Mannar: After the battles

A house sealed by the Army to prevent looting at Silavatturai

A grave humanitarian crisis has developed in Manthai West, the uncleared area north of Mannar following the latest bout of fighting with thousands of people forced to live in the open jungle without any shelter. Bishop of Mannar Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph, who placed the total number now displaced north of Mannar at about 20,000, said many of them were without food, medicine and shelter and was especially critical of the ICRC for not rushing in assistance without waiting for security guarantees.

According to the Bishop between 9000 and 10,000 people were displaced in the uncleared areas of Manthai West since the latest bout of fighting from August 29. This was in addition to an equal number displaced in earlier fighting in May and June. Adding to the problem has been a recent LTTE directive to displaced people not to take refuge in the Madhu Church complex, which according to Bishop Joseph had been home to as much as 36,000 IDPs in 1990. The LTTE had issued the order fearing that the forces would capture Madhu with the displaced, hence its decision to move them to the interior.

Heaping further burdens on the humanitarian efforts is the closure of the Uylankulam entry/exit point by the ICRC demanding security guarantees after the latest bout of fighting. As a result all relief must travel to the area through Omantai and Kilinochchi.

In April the Catholic Bishop’s Conference in Sri Lanka in a written plea to President Rajapaksa requested him to declare “the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu as a Neutral Area and a Zone of Peace” through a gazette declaration, but there has only been a verbal assurance from the President that forces will not take Madhu.

Security Forces Commander Wanni Maj. Gen Jagath Jayasuriya, while assuring that they would be careful about the church, fears that if a no-fire-zone extending to a two kilometre radius around the church is declared as requested it would become a haven for the LTTE. Gen Jayasuriya insists they have hard evidence from technical interceptions that the LTTE was already directing artillery fire from the periphery of the church.

Certain religious leaders have also warned that any attempt by the government to capture Madhu would result in Tigers destroying the shrine considered sacred by many Catholics in Sri Lanka.

Reacting to the Church allegations, Head of the ICRC Sub-delegation in Vavuniya, Claire Meytraud said that the biggest problem in taking assistance to those displaced was the fact they were scattered far and wide.

Ms. Meytraud said it was the duty of Mannar GA to demarcate a proper location to house those refugees. But, Mannar GA A. Nicholaspillai said the best place to house all of them was the Madhu shrine as it already had the necessary buildings and other infrastructure.

Also rejecting charges that they had done nothing to assist those displaced, Ms Meytraud said that in fact they had provided essential household items, mosquito nets, baby parcels and tarpaulins to displaced families at Athnamodai, Kovikulam, and Koorai totaling about 600 families last week and they had also cleaned a number of wells in those areas. And this week they were in the process of assisting displaced who had taken shelter at Kallayadi and Illukpaikadavai further to the North.

She said as there were many other INGOs and NGOs involved in distribution of assistance “the idea is not to compete, but to complement each other in assisting the victims.”

Mr. Nicholaspillai said the authorities can help the people to stand on their own feet by taking such measures as allowing night fishing and permitting the transport of some 16,000 gunny bags to Manthai West as they are urgently needed for the harvesting of about 1200 acres of paddy. The authorities have only permitted the transport of 2400 gunny bags. The area is also reeling from a shortage of fuel.The latest humanitarian crisis in the LTTE held areas was sparked off on August 29 evening when the LTTE unleashed a barrage of artillery on Army positions in the Mannar area probably sensing the build up of security forces for the impending lightning move to capture Silavatturai area south of Mannar and the Army retaliated on LTTE positions.

Some of those displaced from Silavatturai and Arippu told The Sunday Times that the LTTE had told them three days before the fall of those areas that they were leaving as the army was headed that way and asked the people to take whatever decision they wished.

Military sources said the military build up in the region would have been obvious to many, but they were kept guessing as to whether the army was moving south or North of the main supply route leading to Mannar. So much so the enemy had fled Silavatturai leaving behind a huge quantity of artillery shells, explosives, ammunition, weaponry and even a suicide boat all rigged ready to explode.

The latest communiqué from the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) representing the INGOs operating in the North and East states that AGA, Manthai West reported on September 17 that 2078 IDP families (8,405 individuals) from 11 villages have been displaced since August 29 and the displacement continues.

On Tuesday September 25 morning when we were in the Murunkan region there was a fresh exchange of artillery, which according to Tamil sources was sparked by a new troop movement in the region, but the army insisted that one of its forward patrols had come under fire.

Following is a list of some of the measures taken by other INGOs to help alleviate the developing humanitarian crisis in the Manthai West as published by the IASC.

