ரோஸ்

Briefing by Holmes at Security Council on 30th April 2009: leaked Copy by Inner City Press
http://www.innercitypress.com/holmes043009.pdf

[Reuters]
U.N. council sees no need to punish Sri Lanka
Fri May 1, 2009 6:48am IST
By Louis Charbonneau
U.N. council sees no need to punish Sri Lanka
http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-39358620090501?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The members of the U.N. Security Council
agree there is no point in punishing Sri Lanka by withholding a $1.9
billion International Monetary Fund loan or other steps, the council's
president said on Thursday.

full text is at
http://tinyurl.com/c6nm26

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA): Vanni Emergency OCHA Situation Reports No.3 & No. 4
April 27 & 28
http://tinyurl.com/d86e8m

April 29 & 30
http://tinyurl.com/dd3tuf

More Relevant Reports at
http://tinyurl.com/c6h3an

[New York Times]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/opinion/30thu3.html
Editorial
Published: April 29, 2009
Army troops in Sri Lanka are closing in on a dwindling band of Tamil
Tiger separatists who are outgunned on an ever-narrowing battlefield.
It would be a relief if this 25-year fight finally ends. In the
meantime, tens of thousands of terrified civilians are trapped in the
conflict zone — a strip of land about four miles long — and are
running out of food and water. They must be allowed to leave.

Human rights groups have accused both the minority Tamils, who
pioneered suicide bombing as a weapon of war and are widely classified
as terrorists, and Sri Lanka’s government of gross violations. After
several failed attempts at peace talks, the army began this latest
offensive. In recent months, as authorities sensed potential victory,
the attacks have gotten ever more fierce. The United Nations estimates
that more than 6,000 people have been killed and nearly 14,000 wounded
just since the end of January.

While there are no good guys in this fight, the government must do all
that it can to avoid harming civilians in a war zone. You know
officials have something to hide when they bar aid groups and
journalists from the war zone, as Sri Lanka has done since last year.

full text is at
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/opinion/30thu3.html
-----

[Winnepeg Free Press]
Arrests at Tamil demonstration outside U.S. Consulate in Toronto
THE CANADIAN PRESS
http://tinyurl.com/dz6gqo
29/04/2009 11:00 PM
TORONTO - Police say several people have been taken into custody at a
protest by Sri Lankan Tamils and their supporters outside the U.S.
Consulate in Toronto.

A Toronto police spokesman says nine people were arrested late this
afternoon, but he couldn't provide details on what charges they may be
facing. The demonstration began on Sunday night and shut down part of
University Avenue, a busy downtown thoroughfare.

The demonstrators are demanding U.S. President Barack Obama intervene
to stop what they call a continuing genocide in Sri Lanka.

full text is at
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/Arrests-at-Tamil...
-----

[Worl Socialist website]
Imperialist hypocrisy over the Sri Lankan war
30 April 2009
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/pers-a30.shtml

The human tragedy unfolding in northern Sri Lanka has become the
occasion for an outpouring of hypocritical concern, on the part of the
major powers, for the plight of an estimated 50,000 civilians trapped
in fighting between the army and the separatist Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Over the past week, the US, the European Union (EU) and the UN
Security Council have called on the Sri Lankan government for a
ceasefire, dispatching their emissaries, UN humanitarian chief John
Holmes, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner, to Colombo.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has rejected the appeals for a
temporary halt to the fighting and for a UN humanitarian team to visit
the war zone, insisting that the LTTE, now confined to a tiny pocket
of territory, must unconditionally surrender or be annihilated. Even
the government’s pledge this week to stop using heavy weapons was
broken within hours of its announcement. As a result, hundreds of men,
women and children have been killed in the past week.

full text is at
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/pers-a30.shtml
-----

[Inner City Press]
Sri Lanka Disputes UN's Lack of Access, EU's Tariff Investigation as
"Hype"
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News
Analysis
http://www.innercitypress.com/ocha8srilanka042909.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 29 -- The capture of the UN by Sri Lanka became
clear Wednesday in back to back interviews with the UN's top
humanitarian John Holmes, followed by Sri Lanka's Ambassador
Palihakkara. Inner City Press asked John Holmes about Sri Lanka's
arrest of UN staff, and cut off of pay to doctors in the conflict
zone. Holmes said he wasn't aware of the arrests, and that the
doctors, according to the government, might be "under pressure from
the LTTE." Video here, from Minute 27:28. Holmes nevertheless
complained for the record about Sri Lanka reneging on its promise to
UN envoy Vijay Nambiar to allow a humanitarian assessment team into
the conflict zone.

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN Palihakkara, on the
other hand, told Inner City Press that lack of access to the zone was
the UN's fault. "They have to go on the ship" of the ICRC, he said,
"security experts first." Palihakkara also dismissed the European
Union's complaints about the exclusion of the foreign minister of
Sweden, the next EU president. It is "a bit over-exaggerated,"
Palihakkara said, stating that the minister of Sweden has been
"invited in May. "Everything about Sri Lanka is a bit hype now," he
said.

Full Text is at
http://www.innercitypress.com/ocha8srilanka042909.html
Related Video
http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/pressconference/2009/pc090429pm...
-----

[Inner City Press]
Sri Lanka Damage Satellite Photos Withheld by UNITAR, IOM Staff
Detained
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News
Analysis
http://www.innercitypress.com/iom1unitar042909.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 29 -- A UN agency produced satellite photographs
of damage to the conflict zone in Sri Lanka, but unlike in the Gaza
conflict did not release them to the public. The UN Institute for
Training and Research has a program known as UNOSAT which produced the
attached April 19 photographic report on "Satellite Detected Damages
and IDP Shelter Movement in CSZ, Mulattivu District, Sri Lanka."
Unlike UNITAR's January 10, 2009 report on Gaza, however, the Sri
Lanka report was not released by the UN, but rather was leaked.

Full Text is at
http://www.innercitypress.com/iom1unitar042909.html
Full Copy of Satellite Image_Report
http://www.innercitypress.com/UNOSAT19April09.pdf
-----

[ReliefWeb]
Sri Lanka: Vanni Emergency OCHA Situation Report No. 3
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA)

Date: 29 Apr 2009

Full_Report (pdf format)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&sho...

This report covers the period from 27 to 28 April 2009. The next
report will be issued on or around 30 April.

I. Highlights

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister
Bernard Kouchner arrived in Sri Lanka on 29 April 2009 and visited the
Kataragama model village and Cheddikulam hospital in Vavuniya. They
called on the Government to end its military operations and allow
humanitarian aid to be delivered to the conflict zone.
The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs committed US$ 3.15 million
in humanitarian assistance for Sri Lanka on 29 April 2009. In a press
release, he restated his view that the safety and protection of
civilians must be the absolute priority for all sides engaged in
fighting in northern Sri Lanka. Australia also urged that a UN
humanitarian team in Sri Lanka be given access to the conflict zone.
The High Commissioner for Refugees issued a statement warning that
"conditions at the IDP sites have reached breaking point, placing
severe strains on the humanitarian services available."
Humanitarian agencies on the ground report that a total of 4,500 tents
have been erected in Menik Farm Zone 2.
ICRC reports that it evacuated 520 people from the conflict zone by
boat on 29 April, bringing the total number of people evacuated by
ICRC to almost 12,000 since 11 February 2009.
Another UNHCR humanitarian flight, carrying 103 metric tons of aid,
arrived early today in Colombo.
No new arrivals from Omanthai entry/exit point were reported in the
last 24 hours.

II. Access & Security
Sri Lankan security forces continue their operations in the conflict
zone and captured the Rektavaikkal junction on 28 April. Two aerial
bombardments on the "no fire zone" were reported on 28 April.
ICRC has carried out an additional evacuation of 520 people from the
conflict zone to Pulmoddai (Trincomalee District) on 29 April.

