van and burning down 3 motorbikes.

     

    A deviate religious faction led by Abdur Rauff Moulavi, who often is in odds with the main Islamic religious authority, Jammiyathul Ulama and another group, were reported to be involved in this incident.

     

    During the curfew, the town seemed deserted and persons entering the town defying the curfew were beaten and chased away by Police.

     

    A group of Muslim youth ordered other Muslims not to perform certain Islamic rituals that had been practised for hundreds of years, reported The Island. When this request was turned down, they went against those Muslims who refused to do away with the usual rituals and attacked their homes.

     

    A majority of Muslims in Kattankudy are said to be against these youth but are frightened because they are allegedly back by an armed group that openly operates in the town. The armed group is said to be led by an ex-policeman and residents complain that the local police do not take action to apprehend the armed group

     

    Many rich Muslim businessmen and farmers on the east coast are followers of Rauff Moulavi and 'Payilvaan', with Sufi leanings. Rauff Moulavi's critics say that his teachings have borrowed from Hinduism and is the work of Muslims of Tamil Nadu origin, settled in Kattankudy.

     

    The Deputy Director General of Police for Batticaloa- Amparai districts, Lasantha de Silva, arranged a conference to control the clashes and defuse the tension.

     

    Representatives of the Ulama Council and the Islamic "Sufi" sect, involved in the conflict, A. Majeed, the District Coordinator for SLFP, SSP M. Kirigal, ASP A. Jamaldeen, the Chairman of Kattankudy Urban Council, members of the Council and journalists participated in the conference held for two hours.

     

    The conference ended without reaching any compromise.

     

    Sympathizers of the Kattankudy Jammiyathul Ulama Council and Federation for Kattankudy Mosques and other Organizations placed 10 demands to the sect led by Rauf Moulavi.

     

    The demands included respecting the rules and regulations of Kattankudy Jammiyathul Ulama Council, stopping the radio broadcast and publishing the newspaper run by them and giving compensation to the houses damaged.

     

    Meanwhile, many youths were seen gathered in the Kattankudy Grand Jumma Mosque and Bathriya Jumma Mosque, which are the centre of focus to both factions. In Kattankudy Grand Jumma Mosque only, more than thousand youths gathered and a large number of Policemen patrolled the area in Armed Personnel Carriers.

     

    A similar incidence of violence occurred between these factions in 2004 and received wide media coverage. There was a settlement between Jammiyathul Ulama and Rauf Moulavi negoatiated at that time, under the patronage of former Batticaloa District parliamentarian Mr. M. L. A. M. Hizbullah, but the details of that are not known.

  • Violence roundup: October 1-15, 2006
  • International alarm as Sri Lanka war heats up

    The International community reacted with alarm to the latest fighting in Sri Lanka, and delegates from three countries are expected to visit this week to discuss the renewed outbreaks in the conflict.

     

    The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by intense fighting in Sri Lanka that has jeopardized new efforts to revive a peace agreement between the government and the Liberation Tigers.

     

    The offensive in Muhamalai, Jaffna, came just hours after Norway announced that the two sides had agreed to meet in Switzerland on October 28 and 29 in a bid to save the 2002 truce and end an upsurge in violence that has claimed over 2,200 lives since December.

     

    "The United States welcomes the agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to return to talks ... but is deeply concerned that ongoing violence in Sri Lanka is putting the agreement at risk," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement issued in Washington.

     

    "We call on both sides to cease hostilities immediately and foster an environment that is conducive to holding productive discussions in Geneva," he added.

     

    "We also urge both sides to ensure that non-government entities involved in humanitarian relief efforts are provided access to conflict-affected areas."

     

    The European Union said it feared renewed fighting in Sri Lanka could endanger the resumption of peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers.

     

    Finland, the holder of the rotating EU presidency, called on both sides to create an environment for constructive discussion ahead of the talks planned for Oct. 28-29 in Geneva.

     

    "The presidency is deeply concerned about the increasing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law," the presidency said in a statement.

     

    It urged the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to ensure humanitarian aid deliveries had free access to areas hit by the conflict and that the security of humanitarian workers was guaranteed.

     

    "It is crucial that the government and the LTTE now use this opportunity to cease hostilities," Erik Solheim, Norway's top peace broker, had said in Sri Lanka earlier Wednesday, before news of the renewed fighting broke.

     

    The United States is one of four "co-chairs" of a donors group set up to support the peace process. The other members are Norway, Japan and the European Union.

     

    McCormack said Washington was working closely with its fellow co-chairs "to find a way forward to an end to the violence and human rights violations in Sri Lanka and a return to negotiations between the parties".

     

    The previous Monday, the co-chairs’ ambassadors had met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse in Colombo and expressed their concern about the continuing hostilities between government troops and Liberation Tigers even after both parties agreed to resume peace talks.

