A statement by the UN right chief stating that both sides in Sri Lanka's conflict may have committed war crimes and must suspend fighting to let thousands of civilians escape, has been rejected by the Sri Lankan government and Tamils .
Whilst, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay’s accusation of war crimes has irked the Sri Lankan government, her call for all civilians in Vanni to be evacuated has raised concern among Tamils.
Pillay on, Friday March 13, said that certain actions undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law and called on both the Government and the LTTE to immediately halt the fighting to allow all civilians to evacuate the conflict zone.
Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said on Saturday, March 15 rejected Pillay’s accusations that that 2,800 civilians had been killed in Sri Lanka in recent weeks as "unsubstantiated.
"It is very, very unprofessional of her (Pillay's) office to rely on unsubstantiated figures," minister Samarasinghe told reporters.
"The figures are similar to those on Tiger proxy websites." he added.
The UN statement stated that although there is a Government-designated ‘no-fire’ zone for civilians in the Vanni region, repeated shelling has continued inside these areas.
Samarasinghe, however, denied that government forces were firing into a demarcated "safe zone" for civilians and accused UN human rights chief Navi Pillay of relying on pro-rebel elements to arrive at her assessment.
"The army is not shelling into the safe zone for civilians." Samarasinghe said.
Tamil political observers questioned the rational behind Pillay’s call for all civilians to be evacuated from Vanni, stating that uprooting of civilians from traditional homeland and handing them over to their oppressors will only help Sri Lanka’s genocidal intentions.
In her statement, Pillay also urged the Sri Lankan authorities to give UN and other independent agencies full access to the conflict areas and Tamil detention centres in government held territories to accurately assess conditions.
“We need to know more about what is going on, but we know enough to be sure that the situation is absolutely desperate,” she said.
“The world today is ever-sensitive about such acts that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
“The current level of civilian casualties is truly shocking, and there are legitimate fears that the loss of life may reach catastrophic levels if the fighting continues this way,” the UN rights chief said, adding that “very little attention is being focused on this bitter conflict.”
Referring to reports of LTTE holding civilians against their will in Vanni and forcibly recruiting them, the High Commissioner said: “The brutal and inhuman treatment of civilians by the LTTE is utterly reprehensible, and should be examined to see if it constitutes war crimes,”.
However, responding to UN rights chief’s accusations, LTTE political wing head, B. Nadesan said: "This is why we are continuously urging the international community to send its diplomats to visit the people here in Mullaiththeevu and listen to them,"