III. Situation Overview
No new arrivals from Omanthai entry/exit point were reported in the
last 24 hours. During the period 27 October 2008 to 29 April 2009
171,184 persons have crossed to the government controlled areas from
the conflict zone, according to Government figures. This represents an
increase of 9,419 IDPs since the last report (Sitrep No.2) on 28 April
2009. More than 100,000 people have left the conflict zone since 20
April 2009
The number of people accommodated in temporary camps is 169,280. This
includes: 152,671(1) in Vavuniya, 52(2) in Mannar, 11,089(3) in Jaffna
and 5,468 in Trincomalee. In addition, 1,904(4) IDPs are in hospitals
in various districts(5) as of 27 April 2009 (this figure includes
injured and care givers).
More than 50,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the conflict
zone.
As overcrowding of the existing IDP camps continues to be an issue of
concern, a new IDP site, "Va/Komarasankulam School", has been created
in Vavuniya and 2,385 IDPs from "Va/Rambakulam Ladies College
(Convent)" were transferred to the camp.
In response to the request by humanitarian agencies to allow freedom
of movement of IDPs and release vulnerable populations from the IDP
camps, the Government authorities have released 111 elderly IDPs from
Menik Farm camp (Semi permanent site) and Vavuniya Sivapirakasa Ladies
College while 10 elderly IDPs were released from camps in Jaffna
district. Since the beginning of the year, Government authorities have
released a total of 1,252 individuals from camps.

Text is from
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KERN-7RL2DV?OpenDocument

[New York Times]
Sri Lanka Rejects “Lectures” from Western Countries on Truce With
Rebels
By THOMAS FULLER
Published: April 30, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/world/asia/01lanka.html?ref=asia
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — One of the highest-level European delegations to
visit this war-torn country in years has failed to persuade the Sri
Lankan government to declare a temporary truce with ethnic Tamil
rebels.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa emphatically rejected the appeal Thursday
and told Western governments to stop lecturing him, news agencies
reported.

“The government is not ready to enter into any kind of cease-fire with
the terrorists,” he said. “It is my duty to protect the people of this
country. I don’t need lectures from Western representatives,” he said
in a speech distributed by his office and quoted by the agencies.

“They’re not willing,” David Miliband, Britain’s foreign secretary,
said in an interview after talks Wednesday with Mr. Rajapaksa and
other officials. “The furthest the government has gone is to commit to
no heavy weaponry and to minimize what they call collateral damage,
mainly the damage to civilians.”

The delegation, which also included Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
of France, paid a one-day visit as intense fighting raged near tens of
thousands of civilians who were being held as human shields by Tamil
rebels.

full text is at
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/world/asia/01lanka.html?ref=asia
Also see
[BBC]
Sri Lanka rejects West 'lectures'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8026639.stm

-----

[Himal Southasian] (connected to Akilan Kadirgamar)
Burning trump
May 2009
By: Cynthia Stephen

As elections to the Lok Sabha go forward, the plight of the Tamils of
Sri Lanka remains conspicuously in the background in electioneering in
Tamil Nadu.
http://www.himalmag.com/Burning-trump_nw2909.html
The police will try to lay my body to rest. Don’t allow them to do
that! Capture my dead body, don’t bury it, and use it as a trump card
to sharpen your struggle!” said K Muthukumar in a four-page written
statement in Tamil that he left at the site of his public self-
immolation in Madras on 29 January. Muthukumar, a young journalist,
was protesting the inaction of the Tamil Nadu government in the
ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Sri Lanka, as the Colombo military
continued to pound the area controlled by the Tigers. All the while,
over 100,000 civilians are thought to have been herded together by the
LTTE into a tiny, 20-sq-km ‘No-fire zone’ in the Vanni (see
accompanying story, “And the war continues”). In the end, Muthukumar’s
exhortations went unheeded. The students and youths to whom his final
remarks were primarily addressed were eventually persuaded otherwise
by local political leaders. Just two days after Muthukumar’s death,
the last rites were performed on his body, and he was given a martyr’s
funeral.

Timing has been a significant factor in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha
elections, slated for 13 May in Tamil Nadu. Just as the violence in
Sri Lanka had the potential to affect the state polls, Muthukumar’s
self-immolation and the subsequent public anger had carried the
possibility of bringing the humanitarian tragedy in the LTTE-
controlled areas of Sri Lanka to the forefront of the national
electoral battle. The ground reality, however, turned out to be rather
different. “Muthukumar’s death started a fire, but this has been
doused by the politicians,” says Bala, a longtime political observer
and cartoonist with Kumudam, a popular Tamil magazine. “So while the
issue is uppermost in the minds of a number of educated urban youth,
it has been more or less pushed out of sight in the general
discourse.”

full text is at
http://www.himalmag.com/Burning-trump_nw2909.html
-----
[Himasal Southasian]
Anthropology revisited
The politics of war zone writing

By Darini Rajasingham Senanayake
http://www.himalmag.com/Anthropology-revisited_fnw15.html

On 24 April 2005 Dharmaratnam Sivaram, (‘Taraki’) editorial board
member of the pro-Tamil website Tamilnet, was found shot dead from
gunshot wounds to the head several hours after four unidentified
persons had abducted him from a restaurant opposite a Police station
in Colombo. His murder, which followed weeks of threats, is as yet
“unsolved.”

Four years after his death, it is instructive to revisit his politics
and draw lessons from a life lived amidst violence. Mark Whitaker’s
Learning Politics from Sivaram: The Life and Death of a Revolutionary
Tamil Journalist (Pluto Press, 2006) is an extended and moving act of
mourning and meditation for Sivaram, and arguably the best and
brightest of a generation of youth lost in Sri Lanka’s interminable
post-colonial conflicts. Here is a fine grained, powerful, reflection
on war, violence, nationalism and their diminishing returns – not only
in Sri Lanka. For those who start reading the book knowing the tragic
end of its (anti) hero, this biography of the “life and death of a
revolutionary Tamil journalist” is a celebration of a life lived to
the full (if not always wisely).

Learning Politics from Sivaram is many things: biography, ethnography,
and intellectual history. At one level, the narrative constitutes an
extended ethnographic encounter, initially between a Princeton
Anthropology graduate student and his informant, Sivaram, then a
radical student of politics and philosophy, in Batticaloa, the
picturesque, battle-scarred coastal town on Sri Lanka’s east coast;
their friendship begins with a chance meeting on the steps of the
Batticaloa library. On another level, the book is an ethnography of
Tamil nationalism and its riposte to post-colonial Sinhala
nationalism, violence and displacement. It also touches on Diaspora
identity politics and the transnational networks that shaped and were
shaped by Sivaram. Learning Politics is also about idealism and
disillusionment, violence and anti-violence, among a lost generation
of youth.

full text is at
http://www.himalmag.com/Anthropology-revisited_fnw15.html
-----

[Reuters Alternet]
UN blocking release of Sri Lanka satellite images? 30 Apr 2009
11:50:00 GMT

Written by: Andrew Stroehlein
http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/3159/2009/03/30-115006-1.htm

Fresh satellite images of the war zone in northeast Sri Lanka are
available, but the UN agency charged with analysing them is not making
them public. The images contain evidence of severe damage from heavy
artillery and possibly air strikes, suggesting indiscriminate attacks
in areas of high civilian concentration, which could be classed as war
crimes carried out by the government of Sri Lanka.

The photos were taken on 19 April, and UNOSAT produced its analysis in
a ten-page PDF file on 26 April.

