‘The defining moment for the International Community (IC) is right now, if it really wishes to establish its commitment to a principled approach towards Tamil aspirations in the island of Sri Lanka,’ declared a Norwegian Tamil representative on Tuesday, while concluding a fasting awareness campaign, held for more than 30 hours in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, focusing on the plight of the Tamil civilians, reports TamilNet.
‘One way of proving its commitment, including its neutrality, is by immediately pressurising the Sri Lankan government to allow the International NGOs and the UN agencies to be present with the civilians in the districts of Ki’linochchi and Mullaiththeevu,’ said Rooban Sivarajah, who represents the Norwegian Tamils Forum, after handing over an appeal to the leader of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Norwegian Parliament, Olav Akselsen (Labour Party).
25 Tamils from various walks of life took part in a fasting campaign from 8am Monday to 3pm Tuesday, while hundreds of Tamils throughout their fasting campaign showed up, expressing solidarity to them.
On Tuesday, delegations of diaspora Tamils in Oslo visited the High Commission of India and the members of the Co-Chairs for Sri Lankan Peace Process, the United States, European Union and Japan.
‘The Tamil diaspora is very well aware that the IC has a clear picture of the real Tamil aspirations and the fundamentals of the Tamil cause.
‘Yet, it has been applying uneven judgments, equating the oppressor with the oppressed,’ he complained and added that the Norwegian Tamils were concerned at the erosion of the credibility of the IC.
‘The Tamil diaspora has become more politicised and committed than ever before towards the political goal of the Tamil statehood in the island of Sri Lanka, not only due to the continued oppression by the Sinhala ethnocentric state in Colombo, but also through a systematic observation of International Injustice that has led to the breakdown of the Peace Talks,’ he told the audience that confluenced after handing over appeals to the various embassies in Oslo.
‘It is not enough to stop with just issuing statements saying humanitarian issues should be given high priority. The Tamil people demand visible pressure on Colombo by the IC.
‘So far, the IC has been very hard in exerting pressure on Tamils who are oppressed and forced to defend their homeland through armed struggle.
‘But, when it comes to exerting pressure on Sri Lanka, it stops with statements alone.
‘These are repeatedly thrown into the dustbin by Colombo. On top of it, the IC has allowed Colombo to carry on a military campaign with foreign military assistance.
‘Many Tamils now wonder who is waging the war on Tamils. Is it the Sri Lankan government alone? Or is it a joint programme of a proxy-war of somebody else,’ he questioned.
Meanwhile, Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a humanitarian organisation helping the displaced population in the Northeast, in a report released Tuesday said, with the food stock in private stores and co-operative stores reaching dangerously low levels, the humanitarian conditions of the more than 230,000 Internally displaced are rapidly deteriorating.
Since the departure of foreign Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on 16th September under Colombo’s directives, 15,217 new Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Ki’linochchi and Poonakari have joined the refugee population, the report added.
‘In Ki’linochchi Town and its suburbs there are 3-4 attacks by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) K-fir bombers and artillery shelling by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
‘As a result, the schools, government departments and the local administrative services are not functioning at full capacity,’ the report said.
Pointing out that Sri Lanka’s ‘Ministry of Defence (MoD) has not allowed any food convoys to cross the Omanthai checkpoint into the Vanni since 5 September, denying humanitarian assistance to the displaced and non-displaced population,’ the TRO report further said that, ‘The departure, on 16 September, of the United Nations (UN) & international NGOs (29 UN expatriate staff and 13 international NGO staff) from the Vanni effectively suspended all international assistance to the IDPs and the protection that such international witnesses provide.’
The report added that the restriction on the number of lorries crossing the Omanthai checkpoint created severe shortages of essential food items (rice, flour, lentils, sugar, and milk powder). The meagre stocks that the GA and private traders had, have now been depleted and the population are facing a severe crisis.
TRO appealed to the Government of Sri Lanka, the International Community, the UN and international NGOs to ensure that adequate amounts of food, medicine and other essential humanitarian relief are allowed to pass through the Omanthai Checkpoint.
The TRO report added that, ‘at least one month’s stock of food must be kept in the Kilinochchi & Mullaitivu Districts to ensure the needs of the civilian population can be fulfilled should the A9 route become unsafe or not secure or the IDPs are forced to move once again.’
l Forty-three Tamils were arrested in Wellawatte, Wattala, and Katunayake in several cordon and search operations conducted by the Sri Lanka Police, assisted by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), and home guards, from Sunday evening till Monday morning, sources in Colombo said.
Most of those arrested were residents of the north and east. Some of the arrested had been staying in lodges and with relatives to go abroad for employment and others had been working in business establishments.
A Tamil woman was arrested in Wellawatte along with four Tamil men, sources said.
All are being detained in police stations in the Colombo city and being interrogated.
Anonymous wall posters announcing that persons found on streets during the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) imposed curfew hours in Jaffna peninsula will be shot at sight without any warning, were found pasted on walls on Sunday and Monday in areas including Vadamaraadchi, Thenmaraadchi and Jaffna town in the peninsula sources in Jaffna said.
Meanwhile, the SLA announced over loud speakers in Thenmaraadchi villages of Madduvil, Charasaalai and Kalvayal, that all people should stay indoors after 7pm and all shops be closed at 6pm, according to Jaffna daily Uthayan.
Attacks against the SLA, and incidents of abducted persons being killed and dumped have occurred in the above areas in the recent past.
Thenmaraadchi residents, already affected by violence, do not generally venture out of their houses after 6pm, sources in Thenmaraadchi said.
Recently, unidentified armed men had shot and killed a civilian in the islets of Jaffna during curfew hours.
