US never threatened to block IMF loan to SL

Mr. James Moore, chargé d’ affaires of the U.S. Embassy called at his request on Dr. Palitha Kohona, Secretary, Foreign Affairs today and wished to clarify the U.S. position regarding the IMF loan facility to Sri Lanka, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Mr. Moore stated that the U.S. government has on no occasion, either publicly or privately, threatened to block the IMF loan to Sri Lanka on political grounds.
He explained that the decision will be taken by the Executive Board of the IMF, of which U.S. is a member, based only on economic criteria and not political factors. He also added that the U.S. Government and other members of the Board will review and consider the loan on financial and economic criteria after such time when the Government of Sri Lanka submits the Letter of Intent to the IMF.

Donor countries and international aid organizations

Donor countries and international aid organizations have kept quiet so far about the Tamils’ plight, evidently fearful that criticizing conditions in the camps could get them thrown out of the camps. The time for silence is over. The best way to help the Tamils is by demanding their freedom and an end to their long ordeal, says New York Times in its Wednesday editorial.

The editorial said that what is called as “welfare villages” by the Sri Lanka’s government to hold hundreds of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians for more than two months is increasingly look like military internment camps, where access by human-rights organizations or journalists is highly restricted.
It further said that though the government's claims of looking for Tamil Tigers among the refugees and clearing Tamil villages of landmines before letting people return may have concerns, but the screening process is dragging on far too long. And many refugees see it as another abuse of the country’s Tamil minority.
It added that one prominent Tamil politician told The New York Times’s Lydia Polgreen, “This is simply asking for another conflict later on down the road.” If President Mahinda Rajapaksa means it when he says he seeks reconciliation with the Tamils, he should start by letting these people return to their homes.
The editorial continued: The government’s strict control on visits to the camps has also raised suspicions that it may be trying to block any investigation into possible government abuses committed in the last months of the war. Soldiers corralled the Tigers, along with hundreds of thousands of civilians into a narrow stretch of beach and, according to human-rights organizations, shelled the area repeatedly. The United Nations says that thousands of civilians were killed, though how and by whom remains murky in the absence of independent investigations.
Donor countries — including the United States, the European Union and Japan — as well as international aid organizations are helping provide food, shelter and clothing to the camps. Most have kept quiet so far about the Tamils’ plight, evidently fearful that criticizing conditions in the camps could get them thrown out of the camps. The time for silence is over. The best way to help the Tamils is by demanding their freedom and an end to their long ordeal.

Tamil Camps

More than two months after declaring victory over Tamil Tiger guerillas, Sri Lanka’s government is continuing to hold hundreds of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians in what it calls “welfare villages,” but what increasingly look like military internment camps.

The civilians, many of whom were held hostage by the guerrillas in the bloody last stage of the long war, are not being allowed out of the camps, and access by human-rights organizations or journalists is highly restricted.
The government claims it is looking for Tamil Tigers among the refugees and clearing Tamil villages of landmines before letting people return. It may well be that there are former guerrillas hiding among the civilians — the Tamil Tigers had no compunctions about using civilians as cannon fodder or forcibly conscripting men and children. But the screening process is dragging on far too long. And many refugees see it as another abuse of the country’s Tamil minority. As one prominent Tamil politician told The New York Times’s Lydia Polgreen, “This is simply asking for another conflict later on down the road.” If President Mahinda Rajapaksa means it when he says he seeks reconciliation with the Tamils, he should start by letting these people return to their homes.
The government’s strict control on visits to the camps has also raised suspicions that it may be trying to block any investigation into possible government abuses committed in the last months of the war. Soldiers corralled the Tigers, along with hundreds of thousands of civilians into a narrow stretch of beach and, according to human-rights organizations, shelled the area repeatedly. The United Nations says that thousands of civilians were killed, though how and by whom remains murky in the absence of independent investigations.
Donor countries — including the United States, the European Union and Japan — as well as international aid organizations are helping provide food, shelter and clothing to the camps. Most have kept quiet so far about the Tamils’ plight, evidently fearful that criticizing conditions in the camps could get them thrown out of the camps. The time for silence is over. The best way to help the Tamils is by demanding their freedom and an end to their long ordeal.


STORY

Ban refutes allegations that UN closed eyes on civilian casualties in SL; 'I should not be responsible for that'

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in an interview with Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on a wide-ranging issues, last month in New York, touched on Sri Lankan crisis when WSJ asked him what he accomplished on Sri Lanka.


Mr Ban discussed on wide-ranging issues with WSJ, including the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs, his relations with the Obama administration, UN reform, his own public image and the role of the secretary-general in the modern era.

When WSJ asked him why he didnot make any public statement on high civilian casualties, while the killing was going on, he said: Whatever the number may be, it was totally unacceptable. Unfortunately there was a high number of civilian casualties. At this time I would like to make it quite clear that there were some allegations that the United Nations closed our eyes to this [reported figure of] 20,000 civilian casualties and tried to underestimate this number. First of all that is totally not true. We have never done that.

He said "I should not be responsible for that, it's totally not true."
"Whatever the number might be, this is an unacceptable one. In these extreme conditions, it was not possible to know the exact number of people who had been killed. That is what I can tell you at this time," he told WSJ.

Here is an edited transcript of the interview:
WSJ: Many of your critics say you travel too much, that you are not in New York enough and delegate too much in New York on management issues and not enough to your representatives abroad. And that by traveling too often you are devaluing the impact of a Secretary General visit. Also that your timing is off, in Sri Lanka you arrived after the fighting, almost putting a seal of approval on what the Sri Lankan government had done.
SG: I am aware of that kind of sentiment, even criticism. I have been on the road maybe average one-third of my time trying to attend multilateral meetings or very crucial events where I can really send out some messages. But when you have 192 member states who want to invite me to their events, I have been refraining from meeting on a purely bilateral purpose. I try to be more often in headquarters. However I delegate my authority, the tendency is for people looking to the head, of course. But they know what they should do, all these under-secretaries general or assistant secretaries-general. So it doesn't involve me much in my direct intervention in the daily activities. With global communications I can be reached wherever I am.

WSJ: But on Sri Lanka. I'd be interested to hear your view about what you accomplished on Sri Lanka.

