Sham and a shame

By all independent accounts, the situation in all the refugee camps is desperate with the Tamils at the end of their emotional tether, having to eke out a life in inhuman conditions.
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(October 14, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Chief Minister M Karunanidhi may labour to justify hotfooting the soi distant Parliamentary team to Sri Lanka purportedly to understand first-hand the plight of Tamils there in the aftermath of the decimation of the LTTE. But, make no mistake about it, this trip is all for the crassness of the brownie points, which is what the Tamilnadu politician has always had an eye for even on this life-and-death issue.

The hapless Tamils of Lanka seem accursed Acutely in that they buffeted and bludgeoned by a chauvinistic Buddhist majority, a militant Tamil ruff that spoilt the legitimacy of their cause and the timeserving, lip-servicing political mob from Tamilnadu that has consistently warmed itself on this tragic fire. Increasingly Karunanidhi comes off as a person with the dubious desire to enshrine his larger-than-life dupe on the pages of history.

The whole churlishness of the trip can be understood by the fact that this is a parliamentary group that is not, in that the expenses are to be borne by the parties that the respective MPs represent, and the whole team has been picked and chosen by the powers that be that operate over the powers that be in New Delhi. In simple terms, it is a sham and shame and only insensitively mocks at the tragedy that the lives of Lankan Tamils have become.

As a sample, try to make sense of the callous behaviour T R Baalu, the former Union Minister, who is the head of this group. Baalu, in general has qualities that are difficult to endear up to, but in this tour the cheesy curmudgeon seems to have outsmarted his usual self.

Putting out a show of silly highhandedness, Baalu has brought disgrace to himself and to all the Tamils by bullying the Vavuniya Collector to tears. For this alone, this MP from Sriperumpudur —— ironically the place that will forever mark the watershed in Tamilnadu-Sri Lanka Tamils relationship —— should be left back in Sri Lanka and made to face the wrath of the Lankan authorities who don’t seem to be backing their words in deeds in providing rehabilitation to the displaced populace.

By all independent accounts, the situation in all the refugee camps is desperate with the Tamils at the end of their emotional tether, having to eke out a life in inhuman conditions. According to the global NGO Human Rights Watch, the conditions in the relief camps are fast deteriorating (shortage of water, poor sanitation, fear of floods due to the impending monsoon etc.), and the Sri Lankan government should immediately release the 250,000 displaced Tamils still held in detention camps.

Human Rights Watch has also called on international donors such as Japan, the United States and European Union member states to send a clear message to the Government of Sri Lanka that continued detention of the displaced will have serious consequences for Sri Lanka’s relationship with the international community. The Sri Lankan government has confined virtually everyone displaced by the recent conflict to detention camps, unlawfully depriving them of their liberty and freedom of movement. According to the UN, by the end of September - more than four months after the end

of the armed conflict - the government continued to hold 255,551 displaced persons in camps and hospitals, the majority in a large complex of camps called ‘Manik Farm’ in Vavuniya district. It is also being said that the Lankan government’s screening of camp residents for LTTE supporters has been non-transparent and protracted and that even people who have apparently been screened and cleared have not been released.

In September, the Sri Lankan foreign minister announced that 162,000 camp residents had been screened. According to the UN, however, the government had released fewer than 15,000 as of 28 September.On several occasions the government has falsely claimed that it has allowed thousands detained in Manik Farm to return home. On 24 September, for example, it announced that 40,000 people had returned to their districts. In reality, many of the people that the government claims to have released have been transferred from Manik Farm to other detention camps, while others are still held at a ‘way station’, a temporary holding facility, in Vavuniya.

According to the UN, more than 1,500 people who were transferred from Manik Farm to the way station on 13 September and were due to be released, are still held there, surviving in rapidly deteriorating conditions. The message that is coming from Sri Lanka is loud and insistent: The international community has to arm-twist Rajapakse government to be humane to the Tamils. Or else, a race will be wiped out. And the message to TN politicos is: Please practise your charades elsewhere. A tragedy is not a place to practise cheap politics.

-Sri Lanka Guardian