Guardian Comment – Sri Lanka’s dangerous silence
The Paris-based non-governmental organisation Action Contre la Faim (ACF) last week accused the Sri Lankan government’s presidential commission of inquiry of failing to identify the people responsible for the killing of 17 aid workers in August 2006, calling it one of the “most serious crimes ever committed against an NGO” and reiterating its calls to the European Union for an “internationalised inquiry into this massacre”.
The government of Sri Lanka continues its farce on the world media stage, parading the five detained Tamil doctors who retracted statements they made on the number of civilian causalities during the final stages of the conflict and prompting calls by Amnesty International for an “independent inquiry” into war crimes. Despite the renunciation by the doctors, who remain in custody and apparently under duress, the UN, aid workers and an investigation by the Times have corroborated the true extent of civilian casualties during the final onslaught.
The Hindu – Veteran Sri Lankan diplomat sacked
Veteran Sri Lankan diplomat Dayan Jayatilleka has been sacked triggering speculation that his protest against Israeli incursion into Gaza could have prompted the move.
Jayatilleka, Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said he hadn’t the “foggiest notion” why he was terminated as it was not contained in his letter of dismissal.
Official sources confirmed that Mr. Jayatilleka has been told to “relinquish his duties”.
The diplomat is a strong advocate of devolution of powers to provinces, including those with majority Tamil population, and favours strong ties with India.
“The news item which quoted a Foreign Ministry source, though not explicitly giving a reason has made reference to a statement made by the irrepressible Ambassador (Jayatilleka) when he gave vent to his feelings over the cruel bombing of Gaza,” the Island Newspaper said in an article on Monday.
NY Times Opinion – War Without End
The guns have fallen silent in Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war, but the deep wounds of ethnic animosity have not even begun to heal. An estimated 300,000 Tamil civilians remain essentially prisoners in internment camps run by a Sinhalese-dominated government.
To begin easing the deep mistrust between the communities, donor countries will have to pressure the government to be as serious about securing a just peace as it was earlier this year about winning the war.
The final months of combat in the decades-long war between the Sri Lankan Army and the rebel Tamil Tigers were brutal. As government forces tightened a noose around insurgent positions, hundreds of thousands of civilians were caught in the middle.
AFP – ICRC cuts back S.Lanka operations after govt order
The Red Cross on Monday announced the closure of four offices in Sri Lanka following a government order to foreign aid agencies to scale down operations.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its four offices in the embattled eastern province were closed at the weekend.
“The ICRC reaffirms its commitment to meet the humanitarian needs of those directly or indirectly affected by the recent conflict,” the Geneva-based organisation said in its statement.
It said offices in the Akkaraipattu, Batticaloa, Muttur and Trincomalee areas in the eastern province were shut. The statement did not mention ICRC operations in the north where there are some 300,000 war-displaced civilians.
