Hard-working IDPs need more help

By Ranjit Surendran in Vavuniya

(April 18, Vavhniya, Sri Lanka Guardian) The situation in Wanni is not at all what one would like it to be. In fact it is appalling and atrocious because there is a war on against the most ruthless and brutal terrorist force in the world, the LTTE. This has been further aggravated by the LTTE terrorists holding as hostage thousands of civilians as their last hope of forcing the Government of Sri Lanka to agree to cessation of hostilities. There is no doubt they were sure a ceasefire would be achieved and they would gain another fresh lease of life.

Towards achieving this hope, they had systematically buried powerful military ware and sophisticated terror weapons in various parts of Wanni to ensure they had the arms to fight another day. The LTTE has always abused ceasefires and even this time it was certainly going to be the same old story.

The LTTE are not without friends, the masked and the brazen. There is the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora that has squandered many millions on terror which is counterproductive to the just cause of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. They are making much out of the civilians at risk overlooking the reality that they are being held in this perilous situation by the LTTE.

They are screaming in the streets of some western cities that there is genocide against the Tamils when that is not true, women are being sterilized when that is not true, the IDPs to which the civilians are fleeing from the terrorists are concentration camps when that is not true and the government intends on a final solution when that is not true.

These camps are called IDPs, Internally Displaced centres. They are certainly not 5 Star Hiltons. They are set up as emergency centres amidst horrendous and formidable circumstances. The needs of these camps from personnel to material and even security are frighteningly immense. Amidst providing emergency facilities, it has to be ensured no terrorist takes advantage and causes further nightmare.

It nearly happened when an LTTE suicide bomber blew herself up near one of these emergency centres. There is also the possibility of LTTE cadres using this conduit as civilians and slip into Wanni and re-arm themselves as guerilla units. In such a situation, security has to be extra vigilant and screening of civilian escapees must be thorough.

The needs of such camps from food, clothing, bedding, medicines, health and sanitary facilities and trauma counseling and meeting them are a Herculean task. There are also many obstacles to resettling them immediately in their habitats because the LTTE had mined many places in Wanni and the entire region has been converted into a battlefield with ammunition factories, parade grounds, bunkers and mini-fortresses.

According to a recent report, the UNHCR has stepped up its emergency response. The agency has “so far distributed some 36,000 plastic mats, over 22,000 bed sheets, 32,000 mosquito nets, more than 46,000 articles of clothing, 9,000 kitchen sets and thousands of hygiene kits.” It is also reported that the construction of shelter units by other organizations are progressing according to plans and more lands may be provided in the Mannar district too.

Considering the nature of the formidable circumstances and possible threats from the terrorists, though a lot more is desired, this human nightmare has been confronted by the government, the security forces and civilians officials with a great deal of commitment and compassion.

The misguided pro-LTTE Tamil demonstrators shouting hollow about genocide against the Tamils and that civilians are being held in concentration camps, and in the process making a nuisance of themselves had better understand that if genocide was intended, there would not be these IDP camps in the first place.

Let them understand that there is human drama on stage in Sri Lanka and every Sri Lankan is concerned about the lives of Wanni civilians held as human shields by the LTTE terrorists. When the only option the LTTE has is surrender, it appears it wants to get off the stage with a gory genocidal terror outrage. It is ironical, the man who forced hundreds to bite the cyanide capsule, hasn’t the courage to take it himself and bring relief to the thousands he has placed on his altar of the most inhuman brutality.

-Sri Lanka Guardian