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Wednesday, April 08, 2009 - 10.09 GMT |
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Lay down arms and renounce violence – France
to LTTE |
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The LTTE must lay down arms and permanently
renounce violence and terrorism. Only a
political solution can respond to the
legitimate concerns of all communities and
bring this conflict to an end, states a
communiqué from the French Ministry of
Foreign & European Affairs on the
Humanitarian Situation in Sri Lanka.
The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
has informed the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister
Rohitha Bogollagama of France’s deep concern
about the humanitarian situation in Sri
Lanka expressed France's willingness to
offer relief assistance to the displaced
civilian population.
Following this interaction, the Crisis
Centre of the Ministry of Foreign and
European Affairs of France, has put in place
two projects of assistance to the
populations affected by the fighting,
through ACTED and Handicap International.
Referring to the humanitarian operations
carried out by the ICRC to rescue several
thousands of persons and dispatch help, the
French communiqué states “It is unacceptable
that the LTTE continues to hold back the
civilians and carries on with its
recruitment of child soldiers.”
Here is the text of the communiqué by the
French Ministry of Foreign & European
Affairs
France is deeply concerned by the
humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, as
presented during an informal meeting of the
Security Council on 26 March, by UN Under
Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Coordinator for Emergency Relief, John
Holmes. France follows closely the
developments on the ground.
Bernard Kouchner has personally informed his
Sri Lankan counterpart, of his concern and
has notably expressed France's willingness
to offer relief assistance to the displaced
civilian population.
Following this interaction, the Crisis
Centre of the Ministry of Foreign and
European Affairs has put in place two
projects of assistance to the populations
affected by the fighting, through ACTED and
Handicap International.
According to estimates, between 70,000 and
150,000 persons are trapped inside the
conflict zones. The humanitarian operations
carried out notably by the ICRC have enabled
to rescue several thousands of persons and
to dispatch help, but the gravity of the
situation requires new measures, in
particular permanent and indiscriminate
access to the populations. It is
unacceptable that the LTTE continues to hold
back the civilians and carries on with its
recruitment of child soldiers.
All measures must be put in place by the
parties to the conflict to respect
international humanitarian law and to
protect the persons who are presently caught
in the conflict areas. The protection of the
civilian populations is a priority. The
urgent need of the hour is to save the
civilian population. We call for a
humanitarian respite to allow the evacuation
of people and access for humanitarian
organizations.
We call for an international mobilisation to
bring all necessary assistance to the
displaced people who have managed to flee
the conflict area and are now in transit
camps.
These camps must be in accordance with
recognised international norms: civilian in
character, freedom of mobility, with access
for humanitarian agencies. While we
understand the security concerns of the Sri
Lankan authorities, France calls on the
latter to treat the displaced populations in
accordance with the principles of
international humanitarian laws.
The LTTE must lay down arms and permanently
renounce violence and terrorism. Only a
political solution can respond to the
legitimate concerns of all communities and
bring this conflict to an end.
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