Sri Lanka rejects UN charge of possible war crimes

[Arjun]

Source: Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka on Saturday rejected U.N. allegations it may have committed war crimes and vowed there would be no cease-fire in its drive to capture a shrinking rebel enclave and end the island's 25-year-old civil war.

A report Friday from U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said government forces and Tamil rebels also warned that civilian casualties could reach "catastrophic" proportions if the two sides do not suspend fighting.

Pillay said the situation was becoming desperate and called for a halt in the fighting.

Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe questioned charges in the report that 2,800 civilians had died in recent weeks as the military has pushed into the last remaining area held by the Tamil Tigers.

"It is very, very unprofessional to rely on such unsubstantiated figures. What is dismaying to us is the figures correspond to the figures put forward by (the pro-rebel Web site) TamilNet and LTTE front groups," Samarsinghe told a news conference, referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

But Pillay said "a range of credible sources" showed that more than 2,800 civilians had been killed and more than 7,000 wounded since Jan. 20.

..

Pillay also said the army has repeatedly shelled inside the "no-fire" zones — an allegation that Samarsinghe denied.

"The world today is ever sensitive about such acts that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," Pillay said.

..
Also on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called President Mahinda Rajapaksa to express "deep U.S. concern" over deteriorating conditions and increasing loss of life in the safe zones, a State Department statement said.


Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090314/...a_civil_war_24

I hope this is used as further evidence against the Srilankan president and his brother(both US citizens) in the court case filed against them in the American courts.

It is filed by Bruce Fein who was the former Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and accuses the Srilankan president of genocide.


10 000 civilian casualties in just 2 months!. and its outrageous that the srilankan government still puts the total civilian death toll at "around 70 000" and has been parroting the same figure for the last decade....

as per amnesty international and human rights watch reports; the real number is around 150 000 deaths

[Martin N]

What a surprise though, since when does anyone actually take the un seriously, just another attempt at the failed league of nations, if they stood for peace and anything like justice, they would of stopped the israeli occupation of palestine long ago. Oh wait i forgot they setup israel...Right.

Its disgraceful how bad the situation has got, but i doubt anyone will do anything, the UN is just a semblance of world peace, its not exactly capable of sending an army without the member states agreeing, and since when has the rest of the world give a about 3rd world countrys ?

[Arjun]

What a surprise though, since when does anyone actually take the un seriously, just another attempt at the failed league of nations, if they stood for peace and anything like justice, they would of stopped the israeli occupation of palestine long ago. Oh wait i forgot they setup israel...Right.

Its disgraceful how bad the situation has got, but i doubt anyone will do anything, the UN is just a semblance of world peace, its not exactly capable of sending an army without the member states agreeing, and since when has the rest of the world give a about 3rd world countrys ?

Very true; The UN has become powerless exactly like the league of nations.
The 5 nation Veto thing is a built in flaw too...cos any of those countries can vote down a resolution that it finds not to its liking.


But in places where powerful countries have vested interests things move fast even when the humanitarian situation is not as dire. The Srilankan government is in the enviable position of being able to lease a couple of harbors(both in occupied the North and east of the island) to its biggest supporters. so that is the carrot that keeps many a nation from bringing resolutions in the UN against Srilanka


But then again; the Norwegians were the only neutral monitors willing to be there and they were kicked out of the country unceromoniously by the srilankan government when the monitors accused the srilankan government of gross human rights abuses including the killing of 17 aid workers.

[GuineaPig]

The U.N. is successful at preventing isolationism and escalating tensions between the superpowers, and for that reason it should not be abolished regardless of its inefficiency dealing with isolated conflicts.

[Georgy Zhukov]

What a surprise though, since when does anyone actually take the un seriously, just another attempt at the failed league of nations, if they stood for peace and anything like justice, they would of stopped the israeli occupation of palestine long ago. Oh wait i forgot they setup israel...Right.

Its disgraceful how bad the situation has got, but i doubt anyone will do anything, the UN is just a semblance of world peace, its not exactly capable of sending an army without the member states agreeing, and since when has the rest of the world give a about 3rd world countrys ?