Initially that file -- including both images and analysis -- was
publicly available. Human Rights Watch even linked to it in their 27
April press release on Sri Lanka, which called for an international
commission of inquiry into violations of the laws of war by government
forces and the rebel LTTE (Tamil Tigers).

full text is at
http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/3159/2009/03/30-115006-1.htm
-----

[Dissident Island Radio]
a very short interview with Raj about London Tamil protest
http://www.dissidentisland.org/ShowArchive/2009-04-17.html
http://www.archive.org/download/DissidentIslandRadio-17April2009-Pict...
http://tinyurl.com/cwlnxf (Audio)
-----
[Edinbarough evening News]
30 April 2009
Protest at Tiger clashes
PROTESTERS will gather at the Scottish Parliament today in opposition
to the Sri Lankan government's offensive against the Tamil Tigers.
Campaigners will call for an immediate ceasefire when they gather at
Holyrood from 11am to 4pm.

Clashes between security forces and the Tamil Tigers have intensified
over recent weeks as the government bids to end nearly 30 years of
conflict.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Protest-at-Tiger-clashes.5221121.jp

[Indy Media]
Parliament Square Hunger Striker Taken to Hospital
| 30.04.2009 14:33
It's been touch and go this week as 28 year old hunger striker
Parameswarn Subramaniyan's situation has gotten worse. Fearing that he
could die, Mr. Subramaniyan has since agreed to end his hunger strike
and talks are currently going on inside Parliament between the Foreign
Secretary and the Tamil community.

Twenty four days into his hunger strike for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka
between the government and the Tamil Tigers, 28 year old student
Parameswarn Subramaniyan from London has decided to start taking
liquids and food again. He started his hunger strike and has not eaten
solid food since Tuesday 7 April. This change came as the Foreign
Secretary David Miliband agreed to one of the five conditions put to
him by the Tamil protesters who have been occupying Parliament Square
since Monday 6 April. Their protest started in response to claims that
the Sri Lankan government has used chemical weapons against civilians
in Tamil areas of the country. Over this month, the fighting has
escalated with many casualties and hundred of thousands of civilians
trapped without food or water.

Mr. Subramaniyan has lost family in the conflict and vowed to forego
food and water until a ceasefire was declared or until death. At
first, he also refused to take water. Following fears of organ
failure, he agreed to take water. An ambulance and doctors have been
on stand by and a tent has been set up for him to rest in. Over the
last few days, Mr. Subramaniyan’s condition has deteriorated
considerably and there were fears that he would not be able to hold
out for much longer.

full text and photo at
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/04/429000.html
-----
[World Food Program]
WFP Assists 190,000 Sri Lankans Fleeing War Zone
30 April 2009

WFP is now feeding nearly 190,000 internally displaced persons in the
northern Vavuniya and Jaffna districts. An estimated 120,000 of these
IDPs arrived over the last ten days after escaping the conflict zone
in Mallaitivu.

by Heather Sutliff
http://www.wfp.org/stories/wfp-assists-190000-srilankas-fleeing-war-zone

COLOMBO – WFP ramped up its assistance to after receiving a request
from the Government of Sri Lanka to support its efforts in meeting the
basic needs of this massive influx of IDPs. The IDPs are being
assisted in more than 40 transit centres and 'welfare villages' set up
in Vavuniya and Jaffna.

“WFP has enough resources to provide food to the IDPs in the short-
term, but this is a very dynamic situation and to maintain much needed
food assistance we are appealing for funds from the international
community now,” said Adnan Khan, WFP Representative and Country
Director in Sri Lanka.

Full Text is at
http://www.wfp.org/stories/wfp-assists-190000-srilankas-fleeing-war-zone
-----

[Inner City Press]
As Sri Lanka Descends to UN Basement, Underground Envoy Talk

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News
Analysis
http://www.innercitypress.com/sc7srilanka043009.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 30 -- In the run up to the Security Council's
third “informal interactive dialogue” on Sri Lanka, slated for 5 p.m.
Thursday in the UN basement, sources tell Inner City Press that a move
is afoot to try to formally appoint a Special Envoy to Sri Lanka.
Mexico, which passes the body's Presidency to Russia on Friday, is
said to be looking to cap its schizophrenic month atop the Council by
finally having an outcome, or output: an envoy.

Vijay Nambiar's trip on behalf of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is
now widely viewed as a failure, even as buying more time for Colombo
to continue its assault and siege on the conflict zone. Nambair,
according to Ban, won a commitment by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to
allow a UN humanitarian assessment team into the No Fire Zone. This
commitment, if it was ever sincere, was immediately rescinded.
Nambiar, a otherwise affable and approachable UN official, has yet to
take a single Press question on what was in fact committed in Colombo.

Full Text is at
http://www.innercitypress.com/sc7srilanka043009.html
-----

[AlterNet-World Vision]
"Help child survivors of war... Help heal my country," pleads aid
agency chief
30 Apr 2009 15:57:00 GMT
Source: World Vision - Asia Pacific
Website: http://wvasiapacific.org/

International community urged not to lose once-in-a-generation
opportunity to help heal Sri Lanka
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/wvaspro/124110836175.htm

Aid agency World Vision is urging the international community to seize
a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help Sri Lanka by pledging
millions of dollars to meet the critical needs of at least 60,000
child survivors of war.

Suresh Bartlett, National Director of World Vision Lanka, who recently
returned from visiting camps in the North, said he was deeply troubled
about the impact of the war on children and was worried that the
global financial crisis and swine flu were taking the world's
attention away from meeting their urgent needs.

"There are almost 200,000 survivors in the camps in the North who have
survived a most brutal experience after being trapped in a conflict
zone for weeks. At least 60,000 children are among them.

Full Text is at
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/wvaspro/124110836175.htm
Also related link
http://wvasiapacific.org/sri-lanka-conflict/
-----

[The New Zealand Herald]
Sri Lanka stance earns plaudits
4:00AM Friday May 01, 2009
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10569680

Sri Lanka's honorary consul-general in Wellington, Aruna
Abeygoonesekera, has congratulated the Maori Party for blocking a
parliamentary motion even though the Maori Party leans towards the
Tamil Tigers.

A motion moved by Progressives leader Jim Anderton called on both Sri
Lankan Government forces and the Tamil Tigers to show restraint in the
present conflict so that civilians could escape from danger.

full text is at
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10569680
-----

[ISRIA]
Singapore: MFA Press Statement: Singapore’s Humanitarian Assistance to
Sri Lanka
http://www.isria.info/en/30_April_2009_115.htm
Singapore is deeply concerned over the serious humanitarian situation
in northern Sri Lanka.

The United Nations (UN), its related agencies and the international
media have reported on mounting civilian casualties and the
humanitarian emergency conditions in the conflict zone as well as in
the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.

In view of the urgent humanitarian situation and in response to the
humanitarian action plan mounted by the UN, the Singapore Government
will contribute US,000 to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),
which is one of the aid agencies involved in the humanitarian relief
efforts in Sri Lanka. This contribution will go towards meeting
critical needs such as the provision of safe water, sanitation
facilities and basic hygiene items to thousands of civilians displaced
by the conflict.

full text is at
http://www.isria.info/en/30_April_2009_115.htm
-----

[ISRIA]
UN: Daily Press Briefing (dated 29 April 2009)

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing
by Farhan Haq, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, and
Enrique Yeves, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly.

Briefing by the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

Good afternoon.

** Sri Lanka –- Humanitarian Update
http://www.isria.info/en/30_April_2009_52.htm
As you are aware, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, has just
returned from Sri Lanka and he is to brief in this room at 3 p.m.
about his trip and the current situation in that country.

As of today, more than 171,000 people have crossed out of the conflict
zone in Sri Lanka, including almost 3,000 wounded and caregivers in
hospitals. There have been no new arrivals at the Omanthai screening
point in the last 24 hours and the Government informs the United
Nations that none are in transit.

