A Subidcham Report: A report from Colombo states that the Sri Lankan
Government has offered to extend medical facilities to injured LTTE
cadres. This report comes along with another where the Sri Lankan
Monitoring officials have indicated that the LTTE has been responsible
for all the attacks taking place in Sri Lanka with the aim of capturing
the Jaffna Peninsula.
In this effort, the LTTE has thrown a large number of its cadres
including hundreds of children on the frontline.
According to the Colombo statement, the Government announced Friday
August 18, 2006, that it will extend all facilities for medical
treatment to injured LTTE cadres on humanitarian grounds.
Issuing the statement, the Information Department quoting President
Mahinda Rajapaksa said, "Despite the fact that the LTTE has launched
attacks on the troops, the Government will assist the injured LTTE
cadres to get medical treatment on humanitarian grounds."
The statement also said that President Rajapaksa has made it clear
that "it is the duty and responsibility of the Government to ensure that
medical facilities are made available to all citizens of the country."
The President announced this decision at a meeting with the
representatives of political parties that supported his candidature at
the last Presidential poll. He said it was the same principle that was
applied to the LTTE spokesperson Daya Master when he had a heart attack.
However, according to another report, the LTTE showed its true
colours when it denied permission for the wounded Tamil schoolchildren
to travel to Colombo or Kandy for treatment.
On an appeal made to the President and to Minister Douglas Devananda,
President Mahinda Rajapaksa graciously offered safe passage and free
hospital care to the wounded children. The LTTE denied permission for
them to travel, stating that the Kilinochchi hospital is good enough for
them.
These are the same people that appealed to the President to get their
mouthpiece Daya Master into a private Colombo hospital for treatment
following a chest pain.
A parent on hearing the LTTE's refusal to allow the injured children
to be taken to Colombo asked: "How come the Killinochchi hospital was
not good enough for Daya Master to take his nitroglycerine pill?
Embittered, cynically he said: "This is cruelty of the LTTE for the
very same people in whose name they are trying to grab power by force.
The children of the LTTE leaders are in London, Paris, Toronto, Oslo and
elsewhere in the world, leading very comfortable lives, while the
children kidnapped by the LTTE from their schools and homes are left to
suffer and die.
The worst curse that has fallen upon the Tamil people trapped in
Northern Sri Lanka is the LTTE. Let's hope the Government forces can
eradicate this curse and bring peace to all."
President Rajapaksa announced his decision at a meeting with the
representatives of political parties that supported his candidature at
the last Presidential poll. He also asserted that the Government had not
launched any offensive and the Security Forces had only retaliated in
self-defence when the LTTE itself launched a major offensive.
DURGA VELAUTHAM,
via email.
At present, I understand that nearly 900 persons visit this hospital
as outdoor patients.
Since Maharagama is away from Colombo (nearly 18 kms) and adequate
transport facilities are also not available, outdoor patients undergo
difficulties in finding accommodation overnight.
I am pleased to observe that Buddhist monks are giving accommodation
to these patients but they are facing difficulties as the space and the
funds are not adequate to provide facilities to nearly 900 patients.
Therefore, it is the duty of our Government to ensure that facilities
are granted to these patients who come from far away places to obtain
treatment without any difficulties. Therefore, I suggest the following:
Arrange temporary accommodation in places close to the hospital;
Assist organisations or social workers who are already providing
accommodation to enhance their facilities;
Have a programme of providing permanent accommodation facilities, if
possible with meals, which the patients may purchase.
I make this appeal to all charitable organisations, social workers
etc, to take necessary steps with regard to above.
S. R. Balachandran,
Council Member, The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka.
The LTTE's propaganda machinery, the TamilNet broadcast a news item
that 61 school girls were killed because of aerial bombing by the Sri
Lanka Air Force. In a press release dated Aug. 15, 2006 UNICEF Executive
Director, Ann M. Veneman was quick to respond in UNICEF's condemnation
of the Government before any verification of the incident, its accuracy
or its authentication could be determined.
It was said a UNICEF team visited the spot. No names or any other
details of the investigation team were mentioned.
