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300,000 people in urgent need of Amnesty in Sri Lanka
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by Amitjha | November 19, 2008 at 09:42 pm
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The situation in srilanka is deteriorating day by day. The constant fighting etween the forces and militant group in the northwest forcing the Tamils to flee from their home.They have nothing in their posession to sustain themselves.Goverment is neither doing anything to save them nor allowing Aid agencies to operate safely.
Amnesty International has appealed to Sri Lanka's government to allow aid to reach more than 300,000 people displaced by fighting in the north.
The human rights group urged both the government and Tamil Tiger rebels to allow international monitors into the northern Wanni region.
There has been intense fighting in the area over recent weeks.
The rebels are fighting a decades-long war with the government to create a homeland for the Tamil community.
Amnesty says that thousands of people displaced by the conflict are currently "in desperate need of shelter, food and sanitation".
"As the north-east monsoon season approaches, only 2,100 temporary shelters for 4,000 families have been provided, leaving at least 20,000 families in need of protection from the elements," a statement released by the group says.
"Around two-thirds of the civilian population of the Wanni region have been forced out of their homes and are living in camps in areas controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels."
The human rights group says that unless food is distributed by aid agencies - rather than the government - "there is no way of establishing if the aid is reaching those most in need".
Amnesty has also called on the Tamil Tigers "to ensure freedom of movement for civilians and stop preventing people from moving to safer places".
"The abuses carried out by the rebels make our call for international monitors to be allowed to visit conflict-affected areas even more pressing," the Amnesty statement said.
"These families must not be forgotten and left to suffer in a war zone."
Neither the government nor the rebels have responded to the latest report, but in the past both sides have denied they are responsible for the sufferings of the civilian population.
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Amitjha
new delhi, India
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 22:29 on November 20th, 2008
Sri Lanka Govt. rejects AI charges of aid blockade
The Sri Lanka Government categorically rejects the assertion made by Amnesty International (AI) in its latest report that it is carrying out a policy of blocking humanitarian aid needed for the people at present displaced in the Wanni region, states a spokesman for the Presidential Secretariat.
It is correct that a large proportion of the civilian population of the Wanni region who live in locations still controlled by the terrorists of the LTTE are undergoing considerable hardship and suffering due to the rigid policies of the LTTE of preventing the free movement of civilians and making use of them as human shields against the advancing forces of humanitarian liberation of the Sri Lanka Government.
The Government is fully aware of the numbers of persons who need assistance and it is satisfied that the maximum assistance is being provided to these people, under the prevailing conditions, especially the difficulties caused by the intransigence and brutality of the LTTE, with regard to the very people it claims to represent and allegedly liberate.
Under the prevailing situation the Government sees no need for any international monitors to assess the needs of the affected Sri Lankan citizens or to carry out the effective distribution of relief already being done through the International Committee of the Red Cross, other identified relief agencies and the government machinery.
It is necessary to mention that there has been considerable credible evidence of non-government agencies that were engaged in relief work in the Wanni region, having provided both financial and material assistance to the LTTE, for the pursuit of its separatist goals against the sovereign state of Sri Lanka, through terrorism.
A more detailed response to the claims and allegations made by AI will follow the Presidential Secretariat states.
BackgroundThis web site publishes without comment the following excerpt of the Background to the conflict in Sri Lanka as stated by AI.
"The security situation for civilians including displaced people has worsened since May when conflict intensified in Wanni.
The LTTE has blocked freedom of movement for the displaced in the Wanni. The LTTE appears to have no capacity to provide safety, or food or shelter and yet prevent families from moving to safer areas.
The LTTE has a history of silencing dissent in Wanni and treating conscientious objectors badly. Recent reports highlight a large camp at Moonru-Murippu in which, following its takeover by government forces, it was revealed that conscripted people who refused to fight were locked into metal cages, with pointed wires extending inside. The pointed wires ensured that they had to stand in a bent position and were pricked if they tried to move. They were let out only when they agreed to the LTTE's demands."
Courtesy: Presidential Media Unit
Extracted From Defence.lk
at 23:41 on November 20th, 2008
Isn't it so obvious that any so called democratic government will reject such allegation. And it is an open secret what the Sri lankan Army is doing in north west frontier,It is complete Genocide.