The United Nations =/= world government

[Martin N]

Its the bricks and mortar for a world government, but were not there...yet, What we must watch out for is a world bank, that is the big nuts, they already have a global criminal court, once they have all that it will probabably be world security force to fight against terrorism or some other scapegoat, and then it will be game set and match.

[Central Asian Qaghan]

Ah, yes the Tamil tigers, backed by India, indiscriminate killers, terrorists and murderers.

Sorry you want me to feel sorry for them why? They aren't Sri Lankan their Indian from Tamil nadu who suprise, suprise have a state already in India. No wonder they aren't leaving they want Sri Lanka as well.

The short of the matter is that the Tamils are screwed in the brain for supporting them and shoudl eb when they celebrate the bombing and killing of innocent Sri Lankans.

[Arjun]

Ah, yes the Tamil tigers, backed by India, indiscriminate killers, terrorists and murderers.

Sorry you want me to feel sorry for them why? They aren't Sri Lankan their Indian from Tamil nadu who suprise, suprise have a state already in India. No wonder they aren't leaving they want Sri Lanka as well.

The short of the matter is that the Tamils are screwed in the brain for supporting them and shoudl eb when they celebrate the bombing and killing of innocent Sri Lankans.

Wow Sherlock you get the prize for making one of the most ignorant comments in TWC from time to time. and this post aint any different

What "DO" you know about that country? for starters? and Tamil tigers are Indian Tamils? lol, this alone shows how ignorant you are.


fyi; the only "Indian tamils" in srilanka are found in the central highlands of the island where they were brought as plantation workers by the British from southern india in the 18th century. The Ceylon Tamils have been living in the North and the east of the island from the time of recorded history.


and if we were to go by archeological findings; the Ceylonese Tamils seem to be living in this island millenia Before the majority Sinhalese even came to be.(there have been ample archeological evidence showing that the Tamils inhibited the island as early as 2000 BC)


and it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that those who came to this island first would most probably be the Tamils who were only 30 Kms north of it; rather than some shipwrecked exiles from thousands of miles away. and given the fact that the Tamils were trading in their own ships as far as Egypt/Greece in the west and as far as china in the east 2500 years ago shows they had the means to cross this pesky lil straight of water


ive noticed that you have been posting this totally BS claims of yours in more than a few threads and it just goes on to show the extent of your knowledge..or rather the lack of it when it comes to this issue


so get your facts straight before you post the same BS ad nauseam



PS: and btw; i know that you have a hard time comprehending the english language; but pray go over the news article and tell me if that speaks about the tamil tigers? nope. the article is about the UN accusing the srilankan government of gross human rights abuses against civilians.




PPS: but then again im not surprised to see such a post from you. Given the abysmal treatment the Kurdish people get from the Turkish government, i see why you would be all oh so "buddy buddy" with the srilankan one. Birds of a feather flock together

[Central Asian Qaghan]

Considering that neither am I turkish nor have I talked about anything about the kurds, you my friend, if you really looked at my post history would know that. However as I tamil I cannot help but acknowledge that you act the way you do is common with the tamils.

Lets see now, the Tamil tigers and really the ones who are now crying humanitarian aid since ther bases have been demolished, were trained supplied with and tought the art of fighting by the Tamil Nadu government and with India's backing. The only reason, may I remind you of their acusition of planes was through the money financed between the tamil nadu people and the tamils who are outside. Such as in canada where they caought a terrorist who was sending guns and money to this terrorist organization.

However unlike normal terrorists, the Tamil Tigers, or in this case the "civilians" are as guilty as the LTTE because they supported, abeaded and fought to kill normal everyday Sri Lankan people in an act of terror. I'm sure you are aware of the glorious tamil history that they were the first ones in history to have suicide bombers? Of course you do.

These civilians are nothing but a backlash of LTTE folk who lost and are now crying to the UN to protect themselves. So where is the LTTE leader anyway? Still hiding in the hole he calls home? No wonder the fights ben going on with outside tamil support. Thats why bus loads of tamils are trying to make a stink in every part of the world so that they can fight the good fight in their minds.

