Double standards of international community
The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office in
Geneva, in collaboration with the Geneva Press Club - Club suisse de la
presse -, organised a press conference on the topic of the ‘Current
Situation in Sri Lanka’, on 24 April 2009 at ‘la pastorale,’ Geneva.
Permanent
Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva briefs Swiss press
on Sri Lankan situation |
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary to the Ministry of Human Rights and
Disaster Management and Secretary General, Secretariat for Coordinating
the Peace Process, and Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Ambassador/Permanent
Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office in Geneva were
the two main speakers at this press meeting.
Events and issues
At the outset, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha explained the events that took
place from 2002 to 2005, providing a brief sketch of the situation.
Briefing the gathering on the political means to address the issues that
the government has proposed before, during and after the Ceasefire
Agreement (CFA), Prof.
Wijesinha outlined the key incidents that took place during the CFA.
He said that while there had been only about 350 recorded violations by
the government, the LTTE had violated the CFA about 3800 times.
After the election of H.E. Mahinda Rajapakse, President of Sri Lanka,
despite the government’s efforts to politically negotiate a settlement,
the LTTE not only walked away from the peace talks but also launched two
major attacks in the North and East and also attempted to kill the army
commander of Sri Lanka using a pregnant suicide bomber.
The government then launched its military offensive in the East and
liberated the East from the LTTE in 2007. An ex-LTTE cadre, who had been
recruited as a child soldier and had become the leader of a political
party formed after a group of fighters broke away from the LTTE in 2004,
was made the chief minister of the eastern province after a democratic
election. Prof. Wijesinha maintained that despite the fact that the
government has launched 400 air strikes until December, only 78 civilian
casualties were reported. He further elaborated and said that major
civilian casualties were from the LTTE.
Prof. Wijesinha also highlighted as extremely helpful, the visit to
Sri Lanka by Representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights
of IDPs Walter Kalin which took place in early April. With the help of
the ICRC the government and the LTTE allowed the elderly, sick and
wounded civilians to be transported to the government controlled areas.
Nevertheless, the LTTE prevented a large number of civilians from
moving into the government controlled areas. As the military engagements
progressed and the government troops continued advancing on the LTTE,
the latter, as they were retreating, took the civilians along with them.
Even then, around 30,000 civilians escaped and came to those areas
controlled by the government in January 2009.
Entering Tiger strongholds
In the second week of April, taking in to consideration the suffering
of the civilians, the government declared a pause in fighting so that
the civilians could come out of the fighting area.
During this time, as in the past, LTTE built a wall around the area
that they were holding on to in order to prevent the civilians from
escaping. This was confirmed and criticized by the UN. Sir John Holmes,
Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who
said that the LTTE was very active in preventing civilians from crossing
the area of fighting to the no fire zone.
In the latter part of April, the government troops were able to
destroy the wall built by the LTTE, which allowed the entrapped
civilians to escape into the government controlled areas. Since last
week, 110,000 civilians have come out of the LTTE controlled areas.
The government has been taking measures to address the welfare and
well-being of these civilians. Prof. Wijesinha also praised the efforts
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
World Food Programme (WFP), both of whom have helped the government to
put up shelters and provide food to these civilians in great numbers.
Local NGOs have also been very helpful in providing food for these
escaped civilians. Several local NGOs are providing lunch for the
civilians in the camps, while the WFP and the government are providing
them with the other two meals.
Last week there was another major development when two LTTE
intellectuals who were members of the LTTE political wing, surrendered
to the government. According to them, there remain only about 20,000
civilians with the LTTE.
After this initial briefing, questions were called for. A journalist
from AFP asked how accurate the figures of civilians coming out of the
LTTE area are. Prof. Wijesinha said that so far around 200,000 civilians
have escaped and come to government controlled areas. Certain people
estimate the number of civilians held by the LTTE to be 400,000, but
this is due to double counting.
