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Saturday, April 11, 2009 - 05.30 GMT |
LTTE to blame for suffering of Tamil
civilians
– President tells Ban Ki-moon |
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa has told the UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the
suffering undergone by the Tamil civilians
in the No Fore Zone in the north of Sri
Lanka is the sole responsibility of the LTTE
that was holding them as a human shield,
despite many calls for their freedom.
This was said when Mr. Ban Ki-moon had a
telephone conversation with President
Rajapaksa at Libya, April, where he was on a
three day State Visit.
In the telephone conversation initiated by
the UN Secretary-General to discuss the
prevailing humanitarian situation regarding
Tamil civilians in the North of Sri Lanka,
Mr. Ban Ki-moon had expressed his concern
about the thousands of civilian trapped in
the No Fire Zone.
President Rajapaksa told Mr. Ban Ki-moon
that he understood the Secretary-General’s
deep preoccupation with the fate and
condition of this civilian population, and
informed him that all of the suffering of
the civilians was due to the LTTE continuing
to hold them hostage and as human shields,
ignoring the many calls by the UN and
humanitarian organizations to free them.
He had also informed the UNSG of the
continuing numbers of civilians who were
fleeing the LTTE’s hold in the rapidly
diminishing land they control, where these
civilians are held people forcibly, and
facing great danger to come to the Safe Zone
established by the Government.
President Rajapaksa had also assured the
UNSG that Sri Lanka was aware of and
observes all international obligations to
protect civilians, and repeated his call on
the UN and all interested parties to bring
increased pressure on the LTTE to give the
people the freedom to leave the affected
area.
The UN Secretary-General and the Sri Lankan
President agreed to continue working
together in the coming days for the
interests of the affected civilians in the
North of Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Sir John Holmes UN under-secretary
general for humanitarian affairs and
emergency relief coordinator, writing to The
Guardian UK of April 08, 2009, said:
“Civilians trapped by the fighting must be
allowed a free choice of whether to leave or
stay, as we have made clear to the LTTE. If
the LTTE truly has the best interests of the
Tamil people at heart, they should
contribute to ending this unnecessary
civilian suffering.
“The LTTE's leadership claims the civilians
in the conflict zone do not want to leave
because they accompanied the LTTE
voluntarily in the first place and are
afraid of government reprisals. Yet there
are continuing reports that the group's
fighters are shooting at fleeing civilians,
limiting fishing and sabotaging boats that
might be used to escape, and forcing people
to fight against their will.”
He adds that: “There have been many hundreds
of civilian deaths caused by firing from
both sides, though exact numbers and who
fired at what and when is impossible to
verify. It is clear that the LTTE is
refusing to let people flee, though many are
managing to escape somehow, and I fear the
combatants may be gearing up for a final
confrontation. This is a very grave
situation.”
Meanwhile, there are news reports that Erik
Solheim, the Norwegian International
Development Minister, had told a group of
Tamil demonstrators, who had recently
gathered outside he Norwegian Parliament
demanding that Norway intervene to stop the
war in Mullaitivu, that LTTE leaders now in
the No Fire Zone in Mullaitivu were
maintaining close contact with the United
Nations.
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