Dear Friends,
We wish to share with you the following statement from the Minority Rights Group International.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
————-
A Statement from Minority Rights Group International forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission
SRI LANKA: Humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sri Lanka – MRG warns
29 January 2009
The civilian death toll in Sri Lanka could escalate catastrophically if safe passage to leave is not immediately provided for an estimated quarter of a million people trapped in the latest round of fighting, Minority Rights Group International warns.
The Tamil Tigers cornered in a tiny strip of land in the north western town of Mullaitivu are preventing civilians leaving the battle zone. The Sri Lankan military, which is fighting to take over the small remaining territory under Tigers control, is continuing its military operations, including shelling, despite the civilian presence.
“Both the Tigers and Sri Lankan military are carrying on fighting despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians; if urgent measures are not taken to protect civilians thousands could perish,” Chris Chapman MRG’s Conflict Prevention Officer says.
“This is another Gaza in the making. It is unfortunate that the situation in Sri Lanka does not get the same level of international attention – it is extremely dire,” he adds.
At least 300 people are believed to have been killed in the latest fighting and several hundred injured. MRG’s partner organizations in northern Sri Lanka say that hospitals in the north are unable to cope with the large numbers of injured that are coming in. Some of the injured have reported seeing the roadsides lined with dead bodies as they were being transported to other hospitals.
According to the aid agencies some 112,000 people have been displaced in the last two months alone. Food convoys have also not been able to reach people caught up in the fighting in the last two weeks.
Mullaitivu, where the fighting is taking place, is a Tamil ethnic minority populous area.
MRG reminds the Sri Lankan state that it is under obligation to protect the lives and safeguard the rights of all its people irrespective of their ethnic background.
MRG calls on both the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers to respect international humanitarian law and do their utmost to guarantee civilian protection. The international human rights organization reminds both parties that deliberately targeting areas with dense civilian populations and blocking civilians from leaving a war-zone could constitute war crimes. According to media reports on Wednesday the Tigers prevented a group of injured people leaving the battle zone to get urgent medical help. The UN office in Colombo said earlier this week that some of its staff working in the government declared ‘safe zone’ had faced military shelling.
Minority Rights Group is London based international human rights organization working to secure the rights of minority and indigenous communities across the world.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