SG: If you look at my timing of my visit to Sri Lanka you may argue that I was there after everything had finished. A long time before this crisis began I have been urging the Sri Lanka government to protect the civilian population, not to use heavy weapons. I have been talking to them all the time. Sometimes I issued a strong statement, urging and criticizing them. On my visit, first of all I called for unimpeded access to internally displaced camps. That has been done. Then [the Sri Lankan president] assured me that 80% of these people would be resettled by the end of this year. It was very difficult to agree with him on a joint communique. I conveyed the importance of full accountability, taking into consideration the view of the international community and non-governmental organizations. I strongly urged them that before there was an external imposition on them to be committed to accountability. In the end [the Sri Lankan president] agreed to full accountability and I am sure he will take action soon.

WSJ: At least 10,000 civilians died. Wouldn't it have made a difference if you had made public statements while the killing was going on as opposed to a joint communique after the fact?

SG: That's what I said. Whatever the number may be, it was totally unacceptable. Unfortunately there was a high number of civilian casualties. At this time I would like to make it quite clear that there were some allegations that the United Nations closed our eyes to this [reported figure of] 20,000 civilian casualties and tried to underestimate this number. First of all that is totally not true. We have never done that. I should not be responsible for that. It's totally not true. Whatever the number might be, this is an unacceptable one. In these extreme conditions, it was not possible to know the exact number of people who had been killed. That is what I can tell you at this time.

UN Staff Union concerned at continuing detention and harassment of staff in SL

The UN Staff Union, last Friday called on Secretary General Ban to demand the Sri Lankan Government to release all UN staff members held without charge and not to restrict the movement of UN personnel.

The United Nationa Staff Union and its standing cOmmittee on the security and independence of the international civil service regret the continuing detention and harassment of UN staff members in Sri Lanka, said its statement.
The press statement dated 10 July, further said: The action by the Sri Lankan authorities against UN staff members in Sri lanka violate international instruments dealing with the privileges, immunities and independence of UN officials. In particular, detained staff must not be held without charge and must be brought before a civilian court. The freedom of movement of UN staff to do their work must be ensured.
It said that the recent action of Sri Lanka to detain two national staff members appears to be a campaign against UN personnel, which is illegal under international law. Authorities have been arresting without explanation, UN staff members, initially refusing to provide access to them by UN officials, it added.
On 20 June, the UN's country team in Sri Lanka said that two its staff members, one from UNHCR and one from the UN Office for Project Services, had been arrested. The staff members had been reported as missing eight days earlier, after which it emerged that they had been taken into custody. The country team was not aware if any charges had been laid, nor of the details of any accusations, and requested details as to the basis on which the staff members were being held. The two men both ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils, were working as drivers in the northern region of Vavuniya.
The committee called upon the Secretary General to demand the Sri Lankan Government to release all UN staff members held without charge, not to restrict the movements of UN personnel and to respect the independence of all UN staff, in accordance with international law.
The Staff Union also requested the authorities in Sri Lanka to provide the details on staff members' well-being and reminded the government that it is a party to the 1994 UN convention on the safety of United nations and associated personnel and the 1946 convention on the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press said that with even the funders of Sri Lanka's camps for Tamils now calling them prison-like places of internment, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been quoted about Sri Lanka that "I should not be responsible for that." But what about the continued detention of the UN's own staff? Two UN system employees have grabbed up by plain clothes police in unmarked vehicles and have yet to be released: Kandasamy "Saundi" Saundrarajan and N. Charles Raveendran.
According to ICP, before issuing their statement, UN Staff Union officials expressed outrage at quotes by the UN's Country Representative in Sri Lanka, UNHCR's Amim Awad, that "the UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process."
Whatever happened to the UN's claims, for example in Sudan, that its staff members are immune, at least in the scope of their work?
In fact, the UN on Sudan was taking a contrary position, that immunity extends to national staff, Lee said.
"In New York, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said U.N. officials in Khartoum had contacted authorities about Hussein to ensure a U.N.-Sudan agreement on the status of the mission was respected 'and that basic human rights are upheld in the context of national laws governing such issues.' U.N. officials said the United Nations interpreted the agreement to mean that members of the mission were immune from judicial proceedings."
Why are the UN's positions in Sri Lanka and Sudan so different? asks ICP.

Rajapaksa rules out separate ethnicity-based provinces

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said “no” to ethnicity-based separate provinces, in an interview to the latest edition of the American magazine Time.

Asked if he believed in some kind of self-governance for the Tamils, Rajapaksa said: “Don’t say Tamils. In this country you can’t give separate areas on an ethnic basis, you can’t have this.” But provinces could certainly have powers, to enable them to handle local matters, he conceded.
When asked if there was some kind of an effort to change the demography of the Tamil-majority areas, the President said: “No”. But he pointed out that demographic changes were happening in the Sinhalese-majority Colombo. “The Eastern Province Muslims have come here (Colombo district). The Tamils have come here. You ask them. Why are you coming here? Can I stop them? No. If anybody wants to come and live in any part of this island, it the right of a man,” he stated.
Ruling out any special devolution for the wholly Tamil-speaking Northern Province, Rajapaksa said the North could not have a model of its own. “That I will not allow. The whole country must have a system.”
He noted that there were differences among the Tamils as to what they should ask for, now that the LTTE has been defeated and its leader, Prabhakaran, is dead. “If you ask the IDPs (International Displaced Persons or the war refugees) they’ll say we want to go back to our villages. If you ask politicians, they’ll say, we want this and that. But yes, we need to give a political solution,” Rajapaksa explained.
NO TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION: Rejecting a suggestion that there should be a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to heal the wounds of the past through an honest and public acceptance of past mistakes, the President said that he did not want to “dig into the past and reopen wounds.” When suggested that airing a wound would help it heal, he retorted: “This is where the West is different from the East.”
WAR CRIMES: Asked about the move to punish Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes in the final stages of the battle against the LTTE in which 7,000 civilians were thought to have been killed, Rajapaksa said that it was wrong to punish a whole people through sanctions and embargoes, for the alleged wrongdoings of the leader or decision maker.
“Are you going to punish (all the) citizens for that, or the man who is responsible? Take me. Say that I violated all these human rights, killed people, right? Do you punish me, Mahinda Rajapaksa, or the innocent people of this country by sanctions, embargoes, travel advisories? There are ways of punishing me if you want. There, by now saying that, I will get punished,” he said.
However, he maintained that there were no human rights violations against the Tamil civilian population. “There was no violation of human rights. There were no civilian casualties. If I did that, it would’nt have taken two-and-a-half years to finish this. I would have done this in a few hours. These are all propaganda. In the Eastern Province (there were) zero casualties. I won’t say there were zero casualties in the North. The LTTE shot some of them (civilians) when they tried to escape,” Rajapaksa said.
CHINA’S INTERESTS: The Sri Lankan President denied that China was gaining a strategic foothold in the island, by building a major port at Humbantota. “I asked for it. China didn’t propose it. It was not a Chinese proposal. The proposal was from us. They gave money. If India said, yes, we’ll give you a port, I will gladly accept. If America says, we’ll give a fully equipped airport – yes, why not? Unfortunately, they are not offering to us,” Rajapaksa said.
BETWEEN CHINA AND INDIA: Asked if China was becoming a more important ally to Sri Lanka than India, the President said that he was not looking at China and India in that way. “India is our neighbour, our relation, our friend – we have special relationship. India is helping us (with money for development).” (P K Balachandran, ENS)

Vavuniya MSF medical team performed more than 5,000 surgeries in five months

War-wounded and displaced patients flood MSF hospitals, there are many pregnant women and many children who are developing complications from respiratory illnesses, malnutrition, and diarrhea, says Hugues Robert, MSF head of mission for Sri Lanka.

