TAMILNET reports that Sri Lanka’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a motion to extend the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of ninety five votes. 102 parliamentarians voted for the motion and seven against. This was the first extension of the State of Emergency after the military defeats of the LTTE last month.
102 MPs voted for the motion. Parliamentarians of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), National Freedom Front (NFF), a splinter group of the JVP and the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) voted with the ruling party the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
Seven parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the motion. However another TNA parliamentarian Sivanathan Kishore is said to have abstained from voting.
Parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) abstained from voting.
Meanwhile, residents of Eerapperiyaku’lam in Vavuniyaa reported hearing loud explosions, and seeing fire from the ammunition dump of the 211- Due Command of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Vavuniyaa from 6.00pm on Tuesday.
The explosions have been continuing for more than an hour, according to reports from Vavuniyaa.
The ammunition dump is one of the largest used by the SLA, military observers said.
Further details were not available.
Similar explosions were also reported in Jaffna at Mayiliddi SLA camp on Saturday.
Also, health conditions among Vanni detainees deteriorate
Vanni civilians held in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centres in Jaffna and Vavuniyaa are suffering from serious health conditions due to lack of medicines, proper medical treatment and poor sanitary facilities, Jaffna Health Department sources said.
A 29-year-old woman from Maamoolai, Mu’l’liyava’lai from Vanni held in Raamavil detention centre, suspected to be suffering from septicaemia, died on 6 May in Jaffna Teaching Hospital.
The woman who died was identified as R. Janani, 29, who had been in Puthumaaththa’an in Vanni during the war.
Both her legs had lost function as she had been continuously crouching in a bunker.
Janani’s body was handed over to her mother Rooparany by Jaffna Teaching Hospital authorities.
Infectious diseases among the detainees are spreading fast in the SLA detention centres in Jaffna and Vavuniyaa.
Deaths due to lack of medicine and poor health conditions are on the increase in these detention centres.
Meanwhile, SLA permits the civilians held in the detention centres in Jaffna to receive medical treatment only in Chaavakachcheari government hospital which had been badly damaged in 2000 SLA offensives.
Though the hospital is being renovated the patients admitted have to lie on bare ground and in the vehicle sheds as there are no patients wards in the hospital.
Besides, the hospital, due to lack of medicines and other necessary facilities, is not capable of treating the patients coming from the SLA detention centres.
The SLA permits only patients in critical condition to be admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital.
Janani who died on 6 June had been admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital on 30 May.
There are more than 13,000 civilians from Vanni held in the SLA detention centres in Jaffna and Chaavakachcheari government hospital is the only place where they are allowed to get medical treatment.
Meanwhile, an acute shortage of medicines prevail in Jaffna as the Health Department has not sent sufficient medicines to meet the needs of Jaffna peninsula residents, Health Department sources in Jaffna said.
It is to be noted that Sri Lanka Health Minister, Nimal de Sripala, has been elected as the Chairman of the World Health Organisation Executive Board in its 123rd session in May 2008.
l In his maiden address in the Indian Parliament on Monday evening, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi President Thol Thirumavalavan, urged the Indian Government to bring out a white paper on the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils.
He also called upon the Indian Government to change its anti-Tamil attitude.
Thirumavalavan also sought to know the role of the Union Government on Sri Lankan issues and the kind of support that has been extended to the Government of Sri Lanka.
‘Our party and our allied parties are very much concerned about Sri Lankan issues. I am sorry to say the Government of India betrayed the Tamil community in Sri Lanka,’ he observed.
Thirumavalavan also expressed his disappointment at the fact that there had been no mention of the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils in the Presidential Address delivered in the Parliament on Friday.
He said: ‘I want to indicate some important issues which are neglected and as we expected are not present in the Presidential Address.
‘There is no mention about the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils. . .
‘Humanity is the basic and fundamental need for democracy. Humanity leads to fraternity. Fraternity gives Liberty. Liberty makes way for equality. Equality in all, to all, is the real democracy. We all know very well that only voting right is not democracy. Here I want to submit some requisition.
l We need a white paper on genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils.
l What is the role of our Union Government on Sri Lankan issues? What kind of support is given to the Government of Sri Lanka? . . .
‘Our party and our allied parties are very much concerned about the Sri Lankan issues. I am sorry to say the Government of India betrayed the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. So the Government of India should change the attitude against Tamils.’