     

    Ambassadors of the United States, Japan, Norway and Germany representing the European Union met the Sri Lankan President at his Temple Trees residence. They were reported to have discussed the urgent need to cease all hostilities in the lead up to peace talks.

     

    They also expressed their fullest support for the resumption of talks between the warring parties, press reports said.

     

    Sri Lankan Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, reportedly told the Co-Chairs' ambassadors that the Sri Lankan military would continue with "pre-emptive" strikes in a bid to "curb terrorism notwithstanding with the ceasefire agreement."

     

    The SLA commander had further said that whatever the military does in LTTE territory was a defensive business, according to press reports.

     

    US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher and two other foreign envoys are expected to visit Sri Lanka this week to seek a halt to a the renewed rash of fierce fighting.

     

    Boucher's visit, due to start Thursday, comes as the government and Liberation Tigers fight nearly daily artillery battles.

     

    "He is coming to show support for the peace talks and call for an immediate cessation of hostilities," an official at the US embassy in Colombo said.

     

    Mediator Norway's special peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer will also visit the island this week, his second trip in a month, as will Yasushi Akashi, the envoy of the island's chief financial donor, Japan.

     

     

  • Story of the Colombo 'safe house'

    The arrest of a Tamil youth, Poobalapillai Kantharajah, 26, from Batticaloa, on September 29, shed light on an abduction and extortion racket that has plagued the eastern city for some time.

    Investigations carried out following the arrest show that although several complaints had been made to the police with regard to suspicious activities taking place in highly residential areas in the city, no attention was paid to them and no action taken on the complaints made.

    In fact, in one instance, the police had told several residents who lodged a complaint on suspicious activities taking place in their neighbourhood that they need not worry as they were aware of it and that the persons in question were affiliated to the Karuna Group.

    The Sunday Leader learns that the leader of the group of abductors was once arrested by the Athurugiriya police, but was released following orders from the IGP.

    Kantharajah was arrested by the Kotahena Police on a tip-off by the son of an abducted businessman and was captured when he was collecting the ransom money for the release of the businessman.

    During interrogation, Kantharajah confessed that he was affiliated to the Karuna group and that there were two groups affiliated to the Karuna Group who were behind the abductions of Tamil businessmen in Colombo.

    Kantharajah has revealed to the police that apart from the group he was affiliated to, there was another group that carried out abductions as well. However, this group he has said took those abducted to areas in the Polonnaruwa District.

    According to informed sources, Kantharajah was arrested once earlier by a special police crime detection unit, but was released soon after on orders received from the IGP.

    Kantharajah said that the groups were led by one T. Nagulendran who resided in a house in Malabe.

    The group has also had another house in Thalangama, from where they operated. Both houses have been taken on rent from Sinhalese people and the van used for the abductions was also owned by a Sinhalese, according to Kantharajah. The house Kantharajah was living in at the time of his arrest was raided and searched by the Kotahena Police soon after he was taken into custody.

    "We knew they were Tamils and we saw some of them carrying batteries to the house. So we told the police that there were some suspicious activities taking place in the house," a resident said.

    The response from the police is something that would astound anyone. The response had been that no one living down the lane should worry as they were members of the Karuna Group.

    "The police said that and after that what can we say?" one neighbour asked.

    The Sunday Leader also spoke to the Thalangama Police, who denied knowledge of any suspicious activities taking place in the area. In fact, the police said that they had no idea of a house in Thalangama being raided on September 29 following a statement made by Kantharajah.

    As for the complaints lodged by residents, the police dismissed it by saying that they receive a lot of complaints from people in the area of suspicious activities and sometimes they receive complaints of paper sellers and beggars on the road as well.

    President Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a one-member committee to report on the abductions taking place in the city.

    Tamil politicians however are sceptical of the whole process as they feel it is yet another attempt made by the government to fool the public.

    TNA Parliamentary Group Leader R. Sampanthan charged in parliament last week that the government has so far not taken any steps to address the issue of abductions of Tamil civilians by armed gangs.

    The arrest of Kantharajah saw many versions of his affiliations coming to light. The government initially went on record publicly claiming that he was an LTTE cadre, who was collecting funds for the organisation.

    This statement however was made by the government even after the suspect himself had confessed to being a Karuna cadre giving out all details of the group's activities in the city, especially with regard to abductions and extortion.

    However, later a spokesperson from the Karuna faction was also reported admitting that the police had indeed captured one of their cadres. The spokesperson had also maintained that the cadre was arrested on baseless allegations.

    The government then kept quiet about the whole issue and maintained that it was still investigating into the true affiliations of the suspect arrested by the police.

    Government Defence Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told a media briefing last week that anyone carrying out such activities would be brought to book, even if it was Karuna or his men.

    Rambukwella also noted that the government was still looking for Karuna.

    (edited)

  • Sri Lanka military imposes unofficial censorship

    Amid an intensifying civil war, the Sri Lankan defence authorities have set out tough new guidelines for the media, which amount to de facto censorship of reporting on military activities.