The UN believes that 50,000 people remain in the conflict zone. The
situation in the camps, while improving due to the efforts of all aid
providers, remains less than optimal. One of the most serious concerns
is congestion in the camps. Shelter in the camps remains inadequate,
and there is urgent need for the allocation of more land by the
Government of Sri Lanka in which to house the displaced. Furthermore,
options need to be pursued to allow more people to be accommodated
with host families.

Health facilities continue to be overwhelmed and more capacity is
needed. Water and sanitation remain key concerns, with some areas
having only one toilet for 140 people. Although all internally
displaced persons have drinking water, there is inadequate water for
other purposes. And also psychological trauma is a serious issue.

Full Text is at
http://www.isria.info/en/30_April_2009_52.htm
-----

[Press TV]
Sri Lanka scolds West for 'lectures' on Tamils
Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:39:29 GMT
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=93112&sectionid=351020406
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa tells Western countries to stop
lecturing him about a ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers.

"It is my duty to protect the people of this country. I don't need
lectures from Western representatives," Rajapaksa said in a speech on
Thursday.

Rajapaksa's remarks come after visiting British Foreign Secretary
David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner failed to
secure a truce between Sri Lankan forces and the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

Colombo has dismissed a Western-backed ceasefire with the Tigers,
calling it a 'joke' as the rebels are near a final defeat.

Full Text is at
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=93112&sectionid=351020406
-----

[The Economist]

Sri Lanka's humanitarian crisis
Exodus of misery

Apr 30th 2009 | COLOMBO AND PUTUMATTALAN
The war grinds to a close, leaving a human catastrophe in its wake
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13579685

WITH loudhailers hitched to the tallest palmyrah trees, Tamil-speaking
soldiers of the Sri Lanka army had for weeks been urging civilians
inside a dwindling strip of territory held by the rebel Tamil Tigers
to break through their cordon and flee. But since April 20th, when the
army burst an embankment at Putumattalan, the authorities have been
overwhelmed by the thousands pouring out. The Tigers’ defences were
less to keep the army out than to fence the civilians in.

The government had expected an exodus far smaller than the one which
came, bringing 114,520 civilians in the next nine days. Since January
an estimated 190,000 have fled. The UN’s assessment that there were
originally around 250,000 trapped civilians, dismissed as exaggerated
by the government, now looks roughly right.

Full Text is at
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13579685
-----

[National Post]

Police chief talks about decision to shift Tamil protest to sidewalk
Posted: April 30, 2009, 11:25 AM by Melissa Leong
http://tinyurl.com/dka7ba

Police were able to move protesters who have occupied University
Avenue for most of the week, to the sidewalk, reopening traffic on the
thoroughfare between Dundas and Queen streets.

As many as thousands of Tamil Canadians have been demonstrating
peacefully in front of the U.S. Consulate since Sunday.

But yesterday police arrested 15 individuals, charging them with
mischief and breach of peace, when the group tried to block the
traffic at Dundas Street and University Avenue. Last night, police
"dismantled their sound system" with the permission of protesters,
removing the speakers that have broadcast their chorus.

Full Text is at
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/04/30/p...

Related News
[National Post]
Verbatim: Chief Bill Blair defends police response to Tamil protest
Posted: April 29, 2009, 7:26 PM by Rob Roberts
http://tinyurl.com/cp8cfv
The Tamil demonstrations that have shut University Avenue since Sunday
became heated today, when officers tried to push protesters back
behind police barricades. Nine people were arrested, and one woman
reportedly injured. But the occupation of the area outside the U.S.
Consulate is expected to continue tomorrow, and Police Chief Bill
Blair today defended the city’s unwillingness to end the protest:

full text is at
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/04/29/v...

Also
Toronto cleans up from Tamil protest
Posted: April 30, 2009, 11:08 AM by Peter Kuitenbrouwer
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/04/30/t...
-----
[BBC]
16:39 GMT, Thursday, 30 April 2009 17:39 UK
Sri Lanka denies IMF loan delay
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8027634.stm

Sri Lanka has denied reports that a proposed loan from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) is being delayed by the US,
officials say.

American officials said the move was aimed at putting pressure on
Colombo to do more to help civilians caught up in the fighting in the
north.

But a senior Sri Lankan official says the talks are on schedule.

Sri Lanka has been holding talks with the IMF for a loan of nearly a
$2bn to weather the global economic crisis.

Full Text is at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8027634.stm
-----

[London Free Press]

SRI LANKA: The London priest is haunted by the fact his fellow
countrymen are being killed
Priest prays for a ceasefire
Joe Matyas

April 30, 2009
http://lfpress.ca/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=263832&x=articles&s=societe
As a young seminarian in Sri Lanka, Francis Jeyaseelan had to sleep
under his bed at times.

"We did it whenever there was shelling," said the Roman Catholic
priest, known as Father Francis at St. George's parish in London.

Born and raised in a Tamil family in Sri Lanka, Rev. Jeyaseelan, now
39, was a member of a linguistic and cultural minority within the
country.

"I was a minority within a minority," he joked yesterday. "I was a
Christian within an ethnic minority that's primarily Hindu."

And he grew up learning what it meant to be a Tamil.

Full Text is at
http://lfpress.ca/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=263832&x=articles&s=societe
------

[CounterCurrents]
Sri Lanka: Humanitarian Disaster In Making
By Bobby Ramakant
30 April, 2009
Citizen News Service (CNS)
http://www.countercurrents.org/ramakant300409.htm

Activists expressed their deep anguish and concern on unabated mass
killings in Sri Lanka which is, as they underlined, "no short of a
humanitarian disaster in northern Sri Lanka".

"We also protest the covert provision of economic and military aid to
Sri Lanka by Indian government which has, certainly, deeply aggravated
the situation in Sri Lanka" said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Ramon Magsaysay
Awardee (2002) and Convener of National Alliance of People's Movements
(NAPM).

The Sri Lankan government’s indiscriminate military actions have
exacted an appalling toll on the civilian Tamil population. Unless
India does its part to negotiate an immediate ceasefire, civilian
casualties will continue to escalate, tarnishing India’s claim to be a
morally responsible regional ‘spiritual’ power.

"Indeed, we have watched with growing dismay the Indian government’s
effective complicity with the Sri Lankan government’s ongoing efforts
to brutalize the Tamil minority. There is considerable evidence that,
while publicly calling for a "political solution", the Indian
government has covertly supplied military equipment and training to
Sri Lanka through the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and other
Indian intelligence outfits. Decades ago, sending in the Indian Peace
Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka had exacerbated the situation and
questions India’s claim of being a harbinger of ‘peace’ in the region"
said Gurudayal Singh Sheetal, Leader of Prakritik Manav Kendrit
Andolan, Punjab.

Full Text is at
http://www.countercurrents.org/ramakant300409.htm
-----

[Guardian]
Tamil student calls off Parliament Square hunger strike
Man who stopped eating to draw attention to Sri Lanka conflict ends
protest after letter from David Miliband
Sam Jones
Thursday 30 April 2009 18.46 BST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/30/tamil-hunger-strike-sri-l...

A Tamil who has been on a three-week hunger strike in Parliament
Square called off his protest today after the foreign secretary wrote
to him explaining the "strenuous efforts" the British government was
making to secure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

Parameswaram Subramaniam, a 28-year-old student, stopped eating on 6
April to draw attention to the plight of the Tamil civilians caught in
the fighting between government troops and Tamil Tigers in the north
of the island. He is understood to have lost 10 members of his family
in the conflict, including his mother and many brothers and sisters.

The protester had said he would starve himself to death unless five
conditions were met: the declaration of an immediate and permanent
ceasefire; the provision of food and medical aid to the civilians
caught in the "safe zone" between the two sides; a meeting between the
UN, the British government and Tamil representatives; a reversal of
the UK's decision to classify the Tamil Tigers as terrorist group; and
a UN-backed referendum on an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka.