The release states "Girls from various schools in the nearby district
of Mullativu and Killinochchi were staying overnight at the compound
attending a two-day course in first-aid".
From which schools in Mullative and Killinochchi were the girls? What
was the name of the school the training was being conducted in?
Presumably Ms Veneman issued the press release on information supplied
by the UNICEF office in Colombo.
What is the credibility of UNICEF's role in Sri Lanka? It is a clear
pointer to how quickly international agencies in Sri Lanka respond to
TamilNet and pro-LTTE propaganda persons and news sources.
There is blind faith that their information is credible while what
the Government says is constantly in doubt. Such allegiance to the LTTE
is ironic, as it is the Government of Sri Lanka which is supposed to be
a member of the United Nations, not the LTTE.
But UN civil servants in Sri Lanka serve the LTTE and see their role
as one of whitewashing the LTTE and mud slinging at the Government.
Further investigations into the incident has now revealed that it was
not a school at all. There are no schools which open at 6.30 a.m. which
is the time the incident took place.
The locality inside the thick jungles of Mullativu also makes it
unlikely to be a school. Everyone knows that Mullativu and Killinochchi,
is the domain of Prabhakaran and generally regarded as Tigerland.
There is now further information that it was in fact an orphanage and
that schoolchildren were there following a two-day residential course on
First Aid. What UNICEF does not say is more important that what they
say.
It has been further revealed that this orphanage is run by the
Chencholai organisation which has set up a network of orphanages in
personal contact with Prabhakaran from the early 1990s.
It is part of a chain of orphanages which are a well known breeding
ground for Prabhakaran to groom generations of baby brigades of child
soldiers. With no parents and families, young orphans are ready material
for training into hard core terrorists.
Such orphanages teach and condition young parentless Tamil children
to glorify violence and worship the tiger leader Prabhakaran.
It is a paradox how UNICEF, a focal UN organisation created to
safeguard child rights, is helping such orphanages, appearing to either
be deliberately, conveniently, or stupidly blind to the atrocities
against childhood being committed through the infrastructure of such
institutions.
UNICEF in its blind faith and loyalty to the LTTE never questioned
why First Aid was being taught so early in the morning, in an orphanage
instead of in a school at a regular school time, and as to why First Aid
training is residential. UNICEF is supposedly knowledgeable about
education, schools and First Aid.
UNICEF, as the custodians of child rights, has witnessed child
recruitment going on since 1983. What have they done? Except for
half-hearted pronouncements by successive UNICEF Representatives and
Executive Directors, nothing has changed.
In 2003 in the aftermath of the 2002 CFA, the then UNICEF
Representative Ted Chaiban, gave the TRO (an LTTE front organisation)
US$ 1 million (equivalent to SL Rs. 100 million) for the rehabilitation
of child soldiers.
The centres are now defunct and no one knows what happened to the Rs.
100 million. But in the meantime, child recruitment goes on.
If UNICEF did what they were supposed to do, there would be NO child
soldiers today, no such LTTE run child combatant promoting orphanages,
and no child rights violations would then occur.
There can be no worse child abuse and exploitation than training a
child to maim and kill and teaching him or her to commit suicide by
swallowing a cyanide capsule. The blame and shame is with you UNICEF,
not with the Government or the people of Sir Lanka.
As long as you shield, pamper and protect the LTTE, you are party to
promoting child conscription, and prolonging terrorism in Sri Lanka. Who
is to blame? It is you and all other UN agencies, INGOs and NGOs who are
mollycoddling the LTTE and fanning the flames of terrorism in Sri Lanka.
TYRONNE EDWARDS,
Moratuwa.
The article titled 'winning hearts and minds' which was published on
August 21 should be read by Sri Lankans of all ages and from different
backgrounds - political, religious and ethnic.
This would be the only way, we would be able to achieve trust and
harmony among different groups which would lead to lasting peace -
social and economic progress of our country. Is there a way that this
article can be forwarded to our political, religious, student groups
etc.?
Thank you Mr. Fernando for your excellent article and the Daily News
for publishing it.
Mahendra Hettiaratchy,
via email. |
