Facts to the United Nations
Human Rights Council
Information Nations Unies
Conseil des droits de l'homme
Informativos a Naciones Unidas
Consejo de Derechos Humanos
Website : www.tchr.net
Second session / Deuxime session / 2 perodo de sesiones
18/09/2006 -- 06/10/2006
LOGO
Tamil Centre for Human Rights - TCHR
Centre Tamoul pour les droits de l'Homme - CTDH
Centro Tamil para los Derechos Humanos
(Established in 1990)
Tamil Centre for Human Rights - TCHR
Centre Tamoul pour les droits de l'Homme - CTDH
Centro Tamil para los Derechos Humanos
(Established in 1990)
Website : www.tchr.net
TCHR participation in United Nations World conferences and other meetings
* A meeting was held on 7 March 2006, in the European Parliament – titled "EU contribution to the peace process in Sri Lanka". This was jointly organised by the Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR) and Mr. Robert Evans, a member of European Parliament of Labour Party in UK.
* The Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR) officially accredited to participate in the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society – WSIS in Tunisia, 16 – 18 November 2005.
* The Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR), officially participated in the NGO forum of the UN World Conference Against Racism – WCAR in Durban, South Africa, from 28 August to 1 September 2001. TCHR held an information stall including an exhibition at the forum. The TCHR representatives also attended the main WCAR conference held in Durban, 31 August to 7 September 2001.
* A meeting was held on 14 October 1998, in the European Parliament – titled "Press censorship in Sri Lanka". This was jointly organised by the Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR) and Ms. Anita Pollack, a member of European Parliament of Labour Party in UK.
* In 1993, the TCHR held an information stall and a photo exhibition on human rights violations, in the United Nations 2nd World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna, Austria, from 14-25 June.
* TCHR participates in meetings of Treaty bodies and submits reports to the same.
Fact finding missions to the North East of the Island of Sri Lanka
* May 2003 (http://www.tchr.net/report_studymission_2003.htm)
* December 2003 – addendum report (http://www.tchr.net/report_studymission_2003add.htm)
* July-August 2004 (http://www.tchr.net/reports_visite_2004.htm)
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Contents
U.N. Independent experts express concern in Sri Lanka 02
11 August 2006 03
5 September 2006 05
SLMM chief slams European Union 06
Intervention in the UN Sub Commission – August 2006
Interfaith International 07
International Education Development 09
President Rajapakse follows the same approach 10
President suspected of Links with an Assassination 11
Killings and disappearances continue in Sri Lanka
States of Emergency in Sri Lanka 12
Salient periods of emergency rule in Sri Lanka 13
Fr. Jim Brown - Amnesty International
51 schoolgirls killed, 60 wounded in an airstrike 14
40 civilians feared killed, 100 wounded in Army shelling
Sri Lanka Army blocks 2000 families fleeing 15
17 NGO workers massacred in Muttur
Aid agency probes Sri Lanka massacre as monitor slams shelling
Sri Lanka obstructing slain aid staff probe – SLMM 16
ICRC condemns killing aid workers in Muttur 17
SLMM Chief narrowly escaped artillery attack
The `missing' Tamils of Sri Lanka - Toronto Star
Interviews
Confused statement by Sri Lankas Defence Spokesman 19
In reality, there is no cease-fire agreement – SLMM Chief 20
Sri Lanka truce dead in all but name - Chief monitor
Sri Lanka President saying one thing to media and ..........
Resolution on Sri Lanka in Malaysian Parliament 22
Tamileelam is the Only Feasible Solution Left for Tamils 23
Economic embargo on Sri Lanka should be enforced 26
01
The Chairperson
Members of the Human Rights Council
2nd Session,
United Nations
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Distinguished Sirs / Mesdames,
The Memorandum of Understanding and Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in February 2002 has created normalcy in the seven Southern provinces, but normalcy does not exist for the people in the North East.
The Norwegian mediated cease-fire and peace talks are facing intense challenges. Important clauses (1.8, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and many others) in the Ceasefire Agreement were not implemented. It has been reported, including by the State department that the paramilitary groups operating in the North East are linked to the government and security forces. With the aid of the government, paramilitary groups carry out targeted killings of political opponents and abductions and killings of civilians in the North East.