Full Text is at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/30/tamil-hunger-strike-sri-l...
-----

[Daily Mail - UK]
David Miliband accused of spat with Sri Lankan defence secretary over
civilian safety

By Michael Lea
Last updated at 6:35 PM on 30th April 2009
http://tinyurl.com/djamcr
David Miliband was involved in an argument with Sri Lanka's defence
secretary over the safety of civilians in rebel-held enclaves, it was
claimed today.

The pair apparently clashed while Mr Miliband was being given a high-
level briefing on the situation during his visit to the country this
week.

The Foreign Office denied that discussions, which also involved
Britain's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Peter Hayes, had ended in a
'stand up row'.

But one official who had been at the meeting said there had been a
'free and frank and clear exchange of views' - diplomatic speak for a
spat.

According to a report posted on the official Sri Lankan Defence
Ministry website, the meeting became tetchy when the Foreign Secretary
said that civilians were being caught up in artillery raids.

Full Text is at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1175775/David-Miliband-accuse...
=====

செய்திகளும் பார்வைகளும்.

[Inner City Press]
In Sri Lanka, Access UN Claimed Nambiar Won Is Denied, Arrested Staff
UNspoken For, IMF Loan and UK
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News
Analysis
http://www.innercitypress.com/sc4srilanka042709.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 27 -- While Sri Lanka's government's claim it
had not been using heavily artillery is called into question by its
own subsequent admission, the United Nations' statements are also
questionable. On April 22, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that
his envoy Vijay Nambiar had gotten a commitment from President Mahinda
Rajapaksa to allow a humanitarian assessment team into the conflict
zone. Five days later, Ban's Spokesperson acknowledged that what was
presented as a commitment has not been implemented:

full text is at
http://www.innercitypress.com/sc4srilanka042709.html
----
[BBC]
09:49 GMT, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 10:49 UK
Sweden's FM denied Sri Lanka visa
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8022190.stm

Sri Lanka has refused an entry visa for Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl
Bildt.

Mr Bildt was to have taken part in a European diplomatic mission. He
is recalling Sweden's top diplomat in Sri Lanka for consultation.

The UK's David Miliband and France's Bernard Kouchner will still go on
the mission, which is expected to push for a truce between the army
and rebels.

Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said this was not a snub and it could
only cope with so many high-level delegations.

full text is at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8022190.stm
----
[Willamette Week]
Sri Lanka Civil War: What Medical Teams International Is Doing and How
You Can Help
5:59 PM April 27th, 2009 by Megan Brescini
http://tinyurl.com/cqvxrb

After more than 25 years of fighting, the civil war in Sri Lanka is
predicted to end within months. Yet the situation may get far worse
first as the UN reports some 50,000 civilians are pinned between the
Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lanka’s army in a less than four-mile
stretch of coastline still held by the Tigers.

Medical Teams International is predicting the worst while preparing
for it. The Portland-based group has rushed $3.3 million of emergency
health supplies to Sri Lanka, with the capacity to care for 80,000
people displaced by the fighting. MTI has also shipped emergency
surgical kits, water, beds, and additional supplies. MTI’s staff will
be following those supplies to Sri Lanka soon, says Joe DiCarlo,
director of international programs for Medical Teams International.

Want to help? Send donations marked Sri Lanka War Relief to Medical
Teams International at P.O. Box 10, Portland, Ore. 97207-0010. Or go
online to contribute at www.medicalteams.org.
-----
[Boston.com]

Refugees in Sri Lanka
April 27, 2009

It has been just over a month since the last time the Sri Lankan
conflict was featured here. In that time, government forces have put
further pressure on the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
and hundreds of thousands of civilians in the north of the country
have been trapped in a war zone. Press coverage is still very limited,
and conflicting stories are the norm, with LTTE representatives
claiming the ethnic Tamil civilians are staying willingly, fearful of
government forces, and the Sri Lankan government claiming the
civilians are being held against their will by the LTTE. According to
the UN, over 6,500 civilians have been killed, thousands more injured,
and a stream of over 100,000 refugees has recently left the LTTE
stronghold, and the Sri Lankan government has halted the use of heavy-
caliber weaponry. (31 photos total)

pictures are at
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/refugees_in_sri_lanka.html
-----

[Times Online]:
April 28, 2009
British aid for war refugees may be used to fund 'concentration camps'
http://tinyurl.com/ce8u56
Jeremy Page, South Asia Correspondent

Millions of pounds of British aid are being channelled by the Sri
Lankan Government into controversial internment camps where it plans
to hold and screen up to 200,000 civilians fleeing the conflict with
the Tamil Tigers.

Britain has donated 5,000 tents – worth £500,000 – and more emergency
aid worth millions of pounds could follow soon, according to Mike
Foster, Minister for International Development, who visited Sri Lanka
yesterday.

Mr Foster visited two camps and met Sri Lankan officials to urge them
to call a ceasefire and allow aid agencies to help tens of thousands
of civilians still stuck on the front line or on their way to the
camps.

full text is at
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6182602.ece
-----
[Vancouver Sun]
Sri Lanka blocks access to civilians in war zone: UN
http://tinyurl.com/dnld32
By Amal Jayasinghe, Reuters
April 27, 2009 1:11 PM

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka is refusing humanitarian access to its war zone
where some 50,000 people are believed trapped, a top UN diplomat said
on Monday, while welcoming a government move to slow down its military
offensive.

The UN's humanitarian chief John Holmes failed to secure agreement
with President Mahinda Rajapakse in talks here Monday to send a
humanitarian mission to the shrinking conflict area on the island's
northeast coast.

"We don't have agreement on this," Holmes told reporters here after
talks with Rajapakse, referring to a request by United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to get a UN team to the conflict area.
"I am disappointed about this."

full text is at
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Lanka+blocks+access+civilians+zone/1538102/story.html
-----
[CNW GROUP]

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2009/27/c5257.html

International community has failed Tamils in Sri Lanka

TORONTO, April 27 /CNW/ - The Canadian Tamil Congress is urging
Canadian
parliamentarians to take immediate and strong actions against Sri
Lanka to
prevent a civilian bloodbath. The United Nations estimates that over
6500
civilians have been killed, and 14,000 injured over the past three
months.
"So far there have been only statements issued by the most
powerful
bodies in the world, the UN, the EU, the G8, and Western government,
but there
has been no follow through in terms of action," said David
Poopalapillai,
National Spokesperson for the Canadian Tamil Congress. "The
international
community has failed the Tamils in Sri Lanka by not fulfilling its
obligation
to protect civilians caught in this armed conflict."
On Sunday, April 26, 2009, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE)
announced that it would heed the calls by Canada, the UN, the G8, the
European
Union, the USA, India, and other Western governments and unilaterally
announced an immediate ceasefire. The LTTE has suspended offensive
military
operations effective immediately. Unfortunately, the Government of Sri
Lanka
(GoSL) has rejected the ceasefire offer and is determined to pursue
its
military assault to kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians under
the
pretext of "wiping out the Tigers".
In a strongly worded letter addressed to the Prime Minister of
Canada,
Dr. Sri Ranjan, President of the Canadian Tamil Congress stated,
"Tamil
Canadians are fearful that in the next 24 to 48 hours a civilian
bloodbath
will ensue if the GoSL does not reciprocate the LTTE's offer to a
ceasefire."
Calling for immediate and strong action by the Canadian government Dr.
Sri
Ranjan stated, "Canada must force the GoSL to reciprocate the
immediate
ceasefire by cutting all diplomatic and economic relations with Sri
Lanka."
The Canadian Tamil Congress calls upon Canadian parliamentarians
to step
up to the plate and take action on the Sri Lankan conflict
immediately. Sri
Lanka must be economically and politically isolated in order to compel
the
GoSL to negotiate a political resolution to the armed conflict that
respects
the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people.