A Médecins Sans Frontières's (MSF's) field news on Tuesday said: Working in conjunction with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health, Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams in Vavuniya District in Sri Lanka’s northeast have performed more than 5,000 surgeries over the last five months, most to treat conflict-related injuries. Activities are currently focused on post-operative care, including minor surgery, dressings, and physical therapy, as well as hospitalizations for displaced persons.
"There are many pregnant women and many children who are developing complications from respiratory illnesses, malnutrition, and diarrhea."
Seven weeks after fighting ended between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tiger rebels, fewer patients are arriving at the hospitals, but their numbers still exceed bed capacity. The total number of patients at the 450-bed hospital in Vavuniya has stabilized in recent weeks at approximately 1,200. MSF is working with Ministry of Health staff in the Vavuniya and Pompaimadu hospitals, as well as in an MSF hospital located across from the Manik Farm camps.
Surgery and post-operative care for the wounded still constituted most of June's activities, with nearly 1,200 surgeries performed on war-related injuries and thousands of wounds dressed. "Increasing numbers of displaced persons are now coming to the hospitals, too," says Hugues Robert, MSF head of mission for Sri Lanka. "The population in Vavuniya District nearly doubled over a few months, with more than 260,000 displaced persons arriving from the former conflict zone in the Vanni, area of northern Sri Lanka. This means that there are many pregnant women and many children who are developing complications from respiratory illnesses, malnutrition, and diarrhea. The Ministry of Health has expanded its capacity to treat these patients, but given the breadth of the needs, we think it's important for MSF to continue to provide support and expertise."

Treating the displaced population

 

At the MSF hospital located across from the Manik Farm camps, staff has hospitalized 600 patients since its opening on May 22. Most are displaced persons, referred either by Ministry of Health staff working in the camps or by other hospitals that have run out of space. They arrive and leave in ambulances, accompanied by a member of the security forces.

"The primary causes of hospitalization are old wounds and respiratory and skin infections," says Marie-Noëlle Rodrigue, MSF's emergency operations manager. "We adapt based on the medical needs. For example, we are developing obstetric care. But because we don't provide medical care in the camps, we don't have a good sense of the health status of the population that has come out of the war zone." Some displaced persons may require hospitalization for several days to several weeks. They include, for example, paralyzed and permanently disabled individuals who are treated at the Ministry of Health's Ayurvedic hospital in Pompaimadu. MSF's physical therapists help them regain some mobility so that they can move around with the crutches and wheelchairs provided by Handicap International.
Some of the wounded and ill are burn survivors, struggling to return to normal life. "I remember one woman whose face was ravaged – you couldn't tell her age,” a nurse recalls, “and she was with her eight-year-old daughter, the only one of her four children to survive. The child helped her in every aspect of her daily life. The woman would just disappear into herself for periods; it was the only way to escape the pain, in spite of the medication. She had to undergo several skin grafts after being wounded by multiple bomb explosions. I also remember a seven-year-old boy who no longer spoke and hadn't eaten practically anything for two months, since his father died. He was severely malnourished and did regain weight while he was hospitalized. But he never said a word right up until the time he left."
Overview of MSF's activities in Vavuniya District
Ministry of Health hospital in Vavuniya: MSF has supported the surgical unit since February. Approximately 4,000 surgeries have been performed on war-related injuries. The volume of work remains high, with an average of 1,400 surgeries per month since April. The vast majority, 70 percent, involve war-related wounds. More than 3,000 dressings have been applied in a temporary tent, the accident unit and three other hospitalization departments where MSF received authorization to work. MSF also supports the nutrition center in the pediatrics department, with nine nutritional assistants. In addition, approximately 100 assistants help patients in various departments who cannot feed or wash themselves. They also distribute essential supplies, including sheets, clothing, and bags, to new patients who need such items.
Ministry of Health Ayurvedic hospital in Pompaimadu: More than 170 wounded patients receive care, from minor surgery to physical therapy, in this hospital, which has received support from MSF since May. A small operating room was installed for minor procedures. Most involve wound- cleaning under anesthesia so that patients do not suffer excessively. In June, 114 minor procedures, primarily wound cleaning, were performed. Two physical therapists and five assistants help patients work their muscles and move as much as possible. Approximately 150 patients have benefited from this physical therapy to date.
Manik Farm hospital: This 150-bed hospital is equipped with two operating rooms and an intensive care unit. The tents have been replaced gradually by semi-temporary structures in order to improve hospital conditions, and the number of beds may be increased further as needed. Of the 600 admissions since late May, approximately one-quarter were children under five years of age.
The surgical team performed more than 300 procedures. More than one-third involved war injuries, primarily to extract shrapnel and bullet fragments. Outpatient services are also provided for new patients and for surgery patients who require post-operative treatment. 210 patients have received outpatient care since late May.
MSF has also been working at the Point Pedro hospital on the Jaffna peninsula since 2006, providing obstetric services, emergency care, and surgical care, and in the Chavakachcheri hospital since 2008, providing surgical consultations and prenatal care. MSF has provided prenatal care in the displaced persons' camps in Jaffa since June.

Sri Lanka's homegrown ethnic solution: Jehan Perera

In May this year, when the Sri Lankan government was faced with the serious threat of an investigation by the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations, it made several promises to the international community that helped to sway the vote in its favor.

