Sri Lanka rejects Tamil Diaspora aid

Government of Sri Lanka turned away the ship, MV Captain Ali, carrying relief supplies to the Tamils held in internment camps, after keeping the ship under Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) custody for nearly 4.5 days, and after admitting that the ship carried purely humanitarian supplies, a press release from the Mercy Mission Head Office in the UK said.

While the Government of Sri Lanka has been appealing for funds from the International Community to provide food and other assistance to the 300,000 Tamils being detained in the camps, it is surprising that Colombo would reject 800 tons of relief supplies, the Directors of the Mercy Mission said.

"This Mercy Mission ship, the product of the hard work of thousands of volunteers in the UK and Europe and donations from tens of thousands of Tamils throughout the world, could have been, and in fact, should have been, used by the GoSL as an opportunity to show it’s bona fides and engage with the Tamil Diaspora as a means to begin the process of reconciliation in, in the government’s words, “post-conflict” Sri Lanka," the press release said.

An ex-Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) monitor, Mr. Kristjan Guðmundsson, from Iceland, doctors, and humanitarian workers have accompanied the humanitarian relief on board the ship.

The Captain Ali, a Syrian-registered ship, was seized as it entered Sri

Lankan waters on June 4 by the country's navy, who suspected it  contained logistical equipment for Tamil Tigers.

After escorting the ship to Colombo, Sri Lanka detained 13 crew members and 2 passengers – including one Briton – for questioning.

"The ship had tried to enter Sri Lankan waters without following the proper procedure," a military official told reporters in Colombo.

However, later Sri Lankan authorities admitted the ship only carried a cargo of food and medicine.

"We are extremely disappointed that the Sri Lankan government has turned away this mercy mission that was only carrying aid," said Arjunan Ethirveerasingam a spokesperson for Mercey Mission.

"There are 300,000 people in internment camps in the north of the island who desperately need this aid.”

"The ship is currently headed westerly away from Colombo. When it reaches international waters we will work out how we can get the food and aid into Sri Lanka. Whether we take it to another country and ship it in containers or work with a partner organisation, we will have to decide, but we will find a way of getting the food to the people who need it." Ethirveerasingam added.

Earlier, Mercy Mission made a public appeal to the Sri Lankan government, urging it to allow Tamil Diaspora relief to be distributed to the Tamils held in internment camps in northern Sri Lanka.

“Mercy Mission (UK) implores the Government of Sri Lanka to engage with the Mercy Mission in order to overcome any paperwork errors and ensure that the emergency humanitarian relief (food & medicine) donated by the Tamil Diaspora are delivered to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the camps.” The appeal said.

“To that end, Mercy Mission seeks the GoSL’s permission to allow the ship and her cargo to enter into Colombo Port, be cleared appropriately, and handed over the Government Agent - Vavuniya, a local NGO, or a GoSL Ministry for distribution to the IDPs.”

“The GoSL has itself repeatedly pleaded with the international community for assistance with the humanitarian catastrophe that has overwhelmed them. With the sole objective of providing this desperately needed emergency humanitarian relief to the 300,000 IDPs in the camps and in the spirit of “engaging”, “reconciling” and “building bridges” with the Tamil Diaspora, Mercy Mission (UK) appeals to the Government of Sri Lanka to please let this assistance reach those who are in such desperate need.” The statement further said.