During the Tsunami natural disaster in December 2004, the people in the worst affected North East faced massive discrimination by the Sri Lankan government. This is well documented by international agencies. The Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure P-TOMS, agreement signed by the LTTE and the government remains blocked by the Supreme Court. In brief, whatever is good for the Tamil people is blocked - in this case, by the legally binding actions of the Sri Lankan courts. Whatever is against the Tamils is taken up well and smooth proceedings follow with ease.
As far as the right to self-determination of the Tamils is concerned, the Sri Lanka government continues to refuse to accept the democratic mandate of the people in 1977 and also in 2004. This is a real disaster in the islands history.
Even after the signing of the ceasefire agreement (CFA), the situation of IDPs remains critical. The government is preventing the IDPs from resettling in their own homes due to the militarised zones which have taken over their land.
Fishermen in the North East are still severely restricted in pursuing their livelihood. They are constantly harassed and intimidated by Sri Lanka Navy and armed forces.
The attitude of the Government of Sri Lanka and its security forces in recent weeks, in Muttur in Trincomalee district is proving that the Sri Lanka government has declared war against the LTTE. Within the last two months – more than 200,000 people have been displaced and hundreds of civilians had been killed in aerial bombing and the artillery shelling fired by the Sri Lanka army. Also, 17 NGO workers of Action Contre La Faim – ACF (Action Against Hunger) a French organisation - have been killed by the Sri Lankan army in Muttur. The attached report gives more details concerning this brutal massacre.
On 14 August 2006, 51 schoolgirls were killed and more than 100 wounded when Sri Lankan Kfir jets bombed a children's home compound in Mullaitivu district in North of Sri Lanka while they were attending a two-day residential course on first aid.
On top of all the aforementioned atrocities and more, a draconian Economic embargo has once again been enforced by the Sri Lankan government on various areas in the North East.
What is happening presently in the North East is based on the political ambitions of the Sri Lanka government. Firstly, the government is trying to create political turmoil between the Muslim and the Tamil people, who have lived together in harmony for centuries. Secondly, the government which has always had the ethnic cleansing of Tamils from the East, as a hidden agenda, is making use of this opportunity. Thirdly, as usual new Singhala settlements are being established in Trincomalee district.
The aerial bombing which started five months ago is a clear breach of the ceasefire (CFA) and an obvious indication that the Government of Sri Lanka has declared war and is seeking a military solution to the islands bloody ethnic conflict. In the meantime, disappearances, rapes and sexual assaults on Tamil women and arbitrary killings by the Sri Lankan armed forces have increased at an alarming rate in the North East.
Distinguished Sirs / Mesdames, we kindly appeal to you to monitor this serious situation closely and to strongly urge the government - to stop the deliberate aerial and artillery attacks on the civilian population and to respect the human rights of all in the island. Also to bring to book the culprits who are responsible for the horrendous killings and human rights violations that are taking place in the island.
We earnestly appeal to you to take immediate action on the attached facts.
Thank you,
Yours sincerely
S. V. Kirubaharan
General Secretary
02
United Nations – Press release
UN EXPERT WELCOMES
PROPOSED
SRI LANKA COMMISSION
5 September 2006
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston, today welcomed the announcement by Sri Lanka's President Mahenda Rajapakse of his intention to invite an international commission to inquire into recent killings, disappearances and abductions in Sri Lanka.
"This
is a potentially very important initiative" said Alston. "A truly
independent international inquiry holds out the prospect of resolving some of
the horrendous events of recent weeks and months and bringing the country back
from the abyss".
The
challenge now, according to Alston, is to ensure that the commission is
independent, credible, effective, and empowered to make a difference. "If
the commission does not meet these requirements the initiative will fail and
set back the cause of peace. If the requirements are taken seriously the move
will prove to be courageous and could break the vicious circle that currently
grips the country". Various other countries have opted for a similar
approach according to Alston and he suggested that the ideal way forward would
be for the Government to seek the advice of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights in establishing the commission to ensure its independence and
effectiveness.