These promises included moving forward without delay in healing the wounds of war in the country, specifically resettling the displaced persons and finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict. The implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which established devolved provincial governments, stood at the center of this promise.
On numerous occasions President Mahinda Rajapaksa has made reference to the government's commitment to implementing this partially implemented law. He has even said he is willing to go beyond it, as “13th Amendment plus 1.” But now, after the military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, there is increasing emphasis placed by the government on a yet unspecified and vague “homegrown” solution.
Government spokepersons have stated that just as they defied international expectations in militarily defeating the LTTE with their own plan and strategy, so will they finally bring a political solution to the ethnic conflict in their own way.
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution was promulgated in the context of the Indian effort at mediating an end to the conflict in 1987 and was an outcome of the Indo Lanka Peace Accord. It is therefore not home grown and gave a degree of autonomy to the provinces that they had not enjoyed in the context of Sri Lanka’s unitary Constitution. There was an imposed aspect to the 13th Amendment, because it took place in the aftermath of the Indian invasion of Sri Lankan airspace and the halting of Sri Lankan military operations against the LTTE.
It is therefore to be expected that India would be particularly observant about the implementation of this law. The implementation of the 13th Amendment would help to restore some measure of Indian credibility as Sri Lanka’s superpower neighbor. If the Sri Lankan government were to strengthen the provincial council system along the lines of President Rajapaksa's earlier pledge of 13th Amendment plus 1, there is no doubt this would be satisfying to the Indian government and help to maintain its own credibility in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which is liable to become volatile on the issue.
The All Party Representatives Committee appointed nearly two years ago by the president to work out a mutually acceptable political solution has utilized the existing arrangements for the devolution of power as found in the 13th Amendment as the basis of its own proposal for a political power-sharing p proposal.
Although the sincerity of those who have met regularly in the APRC on more than 120 occasions cannot be doubted, there have been weaknesses in the structure that have eroded its credibility to some extent. One is that the largest opposition party, the United National Party, and the largest Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, have not been participating in the process, the former due to grievances with the government and the latter on account of not being invited to participate in the APRC.
A further weakness has been the cavalier attitude with which the government has often treated the APRC's proposals in the past. When the APRC was about to unveil its interim proposals the government withheld these proposals and instead proposed to implement the 13th Amendment as it existed.
On the other hand, the APRC has sought to clear the ambiguities in the existing provincial council law, such as the list of concurrent powers that are shared by both the central government and the provincial councils to the invariable disadvantage of the latter. The APRC has also proposed entirely new improvements to the scheme of devolution, by creating an entirely new upper chamber, by which representatives from the provincial councils will have a voice in central government.
In this context the most recent declarations by sections of the government spearheaded by representatives of the Sinhalese nationalist parties are neither surprising nor reassuring. With general elections looming and presidential elections also a possibility, the government would not wish to antagonize any section of the voting population, especially among the Sinhalese majority that constitutes about three-quarters of this electorate, and whose undivided vote would propel President Rajapaka and his government to yet another election victory.
The Sinhalese voters have been strongly influenced by the Sinhalese nationalist agenda. The government needs to balance this against earning the disfavor of the Tamil people and the international community to whom it has made promises.
There is concern within the government that the devolution of power will lead to the multiplication of separatist sentiment, even if only to carve out small ethnic enclaves from the Muslim and Hill Country Tamil people, in addition to the demand by the Sri Lankan Tamils of the north and east. An indication of the government's approach to dealing with the ethnic minorities was seen in the manner in which it compelled the leadership of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party and the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal leaderships to contest elections under the ruling party's banner, rather than separately in a manner that highlighted autonomous Tamil political power.
On the other hand, in adopting the "homegrown" approach to the solution to the ethnic conflict, the government needs to bear two factors in mind. The first is that the political solution to the ethnic conflict cannot be imposed on the Tamil people. What the government has successfully demonstrated is that a militant movement can be defeated by military means. But the nationalism of one people cannot prevail by force of military victories or larger numbers over the nationalism of another people.
The solutions to ethnic conflicts, if they are to be sustainable, need to be negotiated based on mutual accommodation, with space for more negotiations and accommodations in the future. An imposed solution to an ethnic conflict, even if it is described as a political solution, is likely to break down in the longer term.
The imposed nature of the 13th Amendment in 1987 can also be given as evidence for its failure in implementation. The value of the APRC’s proposals is that they are the result of over 120 meetings within the ruling coalition and with some opposition parties, which seek to give a homegrown quality to the 13th Amendment.
The second factor the government needs to take into account is the promises it has made in the recent past, which are being watched by the international community. These promises include resettling the bulk of the internally displaced people by the end of the year, and also the implementation of the 13th Amendment.
At a time when its relations with the Western countries have become troubled in many respects, Sri Lanka needs to keep faith with the countries that have supported it during the period of war, especially India, which is its closest neighbor. This is a relationship that needs to be strengthened by keeping to promises made.(UPI Asia)

Say 'No' to Sri Lanka: The time of judgement has arrived to the land of terror

“International legal systems have so far failed to bring the Sri Lankan War Criminals to justice. It is time for the average Joe, an ethical shopper to say No to “Holiday Packages to Sri Lanka”, No to “Sri Lankan Airlines”, No to “Sri Lankan Cricket”, No to “Ceylon Tea”, No to “Garments or any other products made in Sri Lanka” and No to any “Organisations having commercial interests in Sri Lanka” until Sri Lanka stop the killings of the innocents with it's death squads, until the last person is set free from the death camps of Sri Lanka, until the people of Sri Lanka start to live without the fear of abductions, torture, rape and murder by the Sri Lankan State and its armed forces, Until Sri Lanka starts to treat all its citizens equally with dignity and give them the rights they deserve” - says Richard Dixon in his recent article.

“Money goes into the hands of Sri Lanka are now used to destroy individuals, families and communities therefore, it is rational, ethical, sensible and right to stop supporting a country that is determined continue with its genocide agenda, despite calls from the international community”

Death and destruction in a Terror Island

Fifty thousand innocent men, women and children were brutally murdered on the sandy beaches and in the jungles of Sri Lanka, by the Sri Lankan Military while the whole world stood back and watched.
Three hundred thousands are now locked up in the death camps of Sri Lanka. Men are tortured, Women are abused and raped, Children are psychologically tormented, foreign media is banned, aid workers are blocked and the Tamils are now let to die like flies without proper food, medicine and water. Dead bodies are thrown outside the tents and let to rot while the young and old stand in the hot sun for hours to beg for food.
Times UK has recently reported that fourteen hundreds are dying every week in the horror camps manly due to water Bourne diseases and many preventable illnesses. The rate at which people are dying now, the whole camp will be empty just in three years time. Many who are prisoned in these camps have relatives and friends living in other parts of the country and overseas, who are willing to help.
Sri Lankan government is so adamant that it is not helping the dying Tamils and also not letting others to help.
Purpose of these Nazi style camps is to cause death and maximum destruction to an oppressed and vulnerable Tamil community that is now pleading to the Nations for help. Few camps are purposefully built for propaganda purposes in order to deceive the international community.
Horrors in Sri Lanka are sending shock waves across the World

