Vanni: The "most ignored human tragedy"

By Arush from Wales

(March 04, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) "There were dead women and children all around, I saw that and I began to strike my cheeks and cry. I won't forget this until the day I die," Kalaivaani said. Who was narrowly escaped from Sri Lankan government ruthless bombardment for the civilian safety-zone in Vanni. "If we had been on the government designated safety zone already, we'd probably be dead right now," she says, still fighting to hold back tears.

Think what life would be like if you had to live in a world of State terror. Every single day when you would walk outside, you would see the world as if it were coming to an end. You would see people dying before your eyes. If you were lucky, you might have a slight chance to survive. This is the real situation in Vanni now.

Several hundreds of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) assembled within the old and new "safety zones" have died from artillery and air strikes by Sri Lanka military. The civilian targets hit by hundreds of artillery and motor shells, more than 300 people have died and several hundreds are bleeding to death within one day on 26th of January.

For the Gaza bombardment Israel being condemned by the UN, the Red Cross and the Vatican, but in Vanni nothing was happened. Vanni health authorities said at least 2200 mostly women and children were confirmed dead in the bombardment, and more than 6000 wounded. They said the death toll could top 2,500.

This is the 21st century's hidden holocaust... a worse human tragedy than Bosnia... It was the most deadly incident in the current on going war. Unattended bodies and injured people unable to move are lying around everywhere, while a remaining doctor fled and helpless ICRC officials virtually evacuate the injured people to Trinco hospitals.

While hundreds of civilians are slaughtering by government forces in Vanni, India, certain Western countries, Britain and the US, for instance, are negotiating with the government to create a system that will allow them to increase their geo-political and economical activities.

There are no enough significant shifts in global public and media opinion towards the Sinhala majority state, which is being recognised as the worst and most violent “failed state” in the world, and the tragedy of Tamil people as the “most-ignored human tragedy”. Even the ‘international community’ and India to help Sri Lanka to engaged war on Tamil by ignoring the government corruption, human right abuse and genocide.

By now the LTTE is facing an enemy of greater tactical sophistication than they encountered in late 90s. Nine military divisions of the Sri Lanka Army, numbering approximately 60,000 soldiers (around 80 - 100 battalions) with help of handful Indian military field commanders are pushing towards the last bastion of the LTTE. They said that they have already “boxed” the liberation tigers and the 250,000 civilians into an area of the size of 50 km2 in Puthukkudiyiruppu region. This is due to the biggest ever offensive operation launched by the Sri Lankan armed forces called as "Vanni Operation"; this operation had started in February 2007 and not yet come to an end but dragging on for more than 26 months.

Human-rights groups describe the dire conditions in Vanni as the “humanitarian disaster”. Food-aid groups also told the “violence in the region has increased to the extent that 250,000 people have fled to the small area in a single month to avoid it.” They added that the lack of food and medicines has multiplied, that Sri Lanka is the most dangerous country in the world to distribute food aid in, because “the government continuously impose ban for foods and medicine, also accused the non- governmental humanitarian agencies as a LTTE supporters.”

Although, government has instructed UN and World Food Programme officials to keep away from 'safety zones', which has been subjected to continuous inhuman artillery barrage, denying civilians any meaningful space of refuge. 250,000 Tamils are denied of even drinking water and are facing hunger. "Completely given up by the International Community, the civilians are left to face the fate at the hands of their genocidal killers.

Starting early in 1948, the Tamil genocide (sometimes called the Tameocide) went into full operation. There was no selection process; Tamils were destroyed upon get a chance. Ultimately, the Sri lankan governments were responsible for the deaths of some nearly hundred thousand Tamils

If that is the case why are the India, ‘international community’ and the countries around the Indian Ocean more concerned about Sinhala government and paying less attention to the increasing violence against Tamils? The reason is simple: most of those countries are opposed to the assumption of power in Tamil, as they all back the Congress (Sonia-Italian Lady) led Indian central government’s war on Tamils."

For many, the abiding image of the past months was the picture of Tamil children died on the streets and their parents and relatives weeping near to them, displayed on the cover of the Tamil Medias. In the mean time, Indian and International News Agencies operating from Colombo publish no accounts of the mass genocide, taking place in Vanni. They continue to eulogize Colombo’s military victories, painting a picture of LTTE using civilians as human shield.

The Tamil people have lived in Vanni for generations and want to continue living there and make a livelihood in these lands. SriLanka, UN and other international community statements that claim to seek the well being of Tamil people - in uprooting them to forcibly put them in barbed wired Army run camps. The people are staying in Vanni at their own will. They want peace and security right where they live and do not want to move into any UN and Sri Lanka government planned camps - “internment camps,” as described by the Human Rights Watch on Feb 20th.

Camps were an essential part of the Sinhala regime' systematic oppression and mass murder of Tamils, political adversaries, media persons and others considered socially and racially undesirable. There were forced IDP’s camps, extermination or death camps, transit camps, and prisoner-of-war camps in Vavunia, Jaffna, East and some part of south. The living conditions of all camps were brutal. Many died due to the harsh conditions of the camps, the torturing, and the killing.

If the abettors of Colombo's war, India and especially the Co-chairs, do not change their attitude, these people would face hunger and death. The situation is worse than what the world has witnessed in Congo and other countries in the Africa.

However, there is no real chance of war being stop in the island and along the Vanni region without an effective measure of International community. The European Union, the world's biggest importer of Sri Lankan goods, do not bother to suspend its recently upgraded GSP trade agreement with Sri Lanka, while USA continue it’s arms sales to Sri Lanka have also intensified.

According to a report in the Indian daily, The Thinaththanthi, the India is to be given the dozens of Tanks and other deadly weapons to Sri Lanka under secret agreement with Sinhala government. The Indian navy has warships already in the Palk Strike that assist with Sri Lankan navy. The exercise is, therefore, considered to be part of the India-led war on Tamils.

The ‘international community’ and the anti-tamil rulers in the region are determined to keep the war in track and to continue their support to the Sri Lankan government, which enjoys public support via war propaganda in south. It is reasonable to assume that it could have set up a proper political settlement for Tamils had the India and its allies not helped the Tamil to get any military balance with Sri Lanka and demand it.

One possible positive result of the false war on LTTE is that most Tamils will see the whole exercise as a foreign intervention designed to destroy their rights and identity, and therefore decide to unite to save both.

In India, anti-government demonstrations taking place almost every day in Tamilnadu and other states. Most of the Tamils are opposing the Indian central government atrocities against Tamils with its own military, however, those who are found to be supporting Tamil will be arrested and punished, but the anti-tamil elements, which are opposed to the Tamils right and support the Sri Lankan government will be freed.

It has already been protests and demonstrations across the world by Tamil Diaspora that those who raise solidarity with the Tamil people, urged international community to stop state terror and genocide. Further more, from international community, the Tamils are expecting two things must be done immediately, need a strong action against Sri Lankan genocide and the second one is the recognition of eelam Tamils rights. In the mean time, Indian and International Medias need to undercover this mass genocide, which is most-ignored human tragedy in the world, taking place in Vanni. -Sri Lanka Guardian