The Government of Sri Lanka announced a plan on 23 May to resettle most civilians displaced by conflict by the end of the year. The government’s target of 80% was later revised downward to 60%.
The 180-day process was to include both people newly displaced by fighting in the north, as well as people who had been displaced for extended periods of time.
Some Sri Lankan families have been displaced for years or decades and the process of resettling them has been ongoing. Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Rishad Bathiudeen told Sri Lanka’s Parliament in August that the Government had re-settled more 59,000 war-displaced families in recent months, mainly victims of earlier displacements in the east.
According to UN relief statistics, as of 28 August, 266,567 people displaced by conflict in the north after 1 April 2009 remained in camps and hospitals. This is down from about 280,000 in June. Almost 250,000 of them were in Vavuniya district.
The Government’s plan to return people to their places of origin has four phases, with families from eastern Sri Lanka and Jaffna returned first, followed by Vavuniya, Mannar and finally from the former LTTE strongholds of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. The Office of the President is responsible for coordinating this plan.
By the end of August, 6,490 people were reported to have been released from camps to stay with host families or in elders’ homes by the end of August. The majority of these people were elderly or disabled. 5,123 people were returned to Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts between 5 August and 28 August.
On 26 August, some 800 Hindu and Catholic priests were released from camps for displaced people in Vavuniya. On 20 August, 130 people displaced in 2006 were moved from sites in Batticaloa District to Trincomalee District, but they were unable to return home because their land is within a military-designated High Security Zone. They have been accommodated in a school and another public building.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Fears for safety of UN official
AN AUSTRALIAN United Nations official has received anonymous threats to his safety days after being branded a terrorist sympathiser by the Sri Lankan Government and ordered to leave the country.
James Elder, the United Nations Children's Fund spokesman in Sri Lanka and the father of three young children living in Colombo, must leave Sri Lanka in less than a fortnight after having his visa revoked.
This week Sri Lanka's former foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona - also an Australian citizen - accused Mr Elder of ''doing propaganda'' in support of the Tamil Tigers insurgency.
Dr Kohona's comments have raised fears about the safety of Mr Elder and his family in a country where ethnic tensions remain high just months after the end of a long-running civil war.
Dr Kohona, who worked for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for more than a decade before returning to Sri Lanka, has just become Sri Lanka's representative to the United Nations, the organisation that employs Mr Elder.
The Age believes Mr Elder has received intimidating phone messages after it was announced that his visa would be cancelled on September 21. It is not suggested that Dr Kohona is behind the threats to Mr Elder's safety.
Even if the Sri Lankan Government reverses its decision to expel Mr Elder, Dr Kohona's comments appear to make his position in Sri Lanka untenable.
The Tamil Tigers are a proscribed terrorist organisation in many countries, including Australia.
After more than 25 years of fighting, separatist Tamil Tiger rebels were routed by the Sri Lankan army in May and the group's leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, killed.
Mr Elder, who has been UNICEF's spokesman in Sri Lanka for more than a year, made frequent statements to the media about the plight of children caught up in the conflict and who were subsequently sent to guarded camps for Tamil refugees. Sri Lanka has stridently resisted international pressure to allow an investigation into allegations of a high civilian death toll and war crimes during the closing stages of the war.
It is estimated that between 7000 and 20,000 civilians were killed in the final weeks of the war and many of the victims were children.
The Australian Government has offered Mr Elder consular assistance, but so far the Government's reaction to the expulsion has been muted.
Mr Elder has received strong support from the highest level of the UN.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he ''strongly regrets'' the decision and would take up Mr Elder's case with Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
''The United Nations is working impartially to assist the people of Sri Lanka, and the Government should be supporting and co-operating with its efforts,'' he said.
There was great tension between Sri Lanka and the UN in the bloody climax to the civil war in the first five months of this year.
Jehan Perera, head of Colombo's National Peace Council, said Mr Elder's expulsion showed the Sri Lankan Government had not yet moved on from its wartime mindset.
NEWS
James Elder, the United Nations Children's Fund spokesman in Sri Lanka and the father of three young children living in Colombo, must leave Sri Lanka in less than a fortnight after having his visa revoked.
This week Sri Lanka's former foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona - also an Australian citizen - accused Mr Elder of ''doing propaganda'' in support of the Tamil Tigers insurgency.
Dr Kohona's comments have raised fears about the safety of Mr Elder and his family in a country where ethnic tensions remain high just months after the end of a long-running civil war.
Dr Kohona, who worked for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for more than a decade before returning to Sri Lanka, has just become Sri Lanka's representative to the United Nations, the organisation that employs Mr Elder.
The Age believes Mr Elder has received intimidating phone messages after it was announced that his visa would be cancelled on September 21. It is not suggested that Dr Kohona is behind the threats to Mr Elder's safety.
Even if the Sri Lankan Government reverses its decision to expel Mr Elder, Dr Kohona's comments appear to make his position in Sri Lanka untenable.
The Tamil Tigers are a proscribed terrorist organisation in many countries, including Australia.
After more than 25 years of fighting, separatist Tamil Tiger rebels were routed by the Sri Lankan army in May and the group's leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, killed.
Mr Elder, who has been UNICEF's spokesman in Sri Lanka for more than a year, made frequent statements to the media about the plight of children caught up in the conflict and who were subsequently sent to guarded camps for Tamil refugees. Sri Lanka has stridently resisted international pressure to allow an investigation into allegations of a high civilian death toll and war crimes during the closing stages of the war.
It is estimated that between 7000 and 20,000 civilians were killed in the final weeks of the war and many of the victims were children.
The Australian Government has offered Mr Elder consular assistance, but so far the Government's reaction to the expulsion has been muted.
Mr Elder has received strong support from the highest level of the UN.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he ''strongly regrets'' the decision and would take up Mr Elder's case with Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
''The United Nations is working impartially to assist the people of Sri Lanka, and the Government should be supporting and co-operating with its efforts,'' he said.
