Report: The Psychosocial Situation of Civilians Living In The War Zone In Wanni, Sri Lanka

PSYCHO SOCIAL CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE WANNI REGION

Maththalan,
Mullaitheevu
Sri Lanka

27th March, 2009

THE PSYCHOSOCIAL SITUATION OF CIVILIANS
LIVING IN THE WAR ZONE IN WANNI, SRI LANKA

A very intensive and fierce war is currently being fought between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam, in Wanni in the North of Sri Lanka. As a result of this intense war more than 330,000 internally displaced people are forced to live in a very narrow coastal stretch which is roughly twelve kilometers long and one and a half kilometers wide. This coastal area, stretching from Maththalan to Mullivaikkal, has been unilaterally declared by the Sri Lankan Government as a ‘no fire zone’.

More than 3000 people have already been killed and more than seven thousand have been injured as a result of shelling which includes artillery, multi barrel, cluster and mortar shells and long range gun fire carried out by the forces of the Sri Lankan Government into the so called ‘no fire zone’. The number of casualties caused by the shelling is quite high since a population which is more than 330,000 is forced to live in a very small area which is less than 30 square kilo meters. It is admitted that this coastal belt is inhospitable and quite unfit for human habitation.

The situation of the civilians living in this war-torn area is further affected by the acute shortage of food prevailing in the same area. The people living here depend totally on food items brought into this area by the ICRC. Sixteen civilian deaths caused by starvation have already been reported by the hospital at Maththalan. The medical institutions functioning in this area are unable to treat the hundreds of civilians who are injured by shelling which takes place within the no fire zone daily as hardly any medicine is available at this makeshift hospital.
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Opinion: UN Plaza: Pay Attention to Sri Lanka!

Matthew Lee : Inner City Press, Predatory Bender
Mark Leon Goldberg : UN Dispatch, The American Prospect

February 12, 2009

http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=21:03

Matthew Lee : Inner City Press, Predatory Bender
Mark Leon Goldberg : UN Dispatch, The American Prospect

February 26, 2009

http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/18035?in=0:13&out=9:40
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Opinion: ICG's Hollow Sri Lankan Advocacy

by Chandra Almeida

Introduction

In Sri Lanka, before you fire away that report, talk to the press, or release a communiqué make sure those scathing words from your NGO/UN local HQ are aimed only at a certain “non-state actor”.

The rebels, or the “boys” as the locals call them, don’t want to alienate the aid organizations that are the lifeline for beleaguered Tamils and whose displeasure will only further tarnish the guerillas' unenviable international standing. Harassment of aid organizations, especially by a "bunch of insurrectionists," will not be brooked by the global community.

With rare exceptions, both sides have silenced local dissenters. While one is a military regime waging a popular, but existential, struggle for Tamil self-determination, the other is a Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarian regime that treats minorities and critics as potential enemies of the state. For many, the democratic state has metastasized into a security state.


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Report: Leaked UN document detailing Tamil civilian casualties and rates, March 2009

[caption id="attachment_101" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Page 1 of Leaked UN Report of Vanni Tamil civilian casualties, March 2009"]

[/caption]

Page 2 of Leaked UN Report of Vanni Tamil civilian casualties, March 2009

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Opinion: Explaining the Sri Lankan Conflict - Part 2

By Gogol G.

This is a continuation of the first part of the questions and answers of the discussion of the TVO blog. See Part 1 for details.

I'd like to shift the conversation into a different area: What's struck me about what I've heard from Sinhalese and Tamils on the conflict is how little common ground there seems to be. Many of those who support the government in Colombo seem very reluctant to even consider the possibility that the Tamils might have legitimate grievances against the Sri Lankan government. And many of those who are sympathetic to the Tamil cause seem very reluctant to find any fault with the way certain Tamils have chosen to fight for their rights.

So I'm wondering: What do you think your side could/should have done differently?

These are good questions and well-appreciated. I'd like to answer, but before I do, I'd like to say that soul-searching and empathy are steps towards reconciliation, and I've definitely done quite a bit prior to now. But my emphasis on the structural aspects of this conflict is due to the fact that I've followed events from before the beginning of the last peace process -- our most significant effort yet -- and I realized that since 2002, the effects of debilitating war, a shattered economy, and a tragic tsunami were not enough to bring people together.

Something else was stronger than all of that. I also want to say that I don't want to be pigeon-holed into a "side". Yes, I'm Tamil. But I'm after a rectification of what's unjust, that will forever be "my side". I hedge my bets with the LTTE because it's the most probable means to this, and I'm shamelessly candid enough to admit that I'll switch to a better alternative at the drop of a hat.


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Opinion: Explaining the Sri Lankan Conflict - Part 1

By Gogol G.

Introduction:

The Agenda with Steve Paikin, a TV program on TVOntario, recently did a show on Sri Lanka that was the center of some controversy and praise. On the show, they announced that they would discuss whether the show was fair or biased on their blog. What followed was an intense discussion...