The Special
Rapporteur, who visited Sri Lanka less than a year ago, indicated that his
forthcoming report to the UN General Assembly would also urge the creation of
an international human rights monitoring mission.
Mr. Alston
observed that the month of August had seen a series of tragedies, all serving
to undermine respect for human rights as well as the prospects for peace. In
addition to deploring the various military and naval engagements in recent
weeks he made particular reference to several incidents of major human rights
concern including the killing of a leading Tamil intellectual, the
disappearance in Jaffna of a highly respected priest, Father Jim Brown, and the
shooting of 17 aid workers, all in the space of a couple of weeks.
"I
deplore the assassination of the Deputy Secretary-General of the Government Peace
Secretariat Mr. Ketheshwaran (Kethesh) Loganathan, with whom I had met in
Colombo. He was a man of great vision, insight and courage and his killing, in
an incident that apparently bore all the hallmarks of the LTTE's systematic
elimination of Tamils who hold independent views, is a tragedy", said Mr.
Alston. Similarly, he noted that "the recent ruling by the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission that the killing of the 17 civilian aid workers employed by Action
contre le faim in Muttur on 4 August 2006 seems most likely attributable to the
Government security forces, highlights the urgency of the Government ensuring
adequate accountability on the part of those forces."
The Special
Rapporteur indicated that he plans to make specific proposals in relation to
the situation in his forthcoming report to the 61st session of the United
Nations General Assembly. In that regard he also released the following
statement intended to give a preview of some of the more general analysis
contained in his report:
"The
situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated significantly since I visited Sri Lanka
and met with Government officials, members of civil society, and
representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the end of
2005. Recent events have confirmed the dynamics of human rights abuse
identified in my report (E/CN.4/2006/53/Add.5) and demonstrate the urgent need
for an international human rights monitoring mission.
International
human rights monitoring is not, of course, an invariably effective response even
to situations involving widespread human rights abuse, but there are specific
factors indicating that such an approach would be extremely valuable in Sri
Lanka. One of these is that civilians are not simply "caught in the
crossfire" of the conflict: Rather, civilians are intentionally targeted
for strategic reasons. Such killings are quintessentially human rights
violations demanding a human rights response.
Another
factor suggesting the value of international monitoring is that the conflict
between the Government and the LTTE is ultimately a struggle for legitimacy,
not territory. The conflict has no military solution, and mere adjustment of
the facts on the ground will not fundamentally change either party's position
in future negotiations. The LTTE's hopes for autonomy or independence rest on
persuading the domestic and international communities that this would be the
best solution in human rights terms. However, the LTTE has
03
a record of using killings to deter civilians from exercising freedoms of expression, movement, association, and participation in public affairs. "As it stands, no outside observer could wish rule by the LTTE on the entire Tamil community, much less on the Sinhalese and the Muslims of the North and East.
The
Government should not, however, interpret the widespread proscription of the
LTTE as a terrorist organization as an endorsement of its own record. Indeed,
it is an enduring scandal that convictions of government officials for killing
Tamils are virtually non-existent, and many Tamils doubt that the rule of law
will protect their lives.
A resolution
of this conflict that would merit the international community's endorsement
will require the Government, the LTTE, or both, to demonstrate genuine respect
for human rights. The strategic importance of achieving and maintaining
international legitimacy grounded in respect for human rights is not completely
lost on either the Government or the LTTE. Indeed, the discourse of human
rights is central to the parties' own understandings of the conflict's origins
and conduct. However, by using proxies, the subversion of accountability
mechanisms, and disinformation, both parties have been able to commit deniable
human rights abuses. Effective monitoring would foreclose the possibility of employing
a strategy of deniability, pressuring the Government and the LTTE to seek
legitimacy through actual rather than simulated respect for human rights.
When I
visited Sri Lanka, my conclusion was that the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM), which was established to monitor the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) of 2002,
could be strengthened in ways that would permit it to provide relatively
effective human rights monitoring. Indeed, the SLMM has played a commendable
and increasingly assertive role with respect to extrajudicial killings.
However, as I observed in my report, "For pragmatic reasons [strengthening
the SLMM] seems to be the best interim measure, but before long significantly
more will be needed.