Torture, murder, rape, forced starvation, and all kind of human rights violations in the concentration camps of Sri Lanka, are now sending shock waves across the world.
Deportations of Western reporters, Journalists and Politicians from the Sri Lankan Airport and denial of access to the death camps of Sri Lanka for aid workers are showing the face of rebellious country that is willing go to any extent to defy international humanitarian laws.
Western countries have recently been pressurising Sri Lanka to stop the abuses and State sponsored killings. US, Britain and France including many other European countries are taking all the necessary measures to send strong messages to Sri Lanka.
US $1.9 Billion IMF loan to this country is now delayed. Sri Lanka had been denied a seat on UN Human Rights Council. US are delaying aid to the displaced people till the Sri Lankan government give free access to the camps.
There are also talks about suspending Sri Lanka from the commonwealth

Can an average Joe make a difference?

I have written few articles on the subject of Sri Lankan civil war. One of the popular questions, I received from the readers was “What can the average Joe do other than writing a letter to the local MP?”
While our international legal systems are still failing to bring the culprits to justice, Average Joe might probably be in a better position to send a powerful message to countries like Sri Lanka. Joe should see and understand the bigger picture of what is happening in Sri Lanka before start doing anything about the injustice done against the innocents.
Joe living in the West is a consumer just like many other millions around the world. Any marketing professional would know about the Power of a Consumer. Joe is an ethical shopper, who has the freedom to choose where to go on a holiday, which airline to fly with, where to buy his cloths and who to bank with. Joe can meet up with many like minded people and persuade his government to stop playing sports with countries that are persecuting its people. Joe is now on the net. He has access to email, facebook, twitter and many other social networking sites. He can share his views with millions around the world.
Even a great nation like China needs to sell its products in the world market in order to feed its people. Sri Lanka that is acting arrogantly with many countries should know, that it can't keep on killing the innocents and expect the people to buy their products and services that are covered in blood.
Joe along with millions around the world should be able to convince the People of Sri Lanka that they are not safe in the hands of corrupt regimes that are even prepared to sell the soul of a nation to satisfy the cravings of the Sinhala Buddhist extremists whose only goal is to wipe out Tamils.
“Sri Lanka for Dummies” is a simple Introduction to Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan war for the average Joe to get an understanding of the man made humanitarian crisis in this little island.

Sri Lanka for Dummies

1) Sri Lanka in a Nutshell

2) Tamil Rebellion against State Terrorism in Sri Lanka

3) War in the Vanni land that had revealed the face of the devil

Sri Lanka in a Nutshell

Sri Lanka is a tiny tropical island that was known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean and paradise on earth. This country was once very popular among the tourists but not any more.

Rulers of this country have made this place as one of the most dangerous places to visit and live on the planet. The US has recently given serious warnings to its citizens about the dangers of travelling to Sri Lanka. Westerners are no longer welcome there. Journalists and high profile diplomats are regularly deported back from the Colombo international Airport. The recent victims were Channel 4 TV journalists and Bob Rae who was once the Premier of Ontario Canada. Western embassies are frequently attacked by angry local mobs. British and Canadian High commissions became the latest targets.
Sri Lanka is a graveyard for the journalists. Sri Lankan Government is using underground Mafia and death squads to abduct, torture and kill journalists, aid workers and any individuals who are critical of the government. Doctors and journalists are locked up in prisons but the evil ones are rewarded and let to roam around the streets with knives and guns.

Journalist Tissainayagam in chains. Telling the truth is a crime in Sri Lanka

Tamils are the prime targets but even foreigners, Sinhalese and Muslims are not the exceptions. This country is now at the bottom of the list in terms of human rights.

Sri Lanka has murdered fourteen journalists in the last few years. More than twenty journalists have been forced out of the country. Many are locked up in jails. Newspapers are burned, TV stations are attacked, and News web sites are blocked. Even BBC and CNN had received warnings in the past from the controversial defence secretary of the country. Sri Lanka only allows reporters who write well about the government.

Senior editor and Journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga was brutally murdered by the government backed mafia

Five medical doctors, who are praised as real heroes by the international community for their tireless work during the Sri Lankan war, are now locked up in Sri Lankan jails for speaking the truth from the war zone. Sri Lankan rulers have recently paraded these doctors in front of television cameras and forced them make false statements to support the government. This is another foolish attempt by a murderous regime to hide the war crimes it had committed .We all know how Al Qaeda had paraded western hostages on TV in the past and forced them to say things that were not true.

In Sri Lanka, People disappear from their homes, schools, work places and hospitals like flies. It is not the fulfilment of rapture that is taking place according to the book of Revelation in the Bible. But the Sri Lankan regime has mastered the art of using white vans to abduct and kill anyone who is dare to question the conducts of the government.
Half burned dead bodies with hands tied at the back is a typical scene, one would be able to see quite often in Sri Lanka. Killer demons regularly come on mysterious white vans without number plates on them.
A typical Sri Lankan leader would talk like he has the whole world under his feet and he doesn’t care about outside opinions. Many of us remember the controversial Sri Lankan defence secretary of Sri Lanka who appeared on many TV channels across the globe and thundered that he had the right to bomb hospitals and schools. He had indeed ordered to bomb several hospitals in the recent war in Sri Lanka. This short tempered leader and the current military commander of Sri Lanka are directly responsible for thousands of killings in Sri Lanka.
Some of the ministers from the Jumbo cabinet of Sri Lanka have degrees from western universities. They wear crisp clean suits and speak in Queens English. But what comes out of their mouth don’t reflect the real situation in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan rulers no longer tell the truth. According to them, the Sun raises in the West and the rooster crows only in the evenings. While murdering civilians with heavy weapons including tanks and missiles with unconventional war heads, Sri Lanka was lying to the world that they were only using light weapons.
Sri Lanka is the most militarised among the South Asian countries with 13000 military personnel per one million population. Every street corners of Sri Lanka are guarded by armed soldiers. Sri Lanka has 266K active armed personal (Total Troops 374K) which is much higher than many developed countries. [Australia (54k), Canada (65K), South Africa (56K), Norway (28K), United Kingdom (188K), Germany (248K), France (260K), Italy (230K)]

Sri Lanka has no foreign enemies. Multi barrel Rockets were used to kill thousands of Tamils in the recent war

