Archive for the ‘Batticaloa’

Double standards?

A post here points to a powerful new report on the dangers on humanitarian aid work in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Reports in Groundviews, both from Citizen Journalists as well as news snippets from JNW featured on the site, clearly indicate growing concerns about the security and safety of aid workers, increasingly assaulting, vilified and killed for being perceived to be partial to non-state actors, biased towards operations of terrorists and / or acting to undermine the “national security” of the State. This is the first report I’ve read that comprehensively debunks the myth that local INGO / NGO / staff and humanitarian aid workers are any less vulnerable to attacks. As it notes: Humanitarian organisations have largely failed to fully consider the ethics of transferring security risks from expatriate staff to national staff or local NGOs. One of the core assumptions of remote management approaches is that national workers are at less risk than their international counterparts. But this…

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Abandoned War Displaced People From Border Villages

The people who are displaced from border villages in the east face many problems. However other communities get assistances through some NGO’s or CBO’s (community base organization) than the Singhalese communities. Specially Sinhalese people from Ampara face bias in assistance with no voice or eye focusing on their worries and I would like to focus on this in this report. In the eastern province, since 1983, over 100 villages with people from all three communities were destroyed or villagers were displaced due to the civil war between the LTTE and government. Villages, which were in LTTE-controlled area as well as on the borderline, were affected. Villages in government-controlled area were less affected. After Black July of 1983, there was displacement of the Singhalese community from the eastern province such as from Batticaloa, Muhathuvaram, Kalkudha, Mankerni, Pullu malai area etc. In Trincomalee villages from Kantale, Somapura were affected. In Ampara areas of Karadianaru, Pullumalai and Badulla people in border villages were…

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Seeing mobile phones as a basic human right

Communication rights remain for most of the world’s people a vision and an aspiration. They are not a reality on the ground. On the contrary, they are frequently and systematically violated. Governments must be constantly reminded that they are legally required under the human rights treaties they have ratified to implement, promote and protect communication rights. Communication rights are the expression of fundamental needs. The satisfaction of these needs requires a strong political will and the allocation of substantial resources. Lack of commitment to such resources serves only to deepen the global distrust of political institutions. News that mobile phone users in the North & East of Sri Lanka are once again cut off is a disturbing trend in the erosion of fundamental rights, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression and opinion; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive…

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The Costs and Consequences of ‘Clearing’ the East

From Morning Leader – 10th January 2007 Last week this column ended with the statement that there was a lot to be learnt and unlearnt in 2007. The new year is now with us and with it the unfolding of an endgame. As to who will be left standing and how and as to how long it will take remains to be seen. The point about the learning and unlearning remains, however. Last year saw an escalation of violence resulting in civilian misery through death, displacement and abduction that put us down there in the catalogue of human suffering with Darfur, Palestine and Lebanon. Presidential commissions, international eminent persons, food consignments from Colombo and Chennai, pseudo -patriotic vitriol and diatribes against the Norwegian facilitators, the SLMM, Ambassador Alan Rock, NGOs and INGOs cannot erase or obscure this fact. The war began and with little regard for human rights and basic humanitarian norms. And on the evidence of the indiscriminate bombing…

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  • 9 Jan, 2007
  • 3 Comments
  • Batticaloa,
    Peace and Conflict

Please leave us alone; a voice from Muslim community

Two Muslim traders in Katthankudy were injured by an unidentified group when they returned home from Arayampathi at around 6.30pm today. This is causing tension as Muslim people in the area believe that it was done by the Karuna faction. On January 3, Kattankudy Muslim traders were not allowed to enter the market and were sent away by an unidentified group, believed to be the Karuna group, in Arayampathi. At the same time Palamunai to Kattankudy bus services were stopped near Karbala by them. This incident increased tension among the Muslim and Tamil communities. A team under the Kattankudy UC (Urban Council) chairman tried to get an appointment with TMVP to discuss this matter but that has no yet been possible. During the last few years there have been a lot of issues over Karbala land ownership between both communities. Lot of suspicion arose as a result. The Muslim community is living peacefully and in tolerance with other communities of…

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Daily Security Report from UN – The plight of the North & East

Got this in my email today – paints a bleak picture of the North and East of Sri Lanka. Don’t know to whom this situation update goes to, but I’m sure there must be many like it that collaborate the findings noted in this report. Security situation is tense and the level of threat is high in the areas where fighting occurs in the North and East, including in the districts of Killinochchi and Mulathivu due to possible air strikes. Exchange of shelling between the LTTE and the SLA continues. Security is tightened in towns with large presence of military and Police. Restriction of movements into the affected areas is still in force in Jaffna and essential movements are only allowed into the LTTE controlled areas in the East with the approval of ASC. Protest demonstrations have been organised by the Muslim community after the prayers in the Muslim areas in the Eastern Coastal (sic). Most of the shops are…

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Discrimination in Law college entrance?