There was great tension between Sri Lanka and the UN in the bloody climax to the civil war in the first five months of this year.
Jehan Perera, head of Colombo's National Peace Council, said Mr Elder's expulsion showed the Sri Lankan Government had not yet moved on from its wartime mindset.
NEWS
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ban Ki-moon regrets decision to expel UNICEF Spokesman in Sri Lanka
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon regretted for the decision of the Sri Lankan Government to expel Mr. James Elder, spokesman for the U.N. children's foundation UNICEF. Mr. James Elder was accused by Sri Lanka of spreading LTTE propaganda.
"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly regrets the decision of the Sri Lankan Government to expel Mr. James Elder, Spokesman for UNICEF in Sri Lanka" the Secretary General's spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at the Tuesday press brifing.
He added that the Secretary-General expresses his full confidence in the work of the United Nations in Sri Lanka, which includes making public statements when necessary in an effort to save lives and prevent grave humanitarian problems. The United Nations is working impartially to assist the people of Sri Lanka, and the Government should be supporting and cooperating with its efforts.
The Secretary-General will take up this issue with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the earliest opportunity and will continue to urge him to implement all the commitments made in their joint-statement after the Secretary-General’s visit to Sri Lanka in May.
"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly regrets the decision of the Sri Lankan Government to expel Mr. James Elder, Spokesman for UNICEF in Sri Lanka" the Secretary General's spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at the Tuesday press brifing.
He added that the Secretary-General expresses his full confidence in the work of the United Nations in Sri Lanka, which includes making public statements when necessary in an effort to save lives and prevent grave humanitarian problems. The United Nations is working impartially to assist the people of Sri Lanka, and the Government should be supporting and cooperating with its efforts.
The Secretary-General will take up this issue with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the earliest opportunity and will continue to urge him to implement all the commitments made in their joint-statement after the Secretary-General’s visit to Sri Lanka in May.
Channel-4 broadcast of internment camp conditions irks Colombo
Following the broadcast of shocking video footage showing Sri Lanka Government soldiers executing Tamils stripped naked and hands tied behind their backs, British Television Channel-4 Monday revealed a new film that showed Tamil "victims of Sri Lanka's war suffering poor conditions in UN-funded camps." The new footage, allegedly taken by a mobile phone, was sent to Channel-4 from the group War Without Witness, and was reportedly shot two weeks ago in Vavuniyaa, in northern Sri Lanka, where more than 300,000 Tamils are being interned in Sri Lanka military supervised camps. Sri Lanka's spokesperson, while insisting that United Nations is active inside there [the camps], responded that the malnutrition statistics reflect "Western standards," indeed malnutrition is present in other parts of Sri Lanka, and also that the situation was worse under the Liberation Tigers.
Courtesy: Channel-4 and War Without Witness
"Patients on intravenous drips lying on mud floors, a man so weak he is unable to brush the flies from his face," Channel-4 says in its broadcast, and adds, "[t]he concern now is that when the monsoon rain season begins, the camp will be flooded."
"The plight of Tamil children was raised by Unicef spokesman James Elder, who has just been expelled from the country after being accused by the government of spreading Tamil Tiger propaganda," the broadcast said.
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe, secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights blames Channel-4 of "ridiculous behavior" and that Colombo would not invite Channel-4 to Sri Lanka to tour the camps.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=37768382001
While Sri Lanka is taking hurried measures to contain the negative publicity and allegations of war-crimes generated by the summary-execution video, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan E. Rice, during a press briefing late last week, when asked if she "expects the Council to take that issue [soldiers shooting naked prisoners] up in any way," responded: "With respect to Sri Lanka, again speaking in a national capacity, these reports are very disturbing. They're of grave concern. We'd like more information as we formulate our own national response."
Channel-4 reporter Jonathan Miller who aired the execution video said the execution was "chillingly reminiscent of the Bosnian video [of Serb militia Scorpians murdering six Bosnian Muslims]."
Miller responded to Sri Lanka President's media unit's characterization of the footage as "false and doctored," saying that "Steven Spielberg would have had a hard job staging this grim scene."
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=37768381001
Courtesy: Channel-4 and War Without Witness
"Patients on intravenous drips lying on mud floors, a man so weak he is unable to brush the flies from his face," Channel-4 says in its broadcast, and adds, "[t]he concern now is that when the monsoon rain season begins, the camp will be flooded."
"The plight of Tamil children was raised by Unicef spokesman James Elder, who has just been expelled from the country after being accused by the government of spreading Tamil Tiger propaganda," the broadcast said.
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe, secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights blames Channel-4 of "ridiculous behavior" and that Colombo would not invite Channel-4 to Sri Lanka to tour the camps.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=37768382001
While Sri Lanka is taking hurried measures to contain the negative publicity and allegations of war-crimes generated by the summary-execution video, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan E. Rice, during a press briefing late last week, when asked if she "expects the Council to take that issue [soldiers shooting naked prisoners] up in any way," responded: "With respect to Sri Lanka, again speaking in a national capacity, these reports are very disturbing. They're of grave concern. We'd like more information as we formulate our own national response."
Channel-4 reporter Jonathan Miller who aired the execution video said the execution was "chillingly reminiscent of the Bosnian video [of Serb militia Scorpians murdering six Bosnian Muslims]."
Miller responded to Sri Lanka President's media unit's characterization of the footage as "false and doctored," saying that "Steven Spielberg would have had a hard job staging this grim scene."
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=37768381001
Monday, September 7, 2009
SLA massacred civilians in bunkers - medical worker
The advancing Sri Lanka Army massacred civilians by paving their bunkers with tanks, by throwing explosives inside the bunkers and by shooting the injured, says a medical worker who came out of Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal during the last days of the war, became incarcerated in a camp and now escaped the island. "Around a hundred thousand captured civilians herded to Mullaiththeevu were kept in rows within barbed wires, most of the time without water or food under the hot sun, and were bullied and ill treated with arrogance," he writes in a lengthy note that reached TamilNet this week. The note in Tamil was provided by the Norwegian Tamils Health Organisation (NTHO), urging TamilNet not to reveal the identity of the health work for reasons of his security.
