Lanka reels under humanitarian crisis
There are continuing demonstrations in many parts of the world to pressurise the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to stall the fighting so that the aid agencies can provide relief to the civilians affected due to the fierce battle
IT HAS been about 26 years of fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers, is a separatist armed organisation fighting for the creation of an independent state (Tamil Eelam) in the north and the east of the island nation.In Sri Lanka, since July 23, 1983, there has been on-and-off civil war to create a separate homeland for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority. The United Nations have accused the military of shelling the no-fire zone, and the LTTE of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as human shields. However, the LTTE has denied this accusation. Even both the government and the Tamil Tigers accuse each other of firing on civilians as they flee. The LTTE said that a “bloodbath” had prevailed in the combat zone, as more than 1,000 civilians were killed in the military’s operation. According to the military, they are zeroing in to Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader, who is expected to be present in the government-declared safe zone near the port of Mullaitivu along with the civilians.There are continuing demonstrations in many parts of the world, including the USA, France and the UK, to pressurise Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to stall the fighting so that the civilians can come out of the combat zone and allow the aid agencies to provide relief to the civilians affected due to the fierce battle. On the other hand, the UN Security Council called on the Tamil Tigers to surrender. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he is sending a humanitarian team to monitor the “rapidly deteriorating situation” in the country. With the killings of Tamil civilians continuing in Sri Lanka, India on April 23, underlined the need for “an immediate cessation of all hostilities.” The Government of India is sending two special emissaries, National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, to Colombo. They will convey India’s concerns to the Sri Lankan leadership. Earlier, on April 17 this year, a four-member Sri Lankan Tamil MPs team, led by R Sambandan and belonging to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), visited New Delhi. They called on MK Narayanan and Shiv Shankar Menon, seeking India’s intervention in the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka. Many countries of the world are also expressing concern over the fighting in Sri Lanka and of civilian loss of lives and property. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “The Sri Lankan government knows that the entire world is very disappointed that in its efforts to end what it sees as 25 years of conflict, it is causing such untold suffering.”While the Sri Lankan government has appealed for emergency aid and the United Nations has issued an “urgent” call for $100 million for food, water and shelter to help an estimated 150,000 people who have fled their homes or are trapped in the combat zone, there must be an immediate end to this insane, indiscriminate fighting. The government should immediately put the advancement of its forces to halt considering the possible threat to lives of lakhs of civilians fled out of or trapped in the fighting zone. The LTTE should also lay down its arms and work towards ending the 26-year-old conflict.
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