A journalist from Le Temps, a Geneva based news paper asked whether
the government will take revenge when refugees and ex-soldiers of the
LTTE come to government controlled areas.
Prof. Wijesinha replied that around 3000 of those who have
surrendered to the Sri Lankan armed forces have said that they had been
fighting against the government for the LTTE, and that these former LTTE
cadres have been directed to legal authorities.
Only 32 out of these were proved to be strong LTTE fighters and they
have been sent to rehabilitation camps. Most of the other cadres were
underage children who had been forcefully recruited by the LTTE.
Addressing the issue of civilians crossing into government controlled
areas, while acknowledging that families are divided, Prof. Wijesinha
highlighted that the process of reuniting families in the camps, though
initially slow, has sped up and has been successful.
Destitute civilians
A journalist from the AFP asked whether there will be a humanitarian
pause to allow the civilians to come out. Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka
said that such a pause was not necessary and that the facts speak for
this. He pointed out that already without such a pause, 180,000
civilians have escaped from the LTTE held area.
Dr. Jayatilleka further pointed out that if there is a pause in
fighting, the LTTE will only use it to launch attacks on the armed
forces and escaping civilians. Highlighting further atrocities committed
by the LTTE, Dr. Jayatilleka highlighted that the LTTE have already
launched two suicide attacks on civilians trying to escape and built a
wall around their stronghold to prevent people from crossing.
In addition, they have also seized the food rations sent by the
government and resold them to destitute civilians held by them.
Therefore, Dr. Jayatilleka emphasized that what is needed is not a
humanitarian pause but a surgical military operation, similar to that
carried out by the armed forces a few days ago, to liberate these
civilians from the clutches of the LTTE.
Prof. Wijesinha also evoked the conflict in Angola and said that
after the leader was killed, the terrorist movement died and it fell in
to place.
Ambassador Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka said that it is important to
understand the nature of the LTTE. He quoted Pulitzer Prize winner John
F. Burns, who said that Prabhakaran is the Pol Pot of South Asia.
Barbara Crossette of New York Times has also said that the LTTE is
the most lethal and totalitarian contemporary armed movement in Asia.
The LTTE is a fanatical movement like Al Qaeda and with such movements,
humanitarian pauses will not work.
Ambassador Jayatilleka said that Sri Lanka is partially dismayed but
also partially amused by the fact that certain countries who are against
talking to Taliban have suggested that the government should talk to the
LTTE, an internationally banned terrorist organization.
The Security Council has clearly said that the LTTE should lay down
arms. The Tigers have a clear cut record of rearming themselves during a
ceasefire. Since 1985, the LTTE did not accept any peaceful solution.
During the Indo-Lanka accord, the LTTE did not accept the peaceful
solutions presented by the Governments of India and Sri Lanka.
Instead, they started fighting with the Indian Peace Keeping Forces.
In 1987, a proposal was made to grant provincial autonomy to the North
and East through a provincial council system. At the same time, about
70,000 troops of the Indian Peace Keeping force were deployed in
northern Sri Lanka.
Due to this, the Sri Lankan forces were confined to the barracks
while the Indian Army was maintaining the security and the peace in the
North and the East. Without accepting the political solution proposed
through the Indo-Sri Lanka peace accord, LTTE fought the Indian peace
keepers.
In 1991, in Tamil Nadu, an LTTE suicide cadre blew herself up and
killed the then Indian Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi, grandson of
Nehru, first Prime Minister in India and the son of Indira Ghandi.
In 1990, President Premadasa engaged in direct talks with the LTTE
and 14 meetings were convened. In 1993, President Premadasa was blown up
by an LTTE suicide attack. After that, President Chandrika Bandaranaike
Kumaratunga was elected and she exchanged 45 letters with the leader of
the LTTE. In 1999, an LTTE suicide bomber attempted to kill President
Chandrika and left her blinded in one eye.
Ambassador Jayatilleka further said that LTTE not only killed leaders
of the government but also killed their own community members. Anita
Pratap, a journalist and the author of The Island of Blood, who was a
sympathizer of the LTTE, interviewed Mr. Prabhakaran in 1990s.
