Sri Lanka: UN Security Council Makes Its First Move

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council finally spoke out on the tragedy in Sri Lanka, telling the government to stop firing heavy artillery at civilians in a war zone and the Tamil Tiger rebels to "lay down their arms" and allow non-combatants to leave the conflict area.

But the statement, endorsed by all 15 member nations on Wednesday, was issued to the press rather than at a formal meeting or in a legal document. Still the action, the body's first response to the bloody conflict, was considered by its main sponsors - Britain, France and Austria, backed by the United States - as putting public pressure on Sri Lanka.

Said Britain's U.N. Ambassador John Sawers: "This is an important step forward by the Security Council....We have for the first time produced an official written statement by the council addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka."

The move came in response to the largest report attack on civilians over the weekend, called a "bloodbath" by a U.N. spokesman. Hundreds were reported killed after government troops attacked a narrow strip of northeast beach territory in an effort to surround the rebels. Some 50,000 civilians are believed trapped in what was once a "no-fire zone." U.N. figures last month estimated that more than 6,400 civilians had been killed in three months of fighting this year, many used as human shields by the Tamil Tigers who have not let them leave the zone.

President Obama in Washington also spoke out forcefully , telling reporters: "Tens of thousands of innocent civilians are trapped between the warring government forces and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka with no means of escape, little access to food, water, shelter and medicine," he said. "Without urgent action, this humanitarian crisis could turn into a catastrophe."

He urged the Tamil Tigers to halt warfare and release civilians and said the government should stop using heavy weapons, stop "indiscriminate shelling" and allow international aid groups access to refugees in camps, some reported in deplorable condition.

Russia, China, Libya and Vietnam had opposed putting the issue on the agenda of the Security Council, the U.N.'s most powerful body, considering the war an internal matter rather than a threat to international peace and security. But they relented in issuing a statement after the Western council members agreed to discuss a U.N. report on Israel's war in January in Gaza that the United States and its allies did not want raised, diplomats said. The council issued a brief press statement, shorter than the one on Sri Lanka, expressing concern about the report's findings, which were critical of Israel.

The Council's Sri Lanka statement "strongly" condemned the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) "for its acts of terrorism over many years and for its continued use of civilians as human shields." It acknowledged the "legitimate right of the Government of Sri Lanka to combat terrorism" and demanded the LTTE lay down its arms and allow "tens of thousands" of civilians in the conflict zone to leave.

It said the Sri Lankan government should "fulfill its commitment" in regard to reports "of continued use of heavy caliber weapons in areas with high concentrations of civilians." The Council also called on the government to allow "urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance" and to cooperate with aid groups, such as the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Colombo government has said it stopped using heavy artillery in that area almost three weeks ago. But there have been steady reports from the region of indiscriminate artillery raids by government forces, including attacks on makeshift hospitals.

The description of a "bloodbath" came on Monday from the U.N. spokesman in Sri Lanka, Gordon Weiss: "The U.N. has consistently warned against the bloodbath scenario as we've watched the steady increase in civilian deaths over the last few months. The large-scale killing of civilians over the weekend including the deaths of more than 100 children, shows that that bloodbath as become a reality."

Sri Lanka, a former British colony, has been wracked by violent conflict for most of the past 25 years, suffering more than 100,000 deaths in fighting between the separatist Tamil Tigers, who traditionally lived in the northern and eastern regions, and Sinhalese, who inhabit the central and southern regions. A peace process began in 2002 but talks broke down and a ceasefire agreement crumbled in 2006 when full-scale military action resumed. The fighting escalated in 2008, with the government having won nearly all the territory in the Northern Province.

Comments

[DemocracyIsComing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OETwbVBPI1U

'It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

[truenews]

In couple more days all this will be over. The ltte will be done... charged for genocide.

The quicker the government can get this done, the fewer the civilian casualties.... then the long healing process begins where tamils and sinhala alike can live peacefully....

[LetReasonHoldTheReins]

BREAKING NEWS!! The UK Parliament has warned Sri Lanka that it's leaders may face prosecution for war crimes, kicked out of the Commonwealth, economic sanctions, recall of diplomats, and intervention by peacekeepers UNLESS the SL Govt's killing of innocent civilians stops immediately.

[LetReasonHoldTheReins]

The UN, EU, and US learned NOTHING from Rwanda. Sitting by and issuing statements... SHAME! Genocide is happening and little children are being ripped to shreds by Sri Lankan Army weapons. What a disgrace. We all know if the victims had lighter skin color, there would be total world-wide economic sanctions against Sri Lanka, and a no fly zone declared, and all Sri Lankan ports blockaded by now.

[DemocracyIsComing]

LetReasonH­oldTheRein­s ... your rants sounds, informed and balanced exactly like what comes out of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, FoxNews, et al. Many, many Tamils live in peace in Sri Lanka and the kind of action you suggest will hurt everyone. It is pretty obvious you don’t live in Sri Lanka and maybe have never even been there. As long as people like you call for indiscriminate, knee-jerk action in comfort and never feel its effects, the suffering in Sri Lanka will continue for Tamils and everyone else!

[truenorth8]

The UN continues to show callous disregard for the suffering and massacre of Tamils at the hands of the Government of Sri Lanka while Secretary General Ban-KI-moon's staff Vijay Nambiar is dictating policy on matters relating to Sri Lanka only to safeguard political interests of their country of origin, instead upholding the Charter of the United Nations.

I appeal both Ban-Ki-moon and Vijay Nambiar to resign for the inefficiency and just keep issuing statements to hide UN complicit in the genocide of Tamils by Sri Lanka.

