TamilNet said that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) during the weekend has reportedly been engaged in heavy deployment of its troops poised for a major onslaught, reports from Vanni said citing sources close to the LTTE on Sunday.
All kinds of heavy weapons, including prohibited ones, are ready for deployment on the ‘No Fire Zone’, the sources said.
Meanwhile, denying the use of heavy weapons Sri Lanka’s president and Commander-in-Chief Mahinda Rajapakse said on Saturday that he can’t help the world not believing him.
On Friday, several artillery shells fired by the SLA on the only remaining makeshift hospital in the ‘safety zone’ killed at least 64 patients and attendees including a volunteer doctor and wounded 87.
Reports quoting sources close to the LTTE in Vanni said that around 200 gas masks were transported by the SLA to Vadduvaakal evoking apprehension of extensive use of chemical weapons on civilians in the next round of carnage.
Journalistic circles have already collected eyewitness evidence for SLA using chemical weapons in a previous occasion against LTTE combatants.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Political Head B Nadesan on Sunday blamed the Sri Lankan government for deliberately carrying out ‘horrendous act of genocide’ by denying food and humanitarian access to the civilian population.
Mr Nadesan pointed out the imminent danger of starvation escalating exponentially and urged the International Community not to fail in its duty to ensure humanitarian access to the civilian population under siege by the Sri Lankan military.
Meanwhile, health officials in Vanni report that several children faint from hunger within the so-called safety zone every day.
Deliberate denial of food by Colombo, especially milk powder for children, have caused severe malnutrition and starvation as local media reported at least 9 starvation deaths in recent days.
The LTTE was always fully prepared to extend its support to ensure humanitarian supplies and international humanitarian access to the civilian population, Nadesan told TamilNet.
He further said that the LTTE political division was engaged in saving the lives of civilians who were suffering from hunger and starvation.
Government officials responsible for food distribution, when contacted by TamilNet, said they only received 60 metric tonnes food supplies after April 2nd.
2,475 metric tonnes supplies are needed for a month for 165,000 civilians according to World Food Programme (WFP) specifications, they said.
The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) has responded that it was waiting for Colombo’s cooperation in bringing in a supply ship.
Even the ship that was ready with 1500 metric tonnes supplies was diverted to Jaffna, they said.
‘Japan’s 480 million aid to the Sri Lanka government to rehabilitate displaced Tamils will only help the government’s aims to segregate the traditional home lands of the Tamils converting Vanni into a military zone’, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Suresh Premachandran told Japanese Ambassador, Yasushi Akashi when the TNA delegation led by Iraa Sampanthan, TNA parliamentary group’s leader, met the Ambassador Saturday, TNA sources said.
Yasushi Akashi, in response said that the Sri Lanka government which was elected by the people of Sri Lanka has pledged to him that the displaced Tamils will be gradually resettled and was told by Iraa Sampanthan that the Sri Lanka government will never keep to its pledge, the sources added.
Gajenthirakumar Ponnambalam, P Ariyanenthiran, Kanagasabai and Pathmanathan were the other TNA parliamentarians who participated in the meeting with Yasushi Akashi who is on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka.
Suresh Premachandran said the following in a press conference after the meeting.
‘We told the Japanese Ambassador that the Sri Lanka government plans to place the Internally Displaced Tamils held in detention centres permanently in sheds for at least five years.
‘And we asked him not to give the aid meant for Tamils rehabilitation to the government as it is certain that the money will be used in the war against the Tamils instead,’ Suresh Premachandran said.
‘Mr Sampanthan told the ambassador that Japan need not tell us about the democracy of Sri Lanka when Yasushi Akashi said that he believes that the people-elected government will keep its promise to him,’ Premachandran said.
‘20 media persons including Lasantha Wickremasinghe have been killed since 2006 while many TNA parliamentarians have been assassinated but the government has failed to find the killers.
‘Sri Lanka military intelligence men and the paramilitary groups that operate along with them are the killers.
‘Though we had handed the evidence to the President the killers have not been found,’ Sampanthan explained to the ambassador.
‘Sri Lanka has not kept its pledge to India that it will not use heavy weaponry in the war but had stepped up attacks with heavy weapons killing 64 patients in Mu’l’livaaikkaal hospital Saturday.
‘More than 7,000 Tamils have been killed in the last three months alone. This is the democracy of Sri Lanka,’ Sampanthan further said.
‘The TNA parliamentarians told the ambassador that they do not believe that the displaced Tamils will be allowed to settle in their own villages and that the relief measures would be dealt fairly.
‘In this context, Japan and other international countries should give their assistance directly to the displaced Tamils instead of the government,’ Premachandran said.
‘We also reminded the Ambassador Japan, with its horrific war disasters in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, need not to be told about the Tamil people’s pain and grief caused by war,’ he added.
l Activists belonging to the pro-Tamil nationalist Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK) on Sunday attacked a convoy of military trucks of the Indian Army allegedly transporting weapons to Sri Lanka.
Five trucks were damaged in the attack. Mortar shells were found in the trucks, sources in Chennai said.
According to informed sources, the vehicles at first entered Erode around 2:00pm. However, protests erupted there and there was subsequent intervention by the police.
This information was conveyed to the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam organisers in Coimbatore.
The PDK cadres waited till 3:50pm at Neelaampoor (Neelamboor) near Koayampuththoor (Coimbatore) when the convoy of vehicles came.
Protesters threw stones on the military trucks damaging them. They emptied one of the trucks of its contents several packed boxes, including one containing mortar shells, could be seen.
There was a subsequent scuffle between the Army personnel and the Tamil activists. The army resorted to a lathi-charge in order to keep the activists away. Five activists, including PDK General Secretary Kovai Ramakrishnan were arrested by the police.
