Event in the NFZ will shock the World

An open letter to the President Mahinda Rajapaksha

By V. Anandasangaree

(May 14, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I am surprised, shocked and deeply grieved at the happenings in Mullivaikal where the LTTE is holding to ransom more then one hundred thousand people. They are undergoing worse hardships than what they underwent during the period in which they were held under the subjugation of the LTTE. The food they received did not meet their requirements either due to short supply or due to LTTE taking their requirements first or for both. As a result mothers and elders are severely mal-nourished. These days they wait in long queues to receive their quota of “Kanchi”. Mothers who are so weak to breast-feed their children wait for days in the hope of receiving a milk packet. They live in constant fear and tension. Most of the time the people spent in their bunker.

Added to these suffering, heavy shelling that started at 5 pm on the day following the Wesak ended at 7 am today. Several hundreds who got injured were rushed to hospital. Up to 5 pm 378 people were reported dead and 1122 were injured. It is understood that many families got buried in their bunkers. Very many people who got injured were left unattended to die. Whether the number killed is only 378 as recorded by the hospital or over thousand as claimed by certain sources and not the LTTE, the fact remains that the number killed is the highest for one day since the war started. These killings are contrary to the expectations of the people who co-operated for the eradication of the LTTE and will also certainly be a disappointment to the International Community to whom you have assured safe passage of the IDPs to Government controlled area and very fair treatment of the IDP’s in the Welfare Centres.

Things are going out of control in Mullivaikal and the casualties that were on the increase day by day reached its climax today. Please call for immediate stopping of shellings and firing. No one can prevent the LTTE from firing but you can order your forces to stop it forthwith.

I strongly urge you to consider the fact that the LTTE is now fully mixed up with the civilians and any attack on them by the forces will result in large number of civilians getting killed or injured. Failure to take cautious steps the LTTE has nothing to lose but the Government has many thing to lose including its credibility. I repeat once again, your Excellency, that the only option the Government has is not to attack the LTTE any more since they are now mixed up with the civilians, but to mark time till the assistance of the United Nations or any one else of your choice is obtained to bring the innocent civilians out safely. There is absolutely nothing wrong in seeking the assistance of the UN to save the people.

I hope you will pardon me for the concerns I have for the people of Vanni. Many of those who are known to me and much attached to me are either dead or seriously injured and many without their limbs. An extract from what I wrote to you in my letter of 10.04.2009 is reproduced below for your information. “Now that they are on the last lap of the war and the LTTE had taken their position in the midst of the innocent people using them as human shield, the casualty rate has increased many fold ……. We can’t expect the LTTE to conform to any norms but the forces can ……The situation is disastrous and deteriorating day by day and your intervention cannot be delayed any more. When the truth comes to light one day the whole world will condemn us, the Government and the people.

May I wind up your Excellency by saying that “Our main concern is the civilians”, as all the concerned parties had been telling the world all these days.

PS:- Due to huge number of injured civilians brought to hospital, the hospital is unable to give the service to all patients. Many wounded civilians are without treatment for more than 24 hours. More than 50% of the health staff have not reported for duty because their residences had been attack.

-Sri Lanka Guardian