Shelter

Caritas-Hudec built two temporary sheds [50’ x 20’] in the Mulankavil area [Poonakary] to accommodate the 11 IDPs families displaced from Manthai West and now settled in the Mulankavil Catholic Church. World Vision reports that 25 temporary shelters out of a planned 200 shelters are partially complete in Vellankulam village in Mannar for newly resettled IDP families. On 19 September, FORUT handed over 66 temporary shelters to IDPs settled in Poonakary and Karachchi AGA divisions Kilinochchi through Foreign Ministry of Norway funding.

On 19 September, UNHCR reported that since Jan 2007, 6,090 temporary shelters have been constructed by humanitarian actors for IDPs in the districts out of a committed 8,293 shelters. As at 19 September, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) had started the construction of 100 new temporary shelters in the Pandiyankulam area for IDPs displaced in early 2007.

During the reporting period, Solidar completed the construction of 15 temporary shelters in Puthukkudiyiruppu AGA division [Mullaitivu] and 11 temporary shelters in Paaliyaru [Manthai West AGA division-Mannar]

Food

On 17 September, WFP transported 130 MT of wheat flour to Kilinochchi and 20 MT of dhal for Mullaitivu’s dry ration distribution. 236 newly displaced families from Mannar settled in the Mulankavil area [Poonakary] were given supplementary food packs for two weeks by Caritas-Hudec last week.

Water and sanitation

UNICEF conducted a hygiene promotion programme on 18 September at the Mulankavil School for 250 displaced students and seven teachers. ZOA continue bowsering water to six IDP locations in Mulankavil [Poonakary] and five IDP locations in the uncleared areas of Manthai West. World Vision bowsers water to three IDP locations.

Hudec–Caritas built two temporary toilets at the Mulankavil parish for 11 IDP families originating from Mannar.

NFRI

On 14 September, Save the Children in Sri Lanka (SCiSL) distributed NFRI items to 109 IDP families recently displaced from areas closer to the Mannar FDL. On 18 September, 274 newly displaced families settled in the Kovilkulam and Aathimoddai villages in Manthai West AGA division were given NFRI assistance by ICRC.

Hope on the horizon
Mannar region might be wracked by violence as the security forces clear the area of Tigers, but there is much hope for its future with international NGOs and donors undertaking many projects to develop it along with the lives of its people. One of the most visible projects to be undertaken there, according to area military commander Brig. Channa Gunatillake, will be the construction of a new bridge by the Japanese to replace the temporary iron bridge put up by the RDA. Along with the new bridge, the Japanese will also build a new causeway to connect the Mannar Island to the mainland.

Mannar GA A. Nicholaspillai said the twin projects now expected to be launched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at a cost of Rs1800 million next month are an outright grant from the Japanese government.

The GA said the World Bank too has two ambitious projects going. Under its North East Irrigated Agricultural Project it has undertaken to restore damage caused to the ancient Giant Tank, while also raising its bund to increase its capacity and redoing its channels for better water distribution. The Bank is also funding a North East Housing Development Programme. The Asian Development Bank too has undertaken a project on Community Rehabilitation and Development. In addition there are more than a dozen INGOs working on various other projects in the district.

Mr. Nichlospillai was however critical of a decision by authorities to restrict cement allocation to Mannar to just ten per cent of its requirements. It has crippled the entire housing sector, including foreign funded housing projects, he said. Earlier on same security grounds authorities restricted fuel supply to Mannar to just 20 per cent, but it is no longer a major issue as they have raised it to 60 per cent, the GA noted.

Mannar Bishop Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph also criticizing these measures said that if there are people involved in smuggling they should be caught and punished. But the allegation was that they were bribing check points and doing it. But, Brig. Gunatillake said they have taken action against wrong doers, but the problem is smugglers do not go through road check points, but by boat to LTTE held areas. The supply of fuel is more than adequate for Mannar Island’s needs as proven by the fact that the quantity brought in is not consumed in the same month.

As far as cement was concerned, the area military commander said that while they did not allow huge quantities to be brought in at once, all construction projects are allowed to bring in their cement requirements depending on the progress of the projects.


Silavatturai: winning the peace is the difficult task ahead

Retaking the Mussali AGA’s division comprising mainly Arippu, Silavatturai and Mullikulam villages would have been, to borrow a colloquial term, a cinch and as Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph put it “not a single soldier got a scratch”, but what made the Tigers flee in haste without firing a shot would have been the biggest bogey bugging them at present, the army’s deep penetration units.