If the
ceasefire fails, and that now appears to be an all too real possibility, the
SLMM's role will be in question and there will be an urgent and pressing need
to establish a full-fledged international human rights monitoring
mission." (E/CN.4/2006/53/Add.5, para. 47). Since then, the SLMM has been
severely weakened by the LTTE's decision to insist on the withdrawal of
monitors who are nationals of EU member states, and either party could elect to
unilaterally terminate the CFA at any time, thus withdrawing the SLMM's
mandate. It is time for an international human rights monitoring mission in Sri
Lanka.
It is thus
appropriate to reiterate some of the requirements for effective monitoring in
the particular situation of Sri Lanka today:
* The
details of alleged incidents, the results of investigation, and the basis for
the monitoring mission's determination of responsibility should be made public
(even if information is redacted to protect individuals).
* The
investigative process should be designed to prioritize the protection of
witnesses against intimidation and violence.
* The
mandate of the monitoring mission should not be geographically-limited,
inasmuch as conflict-related human rights violations occur throughout the
country.
* Because a key purpose of monitoring is to limit the possibility of conducting deniable human rights abuses, the monitoring mission should command a high level of investigative and forensic capacity. This requires, inter alia, persons with police training, persons with medical training, and Sinhala and Tamil interpreters.
* The
monitoring mission should be independent of any peace process. Two implications
of this are that:
* Regardless
whether the CFA remains in force, the monitoring mission should not be called
upon to investigate violations of the CFA. The distinction between violations
of human rights and humanitarian law, on the one hand, and of violations of a
ceasefire agreement, on the other, must be preserved.
* The
monitoring mission should report to a neutral body.
This list
should not be considered comprehensive. It is intended simply to highlight
certain requirements for effective monitoring that are specific to Sri Lanka in
light of the dynamics and logic of human rights abuse in that country. The
United Nations would be well-situated to establish a mission fulfilling these
requirements.
04
U.N. INDEPENDENT EXPERTS EXPRESS SERIOUS CONCERN
OVER THE ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE IN SRI LANKA
United Nations press release, 11 August 2006 - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions, Philip Alston, and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, issued the following statement today:
We are shocked and alarmed by the recent escalation of violence in Sri Lanka
which has culminated in the brutal killing of 17 humanitarian workers of the
NGO Action Contre la Faim on Sunday, 6 August, and the car bomb blast in
Colombo on 8 August killing two civilians, including a three-year old child.
The deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers is a serious violation of the
basic principles of international human rights and humanitarian law and the
Declaration of Human Rights Defenders. Humanitarian workers serve every day as
implementing partners for UN agencies. They deliver and distribute food, water,
medicine, clothing and other material assistance. They provide medical care and
psychological support for victims of sexual violence and other trauma. They
help transport people when they are ready to return home. Humanitarian workers
are, without question, human rights defenders who help people stay alive during
times of conflict. Without them, especially in times of conflict, many more
civilians would be vulnerable to violations of their civil, cultural, economic,
political and social rights such as their right to life, physical integrity,
liberty, food, health and adequate housing. In the face of that reality, the
responsibility of the Government to extend effective protection to humanitarian
workers is heightened.
We urge the Government to ensure immediate and independent investigations are
carried out into these killings and that the perpetrators of these despicable
acts are brought to justice. We therefore welcome the Government's strong condemnation
of the murders, its promise to conduct such an investigation expeditiously and
its request to the Government of Australia to send a forensic expert who will
assist the Sri Lankan special investigations team, a request the Australian
Government has agreed to. The vigorous independent investigation into the
killings of the 17 humanitarian workers is vital not only to bring the
perpetrators to justice, but to restore confidence to humanitarian workers and
the populations they serve. We also urge the Government to render the findings
of its investigation public as soon as it is completed. An investigation,
however independent, impartial and professional, whose results remain covered
by secrecy is of little use.
The on-going wave of fighting between Sri Lankan Government forces and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) has only served to strain an already
precarious ceasefire agreement.