You can read the first part of the discussion in the original blog entry:
http://www.urlzen.com/79h

A second blog entry was made to continue the discussion as well as shift the topic of discussion a little bit. The second blog entry also includes a link to the video of the show.
http://www.urlzen.com/7n7

What follows are the questions from the blog, and my comments in response to them. Most of what is here below is as it was from the original blog, but I did take liberties to make minor changes for readability, completeness, or substitute tenuous ideas with stronger ones. The comments are separated into 2 parts; this is the first. At the end of the 2nd part, I include some final thoughts and requests of you. Additionally, I have written a critique of TVO's handling of the SL situation in general, which can be found here.

The Comments - Q & A Format:

We received several angry calls and e-mails today from members of the Sri Lankan community complaining that we had produced a biased program. Strangely enough, they told us this before the program had even gone to air. It's Tuesday's program on the Sri Lankan Civil War, or, as we're calling it "The Tear Drop Civil War" (since the island of Sri Lanka is shaped like a tear drop). While Sri Lanka is a diverse nation, the civil war has been fought primarily by two groups: The government-controlled Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the LTTE or the Tamil Tigers for short.


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Review: Critique of TVO's Coverage of Sri Lanka

By Gogol G.



TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin recently did a show about the current Sri Lankan crisis that found itself the center of controversy. Several accusations of bias were leveled at the show before it even aired. The Agenda maintains a blog with entries to discuss topics from each show they produce. On their taping, they mentioned the blog entry for this episode and asked viewers to express their thoughts there following the show. What followed was an intense discussion.
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Opinion: Why Canada's Tamils are upset - Roy Ratnavel

http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1407627

Why Canada's Tamils are upset

Roy Ratnavel, National Post
Published: Friday, March 20, 2009

The freedom we enjoy in Canada is precious to me. I state this at the outset, because I grew up in a country where freedom is a rare commodity, and the slaughter of innocents is common.

I lived almost half of my life in Sri Lanka, and spent three months of that time in jail. There, I suffered various forms of unspeakable torture at the age of 17, for no other reason than that I was a member of the country's Tamil minority.

Days after my release, with the help of my father, I went to the Canadian High Commission in Colombo and was granted an interview with an immigration officer by the name of Robert Orr (not to be confused with the hockey player, as I always stress when telling this story). Mr. Orr asked me if I could provide evidence of my incarceration. I took my shirt off and revealed my upper body, and there was plenty of evidence.
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Video Testimonial: Voices from the Vanni

These are some of the voices from the Vanni in Sri Lanka. The ICRC is the only international aid organization operating there. The others are shut out. Journalists, too, are banned. The videos speak for themselves:

Interview with Sri Lankan Red Cross Chairman, from PTK/Vanni, February 8th, 2009 - Part 1
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVIYemwbvCs]

Interview with Sri Lankan Red Cross Chairman, from PTK/Vanni, February 8th, 2009 - Part 2
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZJpH7bNm60]

Interview with Dr.Varatharajan, from PTK / Vanni, Feb. 27, 2009 - Part 1
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW6oG4sf6gc]

Interview with Dr.Varatharajan, from PTK / Vanni, Feb. 27, 2009 - Part 2
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMyjtkx8ch0]

Interview with Dr.Varatharajan, from PTK / Vanni, Feb. 27, 2009 - Part 3
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZqc3u23qBs]

Interview with Retired Teacher, from PTK/Vanni, February 8th, 2009 - Part 1
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUBURdMLFQ]

Interview with Retired Teacher, from PTK/Vanni, February 8th, 2009 - Part 2
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNFW3UXSPdo]

A Grandmother Who Lost Her 2 Children Tells Her Story, from Vanni, Feb. 23, 2009 (in Tamil)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uxSBS_Fd3Y]
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Testimonial: A Sinhala Priest Visits the Vavuniya Camps

Vavuniya -- This is a brief account of what I experienced during my short visit to Vavuniya from the 24th to 26 of February. I had the opportunity see the camps where IDPs are kept and meet some persons and go to the Vavuniya hospital with some priests who are also displaced and have come from Vanni area.

More than 30000 displaced persons who had come from Vanni are given temporary shelter in govt. schools and other buildings. According to priests and nuns who were permitted to enter these places, (now some are given special pass to visit these camps) the members of the families are dispersed among the camps and reunion of them is not allowed at the moment. There are elderly and pregnant mothers, mothers with newly born babies who should be given special care, attention and place which Fathers and sisters are ready to provide but waiting for a positive response from the authorities which they say has to be given from the ministry of defense in Colombo. As buildings are not sufficient to provide accommodations to such a big number, some temporary tents have been built in play grounds in the scorching sun where no one can stay during the day. In some cases there are two or three families in one tent. The govt. through all media constantly announces that every thing is ready and asks the people caught up in Vanni to come to Vavuniya promising them all facility and security there. But it is very clear that govt. is not ready at all to accommodate if those people come to Vavuniya as they are unable to provide basic facilities to those who have already come. Except the places, every other basic need such as food, water, sanitary, clothes, medicine are provided by the NGOs. Still they are ready to provide whatever they can but due to very strict restrictions imposed by the govt. they are unable to do so.