9 students who sat for Law College entrance examination in academic year 2006/2007-appeal case at Srilankan appeal court today with demanding of to reduce cut off marks from 173 to 160. One of the complainer (H.M.Rifan) spoke to me. “We are fighting for all Tamil medium Students. Every year only one or two Tamil medium people are chosen to the college. We feel there is discrimination for Tamil medium people. Regarding this issues last year a complaint appealed in the Supreme Court under the fundamental rights. While the time we are going today. While the cut off mark is the same for students from all communities, these students feel that the mark is being used to avoid letting in Tamil medium students. He said there was probably corruption and Tamil students were being given marks below the cut off point. “If they decrease the cut off marks there are possible to 9 Tamil medium students to get seats in Law…

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  • 1 Jan, 2007
  • 1 Comment
  • Batticaloa,
    Peace and Conflict

TMVP in same dustbin as LTTE in the past?

After recent Vaharai events there is tension between Tamil and Muslim communities at Karbala in Kattankudy regarding land issues. I got further details from the Kattankudi Mosque Federation secretary. He said “ last two weeks a new clash arose due to resettlement of refugees at Kattankudy Karbala land. This land is owned by Muslims and Mosque. There was an issue after Tsunami regarding this land. Some NGO’s were try to build up housing scheme in this area. So we went to court and got an injunction order to stop the project. However now some efforts used to occupy the land after the Vaharai incident.” “Behind this issues we heard that the TMVP taking involvement to capture the land. Actually there is no demand for the Muslim land. Because already over 30% Muslims living in 2.4% land ethnic wise in Batticaloa district and Tamils have vast land in surrounding areas. At the same time Kattankudy has a very high density of…

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Maps of shame

Every time I look at an OCHA map of Sri Lanka, the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis is made really clear. For here, we have entire regions, districts of Sri Lanka suffering under multiple humanitarian crises. There are swathes of land without access, thousands of families without adequate food, water, shelter. The OCHA map also paints a picture markedly different to that of the Government’s rosy image of returning normalcy. Who can these communities turn to? Caught between a Government more interested in a witch-hunt against NGOs, an LTTE that’s hell-bent on Eelam through even more bloodshed and violence, mysterious armed groups that appear and disappear overnight, and all manner of other travails and hardships that we cannot even imagine, the OCHA map is a grotesque reminder that while we party in Colombo, there are fellow citizens dying, starving and have little hope in 2007 of a better life. Every OCHA map marks out clearly a responsibility to act to…

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Human Shields In The Battle Of Sri Lanka

The SLMM in a statement on Dec 12 said they are concerned over the alarming situation in Vakarai. They pointed to the LTTE failing to protect civilians by restricting their movement, and the SLMM being refused access by the army due to security reasons. People are questioning whether there is human security in Sri Lanka, especially in North-East war affected areas, where civilians live as human shields, whether they are willing to or not. Behind this there are many political issues for both the government and LTTE. In the past, the UN, SLMM, and human rights organizations have failed to take effective steps to stop this. They only issue statements condemning both parties some times. Closure of A9 highway to Jaffna and A15 to Vaharai has created many problems such as food shortages, other basic needs and lack of security for civilians. While the human shield issue is the face of the problem, there are other issues behind it. This…

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Conflict Situation in Trinco

From my visit to Kantale I can say that Sinhalese people from Seru Nuwara Division are facing human security problems due to artillery and motor strikes from LTTE-controlled Vaharai area. Also over 30,000 people in ‘Vaharai’ are under house arrest, because the LTTE is not allowing them to go to a safe place. The people are facing lots of problems. They don’t have enough food, medicine, education, government services and basic needs. Most of them are living in refugee camps. Already, retaliation of government force to LTTE motor, artillery attack is affecting civilians. The situation is affecting both communities of Sinhalese and Tamils. On Dec 8 the LTTE started retaliating against government strike. On the first day a Sinhala school was targeted by artillery strikes where a teacher and a student were killed and over ten students injured. Regarding this issue, the students union is going to call a hartal in Kantale on Dec 11. Also O/L examination period is…

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Situation in Vakarai

About 25,000 refugees in the Vakarai region of Batticaloa need assistance urgently in terms of food, medicines, shelter, water and sanitation. They have been facing shortages for over a month, and I received my information from refugees who had left from Vakarai about 4 days ago. The government sector is also not functioning so there are no schools and medical facilities. A convoy with essential items was turned back yesterday by the army from Mankerni base. The army gave the reason that LTTE artillery attacks on Kajuwatte camp made it unsafe. The LTTE spokesman Illanthirayan denies this and says there was no firing by the LTTE on Tuesday. On Wedneday, another convoy of essential goods is preparing to go to Vakarai. About 3,500 LTTE cadres are in Vakarai, according to the IDPs. The LTTE says they are providing humanitarian help for the camps, because the people are from LTTE controlled areas. The people there are feeling isolated because they can’t…

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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