[Arjun]

So tell me? where are you from
let me guess ..Pakistan? a cursory glance at ur posts seem to suggest that; especially the Pakistani cheer leading posts you seem to have started)

Considering that neither am I turkish nor have I talked about anything about the kurds, you my friend, if you really looked at my post history would know that. However as I tamil I cannot help but acknowledge that you act the way you do is common with the tamils.


Lets see now, the Tamil tigers and really the ones who are now crying humanitarian aid since ther bases have been demolished, were trained supplied with and tought the art of fighting by the Tamil Nadu government and with India's backing. The only reason, may I remind you of their acusition of planes was through the money financed between the tamil nadu people and the tamils who are outside. Such as in canada where they caought a terrorist who was sending guns and money to this terrorist organization.

However unlike normal terrorists, the Tamil Tigers, or in this case the "civilians" are as guilty as the LTTE because they supported, abeaded and fought to kill normal everyday Sri Lankan people in an act of terror. I'm sure you are aware of the glorious tamil history that they were the first ones in history to have suicide bombers? Of course you do.

These civilians are nothing but a backlash of LTTE folk who lost and are now crying to the UN to protect themselves. So where is the LTTE leader anyway? Still hiding in the hole he calls home? No wonder the fights ben going on with outside tamil support. Thats why bus loads of tamils are trying to make a stink in every part of the world so that they can fight the good fight in their minds.

Oh my; here you go again spouting gibberish again

why do people like you who have no knowledge about the issue post ignorant comments like the following

Considering they are armed and trained and have been trained by India and the Tamil Nadu government, I'm glad to see these Indian terrorists being eliminated.

No the Sri Lankan government is not to blame here. The blame only lies in Indian tamils who are fighting against a people who just want their country back from the Indian terrorists.

^^^ those posts clearly show that you do not know what you are talking about. Cos as i said in my earlier post; the Ceylonese Tamils are as native if not more native than the Sinhalese (obviously you are confusing Ceylonese Tamils with Indian Tamils)

so how the heck can they be "Indian Tamils who are fighting against a people who just want their country back from the Indian terrorists"


sheesh.




and aha..here i see you equate the civilian deaths with that of the LTTE. It matters not to me if the LTTE live or Die; but as the UN, The Amnesty International, Human Rights watch and Doctors without borders have reported time and again; the Srilankan government has been killing civilians for decades now.

and contrary to the spurious ...nay downright lie you uttered right now; the ~3000 civilians deaths and 7000 casualties(in the short time span of two months) has been reported by the UN human rights agency.

and of course; you could say "ah its all balderdash" but that would put you squarely in the midst of lovable characters like the Sudanese president, Edi Amin,Robert Mugabe and the Nort Korean despot who say the same thing about human rights reports.



The Srilankan government’s atrocities against the Civilian populous is very well documented. Would you like me to provide you with various reports by humanitarian organizations and governments from around the world that condemn the srilankan governments actions?


For the sake of brevity, let me post what the Norwegian Peace monitoring mission head to Srilanka , Major general Ulf Henricsson said about the massacre of 17 aid workers in the town of Muttur.

International ceasefire monitors Wednesday blamed the Sri Lankan military for the massacre of 17 local aid workers from international group Action Contre La Faim earlier this month, Reuters reported, quoting Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). Outgoing SLMM head Ulf Henricsson, called the killings a

"committed act of assassination" and "one of the most serious recent crimes against humanitarian aid workers worldwide,"

AP reported.
“SLMM is, with the obtained findings, convinced that there cannot be any other armed groups than the Security Forces who could actually have been behind [this] act,” the SLMM said. The finding is based on its investigation and interviews with other parties and the international community, the SLMM said.



15 of the ACF staff had been found dead on the floor of their ruined office, while two had been gunned down while apparently trying to escape in a car. In the office, the bodies, clad in ACF T-shirts, had bullet wounds and most of them lay face down.All except one, a Muslim, were Tamils.





