The Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) reporting from Vanni says, the situation there is dire and appeal to the United Nations, the ICRC and the international community to immediately send food and medicine to the area. Also it urge the international community to investigate the reports on disappearances, torture and murder of the people who were captured by Sri Lankan forces. It also request the international media to go beyond the ‘guided tour’ and independently report the situtatuon.
MEDIA RELEASE
25 April 2009
REPORT from the ‘Safe Zone’
The current situation in the so called ‘safe zone’/’no fire zone’ is dire. A humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented proportions is taking place and the international community, especially the UN, have delayed, procrastinated, made weak ineffectual statements and have accepted the Sri Lanka Government’s reports as ‘fact’. Of particular concern is the silence of Sri Lanka Civil Society and the international NGOs with a presence in Sri Lanka. Are they silent because they want to ‘cash in’ on the ‘post-conflict’ development and reconstruction?The so-called ‘safe zone’ now consists of their main villages: Mullivaikal, Valiaganmadam, Vattuvahal. There are approximately 125,000 - 140,000 civilians in the area.
The GoSL attack on the Puttumattalan area on 20 April 2009 damaged the Mattalan temporary hospital and forced the medical staff to relocate to Mulliaikal where it is now functioning with only the bare minimum of facilities. The GoSL has not allowed medicine into the area for over one month and there is no anesthetic, no antibiotics, IV drips, or other essential medicines and medical supplies. There is also a shortage of blood due to the fact that, due to the embargo on food transportation to the area, all potential blood donors are too malnourished to donate blood.
The GoSL has continued to use heavy weapons to shell the so-called ‘safe zone’ everyday and 350 - 500 civilians are being injured by the shelling & shooting and over 100 are being killed or dying as a result of inadequate facilities to treat their injuries.
Numerous deaths are also occurring due to starvation and the people have not received any food for the past two (2) days. If there is not an emergency shipment of food by the ICRC in the next few days thousands will starve to death.
Valiaganmadam has been designated as the landing place for the ICRC ship. This is the only route available to bring food and medicine and to evacuate the 300 (capacity of boat) most severely injured. Due to heavy shelling of the area by the SLA and SL Navy (SLN) it has been impossible for the ship to land food and medicine or evacuate the injured. The SLN is activley engaged in a blockade of the so-called ‘safe zone’.
All of the civilian tents and the temporary hospital are in clear view of the SLA, which is approximately 500 meters away. As a result the people are unable to move about freely due to SLA sniper fire that targets any movement of civilians.
We appeal to the United Nations, the ICRC and the international community to immediately send food and medicine to the area and to pressure the GoSL to immediately enter into a cease fire that the LTTE has repeatedly called for,. The patient transportation facilities also need to be increased so that more of the injured patients can be evacuated.
Forced Exodus
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) military offensive into the so-called ‘safe zone’ on 20 April 2009 began when the SLA fired artillery shells that released a ‘white gas’ that knocked the civilians unconscious. When they awoke they were being herded towards the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) forward defense lines.
The GOSL states that over 80,000 civilians moved into the GoSL controlled areas at that time. We have received reports from camp management and local government authorities in Vavuniya and Jaffna that no where near this amount of civilians have arrived at their camps some 4 days later. Where are these civilians?
After the 20th April incident the GoSL set up the Arunachalam Camp in Vavuniya District for 6,000 people. In Jaffna District, Kodikamam Camp and the Sarawathi School Camp received approximately 20,000 persons. Where are these 54,000 other persons?
Reports are being received that:
• Civilians being ‘disappeared’;
• Girls and boys being raped for days on end in the army camps and then being killed and disposed of;
• people are being held in secret detention and tortured or forced to do ‘slave labour’ on the front lines and in military camps.We request the international community to investigate these reports and urge the international media to go beyond the ‘guided tour’ reporting that the GoSL conducts. There needs to be independent reporting, neutral translators, and free and unfettered access to the whole of the country.
ENDS