In terms of military expenditure as percentage of GDP, Sri Lanka spends the most in South Asia. The figure is 6% in Sri Lanka which is much higher than the amount spent by its neighbours. (3.5% in Pakistan; 2.5% in India and Nepal; and 1.5% in Bangladesh)

Sri Lanka has now become like another Myanmar in the region. Close associations with nuclear armed China and Pakistan and friendships with Iran, Libya, and Myanmar are already giving the danger signs. Iran has indicated that it is willing to share nuclear technologies with Sri Lanka for peaceful purposes. Those who follow the current trend in the world, very well know what these peaceful purposes are.
Sri Lanka is trying to get hold of nuclear technology (to supplement its power needs). Having been turned away by India, Sri Lanka is turning to States like Iran to fulfil its nuclear ambitions. This is why Sri Lanka always backs Iran’s nuclear program
It may not be well known that Sri Lanka was instrumental in Iran acquiring nuclear technology. Some Sri Lankan businessmen and engineers are among those whose names appear in a United States blacklist over the alleged involvement in the world’s worst illicit nuclear proliferation racket, the British media reported recently.
Although, Sri Lanka is a democratic country, the majority Sinhala people support Nazi Style right wing parties. Racist politicians and military leaders are looked upon as heroes and saviours of the country. Tamils who once had their own nation are now considered as aliens and invaders even though the majority of the Tamils are the original inhabitants of this land. Politics is driven by the powers of ignorance, greed, lies and deceptions.
Today, three hundred thousands of Tamils in Sri Lanka are locked up in concentration camps and the rest live in homes that are heavily guarded by the Sri Lankan military. People who once lived dignified and prosperous lives are now treated like stray dogs. Tamil women are raped by the Sri Lankan army and young Tamil men are tortured and killed.
Tamil Rebellion against State Terrorism in Sri Lanka
Tamils, who are one of the most oppressed communities in the world, have been fighting to free themselves from the evil regimes of the country. But they have so far failed to achieve their goals. Tamils initially fought through democratic means. Democracy no longer works in favour of Tamils because the majority prefers the Tamils to be wiped out from the country.
Tamils were slaughtered in thousands with swords and knives in the buses, trains and in their own homes in the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Frustrated Tamil youth took arms to fight against fascism. Armed rebellion has now been crushed with the help of China and India.
Tamil rebels were initially functioning like how IRA did things in the eighties but from the early 2000s they did manage to build a well disciplined conventional force with their own Air force and Navy. According to the former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, who retired only few weeks ago, Tamil rebels were better in honouring the laws of the land than the government of Sri Lanka. For instance, Seven Sri Lankan soldiers who were prisoners of war in the rebel camps were set free by the rebels without any scratches, even at a time when Sri Lankan forces were murdering Tamil women and babies in cold blood.
Tamil Rebels and the Sri Lankan government signed a ceasefire in 2002, after the Sri Lankan forces had suffered a heavy defeat in a conventional war between both parties. Negotiations were taking place between the Tamils and the Sri Lankan government for five years, with the help of the mediators from EU, Norway, Japan and US.
Sri Lankan government suddenly withdrew from the ceasefire unilaterally in 2007, and launched a war against the rebels with help of India and the weapons it got from China and Pakistan. War broke out at a time when there were signs of peace becoming materialised in Sri Lanka according to the former Norwegian mediator Eric Solheim, who is now the Minister of Environment.
Sri Lankan army did manage to slaughter more than fifty thousand Tamil civilians including women and children within few months time. Banned weapons like cluster bombs and phosphorous bombs were used against the innocents.
War in Vanni, that had revealed the face of the devil
Vanni is a Tamil land in the north eastern region of Sri Lanka that was once flowing with milk and honey. People prospered in every thing. Many of them did farming and deep sea fishing. They were not poor. Their barns were filled with grains throughout the year. These people ate a very healthy diet and lived in homes that were located in unpolluted areas. In our terms, people of Vanni ate organic grains, vegetables, fruits, meat and fish all their lives.
Few months ago, all of a sudden, Skis of Vanni became darkened. Children stopped playing. Dancing was turned into mourning. Chinese F7s, Russian MIGs f lied over Vanni and bombed homes, hospitals, schools and farms. Cluster bombs, phosphorous bombs and other banned weapons were used against innocent civilians.

They were slaughtered in their own homes

Men, women and children were hiding inside the bunkers without adequate food and medicine for months. More than fifty thousands innocents were slaughtered. Thirty thousands were injured. Thousands of children became orphans. Wounded and maimed crawled on mud and dirt to search for water and food.

Children were hiding inside the bunkers for weeks and months. Many were not fortunate

Thousands of surrendered and wounded rebels were brutally murdered. Military tanks rolled over the dying and the golden beaches of Sri Lanka were turned into red carpets with the blood of the innocents.

There were no more mourners left in the land of Vanni to mourn for the dead. Lands of the living didn’t send any comforters to the land of the dead. Hearts of the world became stones and the so called leaders of the world had once again revealed their ugly faces.

Nobody came to mourn for the dead

Number of people massacred on the beaches of Sri Lanka is almost ten times of the people died in the Tiananmen Square massacre in China.

If the war was conducted fairly according to the international laws, the outcome of the war would have been much different. Sri Lankan army defeated the rebels by using unconventional banned weapons that had caused thousands of civilian causalities and deaths.

Chemical weapons were used against the Civilians and Rebels

After killing so many thousands, the Sri Lankan government has sent the remaining to Nazi style concentration camps. Now they are dying in the death camps of Sri Lanka with lack of food and medicine. Tamil women are abused and raped by Sri Lankan military in these horror camps. Men are tortured and killed.

