Though the country’s decades-long civil war seems finally to be at an end, the humanitarian situation, remains desperate for the nearly 300,000 civilians who managed to escape the war zone and interned in overcrowded military-run camps and for the thousands who have been injured in the fighting, says International Crisis Group.
It said that the UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs trying to provide aid face significant restrictions, designed in part to prevent the release of information on the camps’ conditions and on the experiences of the displaced while they were trapped in the fighting.
With the end of the government’s military campaign, Crisis Group urges for:
A list of all those displaced and detained - The Sri Lankan government should make public a list all those being held in camps for the displaced and in places of detentions, to reassure worried families about the fate of their loved ones, to facilitate the reunification of divided families, and to protect against the threat of abduction and forced disappearance.
Full and immediate access to every stage of screening and all places of detention - The ICRC and UNHCR must be given full and immediate access to every stage of the government’s “screening” for those suspected of involvement with the LTTE. The ICRC should be granted full access to all places of detention to ensure that surrendered and captured combatants and other terrorist suspects are treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and Sri Lankan law.
Plans for demobilisation and rehabilitation - The Sri Lankan government should make public its plans for the demobilisation and rehabilitation of former LTTE fighters.
Remove all restrictions on the access and effective work of aid agencies - The Sri Lankan government should remove all restrictions on the access and effective work of the ICRC, UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs in government camps for the displaced in Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna and in government hospitals and medical centres. Punitive restrictions on visas and on travel within Sri Lanka for international staff of humanitarian agencies must also be removed. Lack of access and the consequent reduction in services only compounds the already severe physical suffering and psychological hardships the displaced are enduring.
Clear and prompt timetable for the resettlement of recently displaced and open and inclusive process to devise a fair and sustainable plan for the resettlements - The Sri Lankan government should announce a clear and prompt timetable for the resettlement of all those recently displaced from the Vanni. The government should also establish an open and inclusive process of consultation with independent Tamil and Muslim leaders to devise a fair and sustainable plan for the resettlement of all those displaced from the Northern Province, including the nearly 100,000 Muslims forcibly evicted from Jaffna and Mannar in 1990.
Clarify the whereabouts and ensure the safety of all those public health workers, release the doctors - The Sri Lankan government must clarify the whereabouts and ensure the safety of all those public health workers who worked in and reported on conditions in the war zone. Doctors Thangamutha Sathiyamoorthy, Thurairaja Varatharajah and V. Shanmugarajah, as well as the director of health services in Kilinochchi, Vany Kumar, are reported to be in government custody. They and others worked heroically to save lives and alert the world to the humanitarian disaster facing civilians trapped in the fighting. World leaders should be urging the Sri Lankan government to release the doctors and, in the interim, to allow the ICRC to visit the doctors to verify that they are being treated humanely.
Initiate an inclusive process of dialogue for a lasting political settlement - The Sri Lankan government should make tangible and meaningful steps to assure Tamils, Muslims and other minorities that their rights will be respected and their equal citizenship and physical safety will be assured. The government should initiate a new and inclusive process of dialogue between legitimate and independent representatives of all ethnic communities in pursuit of a lasting political settlement that addresses the grievances and insecurities of all communities through constitutional guarantees of power-sharing and individual rights.
Allow all political parties to campaign freely and vigorously in the municipal elections, disarm pro-government armed groups, allow independent election monitors - The Sri Lankan government should ensure that all political parties are allowed to campaign freely and vigorously in upcoming municipal elections in Jaffna and Vavuniya – and in provincial elections due later in 2009. For free and fair elections to be possible, the military must lift all restrictions on political campaigning, and pro-government armed groups must be disarmed and prevented from intimidating opposition candidates and supporters. Independent election monitors must also be allowed to function freely and without intimidation.
UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate the conduct of war - The international community should urge the government to be open about its own conduct during the war, to facilitate the process of reconciliation between communities. The war also left a legacy of atrocities that must be investigated, the Security Council should support the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate the evidence of systematic violations of international humanitarian law by government and LTTE forces.
The International Crisis Group further pointed out the reasonable fear among the families, whose members have been separated on suspicion of involvement with LTTE. The situation report by the crisis group said: many suspected of involvement with the LTTE have been separated from their families and detained for further questioning, some in undisclosed locations. There are credible reasons to fear for their safety. At least 2,000 people – possibly many more – have been forcibly “disappeared” in Sri Lanka since early 2006. With the government not releasing lists of those in the camps or those who have been detained on suspicion of involvement with the LTTE, it is impossible to know when or if people are going missing. Many of the displaced remain uncertain about the whereabouts or fate of their family members from whom they have been separated.
News edited by Tamil National [editor@tamilnational]