The medical worker was injured in a fire-bomb attack of the SLA on May 12th.
On alleged earlier firing on civilians, who in desperation tried to get into SLA controlled area, and on violence in recruitment during the last days that especially affected the families of LTTE heroes and fighters, the medical worker attributed responsibility to some elements long infiltrated into the LTTE, to work on behalf of Colombo. LTTE senior ranks were shaken by such treachery, he writes.
Further personal observations culled out from his notes follow:
Colombo particularly targeted hospitals and makeshift hospitals. When people moved away from Ki'linochchi, its hospital started functioning in the school building at Udaiyaar-kaddu. More than two thousand shells were fired on this building by the SLA.
Ki’linochchi to Tharmapuram, Vaddakkachchi, Visuvamadu, Udaiyaar-kaddu, Puthukkudiyiruppu – until reaching Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal, at an average 50 civilians were killed every day in Sri Lankan attacks. 8000 were already killed before herded into Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal.
Medical work decimated and workers were shaken at the death of patients, nurses and workers.
When there were more than 300,000 people, Colombo sent food for only 30,000.
Important medicines such as anaesthetic drugs were not sent. Life-saving surgery without anaesthesia was a cursing ordeal for the patients as well as doctors.
Mothers and children standing in queue to receive infant milk food were targeted in the SL shell attacks. Without seeing no one could visualize the sorrow of the child that lost the mother and the mother who lost the child.
SLA shell attacks, guided by spy craft were targeted on queues for gruel also. Despite casualties the queue would form again.
While even gruel was scarce to people, lands they cultivated were harvested by the SLA.
At one stage, the LTTE leadership ordered food meant for combatants to be shared with civilians. The fighters fought with gruel food and to the last LTTE served gruel to people.
Around 1000 waterholes were dug and several hundreds of toilets were made for civilians at the initiative of the LTTE. Water often mixed with sand was collected in shell-halves and was filtered by cloth.
There were no epidemics.
Pregnant mothers and infants bearing shell fragments came to makeshift hospitals.
These hospitals functioned 24 hours and wailing was always heard around them.
Many dead bodies couldn’t be buried in certain situations of SL attacks and hungry dogs dragged them.
Every time moving patents to ICRC vessel there will be targeted shelling from the SLA. A few hundreds taken for ICRC treatment died. How that happened was not known and whom to ask.
Even in emaciated conditions people donated blood for treatment and some of them later died of their own injuries.
More than a thousand people were killed on the day when the SLA entered into Maaththa’lan and Pokka’nai (20th April).
On May 15th and 16th the SLA entered and rampaged the pocket of land crowded with nearly a hundred thousand people.
I had to pass through at least around 300 bodies when I came out. Some were alive but couldn’t walk. I helped a few who could walk. Some held my feet when I tried to go away. What could I do?
There is a long list of people who were eliminated and disappeared after capture by the SLA. The army-controlled area was a place where murders took place in front of one’s eyes.
In Mullaiththeevu, a hundred thousand people made to stand in rows would all of a sudden be ordered to squat by the SL army. The soldiers would make sadistic laugh at seeing the melee of people falling on each other in the exercise.
Long poles were used to beat the people and to threaten them.
Old and young stood under hot sun for a long time, immensely suffering from thirst.
Mullaiththeevu to Vavuniyaa was scenery of disaster.
There were 20 to 25 people in a tent in the internment camp at Cheddiku’lam. Food was sometimes thrown from a vehicle.
Everyday in the internment camp around 30 people died.
It was a place of epidemics.
Thousands suffered of Chicken Pox, hundreds had brain fever, many elders died and some committed suicide.
The bribe to SL army for a person to come out was several hundred thousands of rupees.
In the last days of the war over 18,000 killed, more than 5,000 lost limbs, more than 7,000 seriously injured and several thousands suffered minor injuries. Several thousands suffer mental illnesses. More than a hundred medical workers- doctors, nurses and volunteers perished.
Knowledge and exercise of precaution reduced casualty. No one died of any epidemic under LTTE control.
Several thousands of Sinhala youth from poor families laid down their life in the war.
The sadistic lust of Mahinda Rajapaksa is very astonishing - inflicting pain on ordinary civilians in every possible way, and then projecting that as forms of his soothing operation to the outside world.
The world may forget, but Tamils will never forget the true face of the civilisation of 21st century, the world has shown to them, writes the medical worker in his notes.
The medical worker was injured in a fire-bomb attack of the SLA on May 12th.
On alleged earlier firing on civilians, who in desperation tried to get into SLA controlled area, and on violence in recruitment during the last days that especially affected the families of LTTE heroes and fighters, the medical worker attributed responsibility to some elements long infiltrated into the LTTE, to work on behalf of Colombo. LTTE senior ranks were shaken by such treachery, he writes.
Further personal observations culled out from his notes follow:
Colombo particularly targeted hospitals and makeshift hospitals. When people moved away from Ki'linochchi, its hospital started functioning in the school building at Udaiyaar-kaddu. More than two thousand shells were fired on this building by the SLA.
Ki’linochchi to Tharmapuram, Vaddakkachchi, Visuvamadu, Udaiyaar-kaddu, Puthukkudiyiruppu – until reaching Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal, at an average 50 civilians were killed every day in Sri Lankan attacks. 8000 were already killed before herded into Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal.
Medical work decimated and workers were shaken at the death of patients, nurses and workers.
When there were more than 300,000 people, Colombo sent food for only 30,000.
Important medicines such as anaesthetic drugs were not sent. Life-saving surgery without anaesthesia was a cursing ordeal for the patients as well as doctors.
Mothers and children standing in queue to receive infant milk food were targeted in the SL shell attacks. Without seeing no one could visualize the sorrow of the child that lost the mother and the mother who lost the child.
SLA shell attacks, guided by spy craft were targeted on queues for gruel also. Despite casualties the queue would form again.
