Halt violence, civil society reps tell LTTE

COLOMBO: Civil society representatives of various organisations in Colombo have appealed to the LTTE to halt acts of violence and commit to the pursuit of its objectives through non-violent and democratic means.

They have also pointed out that the LTTE have been engaged in acts of armed attacks against the Security Forces resulting in further heightening tension and fear within the community and the Trincomalee area.

A fact finding team of civil society representatives from Colombo, which travelled to Trincomalee on April 16 and 17 has made the following appeal to the Government, political parties, LTTE, non-governmental organisations and all members of civil society to strengthen law and order in the region:

"Immediate steps must be taken to ensure that all emergency and humanitarian assistance necessary is extended to those displaced by the violence; rebuilding of houses should be a priority;

A delegation of senor members of all leading political parties should undertake a visit to Trincomalee to meet with all sections of the population as a confidence-building measure;

The government should devise some means of accepting accountability for the inability of the security forces to prevent the violence; a collective apology from the state and from southern political parties to the people of Trincomalee would go a long way towards re-building bridges of communication and trust;

An independent investigation into the violence following the bomb explosion on April 12 should be undertaken by a team comprising representatives of government and non-government bodies; the investigation should aim at recording the various testimonies regarding the incidents and at making recommendations to the government regarding justice and redress for the victims;

These measures should take into account the culture of impunity that has prevailed in Sri Lanka, taking on board the experiences of previous commissions, and ensure that concrete steps are taken and implemented by the government to end impunity;

Civil society organisations should create a 'rapid response' network that will make regular and systematic visits to their partners and colleagues in Trincomalee to monitor the situation;

Payment of compensation should be transparent, unbiased and acceptable to all affected parties;

Institutions such as the District office of the National Human Rights Commission should be reinforced with material and human resources to enable it to act more effectively in a time of crisis such as this;

The Citizen's Committee should be strengthened so that it can act independently and with the recognition of the authorities;

We note that the LTTE have been engaged in acts of armed attacks against the security forces resulting in further heightening tension and fear within the community and the Trincomalee area.

We appeal to the LTTE to halt these acts of violence and commit to the pursuit of its objectives through non-violent and democratic means; and ensure that there are no obstacles in providing emergency and humanitarian assistance to those displaced by the violence and facilitate in creating a safe environment for the implementation of aid work by agencies and individuals.

It is imperative that all political actors are aware of the dangers involved in not taking control of the situation and ensuring that the potential for heightened violence in Trincomalee is curbed.

The creation of an environment in which people can return to their homes and their livelihoods should be given priority. In the current climate of insecurity, attempts by some politically motivated groups to incite ethnic and religious hatred should be dealt with immediately and all citizens need to be more vigilant about these manipulations".

The fragility of the peace process at this moment calls for a concerted initiative to safeguard the CFA and strengthen the voices for peace in Sri Lanka.