Although China, India and Pakistan are helping the Sri Lankan rulers, Genocide is being carried out with the complete freewill of this Nation. Sri Lankan leaders have made this beautiful country into a half naked prostitute in the India Ocean. Ministers of this country regularly fly to China and India to meet the political and military leaders of those nations. Sri Lanka has become a puppet of these superpowers with its own sweet will.
Sri Lanka is facing destruction by its own masters
People of this world are becoming more and more tolerant. Many colours and races are learning to live together in Europe and America. American people have even elected a Black president with a Muslim middle name to give a powerful message to the world.
Nations that have systems based on racial and religious supremacies should know that they are heading for isolation and destruction if they continue with their racist policies.
Here we see a country that has gone out of control and acting weirdly in the Indian Ocean. Beaches of Sri Lanka are stained with the blood of thousands men, women and children who were slaughtered by the cruel rulers of this country. There is no more media freedom. Local and foreign journalists are intimidated, prisoned and killed. Arrogant leaders of this country are confronting individuals, organisations and even nations that are opposing the killings.
Average Joe has the tools to send a message to Sri Lanka who are deliberately failing from the duties to protect its people.
Joe is conscious of the environment. He makes sure that papers, cloths and empty bottles end up in recycling bins. He is very concerned about the people living in the poorest countries on this earth. He buys fair trade tea and coffee that are produced in countries that need our help.
Joe takes his family for holidays at least once a year. As a matter of conscience, Joe will not be holidaying on the blood stained beaches of Sri Lanka where thousands of innocent men, women and children were brutally murdered by Bombs and shells. Joe will not be buying garments that are made in Sri Lanka, a country that has locked up three hundred thousands Tamils including babies, pregnant women and disabled in barbed wired concentration camps.
People of Vanni, who once lived prosperously, are now left to wander like vagabonds with skin and bones in the death camps of Sri Lanka. Family ties are broken, their dignity is destroyed, and thousands of children are psychologically tormented. Many thousands have already become mental.

Money goes into the hands of Sri Lanka is used to wound and kill innocent Civilians. It is time to say "No"

Fourteen hundreds dying in the death camps of Sri Lanka in a week is a clear proof that Sri Lanka is still mass murdering Tamils. These people are not terrorists but men, women and children who also have dreams and have every right on this earth to live with dignity. They were not born to die of starvation, torture and deliberate medical negligence in the hands foolish and arrogant rulers.

Sri Lanka should know that they can’t do business with the world while slaughtering the civilians. No country prospers with the blood of the innocents. Agents of the Sri Lanlan regime who live overseas are still justifying the killings of Tamils. They should learn to show respect the follow humans because they themselves enjoy equal rights in foreign countries.
People of this world, no matter what their religion, race, colour and culture are, they all have the freedom to live without the fear of intimidation, torture rape and murder.
Time has for the international community say No to “Sri Lankan package Holidays”, No to “Sri Lankan Airlines”, No to “Sri Lankan Cricket”, No to “Ceylon Tea”, No to “Garment made in Sri Lanka” and No to “Any organisation that has commercial interests in Sri Lanka” until the killings stop and Sri Lanka come with clean hands.
We give money for Cancer Research, Save the Children, Christian Aid, Tear Fund and many other leading charities because we very well know that our money is used to protect, build and heal lives.
What goes in the hands of Sri Lanka is not used to build lives but to destroy lives therefore, it is rational, ethical and sensible to stop supporting a country that is continuing with its genocide agenda with arrogance.
Sri Lanka is already facing isolation and there will be serious consequences if the leaders of this country continue to orchestrate abductions, torture, rape and killings in order to suppress the voice of the oppressed.
Destroying individuals, families and communities will eventually lead to the destruction of the whole Nation of Sri Lanka by its own masters.

-- By Richard Dixon

Sri Lanka rights probe hampered, Probe into the killing of ACF aid workers inconclusive

Sri Lanka's probe into rights abuses including the killing of 17 aid workers in 2006 was hampered by the lack of witness protection and its abrupt winding-up, the Reuters said today quoting the commission's head. Army and the Navy have been totally exonerated by the Report of the Presidential Commission based on what had been done so far, The Island reported on the same case.

The article by Reuters, Tuesday further said: On Aug. 4, 2006, 17 mostly Tamil staff members of charity Action Contre la Faim (ACF) were gunned down inside the ACF compound in the northeastern town of Muttur, near where fighting was taking place between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.
The government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) blamed each other for what was then the deadliest attack on aid workers since the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.
Nordic peace monitors whom the government accused of a pro-rebel bias blamed the attack on security forces.
The report by the commission of inquiry appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to investigate serious human rights abuses is inconclusive about who killed the aid workers.
Foreign observers to the panel two years ago predicted the commission would fail to find anything substantive and quit last year, saying it did not meet international standards and had been interfered with politically. The government denies that.
The commission's mandate was not extended when it expired in June, making it the latest in Sri Lanka's long history of probes into rights abuses that were incomplete or inconclusive.
"We have not been able to complete the whole thing because we didn't have the video conferencing facility and a witness protection bill...is still in parliament," retired Supreme Court Judge Nissanka Udalagama told Reuters.
A number of witnesses have fled the country in fear for their lives, and video-conferencing was needed to contact witnesses who live abroad, he said.
Udalagama, head of the eight-member commission, said they could have called other witnesses but the president wanted a report based on what had been done so far.
The report exonerates the army and navy, but says auxiliary police known as home guards could have carried out the killings.
"There was other evidence like the presence of Muslim home guards. They had access to the weapons. And it could have been LTTE," Udalagama said.
Rights watchdogs have reported hundreds of abductions, disappearances and killings blamed on both the government and the LTTE throughout the course of Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war, which ended in May.
Sri Lanka has a long history of failing to prosecute rights abuses, particularly when members of the security forces are involved, going back to the early 1970s when the government violently suppressed a Marxist insurrection.
On the same case this is what appeared in Sri Lanka's Island news:
Presidential Probe into Massacre of aid workers
Army and Navy exonerated; ACF must pay compensation for negligence; Severe strictures passed on several NGOs
There is strong evidence of LTTE presence in the city centre on the morning of the 4th August. A Rev. Father and a Divisional Secretary have also testified to the presence of the LTTE in the Mutur town on 4th August.
Army and the Navy have been totally exonerated by the Report of the Presidential Commission Inquiry into the Killing of the 17 aid workers of the INGO, Action Contre La Faim (ACF). The Commission led by Nissanka Udalagama, former Supreme Court Judge, has concluded that the death occurred on the morning of the 4th of August 2006.
The reports states:
"According to the statements until the night of 4th August the Mutur town and the surrounding area was subjected to LTTE attack. There is undisputable evidence that the LTTE were present in the Mutur town on the morning of the 4th August.
There is no evidence of any Army personnel being seen on the 4th in Mutur city centre. However, there is overwhelming evidence, in addition to TamilNet declaration that the LTTE were present in the town of Mutur on the 4th.
There is also the evidence of the death of Lance Corporal Ubayasekera succumbing to gunshot injuries caused from the direction of the town area whilst he was on duty in the marshland adjacent to the Mutur Police station on the morning of the 4th August. This fatal shot had been fired from the direction of the town by the LTTE. Therefore, there is strong evidence of LTTE presence in the city centre on the morning of the 4th August. A Rev. Father and a Divisional Secretary have also testified to the presence of the LTTE in the Mutur town on 4th August."
A report of the UTHR(J) implicated Sri Lanka Naval Special Forces in the killings. The charge has been debunked by the Commission which in the report states, "The evidence does not disclose the presence of the commandos anywhere near the ACF office during the period, that is, on the morning afternoon or evening of the 4th. There are no Naval Special Forces in the Navy. Furthermore, the ballistic expert has identified the weapons used for the death of the 17 workers as T-56 weapons; weapons identified in the UTHR (J) report as the instrument of death does not include T-56 weapons."
The Report states there has been gross negligence on the part of the ACF office and has made the recommendation of payment of 10 years salary to their next of kin by the ACF.
"The workers were pleading to save their lives and to go out of the office. But they were stubbornly told by the Trincomalee ACF office not to leave the office and stay together as it would be difficult for the ACF to collect them if they leave and go to the camps. ACF was looking more for their comfort and convenience than that of the safety and security of their workers. They, by their conduct, before the Commission established this fact, by abandoning the cause of their deceased employees, by leaving the Commission without notice, left the families of the deceased in the lurch. In fact, one family member of a deceased complained in writing to the Commission the plight he was faced with and having to seek the assistance of the counsel for the Army/Navy to have the compensation package enhanced."
The Commission has passed strictures on the seven civil society organisations consisting of Centre for Policy Alternatives, Home for Human Rights, INFORM, Law and Society Trust, Mothers and Daughters of Lanka, Right Now -collective for Democracy and Sri Lanka National Commission of Jurists.
The lawyers who represented the said organisations and the next of kin though purportedly watching matters of public interest as set out in the civil society mandate placed in writing before the Commission, showed total disregard in matters affecting the interests of the deceased persons’ next of kin. This aspect should have been the prime fact of concern in terms of the mandate presented to show their interest and gain representation in the case but they appeared to be more anxious to safeguard the interest of the foreign based NGO, the ACF. It was said that their contribution was negligible with regard to enhancing the compensation package due to the next of kin, which should have been a matter in which they should have interested themselves. Instead they left it to the others who assisted the Commission."
"It appears there has been a preconceived plan or a conspiracy to discredit the Commission by making false allegations and or exaggerating and twisting the truth to suit their purpose in order to achieve the long term objective of interested parties including their paymasters to discredit and disrupt the Commission for the consumption of some international organisations.’
Mr. R. K. W. Goonesekera represented the unofficial bar for the prosecution. Mr. Yasantha Kodagoda with Dulip Jayakody and Lakmali Karunanyake represented the Commission.
Gomin Dayasri and Manoli Jinadasa appeared for the Army and Navy with Army/Navy legal officers.
Source: Reuters and Island