The recent spike in fighting is also related to the closing of sluice gates of
a water reservoir south of the eastern Muslim-dominated town of Muttur, halting
the water supply to vast areas of farm land in government controlled territory,
and thus threatening the livelihoods of the farmers in the area. We welcome the
recent reopening of the sluice gates.
The Independent Experts further express concern over the disproportionate
effects the current fighting has had on the Muslim population in Muttur town
and surrounding region. It is reported that this latest escalation has created
a climate of fear making life intolerable for the affected communities.
According to the most recent reports, more than 50,000 out of the 63,690
inhabitants of the district have fled their homes and villages. A large
proportion of those displaced are part of the Muslim community. The Independent
Experts appeal to those involved in the fighting to ensure that all civilians
are granted immediate protection and that humanitarian agencies are granted
access to the conflict-affected areas to deliver assistance to the civilian
population. Civilians and humanitarian workers need guarantees of security and
access as well as a meaningful commitment by both the Government and the LTTE.
We strongly urge the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to immediately halt
the violence, the deliberate targeting of civilians and promptly return to
negotiations to solve this current impasse.
05
Departing ceasefire monitor chief slams
European Union in gloomy Sri Lanka outlook
by Paul Peachey Thu Aug 24, 2006-08-24
COLOMBO (AFP) - The outgoing chief monitor of Sri Lanka's crumbling ceasefire criticised the EU for banning the Tamil Tiger rebels and said his warnings of a violent "worst case scenario" had come true.
Brigadier General Ulf Henricsson wrote a memo to the European Union more than a month before May's ban was imposed warning of a rise in violence and attacks in the capital Colombo if the EU carried out its threat.
He said the seven-point memo was "not read very carefully" and the decision was finally made in the "cafes of Brussels" to ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist organisation despite a troubled ceasefire in place.
Fighting has surged since December that has left at least 1,500 dead culminating in fierce battles in the northern Jaffna peninsula this month between government forces and the rebels.
"We had (seven) bullets in that memo which was some kind of worst case scenario," Henricsson, a Swede, told AFP on Thursday. "All of the bullets were fulfilled."
"They can't say they didn't know or at least have any signal about what could happen. "I think it was not read very carefully. It was a more high-level decision made in the cafes of Brussels."
The ban was imposed to hit overseas fundraising efforts of the LTTE and force it to mediate after a three-decade battle for a homeland in the island's northeast that has left at least 60,000 dead.
But the memo is understood to have warned of a rise in violence, a ban on EU monitors being part of a ceasefire monitoring team in Sri Lanka and of resumed attacks in Colombo.
The former head of Norway's army will take over Henricsson's job before the end of the month after the rebels demanded that members from EU-nations Sweden, Denmark and Finland quit the Nordic team after the EU Tiger ban.
The team will be cut by nearly half to just 30 members amid continued complaints by both sides of breaches of the 2002 ceasefire, which exists only on paper, and complaints of rights abuses.
"I would say it's a mistake, it was a wrong decision because... the LTTE and the government have signed the ceasefire agreement as equal partners," said Henriccson. "If one is suddenly on a terrorist list it's not very difficult to see we're going to run into difficulties -- which we have done."
He said the ruling meant the government thought it had "carte blanche" to take on the rebels. "I think the EU thought that the government of Sri Lanka was a responsible government who could take the appropriate decision and work for peace instead of war," he said without elaborating.
Since the ceasefire, attacks in Colombo included the shooting dead of a pro-government Tamil politician and a bombing that left seven dead but narrowly missed Pakistan's top envoy to the island.
Sri Lanka's military said nearly 650 people had been killed this month during 11 days of fighting between government forces and rebels in the disputed Jaffna peninsula, seen as a symbolic heartland of any Tamil homeland.
Henriccson, speaking from the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Colombo, said he had become "more convinced than other" that there would be no military solution to the crisis with the frontlines barely moving during the latest fighting.
Rebels ran the Jaffna peninsula as a de facto separate state for five years until they were driven out in 1995. It is considered the centre of Tamil nationalism and is symbolically vital to both sides.
Both sides say they are engaged in a defensive operation and that their ceasefire still holds. But they have come under pressure from foreign donors and aid agencies to return to the negotiating table.