For further information: Canadian Tamil Congress, (416) 240-0078
-----
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-7RHLLF?OpenDocument

Sri Lanka: WHO situation report, 27 Apr 2009
Source: World Health Organization (WHO)

Date: 27 Apr 2009

Full_Report (pdf* format)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&shortid=EGUA-7RHLLF&file=Full_Report.pdf

Highlights

- As on 20 April the Government initiated operations in the "No Fire
Zone" at the coast of Mullativu. The government troops have invaded
the LTTE controlled area, only 8 Sq Km is still remaining under LTTE
control with an estimated number of 15,000 -20,000 civilians still
trapped.

- 100, 265 civilians have escaped during from the LTTE controlled
area. Majority of these IDPs are currently screened and registered by
the GOSL in the Vanni.

- Approximately 70,836 IDPs are in the government controlled areas in
Vavuniya, and 10,100 in Jaffna district. UN agencies INGOs and NGOs
assist government to provide basic facilities like shelter, food,
health care, water supply and sanitation facilities.

- Wounded civilians have been evacuated to Vavuniya Hospital, Pulmudai
field Hospital and Padaviya hospital by the SL army using ships,
helicopters and ambulances. In addition ICRC has evacuated IDPs by
ship.

- All the Schools in Vavuniya have been closed to provide
accommodation for IDPs and with the increasing number of new IDPs,
other public buildings will be used for the same purpose.

- Ministry of Health is providing comprehensive curative and
preventive health services for the IDPs by expanding capacity of main
and small hospitals in the area and through mobile health teams,
through already overstretched health services in the district with the
support of WHO and other agencies.

Health assessment & situation update

General Information

Internally Displaced People

According to the government sources with the initiation of Government
Operations Mission "about 72 hours ago in the No Fire Zone in
Mullativu, the government troops have rescued about 100,265 civilians
from the grip of LTTE .About 15,000 - 20,000 people are still trapped
with in 8 Sq Km in the eastern costal belt in Mullativu district.
Majority of the IDPs rescued by forces are still undergoing
registration and other search activities in Vanni. The total number of
IDPs in Vavuniya is 70,836 as of 22nd of April 2009. They are housed
in 15 centers. Another one opened today afternoon at Poovarasankulam
School of which details are not yet available. The intention of the
government is to bring all the IDPs to Vavuniya.

In addition 10,100 IDPs have moved to Jaffna peninsula from Vanni and
located in four welfare centers in Kopay, Gurunagar, Mirisuvil and
Kodikamam in Jaffna district. The injured people are being evacuated
to Vavuniya hospital by the SL Army using helicopters , ambulances and
other modes of transport and over 6500 patients have been transferred
from the un-cleared areas by sea with the help of the ICRC; to
Pulmudai field Hospital and to newly upgraded Padaviya base Hospital.
Some of the Critical patients are being transferred to GH
Anuradhapura, National Hospital in Colombo for tertiary care and
chronic cases are transferred to GH Vavuniya, GH Mannar and few other
institutions in order to increase bed space for new patients.

Full_Report (pdf* format)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&shortid=EGUA-7RHLLF&file=Full_Report.pdf
-----
UNHCR airlifts almost 3,000 tents to Colombo for displaced Sri Lankans

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, April 26 (UNHCR) – A UNHCR emergency airlift
carrying humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of people displaced by
fighting in north-eastern Sri Lanka began Monday morning with the
arrival in Colombo of a plane carrying 2,850 family-size tents from
the refugee agency's stockpiles in Dubai.

The Boeing 747 cargo plane, the first of two scheduled flights to
deliver more than 200 tonnes of UNHCR tents landed in Colombo at 10:45
a.m. local time. "The family tents will be used in the north of the
country to help shelter thousands of people uprooted in recent
fighting between government forces and Tamil rebels," a UNHCR press
statement said.

In addition to the airlift, UNHCR is ramping up its already sizeable
humanitarian operations in Sri Lanka by dispatching a second emergency
team to augment the agency's 120 existing staff in seven offices
around the island nation.

High Commissioner António Guterres also approved the immediate release
of an extra US$2 million for UNHCR's Sri Lanka operations helping
internally displaced people. The additional funds will provide
shelter, protection and other aid for civilians fleeing the conflict
zone in the north.

According to the government, more than 150,000 displaced people are
staying in some 38 displacement sites around the towns of Vavuniya,
Jaffna and Trincomalee. Large numbers are believed to be on the move.

Overcrowding at the camps is becoming a major worry. In one location,
Menik Farm, eight to 10 people are sharing shelters normally designed
for four or five. Many IDPs, or internally displaced people, in the
camps have no shelter from the sweltering heat.

The government has agreed to provide public buildings and more land to
accommodate new arrivals in Mannar and Trincomalee, Jaffna and
Vavuniya. In Trincomalee, according to the government, an area of
approximately 100 acres has been identified for a site to accommodate
up to 20,000 people. As soon as the site is ready, UNHCR will assist
with emergency shelter support and the distribution of non-food items.

Aid workers also cite growing problems of malnourishment, lack of
transport to move the sick to hospitals, and a shortage of medical
personnel. Some of the displaced have not eaten for days.

UNHCR, which has worked in Sri Lanka since 1987, is spearheading
efforts to provide shelter to people displaced by the conflict. It is
also coordinating distribution of non-food items and monitoring
security of the displaced.

http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/49f5b7194.html
-----
[ISRIA]
Sri Lanka: Sir John Holmes visits welfare camps
http://www.isria.info/en/27_April_2009_239.htm
The Under Secretary General of the UN Sir John Holmes visited the IDP
Welfare Camps (Menik Farm) in Vauniya today promised to donate 10
million US Dollars through UN agencies to facilitate civilians
shortly.

Sir.Jhon Holmes satisfied with the humanitarian mission and the
facilities given by the Government of Sri Lanka to Internal Displaces
People in Vavuniya who fled from the LTTE clutches.

Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Rishard
Bathiyudeen also accompanied the UN envoy to visit IDP camps.

Sir Holmes called on Minister of Foreign Affaires in this morning and
scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
-----
[Guardian]
Silence over Sri Lanka
Why do those in the international community who expressed outrage over
Gaza stay silent while Tamils die?
Geoffrey Alderman
Monday 27 April 2009 11.00 BST
http://tinyurl.com/dxrwob

In Sri Lanka a bloody conflict is reaching its bloody conclusion. Some
30 years ago, the Tamil population that inhabits the north and east of
the island began an insurrection against the government, establishing
for this purpose an organisation known as the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam. The ultimate aim of the Tamil Tigers was to establish an
independent Tamil state, thus partitioning the island. The means
chosen to bring this about was to create terror and mayhem throughout
the island, and, if necessary, beyond it. Not content with common-or-
garden political assassinations and random murders, the Tamil Tigers
pioneered the use of the suicide bomb and the suicide belt. Banned and
proscribed as a terrorist organisation by more than 30 countries,
including the US and the European Union, the Tigers are said to have
been responsible for more suicide attacks than Hamas, Islamic Jihad
and al-Qaida combined.

Now the endgame is in sight. Using methods pioneered by the British
army in its successful campaign against the Boer insurgency more than
a century ago, the Sri Lankan army has systematically removed
civilians from the war zone while simultaneously refusing to heed
international calls for a ceasefire because of the inevitable loss of
civilian lives in coastal strips that remain under Tiger control. War
crimes have undoubtedly been committed by the Tigers. They may well
have been committed also by the Sri Lankan military.

full text at
http://tinyurl.com/dxrwob
----
[Reuters - Alternet]
All hospitals are really struggling - MSF doctor in Sri Lanka
27 Apr 2009 11:36:00 GMT
Written by: MSF in Asia
MSF surgeon Paul McMaster

This blog is by Paul McMaster, a surgeon working with Medecins Sans
Frontieres at Vavuniya hospital in northern Sri Lanka which is
treating civilians from the conflict zone.