While even gruel was scarce to people, lands they cultivated were harvested by the SLA.
At one stage, the LTTE leadership ordered food meant for combatants to be shared with civilians. The fighters fought with gruel food and to the last LTTE served gruel to people.
Around 1000 waterholes were dug and several hundreds of toilets were made for civilians at the initiative of the LTTE. Water often mixed with sand was collected in shell-halves and was filtered by cloth.
There were no epidemics.
Pregnant mothers and infants bearing shell fragments came to makeshift hospitals.
These hospitals functioned 24 hours and wailing was always heard around them.
Many dead bodies couldn’t be buried in certain situations of SL attacks and hungry dogs dragged them.
Every time moving patents to ICRC vessel there will be targeted shelling from the SLA. A few hundreds taken for ICRC treatment died. How that happened was not known and whom to ask.
Even in emaciated conditions people donated blood for treatment and some of them later died of their own injuries.
More than a thousand people were killed on the day when the SLA entered into Maaththa’lan and Pokka’nai (20th April).
On May 15th and 16th the SLA entered and rampaged the pocket of land crowded with nearly a hundred thousand people.
I had to pass through at least around 300 bodies when I came out. Some were alive but couldn’t walk. I helped a few who could walk. Some held my feet when I tried to go away. What could I do?
There is a long list of people who were eliminated and disappeared after capture by the SLA. The army-controlled area was a place where murders took place in front of one’s eyes.
In Mullaiththeevu, a hundred thousand people made to stand in rows would all of a sudden be ordered to squat by the SL army. The soldiers would make sadistic laugh at seeing the melee of people falling on each other in the exercise.
Long poles were used to beat the people and to threaten them.
Old and young stood under hot sun for a long time, immensely suffering from thirst.
Mullaiththeevu to Vavuniyaa was scenery of disaster.
There were 20 to 25 people in a tent in the internment camp at Cheddiku’lam. Food was sometimes thrown from a vehicle.
Everyday in the internment camp around 30 people died.
It was a place of epidemics.
Thousands suffered of Chicken Pox, hundreds had brain fever, many elders died and some committed suicide.
The bribe to SL army for a person to come out was several hundred thousands of rupees.
In the last days of the war over 18,000 killed, more than 5,000 lost limbs, more than 7,000 seriously injured and several thousands suffered minor injuries. Several thousands suffer mental illnesses. More than a hundred medical workers- doctors, nurses and volunteers perished.
Knowledge and exercise of precaution reduced casualty. No one died of any epidemic under LTTE control.
Several thousands of Sinhala youth from poor families laid down their life in the war.
The sadistic lust of Mahinda Rajapaksa is very astonishing - inflicting pain on ordinary civilians in every possible way, and then projecting that as forms of his soothing operation to the outside world.
The world may forget, but Tamils will never forget the true face of the civilisation of 21st century, the world has shown to them, writes the medical worker in his notes.
War refugees kept in Sri Lanka "welfare camps"
Sri Lanka's government has been accused of killing thousands of its own civilian citizens, war crimes, rape, torture and inhuman treatment of hundreds of thousands of refugees from its war against the Tamil Tigers.
Al Jazeera has conducted its own investigation into the conflict and spoken to Tamils who have suffered and aid workers who have remained silent until now, revealing testimonies that call into question the version of events Sri Lanka's government wants the world to believe.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/07/20097644539364658.html
Al Jazeera has conducted its own investigation into the conflict and spoken to Tamils who have suffered and aid workers who have remained silent until now, revealing testimonies that call into question the version of events Sri Lanka's government wants the world to believe.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/07/20097644539364658.html
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Top UN official expelled
The Government has ordered a senior United Nation’s official to leave Sri Lanka within two weeks.
James Elder, a senior official with the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), held a visa until July next year to serve in Sri Lanka. He is the first UN official carrying a UN passport with diplomatic status to be asked to leave Sri Lanka. Two week’s time has been given after he appealed from an order to leave immediately.
A UN official said no formal reason had been given for the move by the Sri Lankan government. However, Foreign Office sources, who did not wish to be identified, said the Government was concerned over repeated remarks he had made to the media about Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in particular the conditions of children in camps.
Mr. Elder is the Communications Chief at the UNICEF’s office in Sri Lanka.
Outgoing Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said Mr. Elder, an Australian, was leaving the country since his visa had expired and he had been granted two weeks time.
“This is not an expulsion but merely the standard procedure that is carried out by the immigration authorities,” Dr. Kohona said without elaborating. Immigration Chief P. B. Abeykoon, however, confirmed that he had been instructed by the government to cancel Mr. Elder’s visa but gave no other details.
At the UNICEF headquarters in New York, senior officials expressed displeasure over the move. They are to raise the issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, according to reports reaching Colombo.
James Elder, a senior official with the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), held a visa until July next year to serve in Sri Lanka. He is the first UN official carrying a UN passport with diplomatic status to be asked to leave Sri Lanka. Two week’s time has been given after he appealed from an order to leave immediately.
A UN official said no formal reason had been given for the move by the Sri Lankan government. However, Foreign Office sources, who did not wish to be identified, said the Government was concerned over repeated remarks he had made to the media about Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in particular the conditions of children in camps.
Mr. Elder is the Communications Chief at the UNICEF’s office in Sri Lanka.
Outgoing Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said Mr. Elder, an Australian, was leaving the country since his visa had expired and he had been granted two weeks time.
“This is not an expulsion but merely the standard procedure that is carried out by the immigration authorities,” Dr. Kohona said without elaborating. Immigration Chief P. B. Abeykoon, however, confirmed that he had been instructed by the government to cancel Mr. Elder’s visa but gave no other details.
At the UNICEF headquarters in New York, senior officials expressed displeasure over the move. They are to raise the issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, according to reports reaching Colombo.
Sri Lanka, China are tested friends: Sri Lankan president
Rajapakse made the remarks when he met the visiting delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by a member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and Party chief of China's Tianjin municipality Zhang Gaoli.