The SLMM ruled the execution-style killings of the aid workers in Muttur a breach of the Ceasefire Agreement. Earlier, the SLMM charged that the Sri Lankan authorities are deliberately hampering efforts to investigate the murder of 17 aid workers, some of whose relatives also blamed the military for the killings. “I have experienced this in the Balkans before. When you're not let in, it's a sign that there's something they want to hide,” Henricsson told Reuters two weeks ago.

“You have a lot of time to clear it up. If there was clear evidence for the LTTE to have done it, why not let us in to see it?” Henricsson said amid accusations by the Sri Lankan government the Tamil Tigers carried out the massacre. “They (government forces) are denying us access to the whole area, so we cannot monitor. There were journalist trips arranged to Mutur. That was possible, but we had no access. Why? For security reasons? Of course not. There are other reasons.”

The SLMM report Wednesday backed up accusations by parents of some of the murdered aid workers who blamed Sri Lankan troops who recaptured Muttur town from the LTTE in early August for the killings.

And lol; a srilankan Minister called the Norwegian peace monitors "terrorists" . No wonder, cos they were calling a kettle black and that irks some



and while we are at it; let us not forget the recent comments by the Srilankan Military commander who said "I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese."

Srilanka is probably the only country that would allow its military commander to still retain his position after making such blatantly racist comments. after all; why would they bother..they are all cast out of the same mold

The US State Department lists Sri Lanka as an investigatory target in the Office of War Crimes. The New York-based Genocide Prevention Project last December labeled Sri Lanka as a country of "highest concern."




a good article from the boston Globe
Genocide in Sri Lanka

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ed..._in_sri_lanka/


So Monsieur Turkish or whatever Sultan, try not to argue about an issue without getting your facts correct in the first place




PS: even though i do not give Wiki as a credible source; the following link has many a links to reputable sources and also gives a very good overview of the multiple anti Tamil pogroms carried out by the Srilankan State

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riots_a...s_in_Sri_Lanka

[Burnum]

The Tamil people were complicit in the ethnic cleansing and massacre of innocent Muslims and Sinhalese Villages (too busy looting the home of innocent Civilians, I suppose). Although I don't agree with the government actions, it just feels "karmic."

[Arjun]

The Tamil people were complicit in the ethnic cleansing and massacre of innocent Muslims and Sinhalese Villages (too busy looting the home of innocent Civilians, I suppose). Although I don't agree with the government actions, it just feels "karmic."

How far does the "karmic" Telescope of yours go? why are you being so "selective" in selecting the time line.


The Tamils were the ones who were on the receiving end of government sponsored pogroms from the early 1950s onwards


lets see, who were the victims of pogroms of 1953, 56, 58, 77 83 etc etc?
The Tamils. And the attacks against Sinhalese were not happening till the late70s/early 80s..after 30 YEARS of non-violent protests by Tamils which were answered with government-sponsored anti-Tamil pogroms.

Should i also talk about the "colonization" scheme of the government that evicted Tamil farmers from huge swaths of lush land ; usually by burning down whole villages and butchering those who were there and settling those lands with Sinhalese settlers?


And let us not forget the Burning of the best library in all of south asia; The Jaffna Library by the Sinhalese Mobs egged on by the government.

The burning of the Jaffna librarywas an important event in the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war. An organized mob went on a rampage on the nights of May 31 to June 2, 1981, burning the Jaffna public library. It was one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century.The library at the time of destruction was one of the biggest in Asia containing over 97,000 unique books and unique manuscript.

Who were the people that made "sinhala only" the national language while banning Tamil and English right after the country gained independance from the Brits?


who were those that brought in the blatantly racist "standardization policy" according to which the Tamil students had to get far higher scores for exams in order to enter the university vis-a-vis the sinhalese?


Lol the LTTE were not created till the late 70s/early 80s. how come you conveniently forget the tens of thousands of Tamils who were killed by the government for almost 3 DECADES even before the armed insurgency began?


nice try Burnun but you and Turkish Sultan are but cookies from the same mold. Try to learn a bit more about the issue lest you display your ignorance of the subject matter yet again