The EU ban followed those including by India, in 1992, Washington six years later and Britain in 2001.
06
Interfaith International
Geneva, Switzerland - 18 August 2006
UN General Assembly
Human Rights Council
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights
Fifty-eighth session
Agenda item 5(a) Racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia
Intervention by Deirdre McConnell
Mr Chairperson,
Interfaith International is happy to note that the Sub Commission has prevention of discrimination as one of its agenda items, especially at a crucial time of this august forum.
In todays world various types of discrimination have paved the way towards Civil war, Ethnic Conflict, Armed conflict, and so on. Many of these conflicts, fought in exercise of the Right to self-determination, have as their ultimate goal, a durable solution to the political problems which are based on discrimination and xenophobia.
In the past, this august forum has heard much about the discriminatory application of law and practise of the Sri Lanka government against the Tamil people, therefore we do not need to go into much detail.
Since Independence, Sinhala dominated governments brought much systematic discriminative legislation against Tamil people.
As soon as Sinhala leaders obtained power in 1948, the Tamils working on the tea plantations were disfranchised and their citizenship was denied. A one language Act (Sinhala only) was forcefully introduced by the Sinhala politicians and nine (1956, 1958, 1961, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982 and 1983) state sponsored anti-Tamil pogroms destroyed the economy and the cultural heritage of the Tamil people. In the meantime, the Tamil politicians of the day protested - against these denials of political rights, Sinhala colonisation in the Tamil regions and destruction of Tamils properties, demanding justice, by non-violent methods, for nearly thirty-five years.
However these struggles in and outside of the parliament were continuously suppressed by the Sri Lankan security forces made up of 95% Singhalese. In 1972, discrimination in the education system (standardisation) where Tamil students had to gain more marks than the Singhalese students for University entrance, gave birth to the Tamils militancy in the island.
During this period, in the 1977 general elections, the Tamil people in the North East overwhelmingly voted to exercise their right to self-determination. As the Singhala dominated government ignored this democratic mandate and continued to implement their racist policies, an armed conflict was born in the island in 1983.
After a long struggle and massive civilian casualties, a defacto government covering 70% of the Tamil hereditary land has been in existence, that is, for the last 15 years. Since 2002, this has been well acknowledged by many foreign dignitaries and diplomats who have visited the NorthEast.
The Tsunami natural disaster which struck mostly the Tamils areas, caused severe casualties to the Tamil people. Again the people in the North East received discriminatory treatment by the Sri Lankan government. The aid which was sent by the international community was never distributed equally and even the P-TOMS Post-Tsunami agreement for reconstruction of the Tsunami affected areas was blocked by the Sinhala judges in the South.
Mr Chairperson,
It is now four and a half years since the Ceasefire Agreement was signed between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka. There are still 800,000 internally displaced people who are prevented from resettling due to the Sri Lankan military occupation of their land.
07
The current situation in the island is alarming, human rights violations over the last 10 months have increased disturbingly. A further 60,000 displaced people in the Trincomalee area are being denied food and aid in an embargo imposed by the government. More than 700 Tamil civilians have been killed by the security forces and the paramilitaries working with them since November 2005. In the last week it appears that once again the government has declared war on the Tamil people. The ceasefire agreement has been violated several times, especially since last April with the beginning of Aerial bombardment of Tamil areas by the Sri Lankan air force.
On Monday 14 August 2006, sixty-one school girls were killed and 129 seriously injured in the brutal and callous deliberate bombing of a childrens home in Mullaitivu in broad daylight, by the Sri Lanka Air Force. Soon after this bombing the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), and UNICEF personnel, visited the spot and confirmed that it is a childrens home known as Sencholai and not a military installation as claimed by the Sri Lanka Government.
The shelling and bombings from land, air and sea by the Sri Lankan security forces in the Tamil regions have caused severe destruction to Tamil homes and lives, property, public buildings, and cultural places. These and many other actions of the Sri Lanka government are persistently in serious breach of the Geneva Conventions.