Rajapakse said the friendly relationship between the two countries has stood long test and the two countries are tested friends, adding that Sri Lanka has always firmly stood by and will never change its stance on one-China policy.
After conveying greetings of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Rajapakse, Zhang said China appreciated the Sri Lankan government's firm support for the Chinese government's stance on the issues related to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and human rights.
Zhang congratulated the massive achievement made by the Sri Lankan government on national reconciliation and the development of the country, adding that the Chinese government will continue to support the Sri Lankan government's efforts to defend its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Zhang also expressed his wishes of expanding cooperation between Tianjin municipality and Sri Lankan on the areas of economy, trade, tourism and education, among others.
Zhang also met Maithripala Sirisena, the general secretary of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Karu Jayasuriya, the deputy Leader of the main opposition United National Party on Friday.
The delegation, invited by Sri Lanka Freedom Party, arrived here Friday morning for a two-day good-will visit.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/05/content_11998756.htm
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Over 10,000 people have disappeared from Tamil IDP camps
A report sent by Vavuniya District Secretary S.M. Charles to the Deputy Inspector General of Police in-charge of the IDP camp area states that over 10,000 people have disappeared from the camps after surrendering to the security forces.
A census conducted on the displaced persons in the camp along with the register of names who have initially entered the camps through the security forces has revealed the disappearance of over 10,000 persons.
The security forces after claiming that these people have escaped from the camp have also launched a special investigation to apprehend them. However, sources from Vavuniya say that while most of the disappeared people have been killed, the rest are being held in a secret location.
Sources further observed that armed Tamil political parties and groups affiliated to the government during the past few months had entered the IDP camps and taken thousands of young Tamil boys and girls without entering any records in the books alleging them to have had links with the LTTE.
A census conducted on the displaced persons in the camp along with the register of names who have initially entered the camps through the security forces has revealed the disappearance of over 10,000 persons.
The security forces after claiming that these people have escaped from the camp have also launched a special investigation to apprehend them. However, sources from Vavuniya say that while most of the disappeared people have been killed, the rest are being held in a secret location.
Sources further observed that armed Tamil political parties and groups affiliated to the government during the past few months had entered the IDP camps and taken thousands of young Tamil boys and girls without entering any records in the books alleging them to have had links with the LTTE.
Losing touch with old friends
A report for the European Union into Sri Lanka’s fitness for preferential tariff treatment is unfavourable
RARELY has a government soiled its reputation as dramatically as Sri Lanka’s. In recent months President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime has won a war and lost the love of many allies.
Its alleged wartime and other abuses make a grim catalogue: thousands of Tamil civilians allegedly killed by army shelling during the rebels’ last stand; scores of Tamils disappeared; nearly 300,000 Tamil war-displaced callously interned; murder and intimidation of journalists—including J.S. Tissainayagam, sentenced to 20 years hard labour on August 31st for criticising the army’s tactics (see article).
There is not much high-minded western countries—to whom Sri Lanka once looked for aid money—can do about this. Mr Rajapaksa has found alternative friends, in China, Libya, Pakistan—and others, who recently scotched a European effort to launch a war-crimes investigation into Sri Lanka. But the Europeans do have one wrench on Mr Rajapaksa’s government: a trade concession known as “GSP Plus”. This boon, which has helped make exports to the EU the country’s biggest source of foreign exchange, worth $3.3 billion last year, is up for review. Judging by an EU-commissioned report on Sri Lanka’s compliance with its terms, which include stipulations on human rights, it can kiss the concession goodbye.
The confidential 130-page report, which has been obtained by The Economist, concludes that Sri Lanka has failed to honour important human-rights commitments, and is ineligible for GSP Plus. Widespread police torture, abductions of journalists, politicised courts and uninvestigated disappearances have all played a part in creating a state of “complete or virtually complete impunity in Sri Lanka”. The internment of the Tamil displaced, which the government claims is necessary to weed out the last Tamil Tiger rebels and to protect them from munitions left in their fields, is “a novel form of unacknowledged detention”.
A final decision on GSP Plus is not due until October. The government, which barred the report’s authors from visiting Sri Lanka, called the study “outrageous” but seems resigned to losing the trade preference: a senior official in the trade ministry, S. Ranugge, admitted: “GSP Plus is very unlikely.”
Perhaps this does not bother Mr Rajapaksa: defying the West is part of his appeal. Anyway, his minions recently secured a $2.6 billion loan from the IMF. But as an indicator of where one of Asia’s oldest democracies may be headed, it should worry Sri Lankans, and all who wish their country well.
RARELY has a government soiled its reputation as dramatically as Sri Lanka’s. In recent months President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime has won a war and lost the love of many allies.
Its alleged wartime and other abuses make a grim catalogue: thousands of Tamil civilians allegedly killed by army shelling during the rebels’ last stand; scores of Tamils disappeared; nearly 300,000 Tamil war-displaced callously interned; murder and intimidation of journalists—including J.S. Tissainayagam, sentenced to 20 years hard labour on August 31st for criticising the army’s tactics (see article).
There is not much high-minded western countries—to whom Sri Lanka once looked for aid money—can do about this. Mr Rajapaksa has found alternative friends, in China, Libya, Pakistan—and others, who recently scotched a European effort to launch a war-crimes investigation into Sri Lanka. But the Europeans do have one wrench on Mr Rajapaksa’s government: a trade concession known as “GSP Plus”. This boon, which has helped make exports to the EU the country’s biggest source of foreign exchange, worth $3.3 billion last year, is up for review. Judging by an EU-commissioned report on Sri Lanka’s compliance with its terms, which include stipulations on human rights, it can kiss the concession goodbye.
The confidential 130-page report, which has been obtained by The Economist, concludes that Sri Lanka has failed to honour important human-rights commitments, and is ineligible for GSP Plus. Widespread police torture, abductions of journalists, politicised courts and uninvestigated disappearances have all played a part in creating a state of “complete or virtually complete impunity in Sri Lanka”. The internment of the Tamil displaced, which the government claims is necessary to weed out the last Tamil Tiger rebels and to protect them from munitions left in their fields, is “a novel form of unacknowledged detention”.