Outbreak of Meningitis and encephalitis in IDP camps, GMOA accuses health ministry

Six doctors are to visit IDP camps in Vavuniya tomorrow to investigate a suspected outbreak of meningitis and encephalitis, reported from the Vavuniya General Hospital, with the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) charging that a severe shortage of nurses and pharmacists in the camps is compounding health problems there.

Reports say while 65 adults are suffering from either one of the ailments, 35 have died so far. Several displaced children at the Vavuniya General Hospital too are suspected to be suffering from the two illness, Sunday Times reported.
More than 1200 IDPs are receiving treatment at the Vavuniya Hospital, for different ailments, currently.
The Health Ministry could not confirm the number of deaths, however a high ranking official who did not want to be quoted admitted that the fatality rate in cases such as meningitis is high as it affects the brain.
“Fatalities are high in such cases, but there is nothing to be alarmed about these figures as they are normal when compared with the population of IDPs we are dealing with,” he said. The Ministry official also said the problem has been in existence in the camps over the past three to four months.
“This issue has been going on for some time now but the hospital does not have the expertise to diagnose the cause. The deaths occurred during the past three to four months,” he said. He also said there was no danger of an epidemic breaking out as the cases were reported from the hospital and not from the camps.
“If cases were identified in the camps then there is a heavy risk of an epidemic breaking out. But right now there is nothing to worry about,” he said. According to him the required medicine has been sent to the hospital to treat the suspected cases.
“The medicines are quite expensive but nevertheless we have taken steps to send the needed supplies,” he said. According to this ministry official there are only 20 nurses serving all the camps and 80 doctors on duty at the medical centres.
“There were no nurses yesterday. We only saw one nurse and she too came from outside with a team of doctors. We need about 120 doctors and at least 300 nurses in the camps. At the Chettikulam hospital there are 130 children receiving treatment and there is only one doctor but no nurses. How can one doctor look after all the patients?” asked Dr. Upul Gunasekara, spokesperson of the GMOA.
The Director of IDP Health Care heading the IDP Health Coordination Centre at Chettikulam, Dr. Hemantha Herath admitted that they were short of staff at the health centres. According to him the problem is mainly during the day, as nurses and doctors are brought from other hospitals for the night shifts.
The ministry is planning to send a batch of 300, recently qualified nurses to the camps in two weeks time. “We are planning to give permanent appointments to these nurses in hospitals in Vavuniya, Mannar, Chettikulam and the IDP camps. Until then we will be sending small batches of nurses to serve in the area,” Dr. Ajith Mendis the Director General of Health said.
The Ministry also dismissed allegations that there were insufficient number of pharmacists working in the camps. However the GMOA alleges that the Ministry had no clear plan on how to handle the growing crisis at the camps.
“The ministry has no plans to send nurses to these camps and the people are just criticising the doctors who are working there. The doctors are frustrated with the situation,” Dr. Gunasekara said.
He also alleged there were severe lapses in the administration of health matters at the IDP camps. According to Dr. Gunasekara the doctors working at the IDP camps are not paid overtime, although doctors working in area hospitals are paid. Further, he claimed that there were no proper lodging facilities for the IDP camp doctors although the GMOA had raised the issue many times.
“These doctors have not visited their families in weeks as they live in the area and serve the people. But they do not even receive any overtime payment,” he said.
Meanwhile the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) of Vavuniya Dr. M. Mahendran said they were facing a problem of insufficient funds to make overtime payments to these doctors.
“We have exceeded the provincial budget for health. I have been advised by the ministry to pay only four hours of the seven hours of overtime the doctors’ work. I have to stick to these instructions,” he said.
According to the GMOA the fuel bill for the ambulances have not been paid and the fuel station has refused to give anymore fuel on credit. Of the three ambulances only one was functioning as the other two did not have fuel.
“We have exceeded the fuel allocation by four times. We don’t have allocations in the provincial ministry to pay for fuel. We have informed the national ministry of the situation and are awaiting instructions,” said Dr. Mahendran.