She requested from the LTTE to see Mahaththaya, deputy leader of the
LTTE, who was at that time in the custody of the LTTE. A weakened and
demoralized Mahaththaya was shown to Ms. Pratap, who asked from Mr.
Prabhakaran as to why Mahaththaya was being punished and Prabhakaran
told her that it was because he had been too soft when negotiating with
President Premadasa. Later in 1994, Mahaththaya was killed by the LTTE.
Escape route
A question was asked how the surgical military operation would bring
a solution to the problem. Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka said that this
is the best available option. The armed forces sliced in to the
territory held by the LTTE in order to allow the trapped civilians to
escape the LTTE and come to the area controlled by the government.
However, he added, the operation may not have been perfect, although the
forces did their best.
The journalist of Le Temps asked the two speakers what they could say
about the great numbers of Tamils protesting in the streets.
Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka said that the LTTE is not the sole
representative of the Tamil community. They have killed all the moderate
Tamils, to name a few, Neelan Thiruchelvam and Rajini Thiranagama, who
followed the footsteps of her elder sister Nirmala Rajasingham.
Nirmala Rajasingham has written an article criticizing these Tamil
demonstrations in favour of the LTTE. Rajini’s two daughters who are
studying in Oxford and Cambridge are still traumatized by their mother’s
death because they heard the LTTE gunshot that killed their mother, who
was on her way home from the University. Rajini was a medical doctor who
had a PhD and who fought against the army, LTTE and the Indian peace
keeping forces.
Hypocrisy
If the protestors who lead comfortable lives in Western countries,
are genuinely concerned about the welfare of the Tamil people in Sri
Lanka, they should demand that the LTTE release the sick, hungry and
wounded civilians that they are forcibly holding.
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha said that not only the UNHCR and WFP, but also
local and international NGOs are present in the camps and liberated
areas. As already mentioned, these NGOs are providing mid day meals to
the refugees.
Minister Douglas Devananda, who has been targeted 13 times to be
assassinated by the LTTE, addressed the Durban Review conference last
week. He lost the sight in one of his eyes due to an attack by the LTTE.
While addressing the Conference, the Hon. Minister said the following:
“Although over 70, 000 of those held initially succeeded in getting
away, despite being shot at by the LTTE as they escaped, there are still
a large number held in captivity. Yet even as I speak today, thousands
managed to get away to refuge with the government. If the international
community can pressurize the LTTE to surrender or at least to release
the rest of these civilians unconditionally, that will go a long way in
ending the suffering of the Tamil minority.”
Prof. Wijesinha also said that he had been appealing to the UN to
publicly state that the LTTE was taking civilians as hostages from
September 2008.
But the UN, even though they knew it was happening, did not say it
openly because they were afraid that the UN staff and their families may
be harmed by the LTTE. However, in November, the UN at last acknowledged
that the LTTE was taking civilians as hostages. Although the government
appreciates this late action by the UN, it feels that the call to
release the civilians by the UN should have made much earlier.
The Sri Lankan government admires the encouragement given by the
Japanese government. The Japanese government asked the LTTE to
surrender, while asking the government to continue its military
operation of zero civilian casualties, which they openly hailed.
Dr. Edward Perera, a member of the Sri Lankan diaspora asked what the
speakers’ opinion was on the Bishop of Jaffna’s comparison of the LTTE
leader to Jesus. Both Ambassador Jayatilleka and Prof. Wijesinha said
that the Bishop of Jaffna has not supported terrorism and that they are
not aware of his making such a comparison. They queried the sources of
the alleged statement.
Referring to the incidents happened in 1981 and 1983, Prof. Wijesinha
said that he will not try to defend such indefensible incidents which
were backed by certain elements in the Government of the time. However,
what is important to keep in mind is that such incidents have not been
repeated ever since.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Geneva |