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Conditions in Sri Lanka Refugee Camps Worsening July 20th, 2009
Waiting for Water at Manik Camp
According to a report by the associated Press in Colombo, conditions in the refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka are seriously worsening. In a report dated Sunday July 19th, AP said “in June, chicken pox was rampant and cases of typhoid, tuberculosis, skin and respiratory infections, hepatitis A, scabies and diarrhea have begun cropping up, according to U.N. reports. More than 35 percent of children under 5 are suffering from wasting, or acute malnutrition, according to a July 3 government presentation.”
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Tribute to Fr. Mariampillai T. Sarathjeevan, OMI May 26th, 2009
Rev. Fr. Mariampillai T. Sarathjeevan. OMI
Rev. Fr. Mariampillai T. Sarathjeevan died tragically of heart failure during the final evacuation of the so-called “No-Fire Zone” in northern Sri Lanka. Fr. Sara, as he was known, was determined to stay with his people trapped between the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He cared for the wounded, buried the dead and gave spiritual support to those around him during the months of intense fighting. Those who survived the fierce, daily bombardment were able to escape when the LTTE decided to ‘silence their guns’ on Monday, May 18.
A moving remembrance of Fr. Sara has been written by Fr. David Manuelpillai, OMI. (Download PDF)
Sri Lanka: Repeated Shelling of Hospitals Evidence of War Crimes May 11th, 2009
Mullivaikkal hospital shelled on 3 May 2009 at 9 am
With 30 attacks reported on medical facilities since December, Human Right Watch warns that commanders responsible for such attacks may be prosecuted for war crimes.
The Sri Lankan armed forces have repeatedly struck hospitals in the northern Vanni region in indiscriminate artillery and aerial attacks according to the respected international human right monitoring organization.
One of the deadliest of these attacks on medical facilities took place on May 2, when artillery shells struck Mullaivaikal hospital in the government-declared “no-fire zone,” killing 68 persons and wounding 87.
Government medical personnel in the war zone carefully report the GPS coordinates to the government in a vain effort to protect the facilities in the intense bombardment of the crowded area. An estimated 100,000 civilians are trapped between the two armies, unable to escape the fighting.
“Hospitals are supposed to be sanctuaries from shelling, not targets,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “While doctors and nurses struggle to save lives in overcrowded and under-equipped facilities, Sri Lankan army attacks have hit one hospital after another.”
The Oblate JPIC office has joined Human Rights Watch in criticizing both the Sri Lankan armed forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for numerous violations of the laws of war during the recent fighting.
Read the full report from HR Watch.
Urgent international scrutiny needed in Sri Lanka, say UN Human Rights Experts May 8th, 2009
The UN Human Rights Council experts dealing with summary executions, right to health, right to food and water and sanitation, Mr. Philip Alston, Mr. Anand Grover, Mr. Olivier De Schutter and Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, released the following statement Friday:
The current humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka gives cause for deep concern, not only in terms of the number of civilians who have been and continue to be killed, but because of a dramatic lack of transparency and accountability. “There is good reason to believe that thousands of civilians have been killed in the past three months alone, and yet the Sri Lankan Government has yet to account for the casualties, or to provide access to the war zone for journalists and humanitarian monitors of any type”, said Philip Alston, the UN expert on summary executions.
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President Obama Speaks Out on Behalf of Sri Lanka Journalist May 3rd, 2009
President Obama supported detained journalist J.S. Tissainayagam in Sri Lanka in his May 1st speech on World Press Freedom Day. He spoke of those “…who face intimidation, censorship, and arbitrary arrest – [who are] guilty of nothing more than a passion for truth and a tenacious belief that a free society depends on an informed citizenry.”
Mr. Tissainaygam has been held for over a year, on charges that are widely believed to be without substance.
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