Medical staff are still working round the clock and the situation is
changing day to day.

The number of patients admitted requiring emergency surgery has
dropped quite sharply before the weekend. On April 23 we had 44
patients, the first day the figure was below 100 since last Sunday. On
April 24, we only had 18.

I have had no indication that fewer casualties are coming from the
north, but because we have a backlog they are now trying to divert
patients to other hospitals.

full text is at
http://tinyurl.com/dc4bob
-----
Monday, Apr 27, 2009 , India
Speaking to NDTV, External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukerjee says
India has sent a strong message directly to the Sri Lankan president,
on the need for a ceasefire, and would take appropriate decisions if
the response from Sri Lanka was not satisfactory.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/videos/video_player.php?id=1091853

===

The Hill Times, April 27th, 2009
NEWS STORY
By Cynthia Münster
Conservative, Liberal and Bloc MPs met Tamils behind scenes
Minister of State for Americas Peter Kent met Tamils and says he
would
have attended massive rally on the Hill, but was with PM.

http://tinyurl.com/djcehw
--------------------------

Indian TV channels such as NDTV, IBNLive and TimesNowTV fully present Government of Sri Lanka Propaganda without any reservation.

When it comes to Tamilnadu, these North Indian dominated channels and their anchors often bring anti-Tamil Chennai media and political 'personnel' who have insignificant care for the welfare of Tamilnadu voters to represent tamilnadu; classic examples are N. ram, Cho Ramasamy and Subramania swamy. Also, if you comment on their sites on Tamilnadu related issues, they never allow pro-Tamilnadu point of view nor show Tamil sentiments.

More than anything, these anchors themselves take side with anti-Tamil voices when they moderate any program related to Tamilnadu. A classic example is the NDTV debate on Tamilnadu election moderated by Mr. Viram Chandra on 25 April 2009. Mr. Viram Chandra not only showed his an ignorance of Tamilnadu politics and sentiments, but presented the version of events given by Government of Sri Lanka together with Ram, Cho and Swamy. He behaved like a participant rather than a moderator. It is utter shame for the journalistic integrity.

1. Show your displeasure to these media through emails and banners in your English blogs

2. Protest in front of these media stations whenever you can

3. Expose them in the International Arena.

Send your protest mails on the typical taking-a-side attitude of NDTV while presenting sri lankan news & views and about Mr. Chandra's unprofessional biased conduct as a moderator during the debate on Tamilnadu Politics
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/new/NDTV-Show-Special.aspx?ID=83

Labels: Protest against NDTV

அம்மணிகள் இருவரின் அரைவேக்காட்டுத்தனம்: NDTV நிகழ்ச்சியே எவ்வளவோ மேல்
Sunrise TV


------------------------

Korean Times
04-26-2009 17:28

Eliminating Honest Journalism

By Tom Plate

It seems that quality journalism is becoming more conspicuous than ever by its absence. But the causes are complex.

Sometimes governments are the fault. In Sri Lanka, convulsing in civil war, independent journalists have not been permitted near the fierce zones of conflict between government forces and beleaguered clusters of minority Tamils.

Many are deported. Earlier this month, Jeremy Page, of The Times of the U.K., was kicked out and put on a plane back to England. That was nothing. In January, editor and Sri Lankan government critic Lasantha Wickrematunga penned and published his own fatalistic obituary, writing: ``When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me." Three days later, he was murdered, and arrests have been made yet.

Thus, no one has a clear idea of whether Tamil civilians are being held as human body-shields by what is left of the anti-government terrorists among them, or are huddled in fear of possible ethnic cleansing by the government. No one knows much ― except that the crisis is ``nothing short of catastrophic," simply says the International Red Cross.

full text is at
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2009/04/137_43845.html

The Times of Hindia
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-upset-with-China-over-Sri-Lanka-crisis/articleshow/4449209.cms
India upset with China over Sri Lanka crisis
26 Apr 2009, 0312 hrs IST, TNN

NEW DELHI: China's declaration of support for the Sri Lankan
government against the LTTE, apart from sticking out like a sore thumb
in the eyes of the world, has further fuelled India's mortal distrust
of its largest and most powerful neighbour. While India has a much
more nuanced position over the issue owing to its domestic
compulsions, an unfettered China is supporting Colombo and, in the
process, authenticating India's fear about Beijing extending its
influence in the Indian Ocean.


According to government sources, Beijing's support to Colombo cannot
be viewed in isolation because it follows a series of initiatives
aimed at influencing the Sri Lankan government. These include selling
huge quantities of arms to Colombo last year and boosting aid almost
five times to $1 billion. In fact, China is now the largest donor to
Lanka. Its Jian-7 fighter jets, anti-aircraft guns and JY-11 3D air
surveillance radars played a key role in the Sri Lankan military
successes.


full text is at
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-upset-with-China-over-Sri-Lanka-crisis/articleshow/4449209.cms

Guardian, UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/26/tamil-protest-hunger-strike-sri-lanka

Tamil hunger striker 'could die in a week'
Oliver Shah
The Observer,
Sunday 26 April 2009


A Tamil student on hunger strike outside Parliament Square may have
only a week to live, the doctor looking after him warned yesterday.


Prarameswaren Subramaniam, 28, has refused food for 20 days in protest
at the Sri Lankan government's continuing military assault on Tamil
separatists. Speaking from the makeshift camp opposite Westminster, Dr
Sellappah Nallanathar, of St Peter's Hospital, Surrey, said that his
vital organs would begin to fail if he maintained his fast for another
week.


"It's going to be difficult," he added. "I'm asking him to take small
sips of water and it's the water that is keeping him going. Even with
the water this morning, we had to try a few times before he would take
it. If he doesn't want to [take food] we can't force him. He's
determined to carry on."

Daily Star
Bangadesh
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Editorial
The endgame in Sri Lanka
Rajapakse must act with sensitivity toward Tamils
THE enormity of the humanitarian tragedy now unfolding in Sri Lanka can only be imagined. In the last three months, as Sri Lanka's military has systematically pounded away at LTTE positions, as many as 6,500 Tamil civilians have lost their lives in the fighting. That is what a United Nations report reveals, confirming the grave predicament tens of thousands of Tamils have been in with the extent of the fighting shooting up to unprecedented levels of ferocity. It is now fairly obvious that Velupillai Prabhakaran's Tigers are on the verge of defeat and have nowhere to go. His fiefdom today shrunken to a mere strip of territory, Prabhakaran is either on the run or, as some think, already dead.
full text is at
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=85587
------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post
EDITORIAL

Time is running out in Sri Lanka
Published: 26/04/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: NewsA strident international call has been raised for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka to allow civilians trapped inside the combat zone to flee the fighting or at least allow in food and other aid.
full text is at
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/15684/time-is-running-out-in-sri-lanka
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Sri Lanka’s war is not an ‘internal matter’
By Bob Rae , The Ottawa Citizen
April 24, 2009
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Lanka+internal+matter/1531647/story.html
=================
one more rambling bra man rants
Prabhakaran’s follies
http://tinyurl.com/dy92qx
==================
The DMK is on a wrong wicket
M. S. S. Pandian
April 3, 2009
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/election2009/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35108&Itemid=1§ionid=97&secid=73
=========================
Ruling combine is sleepless over Lanka
M.C. Rajan
April 23, 2009
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/election2009/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38292&Itemid=1§ionid=90&secid=88

தை இருபது முதல் மூன்று மாதகாலத்திலே ஈழத்திலே கொல்லப்பட்டவர்கள், காயமடைந்தவர்கள் பற்றிக் கசிந்த ஐநா தரவு.

