ரோஸ்

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