The town (Colombo) is filled with all manner of predications. Some say a Royalist who cannot get a majority in the Mustangs tent will have the country fall on his lap because of a Yoga. Some others are getting ready to prostrate before the Horagolla Samahdi for non extreme political work ,having sunk the P-TOMS in other extreme conditions. Another group of GoSL tribe members vehemently deny that their brothers have neither gone missing nor paid any ransom nor taxes. A gentleman who maybe slightly nuts has said they are all reported missing because they are out on AWOL with second wives or girl friends. The Courts have freed Tiran A from bondage, asked that a MP/Minister not kindly continue seeking bribes from Sevanagala where more stone throwing villagers would justifiably greet any Minister wandering around for kickbacks or bribes, the SLT deal with tales of shell companies is under scrutiny, and sending lodgers by bus voluntarily at 2 am was all found to be troubling fundamental rights. One more coming soon: the south harbour in the western part(!) of the Colombo port has some changes in the stipulations for bids which has mysteriously appeared raising a storm and making life difficult for brother Saliya (Apey Saliya malli). Apologies, official, personal, justifiably homicidal were all seen too.
A briefing note for a group of worthies has this toll:
‘Since the signing of the CFA an approximate total killed amounts to 4,186 in the North and East, with approximately 3,685 killed in the North and Eastern provinces from October 2005 – May 2007 . Whilst exact figures are hard to obtain, other reports from 2005 up-to-date show an estimated 346 killed/ 533 wounded in 2005, 3,900 killed/4,000 wounded in 2006 (with 3,500 killed in the second quarter of 2006 alone) and 705 killed/ 721wounded in the first quarter of 2007.
Human security was further jeopardized and disregarded in witnessing mass displacement of thousands of civilians in the Northern and Eastern region. At the onset of 2006, 17,775 Sri Lankan refugees entered Tamil Nadu, India. As of February 2007, the number of displaced persons was 213,166 across 11 Districts (Jaffna/Killinochchi/Mullativu/Mannar/Vavuniya/Trincomalee/Batticaloa/Anuradhapura/Puttalam and Kurunegala). The largest concentrations of IDPs having been in Batticaloa, Jaffna and Killinochchi.
Since August 2006, 315,000 people have fled from their homelands, and 100,000 of them fled in March 2007 alone. These staggering figures are in addition to the 200,000-250,000 people displaced by the tsunami of 2004 and the 315,000 people displaced from the conflict prior to 2002. As of April 2007, the number of IDPs amounted to 301,879.
The disregard for human life has reached shameful and significant levels within Sri Lanka. As a result, the human rights violations in the country today have become tantamount with the feelings of insecurity and fear that is spreading amongst the general population and those who are vulnerable or are rendered vulnerable.
Human rights abuses are not merely confined to populations residing in vulnerable regions, but have grown to encompass the very freedoms that seek to serve and provide information to citizens of Sri Lanka. The climate of impunity continues to instill fear and oppression in people, denying freedom of expression and pluralism in many vital spheres of individual and social life.
Since the end of 2005, hundreds of civilians have been caught up and killed in clashes between warring parties, or have been targeted due to their political affiliations or killed in terror attacks. More than 1,000 people have gone missing or confirmed to have been abducted for ransom and children have become victim to engaging in combat.’
In the middle of this lassana katha, IIGEP released one of their statements (not a report which should go to the President). They have vented their frustrations and expressed their opinion on a few matters.Some of the young uns in the secretariat would not know the back of human rights in this country as they do not of the layout of the JAIC where they are located at work. Sadly they have through a bungled effort to distribute funds fast, prostituted the work literally of all significant human rights and advocacy organization actors including one state agency as we speak. If Dr. K at MFA were to look closely he would find enough reason to PNG and recommend toe dipping in the Maldives for a few.
The TRO another organization practically PNG’d has said this in a statement overnight.
‘As we honour the 14 million refugees on World Refugee Day, 20 June 2007, TRO would also like to highlight the plight of the world's Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). According to UNHCR figures there are currently 24.5 million IDPs worldwide, who have been displaced by conflict.
The conflict in Sri Lanka has resulted in over one million Tamil refugees leaving the island to Canada, Western Europe and other parts of the world. Currently, approximately 100,000 Tamils live in camps in the South of India.
Those that have left the island of Sri Lanka and found refuge in other countries are protected by the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, but there is no similar convention or system of international protection for IDPs. As a result the plight of the IDPs in the Northeast is left to the "goodwill" of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). Military offensives over the past 18 months by the GoSL have been the primary cause of the displacement of 300,000 IDPs.
TRO petitions the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the International Community to address the Humanitarian issues affecting IDPs in Sri Lanka:
* End all embargos, restrictions and other impediments to the flow of humanitarian relief items and construction materials (for temporary shelters for IDPs) to the Northeast
* Allow local and International NGOs to freely access areas affected by the conflict in a timely manner
* End restrictions on international humanitarian agencies and their international staff: denial of visa renewals, refusal of visas, the controversial work permits and limiting the mandates of iNGOs
* Adhere to the international Guiding Principles of Internal Displacement – GoSL should stop forced eviction of civilians by targeted shelling / bombing of villages
* Ensure that the prior incidents of "Forced resettlement" (as verified by the UN and others) do not recur and that human rights and human dignity are respected.
a.Ensure that IDPs are informed of their rights and that there is transparency re - garding the development and implementation of hu mani tarian policies
b. Ensure that all affected com munities are consulted at all stages from initial displace- ment to resettlement
c.IDPs have a right to choose when to return and should be allowed to visit the areas of return prior to return
d.Ensure that resettled IDPs re ceive compensation and assis tance to restart their liveli hoods and have access to their properties in the High Securi ty Zones (HSZ)
Ensure free access to education for IDP children
a.Thousands of children, some as young as 6 years old, have to pass through numerous checkpoints close to their camps and schools on their way to school everyday.
IDP Camp management
a.Most camps in the East do not currently meet interna tionally accepted SPHERE minimum standards. The GoSL and the international community must ensure that these standards are main tained
b. Camp Security in the East – ensure that the abductions and harassment do not take place
(http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/06/22/opinion/03.asp)
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