A final decision on GSP Plus is not due until October. The government, which barred the report’s authors from visiting Sri Lanka, called the study “outrageous” but seems resigned to losing the trade preference: a senior official in the trade ministry, S. Ranugge, admitted: “GSP Plus is very unlikely.”
Perhaps this does not bother Mr Rajapaksa: defying the West is part of his appeal. Anyway, his minions recently secured a $2.6 billion loan from the IMF. But as an indicator of where one of Asia’s oldest democracies may be headed, it should worry Sri Lankans, and all who wish their country well.
Tsunami aid still in bank account
Aid money raised by people in Falkirk for those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami has yet to be spent, it has emerged.
Falkirk Council said £15,000, collected for victims in the Jaffna region of Sri Lanka, is still untouched and remains in a council bank account.
The authority said the outbreak of civil war in the province had left it unable to spend the cash in the area.
They have promised to seek a solution to the problem as a matter of urgency.
The money was collected by the Bairns Aid charity, a partnership between Falkirk Council and the Bairns Trust, from April 2005 for the specific purpose of building new homes in Jaffna.
Report due
When the campaign was launched, it was hoped the cash would be used to rebuild fishing villages washed away in the Boxing Day tsunami.
Among those taking part in the fund-raising effort were Falkirk Football Club, local primary schools and businesses.
A spokesman for Falkirk Council said: "A report detailing the fund will be brought to a future meeting of Falkirk Council where we will provide a full update on how the money raised locally will be used."
Nearly a quarter of a million people were killed in 13 countries hit by the tsunami, triggered by an undersea earthquake.
It is regarded as one of the deadliest natural disasters of modern times.
Falkirk Council said £15,000, collected for victims in the Jaffna region of Sri Lanka, is still untouched and remains in a council bank account.
The authority said the outbreak of civil war in the province had left it unable to spend the cash in the area.
They have promised to seek a solution to the problem as a matter of urgency.
The money was collected by the Bairns Aid charity, a partnership between Falkirk Council and the Bairns Trust, from April 2005 for the specific purpose of building new homes in Jaffna.
Report due
When the campaign was launched, it was hoped the cash would be used to rebuild fishing villages washed away in the Boxing Day tsunami.
Among those taking part in the fund-raising effort were Falkirk Football Club, local primary schools and businesses.
A spokesman for Falkirk Council said: "A report detailing the fund will be brought to a future meeting of Falkirk Council where we will provide a full update on how the money raised locally will be used."
Nearly a quarter of a million people were killed in 13 countries hit by the tsunami, triggered by an undersea earthquake.
It is regarded as one of the deadliest natural disasters of modern times.
Media Minister orders ITN and Rupavahini Chairmen to take custody of video tapes amidst Channel 4 controversy
The Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa had ordered the Chairmen of ITN and Rupavahini that all video tapes on the war scenes in the North during the final phase be immediately taken into the custody of the Chairman.
Incidentally , it was only the ITN and the Rupavahini the only two State Institutions which were permitted to cover these war scenes. This urgent order by the Minister to take into custody all tapes both telecast and not telecast has raised queries as to whether this action of the Minister has any connection with the airing of human executions in SL by men in military uniform by Channel 4 in Britain.
Incidentally , it was only the ITN and the Rupavahini the only two State Institutions which were permitted to cover these war scenes. This urgent order by the Minister to take into custody all tapes both telecast and not telecast has raised queries as to whether this action of the Minister has any connection with the airing of human executions in SL by men in military uniform by Channel 4 in Britain.
Rajapaksa rejects Western models of development
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that his country will develop its own model of economic development based on a strong agricultural sector and not follow the existing Western models in which industrial growth gets precedence.
“We must have a Sri Lankan model. I prefer it to be agriculturally based. If you can be self-sufficient in food, then the industries will come,” he told Forbes magazine on August 28.
Economic development rather than a conventional political settlement would ensure lasting peace in the island nation, which had just emerged from a 30-year armed rebellion by the Tamil minority, the President said. “Without development, there won’t be peace; we must develop the economy,” he stressed.
Reconciliation with Tamil communities in the island’s north and east, he added, meant providing basic needs to them such as electricity, water, shelter, education. “They (the Tamils) want to start their paddy fields, go back to their farms,” he said.
REJECTS WEST’S DIM VIEW: Western institutions have a dim of Rajapaksa’s Lanka. Transparency International had placed it between India and Pakistan as one of Asia’s most corrupt economies. The World Bank measured the ease of doing business around the globe and ranked Sri Lanka 102nd out of 181 countries, knocking it for its tax regime, legal system and
permit processing.
On the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, Sri Lanka ranked 111th of 179, slammed for roadblocks to foreign investment, its financial system and opaque property laws. With scores of ministers and 10 to 15 per cent of the workforce employed by the government, Sri Lanka was one of the world’s most administered countries.
But according to Rajapaksa even during the war, the Lankan economy grew by at least six per cent each year (though the global recession was cutting that to 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent in 2009). Inflation is now down to 1.1 per cent, from 11 per cent four years ago, according to Central Bank figures. And he noted that per capita
“We must have a Sri Lankan model. I prefer it to be agriculturally based. If you can be self-sufficient in food, then the industries will come,” he told Forbes magazine on August 28.
Economic development rather than a conventional political settlement would ensure lasting peace in the island nation, which had just emerged from a 30-year armed rebellion by the Tamil minority, the President said. “Without development, there won’t be peace; we must develop the economy,” he stressed.
Reconciliation with Tamil communities in the island’s north and east, he added, meant providing basic needs to them such as electricity, water, shelter, education. “They (the Tamils) want to start their paddy fields, go back to their farms,” he said.
