TAMILNET reports that evidence gathered by The Times newspaper has revealed that at least 20,000 Tamil people were killed on the Mullaitivu beach by Sri Lanka Army shelling.
Aerial photographs, official documents, witness accounts and expert testimony collected by the newspaper ‘present clear evidence of an atrocity that comes close to matching Srebrenica, Darfur and other massacres of civilians,’ the paper’s editorial says.
Confidential UN documents acquired by The Times record nearly 7,000 civilian deaths in the ‘no-fire’ zone up to the end of April.
UN sources said that the toll then surged, with an average of 1,000 civilians killed each day until May 19.
‘These figures are not even complete yet,’ the UN source told the paper. ‘It’s going to end up way more.’
Three independent defence analysts who examined photographs of Sri Lanka Army and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam firing positions taken over the no-fire zone, confirmed that the range of the LTTE weaponry and the narrowness of the zone make it unlikely that LTTE munitions caused significant civilian casualties.
The Times reported acquisition of the evidence of the ‘hidden massacre’ of Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka’s Army in a set of articles last Friday.
The paper also slammed the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution of last Wednesday congratulating Sri Lanka on its conduct of the war.
Professor Francis Boyle, University of Illinois College of Law, has called the UN resolution on Sri Lanka ‘the most unprincipled, shameless . . . and Orwellian UN resolution ever’.
He said: ‘This is one of the most unprincipled and shameless resolutions ever adopted by any body of the United Nations in the history of that now benighted organisation.
‘It would be as if the UN Human Rights Council had congratulated the Nazi government for the “liberation” of the Jews in Poland after its illegal and genocidal invasion of that country in 1939,’ said Boyle.
He continued: ‘This Resolution simultaneously gives the imprimatur of the UN Human Rights Council to the ethnic cleansing, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that the Government of Sri Lanka has already inflicted upon the Tamils in the past, as well as the Council’s proverbial “green light” for the Government of Sri Lanka to perpetrate and escalate more of the same international crimes against the Tamils in the future.’
He added: ‘The UN Human Rights Council and those member states that voted in favour of this Resolution have thereby become accessories after the fact to the GoSL’s genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing against the Tamils in the past, as well as aiders and abettors to future acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing that the GoSL will undoubtedly inflict upon the Tamils, thanks to this Resolution – all in violation of the Genocide Convention, the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Two Additional Protocols of 1977 as well as the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court.
‘Sri Lanka, together with these other Council States, are contracting parties to some or all of these International Criminal Law Conventions and therefore must be held accountable for their violation and international crimes against the Tamils,’ Boyle added.
‘History shall so judge them all!
‘Orwell stands vindicated by the UN Human Rights Council: War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is freedom. The UN Human Rights Council loves Big Brother,’ Boyle said, indicating he is deeply disturbed by the UN action.
The resolution carried by the UN Human Rights Council supported the ‘Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and its sovereign rights to protect its citizens and combat terrorism, condemning all attacks that the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) launched on the civilian population and its practice of using civilians as human shields’.
It continued: ‘Welcoming the conclusion of hostilities and the liberation by the Government of Sri Lanka of tens of thousands of its citizens that were kept by the LTTE against their will as hostages, as well as the efforts by the Government to ensure safety and security for all Sri Lankans and bringing permanent peace to the country. . .’
It added: ‘Welcoming further the recent reassurance given by the President of Sri Lanka that he does not regard a military solution as a final solution, as well as his commitment to a political solution with implementation of the 13th Amendment to bring about lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.’
The resolution continued that the Council was ‘Encouraged by the provision of basic humanitarian assistance, in particular, safe drinking water, sanitation, food, and medical and health care services to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by the Government of Sri Lanka with the assistance of the United Nations agencies. . .
‘Commends the measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to address the urgent needs of the Internally Displaced Persons. . .
‘Welcomes the continued commitment of Sri Lanka to the promotion and protection of all human rights and encourages it to continue to uphold its human rights obligations and the norms of international human rights law. . .’
Meanwhile, plans are afoot to bring Sinhalese government officials up from the South to conduct Jaffna Municipal Council elections, sources in Jaffna said.
Efforts are underway to elect a Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Mayor to Jaffna which was once held by Alfred Duraiappa, representing SLFP, the sources added.
1,000,417 voters are eligible to elect 29 members for the Jaffna Municipal Council in the election for which preparations are underway, according to the Election Department in Jaffna.
70 electoral booths are to be erected within Jaffna Municipality limits and the National Identity Cards (NIC) will have to be presented by the voters for identification.
The political parties contesting the elections have to submit a list of 29 candidates of whom 12 should be young, according to newly introduced legislation.
Election for Jaffna Municipal Council was last conducted in February 1998.
Though it has been announced that elections are to be held for the local government bodies in Jaffna district preparations are being made only for Jaffna Municipal Council.
• The bodies of sixty elderly people and six babies, members of displaced families from Vanni region due to the military operation by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), who were sheltering in transit centres Vavuniyaa were buried in one grave in Poonthoaddam general cemetery in Vavuniyaa, last Sunday morning, media reports said.
Deaths among the IDPs sheltered in Cheddiku’lam transit camp is on the increase.
Five to eight elderly IDPs die daily in the transit camp.
Bodies of elderly persons and others are buried at state costs with the permission of the Vavuniyaa District Court as those bodies were claimed by their relatives and friends.
Social activists said no action is being taken to transfer elderly IDPs, now being sheltered in transit camps, to homes for the elderly for proper care and maintenance.