     

     In a letter issued to all news organisations on September 28, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse called for all coverage to be submitted to the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) for vetting.

     

    “Any news gathered by your institution through your own sources with regard to national security and defense should be subjected to clarification and confirmation from the MCNS in order to ensure that correct information is published, telecast or broadcast,” the directive stated. The defence secretary is the brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is defence minister and commander in chief.

     

    The letter insisted that the measure was to “ensure that all national security and defense related news are disseminated to local and international media promptly and accurately without censorship”.

     

    Government defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella, who heads the MCNS, met media chiefs on September 28 to explain the new directive.

     

    He asked the media to “obtain information related to national security and defence related news through the MCNS or authorised officials”. Action was needed, he said, “following the publication of contradictory media reports in the recent past”.

     

    None of the media outlets have objected to the new measures. The only criticism raised by the Sunday Times was that there was one rule for the local media and another for the international press.

     

    None of the major political parties, all of which back the military action against the LTTE, have criticised the directive or defended freedom of the press.

     

    Speaking to media heads on August 16, President Rajapakse called for “responsible reporting” on issues of national security and support for the war. The meeting was called after military chiefs complained that the media was “helping LTTE terrorists” by failing to completely toe the line laid down by defence spokesmen.

     

    (edited)

  • Remaining aid workers' bodies to be exhumed

    The bodies of 15 Action Internationale Contre la Faim (ACF) aid workers killed in Muttur in August are to be exhumed as part of the investigations into the massacre. Two of the 17 aid workers killed in August have already been exhumed and are being kept in Colombo awaiting examination.

     

    The local staff of the Paris-based Action Against Hunger group were found killed in their office in Muttur on or around 5 August 2006. The inquest, which began in the Muttur Magistrate's Court, was transferred to the Anuradhapura Magistrate's Court in early September.

     

    The Norwegian mission monitoring Sri Lanka's ceasefire has blamed government troops for the killings. The government has denied responsibility.

     

    Former head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Ulf Henricsson last week said that a local investigation into the murders would not reveal the truth while reiterating claims that government forces were implicated in the massacre.

     

    "It is clear that government forces have been implicated, several sources have confirmed their implication. At the moment of the massacre the zone was totally controlled by government forces. The SLMM will only reveal its sources to an international commission," Henricsson said while addressing the press in Paris.

     

    He added, "I don't believe in an inquiry conducted by the Sri Lankan judicial system. We are at a war situation in Sri Lanka. No party to the conflict can carry out an objective inquiry. The only solution is an independent international commission."

     

    Henricsson was attending a press conference held by ACF to mark the second month anniversary of the massacre.

     

    However Defence Spokesperson Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told The Morning Leader that the former SLMM head did not have a right to make such comments and it was only obvious that he wanted to sling mud at the government.

     

    "No one can take him seriously, especially the international community. Investigations into the Muttur massacre are continuing and till such time inquiries conclude, no party can be held responsible. He is a man who is living in an imaginary world," Minister Rambukwella said.

     

    Meanwhile, ACF officials said that they were not accusing any one of the murders but that it was up to the government to bring the culprits to justice.

     

    "We don't want to point fingers at anyone, we want the Sri Lankan government to take its responsibilities. We want the truth behind the massacre," ACF President, Denise Metzger said.

     

    ACF has not been informed of any new developments in the investigation two months after the massacre. "We don't have any information why the massacre took place, there has been no new light shed by the government on the investigation. The investigation is still in its preliminary stage," ACF Director General Beniot Miribel said.

     

    Miribel said that the truth would only come out if the witnesses were protected. He also doubted any new findings through the two post mortems.

     

    Earlier, Australian forensic experts brought to Sri Lanka to investigate the killings returned home in the last week of September "frustrated by having to idle in Sri Lanka until legal and other modalities were cleared," media in Colombo reported. The experts are expected to return to assist in the investigations.

     

    The Sri Lankan Government has invited the Australian Government to provide technical forensic expertise for the investigation into the deaths, as and when specifically requested by Sri Lanka. But the Australian forensic team is not mandated to observe the proceedings, assess whether they comply with international standards, or to report publicly.

     

    The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) had also expressed deep concern after the Sri Lankan government informed it that the ICJ's official representative would be prevented from entering the country to observe the inquest.

     

    "It is regrettable that the Government has chosen not to allow our independent international observer to attend this vital inquest", said Nicholas Howen, Secretary-General of the ICJ.

     

    "At a time when the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions have warned that investigations and accountability mechanisms have failed to bring justice to victims in Sri Lanka, it is particularly important for the Government to demonstrate that every stage of its processes, including inquests and trials, are open, transparent and credible", he added.

     

    The ICJ had informed the Sri Lankan authorities that it intended to send a senior British based lawyer (Queens Counsel), to observe the inquest. However, the ICJ was informed that it could not observe these hearings and that its representative would not be granted an appropriate visa if he applied.

     

     

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