ICRC apprehends thousands still trapped in Lankan war zone

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) apprehends that thousands of civilians, including women, children and elderly people, many of them wounded and sick, remain trapped inside the conflict area of northern Sri Lanka. Those civilians are also at risk in a small area along the coast that had been declared a ‘no-fire zone’ by the Lankan government.

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In a statement issued by the international forum stated that the ICRC, since 10 February, has evacuated close to 12,400 people from the conflict area by boat, adding that many of them were sick and wounded.

The ICRC carried out its 28th evacuation on 29 April, with over 520 persons aboard the Green Ocean, an ICRC-chartered ferry, informed Stephanie Bouaziz, the ICRC Communication Coordinator based in New Delhi.

"Given the catastrophic situation of thousands of displaced, sick and wounded people still in the conflict area, the parties must do more to protect them and must allow more food and medicine into the area," said Monica Zanarelli, the ICRC's deputy head of operations for South Asia.

The ICRC has also asked the authorities to clarify the time frame for lifting restrictions on movement imposed on the displaced population and to indicate when the resettlement process would begin.

It is mentionable here that the displaced people are worried about their future courses of life. Many family members have been separated from one another and are anxious to know each other’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, the National Alliance of People's Movements (Of India) describes the situation in Sri Lanka is alarming. Despite a two days ceasefire on the occasion of the Tamil New Year, and despite innumerable appeals to the Sri Lankan government, President Mahinda Rajapaksha has made it clear during the recent visit of UN Special Envoy Vijay Nambiar on 17th April 09 that he is not ready to abandon his line of ‘war to the finish’, said in an NAPM statement.

The Tamil civil population in the Vanni is in an absolutely desperate situation without food, water and medical supplies and under frequent attack in the so-called safe zone. Those who manage to leave (many don't want to, for complex reasons), encounter extremely discouraging conditions in the transit camps. Families are separated, disappearances of males of a certain age group are rampant, women face violations and informers try to track down political affiliations, which lead to further disappearances, while food, water and medical supplies leave a lot to be desired, added in the statement.

The humanitarian situation in northern Sri Lanka is now catastrophic. According to Human Rights Watch and Sri Lankan rights groups, since January 2009 alone, at least 1,000, and perhaps as many as 2,000, Tamil civilians have been killed as a result of the Sri Lankan military's continuing artillery attacks and aerial bombing offensive.

The military has openly targeted urban areas, including schools, hospitals, and buildings that house civilians, asserted Bobby Ramakant, an Indian human rights activist.

“The argument that the LTTE has a vested interest in the presence of the civil population cannot be used as an excuse for the ongoing human rights violations by the State. The war has to end in order to end war crimes and enable a sustainable democratic process,” asserted Dr Sandeep Pandey, convener of NAPM. The Ramon Magsaysay Awardee added, “We also protest the covert provision of economic and military aid to Sri Lanka by Indian government which has, certainly, deeply aggravated the situation in Sri Lanka.”