We visited the recaptured areas last Monday, but for our bad luck and that of a visiting two member TV team from the London independent Channel Four it was no cake walk. It turned out to be a bone crunching up and down journey. First it was a ride on a buffel troop carrier from Nanattan to Aruvi Aru (Malwatu Oya in Sinhala) ferry point on the outskirts of Arippu and after crossing the river by boat it was on a far worse bumpy journey.

We were put on a tractor trailer on a coastal road that had not been maintained for decades for our journey from Arippu to Silavatturai, a distance of about six kilometres. But our misery was shared by Maj. Subash Siriwardena and Lt. Indika Ratnayake as they accompanied us as our guides and protectors with a corporal. All three of them and the army driver were armed with their T-56s and flak jackets. We too were provided with army bullet proof vests. This journey certainly taught us what many of our soldiers are undergoing often on a daily basis.

Before undertaking the capture of Silavatturai the army had certainly done its homework, while it had massed its troops in the Mannar region in the run up to the swift operation, it had kept the LTTE guessing as to its exact motives. The LTTE had been so sure of the army moving to capture Madhu; it had ensured that not a single displaced took refuge there, while sending signals through religious dignitaries that it would blow up the shrine, if the army moves to capture it. While all this was going on the army reconnaissance missions had done their job, they had located the exact location of the Sea Tiger base at Kondachchi, Silavatuirai and given its exact coordinates to the air force pilots to score a bull’s eye in hitting the centre of the base.

When we visited the base we found it to be surrounded by small bunkers, which were totally invisible from above due to the tree cover and the bunkers being topped off with coconut tree trunks and sand bags almost at ground level. To prevent identification from above the Tigers had even buried plastic water storage barrels up to their necks in the sandy soil of the area. Such painstaking reconnaissance tactics certainly had the effect of sending the Tigers off rather hastily and the arsenal they had left behind was testimony to it.

We were able to view the recovered impressive LTTE arsenal at the army camp adjoining the Thirukeswaran Kovil in Mannar. Among the items recovered were more than a hundred 81 mm mortar rounds of Chinese make and much of the other recovered items too were of Chinese make, including stocks of tinned mackerel in tomato sauce gifted by China to the World Food Programme.

The Tamil argument that the army took the region without having to fire a single shot can be amply seen from the fact that not a single building there had been damaged and not even a single pock marked building was seen except for some long abandoned buildings after some previous fighting.

What the army must do now is to wage a fight to save its good name. And that could be a much difficult task, unless it acts fast. Already the Church has complained about the loss of some of its property.

Bishop Rayappu Joseph told The Sunday Times that a ten-member church delegation that visited the recaptured areas had found that a lap top belonging to a sister from Pakistan had gone missing from their mission house at Silavatturai along with a generator, amplifier and some speakers.

Rt. Rev. Joseph also complained that people were asked to quit Mussali region with an half hour’s notice with the promise that they would be allowed to return within five days, but now weeks have passed and authorities are showing no sign of allowing people to return.

As an interim measure, he said he had asked permission from the army to allow a single individual from each displaced family to visit their properties as they were apprehensive about protecting their life savings. But so far he has had no favourable reply.

Wanni Army Commander Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya however assured that no sooner the police was properly established in the area, they would permit one householder from each family visit their properties in the company of the area gramasevaka and the police to check on their households and any genuine losses should be compensated.

A new police station was being established in a building adjoining the Mussali AGA’s building. It was quite obvious to any visitor that people in these affected villages had left their homes in haste leaving all their possessions, taking only what they can carry. And they would not have carried much either as they had to take their children, the old and the sick. We ourselves saw some of the houses had been left with their doors and windows open. Furniture and other belongings inside these houses could be seen from the road. Houses that had been left closed were further sealed by the army with a sticker. Boats that were left on the beaches were being collected by the army and were being taken to Arippu by tractors so that returnees could later claim them.

Mannar area military commander Brig. Channa Gunatillake, himself a Roman Catholic said extreme care was taken to guard the properties that came under their care with all troop movements being placed under Military Police check.

Brig. Gunatillake said the losses reported by the church were isolated incidents and they had permitted the church delegation to visit the area without any hindrance. While they have done their own investigations, the police had been tasked to investigate it further.

“The church delegation saw for themselves the measures we have taken to secure the belongings of people left behind”, he said adding that once security measures are in place in a couple of more days it would not be difficult to verify any losses. But it is no easy task as the villages abandoned by fleeing civilians looked more like ghost towns with livestock left behind being the only living creatures we encountered other than occasional movements of soldiers.

(http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070930/News/news00016.html)