[Raj Suthan]

Srilanka is a nation which is disgrace to whole world humanatarians. Any huymans cannot kill the babies and people in thousands. Please who ever contradicts me read the news by UN , Human right watch groups and aid agencies. Srilanka cannot argue on any basis to kill the people. They have no licence to do it for any reason. Also people should know that people came to Srilankan army are seperated into youth and old. Girls are taken and raped in massive scale. Also they kill them to remove organs for export. Recent discovery of cold room is evidence.
Srilanka is commiting a war without witness on Tamils and it should be clearly understood by world.
THIS IS GENOCIDE!

[DemocracyIsComing]

Dear Mr. Raj Suthan,
I totally agree that the current situation in Nort East Sri Lanka is deplorable. However, if you claim Genocide, then please back it up with facts and sources.

If there is systamatic genocide in Sri Lanka against those of Tamil ethinicity then how do you explain these individuals (just two out of millions) who are living and prospering in Sri Lanak at this time??

Mr. Muttiah Muralitharan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muttiah_Muralitharan Mr. Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in both Test cricket and in One Day Internationals (ODIs) in the world and is a long term member of Sri Lankan National Cricket Team. Mr. Mr. Muralitharan is loved, respected and celebrated by Sinhalees, Tamil, Muslim, Malay, and all other enthincs groups that make up Sri Lanka.

Mr. Ken Balendra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Balendra
MR. BALENDRA IS ONE OF THE RICHEST MEN IN SRI LANKA!!!
From Wikipedia - “Deshamanya Kandiah (Ken) Balendra is a renowned Sri Lankan corporate leader & executive, who holds and has held many prestigious corporate positions in Sri Lanka and the region. He is the former Chairman of John Keells Holdings Ltd. which is the largest conglomerate in the island and of the oldest bank, Bank of Ceylon, and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Currently he is the Chairman of Brandix Lanka Ltd. and the Ceylon Tobacco Company.” “He was bestowed the Sri Lankan national honour Deshamanya by the government.”

[PeterRatna]

Sri Lanka has banned independent media, aid agencies and even the UN from the Tamil region. Last week journalists from Britain's Channel 4 were deported for airing footage shot inside the internment camps where the government detains Tamil war displaced.

It is essential that at least the UN has full and unrestricted access to both the internment camps and the so called "conflict area" where more then 50, 000 people still live.

It is obvious that Sri Lanka is going to extreme lengths to keep this region out of the eyes of world because it has a lot to hide. In the long term, we are also missing opportunities to collect evidence that will be useful when we prosecute Sri Lanka's leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Frankly, action at the UNSC is too slow for the rate of killings. UNSC failed in Rwanda, it is again failing in Sri Lanka.

[punitham]

If busloads of Sinhalese, esp from deep South, are taken to all over Northeast they will see the truth and our problem will be solved instantaneously. They will also see how Sinhalese leaders have been taking them for a ride just to stay in power:

Inclusion the way to real peace, Howard Debenham(former Australian ambassador to Sri Lanka), March 16, 2009: ''Sri Lanka's leaders only pretended to listen, and so doomed a country and a people once so full of promise to more mindless death and destruction, the worst of which may yet be to come ..... There is little hope of an enduring end to Sinhalese victimisation of Sri Lanka's Tamils until Sri Lanka produces the kind of courageous and visionary leadership that can admit the errors of the past and reach out in a sustained way to all Sri Lankans''.

STATEMENT FOR THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS HEARING ON THE SITUATION IN SRI LANKA, 24 FEBRUARY 2009:
Jeffrey Lunstead, Former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka:
‘’Sri Lanka's political leaders were divided and seemed to spend more time tearing each other down than seeking a way forward on peace. Sri Lanka's Tamils have legitimate grievances which need to be addressed''.

[punitham]

Dear Keshini
''.....based entirely on the unsubstantiated reports ....'' is why the whole world has been asking for free access to Vanni, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar, etc... for the last three yrs. But what we have is killing off of journalists and NO investigations forcing IIGEP to leave the country as a result of ''no political will'' to solve the crimes.

In the 50s, 60s and 70s tamils have been leaving the Northeast for the South because of lack of government investment in the Northeast and the lavish investment in the South.
In the 80s, 90s and 2000s Tamils have been leaving the Northeast for the South because of aerial bombing and the horrors of the army of occupation.

Some of the Sinhalese support their governments' atrocities and blame the LTTE for everything. If there is free reporting everything will come to light and the Tamils and Sinhalese can make a better choice for a peaceful and prosperous country. Now they are making choices on hidden and unreported reality.

[keshini]

I find it very interesting that the allegations of the Sri Lankan government's inhumanity is based entirely on the unsubstantiated reports of those who are most likely LTTE sympathizers. The government provides food, medicine, and other supplies to the LTTE-controlled areas, as it has for years, on its own initiative, without any prompting by the international community. If the government had no concern for the civilians, they would have bombed the entire area to smithereens, as the US usually does.

The US lectures Sri Lanka on its conduct, despite the fact that their own conduct in Iraq and Afghanistan is infinitely worse. Remember shock and awe? Remember bombing from 50,000 feet and killing wedding parties? Remember 2 million refugees and 2 million IDPs in Iraq, all in a bizarre response to 9/11?

Civil war is always brutal and tragic, but if the Sri Lankan government is so inhuman, why are Tamil civilians fleeing from the LTTE-controlled areas to the safety of the government at the risk of their lives? And if Sri Lanka's refugee camps are so inadequate, why not give a poor developing country the financial resources to improve them?

Finally, why are most American reporters so unwilling to question our own government's rhetoric?

[SiberianRat]

I'm saddened that this is just now getting attention, after the situation has become horrible. This is another example of how we tend to focus on places and only feel bad for people that we feel are somehow useful to us rather than having compassion for and being proactive about helping them because we should, because it's the right thing to do as fellow human beings.