These cannot be called as camps for displaced people rather prisons or still concentration camps heavily guarded by armed soldiers and covered with barb wires. We were not allowed to enter any of these camps.
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Report: Vanni Situation Report from Sri Lankan Government Official

Secretary,

Ministry of Public Administration & Home Affairs,

Colombo.

Through,

Govt.Agent/District Secretary,

Mullaitivu District.

Situation Report – February, 2009

Mullaitivu District

The situation report of Mullaitivu District for the month of February, 2009 is forwarded herewith for your perusal please.

K.Parthipan,

Addl.Govt.Agent,

Mullaitivu District.

SITUATION REPORT as at 28.02.2009

Mullaitivu District

Preamble

Mullaitivu is the most affected District by the recent disasters. The District consists of five AGA Divisions. The Main sources of income of the people are Agriculture and Fishing.

Almost the entire people from all AGA Divisions of the District are displaced. The IDPs of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi and parts of Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna Districts are now staying in Mullaitivu District.

Most of them are staying in the Safer Zone proclaimed by the Government. They are staying the villages of Palayamaththalan, Puthumaththalan, Ampalavanpokkanai, Valangermadam, Mulliwaikal West and Mulliwaikal East coming under the Maritimepattu AGA division. Some are staying in Iranaipalai & Anandapuram villages coming under the Puthukkudiyiruppu AGA Division.

The population of Mullaitivu District at present is about 81,000 families, consisting of about 330,000 persons. This population is now living in the above mentioned villages amidst untold difficulties.

The authorities responsible are unable to provide the much needed pure drinking water and sanitation facilities due to lack of resources.

The safer zone is extremely congested and most of the people are living under plastic tarpaulin sheets along the eastern coast and around the lagoon.

The required food items for the issue of Dry Ration under WFP have not been transported to the district. Only a few MT of food items were brought by ships and were issued to the IDPs. There is a severe shortage for food in the area. People are unable to purchase the food in the market. Prices of the food items have increased and vegetables and fruits are not available at all in the area.

Amidst severe hardship, fear and risk of life, the government employees loyally render their services to the best of their ability.
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Testimonial: Maheswari's Story

August 6th, 2008. Maheswari is from Badulla. For the last twelve years or so she has been working in the garment industry as a machine operator in Boralessgamuwa and Bandaragama. For the last ten years she has been working for a very successful BOI approved garment industry in Bandaragama. She is a valued employee and works with great acceptance in this organization which believes in (and has a stated policy of) treating all employees equitably, irrespective of race, religion etc.

Last Saturday, 2nd August she requested leave on Monday and Tuesday to go home for an urgent matter. She is unmarried and does not therefore go home too often. Her leave was readily approved. On Sunday 3rd morning she set out on her journey from the company hostel in Bandaragama. She was in no hurry as she only wanted to reach Badulla before nightfall, and therefore left her boarding soon after 10am.

At Kesbewa, the bus she was traveling in was stopped at the check point on the Kesbewa Piliyandala road, commonly called the 120 road, after the bus route number. The time was about 10.45am. All the passengers alighted, and their papers/IDs and parcels were checked. The policeman who checked her was also from Badulla and dealt with her kindly and she was grateful. She was just about to get back into the bus when some members of the Civil Defense Force who were assisting the police/military at the check point suggested that she (Maheswari) should be further investigated as she is a Tamil. ( According to Mahewari there were about 8-10 members of the Civil defense Force present at the check point) Maheswari says she distinctly heard this comment. She was asked to step aside and not get into the bus. The other passengers got in and the bus proceeded to Colombo / Pettah.

The police then informed her that they have to send her to the police station. There were at this time another five men of varying ages who had been detained at the check point. They were also Tamil. Another bus was stopped and Tamil citizens in this bus, mostly from Ingiriya, had their journeys to see relatives or on some legitimate business interrupted, and were not allowed to proceed. The police hailed a three wheeler plying on the road and asked the driver to take Maheswari and two others to the Piliyandala police station.


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About Us

But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre, and security. It is the call of conscience.

- Lasantha Wickramatunga

SRI LANKA is an island torn by war. A place, dissent has fled. A place, with no refuge for difference. A place, where ordinary is something to grasp for. A place, where violence and guns, murder and threats, rape and destruction are the norm.

A place nearly a million have fled. A place, another million will be forced to flee from.

Overseas, the cries of a Diaspora and the concerned are spoken over, written over. Some are still afraid to speak.

We choose to break that silence.

We are a voice of conscience. Or rather, a few voices from among the many whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the devastation and suffering in that island country, by a tragedy provoked and perpetuated by bankrupt and corrupt leadership, systemic racism, and a deep fear of the 'other'.

We keep anonymous for the same reason others keep silent.

But here, you can hear our voices -- different, multifaceted, nuanced, and each as authentic as the next.

As you read us, you will understand the reasons for anonymity, and along the way, we hope, you will encounter many other issues of consequence -- not just issues about those in Sri Lanka, but issues that ultimately affect you, too.
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