On Saturday 5th August, 17 Tamil humanitarian workers, from the French International Non-Governmental Organisation Action Contre la Faim, were massacred at point blank range by government security forces. UN VIPs in the field of human rights, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani; the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, arbitrary and summary executions, Prof Philip Alston and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, jointly made a statement on 11 August, expressing serious concerns and calling for a vigorous independent investigation to be held and the perpetrators to be brought to justice. They urged the government to render the findings public.
Attacks on Tamil journalists, parliamentarians and human rights defenders have escalated. Journalists following up human rights violations have been killed with impunity, by the security forces. Those defending Civil and Political rights and those defending Economic, Social and cultural Rights are also being killed by the Sri Lanka armed forces.
In a stark incident on 06 August 2006 the SLMM was nearly bombed by the government Air Force which attacked, despite an agreement being in progress concerning the irrigation issue in Trincomalee. This shows how the international monitors are being treated.
When speaking from Colombo about the killing of the 17 humanitarian workers, the SLMM Head, Maj. Gen. Ulf Henricsson, told Reuters on 11 August:
"I have experienced this in the Balkans before. When you're not let in, it's a sign that there's something they want to hide. You have a lot of time to clear it up".."They are denying us access to the whole area, so we cannot monitor. There were journalist trips arranged to Muttur last Saturday and Sunday. That was possible, but we had no access. Why? For security reasons? Of course not. There are other reasons. I have recommended to the facilitator -(Norway) to at least consider a withdrawal."
SLMMs monitors say there is evidence that Sri Lankan troops have been involved in extrajudicial killings of Tamils in the North and East. According to information coming out of the latest fighting in Jaffna, the Tamil people are being prevented from fleeing to safety, by the Sri Lanka security forces.
Mr. Chairperson,
The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka started because of the Sri Lankan governments discriminatory policies and refusal to accept the Tamils as equal citizens of the island.
The present attitude of the Sri Lanka government clearly indicates that this is a war of aggression with destructive and genocidal intent against the Tamil people in the island.
We appeal to the dignitaries and members of civil society internationally to monitor and pressurise the Sri Lankan government not to carry out genocidal attacks on the Tamil people.
Thank you 18.08.2006
(Ms Deirdre McConnell, Director International Programme of the Tamil Centre for Human Rights – TCHR)
08
International Educational Development
Intervention by Karen Parker, Geneva – 14 August 2006
Human Rights Council
Sub-Commission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights
Fifty-eighth session
Agenda item 2
Statement of International Educational Development, Inc.,
A non-governmental organization on the Roster
(Secretary-Generals list)
International Educational Development is pleased by the attention by the Sub-Commission to military operations directed at medical facilities, transport and personnel entitled to protection as expressed in its resolution 2005/2. We are also pleased by the attention to other persons entitled to protection from military operations as expressed in its resolution 2005/12.
The widespread attacks on medical facilities in Falluja Iraq in November 2004 invoked strong condemnation by the High Commissioner and prompted the head of the British Red Cross to comment on the potential demise of the Geneva Conventions and humanitarian law. Due to the utter contempt of the Geneva Conventions and human rights law shown by these attacks, our organization joined the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers in submitting a Petition against the United States to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States. Unfortunately, the United States does not seem to be deterred by international condemnation of these attacks and continues to target protected medical facilities and personnel in Iraq. This needs to be condemned by the Sub-Commission.
While we welcome the action undertaken by the Human Rights Council in regards to attacks on protected facilities and persons under the Geneva Conventions and humanitarian law as a whole in Lebanon, the Council has not called for action regarding several other conflicts in which targeting of protected facilities and persons is equally serious. One of these is the conflict in Sri Lanka, where since the elections in November there has been the worst levels of fighting since the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement. In the past few weeks, the level of fighting has increased dramatically, as have the numbers of military operations of the government armed forces flagrantly targeting protected facilities and persons. For example, on 6 August 2006 17 humanitarian aid workers from the French NGO Action Contre le Faim were brutally massacred in the government-controlled areas in Trincomalee, prompting 3 independent experts of the Council (H.Jilani, human rights defenders; P. Alston, extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions; J. Ziegler, the right to food) to issue a press release on 11 August 2006 in which they state: the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers is a serious violation of th