REJECTS WEST’S DIM VIEW: Western institutions have a dim of Rajapaksa’s Lanka. Transparency International had placed it between India and Pakistan as one of Asia’s most corrupt economies. The World Bank measured the ease of doing business around the globe and ranked Sri Lanka 102nd out of 181 countries, knocking it for its tax regime, legal system and
permit processing.On the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, Sri Lanka ranked 111th of 179, slammed for roadblocks to foreign investment, its financial system and opaque property laws. With scores of ministers and 10 to 15 per cent of the workforce employed by the government, Sri Lanka was one of the world’s most administered countries.
But according to Rajapaksa even during the war, the Lankan economy grew by at least six per cent each year (though the global recession was cutting that to 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent in 2009). Inflation is now down to 1.1 per cent, from 11 per cent four years ago, according to Central Bank figures. And he noted that per capita
At UN, Susan Rice Calls Sri Lankan Executions Disturbing, No Council Session Set, Rajapaksa No Show, HG Error
Three months after the UN Security Council held informal session about the conflict Sri Lanka, the newly released video footage depicting the Sri Lankan Army committing summary execution has not led any Council member, including the United States, to propose that the situation be discussed on the Council agenda. Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa had been scheduled to come along with a large entourage. But reportedly Karuna and others in his party were denied visa. Now, Rajapaksa will apparently not come, leaving the Prime Minister to represent the country.
Statement by Minister Cannon on Sri Lanka’s Sentencing of Journalist
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the sentencing of Jayaprakash Sittampalam (J.S.) Tissainayagam, a Sri Lankan journalist:
“The Government of Canada is deeply concerned by the sentencing of J.S. Tissainayagam to 20 years in prison for violating Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act.
“Canada is a strong proponent of vibrant and free media, an essential element of democratic governance in Sri Lanka and around the world. Open and informed debate remains vital to long-term reconciliation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka.
“Canada supports the advancement of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law for all countries of the world.”
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-995-1851
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
http://w01.international.gc.ca/MinPub/Publication.aspx?lang=eng&publication_id=387522&docnum=243
“The Government of Canada is deeply concerned by the sentencing of J.S. Tissainayagam to 20 years in prison for violating Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act.
“Canada is a strong proponent of vibrant and free media, an essential element of democratic governance in Sri Lanka and around the world. Open and informed debate remains vital to long-term reconciliation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka.
“Canada supports the advancement of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law for all countries of the world.”
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-995-1851
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
http://w01.international.gc.ca/MinPub/Publication.aspx?lang=eng&publication_id=387522&docnum=243
Monday, August 31, 2009
Health Ministry neglects regional hospitals in Jaffna
“No new appointments of medical staffers for the thirty-seven regional hospitals in Jaffna district have been made in the past twenty years,” Jaffna District Director of Public Health Service (DPHS), Dr. R. Ketheeswaran said. Only 50% of the medical staffers needed in Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH), which is administered by the Ministry of Health, have been appointed in the past, the Director said.
The 37 regional hospitals in Jaffna district which come under the administration of Public Health Service Department have been neglected by the Health Ministry where an acute shortage of medical staffers prevails for the last two decades, he further said.
This situation forces the 600,000 people of Jaffna district to seek medical treatment in JTH which is understaffed.
In most of the regional hospitals we have been forced to employ retired medical staffers, some of them over 70 years of age, Ketheeswaran said.
17 doctors are urgently needed to meet the needs of these 37 regional hospitals.
There are only 16 doctors serving in the regional hospitals while 88 doctors are needed.
Only a single Physical Health Inspector is in service when 12 are needed.
Similarly, in the posts of Registered Medical Practitioners, only 19 serve out of the 58 required.
Only 11 dispensers are in service while 28 are needed and only 2 Medical Laboratory Technicians are in service when 18 are needed.
Seven X-ray technicians are needed but only two are employed and when there is a need for 308 medical nurses only 70 are available.
While 351 Family Health Officers are needed only 141 are in service.
The reason for this acute shortage of medical staffers in the regional hospitals in Jaffna district is the disinterest shown by the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ketheeswaran said.
Government should take immediate steps appoint the needed medical staffers in the interest of the 600,000 population of Jaffna district, he added
The 37 regional hospitals in Jaffna district which come under the administration of Public Health Service Department have been neglected by the Health Ministry where an acute shortage of medical staffers prevails for the last two decades, he further said.
This situation forces the 600,000 people of Jaffna district to seek medical treatment in JTH which is understaffed.
In most of the regional hospitals we have been forced to employ retired medical staffers, some of them over 70 years of age, Ketheeswaran said.
17 doctors are urgently needed to meet the needs of these 37 regional hospitals.
There are only 16 doctors serving in the regional hospitals while 88 doctors are needed.
Only a single Physical Health Inspector is in service when 12 are needed.
Similarly, in the posts of Registered Medical Practitioners, only 19 serve out of the 58 required.
Only 11 dispensers are in service while 28 are needed and only 2 Medical Laboratory Technicians are in service when 18 are needed.
Seven X-ray technicians are needed but only two are employed and when there is a need for 308 medical nurses only 70 are available.
While 351 Family Health Officers are needed only 141 are in service.
The reason for this acute shortage of medical staffers in the regional hospitals in Jaffna district is the disinterest shown by the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ketheeswaran said.
Government should take immediate steps appoint the needed medical staffers in the interest of the 600,000 population of Jaffna district, he added
journalist abducted in white van; later released
Unknown persons arriving in a white van abducted P. Ekaneligoda, a journalist who worked as Features Editor of Siyarata, official organ of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and LankaeNews website, in Makumbura in Homagama police division in Colombo district on Thursday night, sources in Colombo said. He was subsequently released the next day.
The reason for the abduction is not known, the sources said.
Mr. P. Ekaneligoda has lodged a complaint with the Homagama police Saturday.
The reason for the abduction is not known, the sources said.
Mr. P. Ekaneligoda has lodged a complaint with the Homagama police Saturday.
