Sri Lanka Rejects Fresh UN Humanitarian Mission

by Tamiya | April 24, 2009 at 03:57 pm

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Sri Lanka has rejected the latest humanitarian mission to war torn north of Tamil Eelam.

Sri Lanka has accused the UN agencies and the NGOs of supporting Tamils Tigers.

Well, then... what else is new from Sri Lankan Government?!

It should be noted that the UN aid workers came out from the "safety zones" are restrained in the interim camps of Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lankan Government has denied access to the UN to talk or see these workers.

Ok... I guess then there is not much hope for ordinary Tamils civilians!!!

Sri Lanka Rejects Fresh UN Humanitarian Mission

COLOMBO (AFP)--Sri Lanka on Friday flatly rejected a plan by the United Nations to send a special humanitarian mission to the island's war-torn north.

"There is no need for the U.N. to send people from abroad to visit those areas," Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told reporters, a day after U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon announced a team would be sent to Sri Lanka.

"We have agreed in principle for a visit by U.N. staff based here (in Colombo) to go in there (to the conflict zone)," the minister added, signaling that Colombo remained unwilling to give free access to the north.

He said the government was working out the modalities to grant access to the Colombo-based U.N. staffers, but said intense fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels was making it "virtually impossible."

"The U.N. must tell us first who would be on the mission, how many days they plan to stay, what they plan to do and so forth, before we give the final green light," the minister said.

The Sri Lankan government has been blocking most aid agencies from working in the war-torn north for months, and has accused U.N. agencies and NGOs of supporting the Tamil Tigers.

UN lacks the assertiveness to take a firm stance against the Sri Lankan Government's behavior.
It should be noted that the Sri Lanka was listed among the 8 Red Alert Genocide and mass atrocities in a release in the 60th anniversary of the United Nations prevention of genocide convention.

Why bother... right? If you are not going to take action, why bother to talk the talk, if you are not going to walk the talk?!!

Genocide and other mass atrocities are underway or risk breaking out in at least 33 countries, says a new comprehensive watch list slated for release Tuesday - the 60th anniversary of the United Nations prevention of genocide convention.

Since the world pledged "never again" in the wake of the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina are but three examples of places where mass slaughter has occurred.

The list by the New York-based Genocide Prevention Project for the first time combines the findings of five leading independent watch lists to create a "watch list of watch lists."

"Red alert" countries include Afghanistan and Iraq alongside commonly known regions currently experiencing genocidal conflict such as Sudan's Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These and Myanmar, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka all made the list's top eight because they appear in each of the five "expert" indexes.