பெரிதாகக் காண, ஒவ்வொரு படத்தின் மேலேயும் சொடுக்கவும்.

Labels: UN data of tamil deaths

பாட்டும் நானே பாவமும் நானே

http:// usembassycolombo. blogspot.com /2009/04/ white-house-statement-on-situation-in.html


Friday, April 24, 2009
White House Statement on the Situation in Sri Lanka
THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

______________________________________________________________________________
For immediate release April 24, 2009

Statement on Continuing Conflict in Sri Lanka

The United States is deeply concerned about the plight of innocent
civilians caught up in the conflict between the Government of Sri
Lanka and the Tamil Tigers, and the mounting death toll. We call on
both sides to stop fighting immediately and allow civilians to safely
leave the combat zone.

We call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to stop shelling the ⿿safe
zone⿿ and blocking international aid groups and media from accessing
those civilians who have managed to escape. International aid workers
should have access to all sites where internally displaced persons are
being registered and sheltered. The United States is working with
international partners to attempt to care for those civilians who can
be reached.

We call on both sides to strictly adhere to their obligations under
international humanitarian law. We are very concerned about reports of
violations, and take these allegations very seriously.

It would compound the current tragedy if the military end of the
conflict only breeds further enmity and ends hopes for reconciliation
and a unified Sri Lanka in the future.
Posted by US Embassy Colombo at 11:46 PM

[FORBES]
Travel
World's Most Dangerous Countries
Zack O'Malley Greenburg, 03.04.09, 06:30 PM EST
Avoid visiting these places if you value your safety.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/04/most-dangerous-countries-lifestyle-travel_dangerous_countries.html

1. Somalia
2. Afghanistan
3. Iraq
4. Democratic Republic of Congo
5. Pakistan
6. Gaza, Palestinian Territories
7. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's development has been stalled by a civil war that has flared up sporadically since 1983. The separatist Tamil Tigers continue to agitate for an independent state in the island nation's north. With the rebels' northern headquarters overrun by government troops and their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, in hiding, some think the conflict is finally coming to an end. But iJet warns that the Tigers have resorted to guerrilla tactics and suicide attacks in the past and may do so again.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/04/most-dangerous-countries-lifestyle-travel_dangerous_countries_slide_10.html?thisSpeed=30000
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[Al Jazeera]
Tamils take to the streets in London
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZGoEAmZaJM
("Hindia runs the show; Mahinda Rajapakse is in the hand of Hindia")
The deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka has led to widespread protests. But in London, the demands for action have been loudest as the warning of a final assault on Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger fighters brings 2,500 Tamils to the streets of London demanding an end to the fighting. Al Jazeera's Mark Seddon reports.

------------------------------------------
Boston Globe editorial
The agony in Sri Lanka
April 25, 2009

ONE OF THE WORLD'S longest, bloodiest conflicts is coming to a gruesome conclusion on the island nation of Sri Lanka. The United Nations estimates that some 6,500 civilians have died and 14,000 have been injured in the government's merciless offensive against the Tamil Tigers in the northeast of the country. The Obama administration and other governments, particularly India and China, should pressure both the Sri Lankan government and the Tigers to halt the fighting and permit trapped civilians to escape.

......

The Tigers may be crushed in the next few days. But the anger and alienation of the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka is more acute than ever. The ultimate solution for Sri Lanka's communal conflict can only be political, not military. If the Tamil populace sees no hope for autonomy within Sri Lanka, it may come to demand a separate state - after all, the secessionist goal of the Tigers.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/04/25/the_agony_in_sri_lanka/
------------------------------------------

Sri Lankan civilians trapped in 'no fire zone' - 25 Apr 09
As the Sri Lankan government confronts the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), between 15,000 and 50,000 civilians are estimated to be trapped in the conflict zone - a four square kilometre pocket of land in the northeast.

Some civilians are now in about 40 overcrowded camps after fleeing LTTE-held areas. Thousands more have fled to the frontline coastal village of Puttumattalan, which until earlier this week, was in the so-called "no fire zone".

Al Jazeera's David Chater reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWYO32-ikfI


------------------------------------------
Sri Lanka fighting traps civilians in no-fire zone - 21 Apr 09

Thousands of civilians remain trapped in fighting between Sri Lanka's military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Many civilians fleeing a northern no-fire zone have sought refuge at a temporary field hospital.

But as Al Jazeera's Imran Khan reports, the makeshift facility lacks many of the things that might qualify it as a temporary field hospital, including blood reserves, antibiotics and essential medical items.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWxgiv8JBls


-----------------------------------------------------

Civilians in danger amid Sri Lanka battle - 22 Apr 09
The UN has called for a truce to allow civilians to leave a strip of land where the Sri Lankan army is battling Tamil Tiger fighters.

The says it has killed 43 rebels in the last three days and that it has pushed deep into the last piece of Tamil Tiger-held territory. Civilians have told our correspondent that rebel fighters fired on them as they fled the conflict zone.

Harry Fawcett reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzXt2NuwbY8


------------------------------------------

Crappy progaganda piece & shameless bantering by the AlJazeera reporter taken for a ride

Sri Lankan civilians 'escape' rebel stronghold - 22 Apr 09
Sri Lanka's government has restricted access to the conflict zone where it is fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), making it impossible to verify claims of casualties made by both sides.

But in an Al Jazeera exclusive, David Chater went on patrol with the Sri Lankan navy as it rescued civilians fleeing heavy fighting off the country's northeastern coast.

He reports on what has been described as a "humanitarian disaster" from the government's side of the battlefront.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Benod38M9hk

-------------------------------------------
Interview with Singer Santhan currently staying inside so called safe-zone in Sri Lanka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd27OZkN6bQ

-------------------------------------------

Our Man Flint talking in Nov 2008: Asia's Beast Journalist A_wart from the 168th worst country for the media freakdom

"Hindu Editor claims LTTE defeated in South India"
http://www. youtube.com/ watch?v=aIODgWrIULk
(Last year; Asia's Beast Journalist award @ Bandaranayake Memorial Hall)
------------------------------------------

காப்பார்'ச் மகசீன்

[Harper's Magazine]
Washington Lobbyists Cash In On War in Sri Lanka
By Ken Silverstein

April 24, 11:28 AM, 2009


It’s hard to know who is more responsible for the bloodshed in Sri
Lanka, the government or the Tamil Tigers, but it’s clear that huge
numbers of civilians are being killed in the crossfire. “The United
Nations asserts that at least 4,500 civilians have been killed since
January as the government has sought to decisively end a bloody
rebellion that has lasted for a quarter-century,” said a Washington
Post op-ed on Wednesday. “The army is said to be preparing a final
assault that, according to U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator John
Holmes, could produce a ‘bloodbath.”‘

full text at
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/04/hbc-90004852

UN's and Ban's Backing-Down to Sri Lanka Questioned by NGOs, IMF Delay Praised
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, April 22

http://www.innercitypress.com/ngos1srilanka042209.html

On Sri Lanka in UN Basement, Rice of US Speaks, Libya Offers Money, and China Support
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, April 22
http://www.innercitypress.com/bansri9lanka042209.html

Lies and Deceptions! Comical Alis of Sri Lanka
Monday, April 20, 2009, 08:20 PM GMT
http://my.telegraph.co.uk/chandradavid/blog/2009/04/20/lies_and_deceptions_comical_alis_of_sri_lanka

This Time We Can't Say "We Didn't Know": The Deadly Cost of International Inaction in Sri LankaNimmi Gowrinathan, 04.22.2009
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nimmi-gowrinathan/this-time-we-cant-say-we_b_190152.html

MF Mukharji rants
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saat748U3-M