Sri Lankan court imprisons journalist for 20 years
J.S. Tissainayagam, a senior journalist and Sunday Times columnist, was sentenced to twenty-year rigorous imprisonment by Colombo High Court judge Deepali Wijesundara on Monday. Mr. Tissanayagam has been indicted under the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulations (ER), and was charged on three counts including printing and distributing the publication North Eastern Herald Monthly magazine.
According to the indictment, the veteran journalist had committed an 'offence' on two counts under the PTA and has committed 'acts of violence by inciting communal feelings by editing, printing or distributing the North Eastern Monthly magazine'.
Tissainayagam was also charged under the Emergency Regulations for collecting money for the furtherance of terrorism or specified terrorist activities.
Journalist Tissainayagam was detained on March 7, 2008 when he went to the Sri Lanka's Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) to look for his colleagues Jasikaran and Valarmathy. He was detained for almost six months without charges.
On August 25th he was charged with writing to incite 'ethnic disharmony'.
Tissainayagam was also charged under the Emergency Regulations for collecting money for the furtherance of terrorism or specified terrorist activities.
Journalist Tissainayagam was detained on March 7, 2008 when he went to the Sri Lanka's Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) to look for his colleagues Jasikaran and Valarmathy. He was detained for almost six months without charges.
On August 25th he was charged with writing to incite 'ethnic disharmony'.
Continued confinement of innocent civilians may lead to renewed conflict: British Conservatives
William Hague, the British Conservative Party MP and the Shadow Foreign Secretary on Thursday urged the Sri Lankan government to take all possible measures to prevent further suffering".
He called for UN and relief organisations to be given "full and unrestricted access to provide shelter, food, water, and medicine, and to oversee the screening process" – a call made all the more urgent by the onset of the monsoon season.
Hague also stressed the importance of the Sri Lankan government living up to its commitment to allow the people to return to their homes by the end of the year. "Their continued confinement in camps will simply sow the seeds of discontent and may lead to renewed conflict in years to come. This would be a disastrous setback for the country when peace has been so hard won."
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Video, leaked memo bedevil Moon's climate visit to Norway
International Development Minister Erik Solheim told Norway's Aftenposten Wednesday that he will discuss the details of the gruesome video showing Sri Lanka soldiers executing naked, bound men, during Ban Ki Moon's Norway visit this week. Meanwhile, the visit occurs while 'The Economist' gave Mr. Moon a failed grade in his UN performance (30%), and a leaked memo by Norway’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Mona Juul, accused Moon for being a "passive observer when thousands lost lives and were driven from their homes [in Sri Lanka]," in her mid term assessment of Ban’s tenure.
Mr. Ban will visit Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean, as part of his official visit to Norway which begins next week.The visit to the Arctic is part of the Secretary-General's ongoing efforts to push for action ahead of the global climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where countries will implement a new greenhouse gas emissions reduction pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, UN Radio said of his visit.
Solheim commenting on the video to the Norway daily said that dozens of people have been killed or have disappeared in Sri Lanka in recent years, without any form of judicial process or verdict. And there is overwhelming evidence that structures within the state apparatus is behind many of these killings, and added that "he will not be surprised if the footage turns out to be genuine."
"United Nations must address in the investigation of possible war crimes in Sri Lanka. It's something I definitely want to do, even if the purpose of his trip is about climate and environment," Solheim told the paper.
Meanwhile, a leaked diplomatic document, stamped ‘strictly confidential,’ on 19th August, Mona Juual is likely to further add diplomatic discomfort to Ban's visit. Juul said in the memo, "the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who was refused admittance by Colombo at the height of the war, chose to accept its invitation as soon as the war was “won."" The diplomat added: "War in Sri Lanka is an example of the weak handling of the Secretary General. He was a passive observer when thousands lost lives and were driven from their homes, the diplomat further said in her mid term assessment of Ban’s tenure."
The Economist gave a paltry 2/10 for Moon's Management skills and a 3/10 for "truth to power," saying his quiet diplomacy has failed to yield tangible results.
"After Sri Lanka’s war ended, Mr Ban denied that the UN had leaked grim civilian casualty figures (indeed, some UN officials reportedly sought to suppress the toll). That obscured his other responses—such as an appeal to aid the Tamil refugees. With Sri Lanka’s government shielded by China, India and others at the Security Council and at the UN Human Rights Commission, human-rights groups had hoped Mr Ban would speak up more for the victims," the Economist cited as one of the reasons for giving Moon a failed grade.
Solheim commenting on the video to the Norway daily said that dozens of people have been killed or have disappeared in Sri Lanka in recent years, without any form of judicial process or verdict. And there is overwhelming evidence that structures within the state apparatus is behind many of these killings, and added that "he will not be surprised if the footage turns out to be genuine."
"United Nations must address in the investigation of possible war crimes in Sri Lanka. It's something I definitely want to do, even if the purpose of his trip is about climate and environment," Solheim told the paper.
Meanwhile, a leaked diplomatic document, stamped ‘strictly confidential,’ on 19th August, Mona Juual is likely to further add diplomatic discomfort to Ban's visit. Juul said in the memo, "the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who was refused admittance by Colombo at the height of the war, chose to accept its invitation as soon as the war was “won."" The diplomat added: "War in Sri Lanka is an example of the weak handling of the Secretary General. He was a passive observer when thousands lost lives and were driven from their homes, the diplomat further said in her mid term assessment of Ban’s tenure."
The Economist gave a paltry 2/10 for Moon's Management skills and a 3/10 for "truth to power," saying his quiet diplomacy has failed to yield tangible results.
"After Sri Lanka’s war ended, Mr Ban denied that the UN had leaked grim civilian casualty figures (indeed, some UN officials reportedly sought to suppress the toll). That obscured his other responses—such as an appeal to aid the Tamil refugees. With Sri Lanka’s government shielded by China, India and others at the Security Council and at the UN Human Rights Commission, human-rights groups had hoped Mr Ban would speak up more for the victims," the Economist cited as one of the reasons for giving Moon a failed grade.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
