Appeal to UN: be neutral, visit conflict area and acquaint you of the situation and collect first hand information...!!!!

From: Muthamizh Vendhan
Date: Apr 20, 2009 5:54 PM
Subject: Appeal to UN: be neutral, visit conflict area and acquaint you!
ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சபையின் பாதுகாப்புச் சபையில் எதிர்வரும் புதன்கிழமை (29.04.09) வன்னியில் உருவாகியிருக்கும் மனிதாபிமானப் பிரச்சினை தொடர்பாக விவாதிக்கப்படவிருக்கின்றது. இதற்கேற்றவாறு பாதுகாப்புச் சபைக் கூட்டத்தின் நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலில் இந்தப் பிரச்சினையும் இணைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கின்றது.

ஆயுத மோதல்களில் சிறுவர்கள் ஈடுபடுத்தப்படுவது தொடர்பான பாதுகாப்புச் சபையின் செயற்குழு 29 ஆம் நாள் ஆராயவிருக்கும் போதே வன்னி நிலைமைகள் தொடர்பாகவும் ஆராயப்படவிருப்பதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கின்றது.

United Nations
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United Nation Security Council
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Mr.Vijay Nambiar,
Chief of Staff to Secretary General
United Nations.
Copy:Mr.Ban Ki Moon,Secretary General,United Nations.

Copy:President,Security Council,United Nations.


Dear Sir,

Appeal to UN: be neutral, visit conflict area and acquaint you of the situation and collect first hand information, do not show indifference to Tamils

We, the Tamils across the world had come together and in one voice expressed our fear and grievances and pleaded for the ‘right to life’ of the Tamils in their own places. The international community cannot ignore our voice since more than 80% of the Tamil Diaspora are united and asking our demands.

The humanitarian situation in north started deteriorating rapidly from October 2008 at a steady pace, had the UN addressed the issue at the right time the current holocaust could have been avoided. But every time UN said that they do not have reliable information to act.

Knowing the bureaucracy in UN very well only, Sri Lanka removed all NGOs and international media out of North; those local media that didn’t fall in line with government enforced rules were threatened, detained or murdered. The Sri Lankan Government wanted to conduct the war the way they want it, without any witnesses to reprimand them for war crimes and to hide the human catastrophe from the world.

But when Sri Lanka broke the truce arbitrarily, the world was silent; when the peace keeping force was sent out, the world was silent; when the NGOs and media were forced out, the world was silent; When the loans given for development were used for armament, the world was silent; When the hospitals, religious places, orphanages, elders home were bombed, the world was silent; when the cluster bombs and banned ammunitions were used on civilian territories, the world was silent; still it is silent except, repeatedly calling for ceasefire and appealing in a very low tone not to fire on safe zone. It has become a rhetoric performance by UN officials without seeing whether it is heeded or has any impact.

Only thing said in high tone is that LTTE’s using civilians as human shields and not letting them out. Can the world community, especially UN guarantee for their right to life? What happened when the Sri Lankan Army captured Jaffna? What happened when they captured east? How many disappearances, murders, rape cases? How many mass graves were created? And till now many are languishing in the IDP centres?

When the NGOs preparing to leave, the civilians were holding their hands and pleading to stay behind, because they know what the Sinhala Government will do to them when all the international institutions leave there soil. What UN did when all of them were ordered out? Now Sri Lanka says they will never bow to any international pressure, because they very well know, they can do what they want, and international community will be happily building camps for IDPs on top of the dead bodies and lending money in the name of rehabilitation and development, which will be used for government's other plans. But our past experience does not place us in a position to believe all these dramas.

What we request from the UN and the world is, why the indifference to Tamil community? Why can’t the UN and world neutral bodies visit the conflict area and see for themselves the actual situations and speak directly to those affected.
Why the decisions have to be made on one sided stories. If the government has nothing to hide why it is not allowing NGOs and media in to the conflict areas and to the IDP camps? Even we challenge, UN Secretary General’s Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar won’t be allowed to visit conflict area independently. Why the government is not allowing for independent reporting?

If the UN, the apex body of humanity, is prevented from reaching the civilians suffering the worst conflict-related tragedy of this century who else can help the destitute civilians? If Mr Nambiar is going to make a statement only after talking to government and defence officials and go on guided tours and listen to the people preset or planted by defence officials, we the Tamils are afraid it is not going to serve any purpose to the civilians in the conflict zone. He could have done this from his office; just call and listen to Sri Lanka Government’s story and report. We Tamils feel the visit is an eye wash, if he is not going to visit the conflict area.

When the situation is such, from where the UN and the world are expecting the information to come to confirm the actual humanitarian situation?

What next, UN want to force large exodus of civilians and put them in military guarded detention centres, provide them with some basic humanitarian assistance and vanish, never bother to see the aftermath of that. But we have the experience in Jaffna, Mannar, Trinco and in Batticaloa. How many will disappear, How many will be murdered and buried, how many girls and ladies will be raped and what other inhumane acts to befell on them. The government will simply say they all are terrorists or their sympathizers, we will finish them off, that’s the way we want it, a simple answer.

Tamils need an agreement with UN and the world for the guarantee of the civilian life, a right to life. UN as bureaucrats can take such decision to allow the people in Sinhala Governments hands. But we can’t allow such destiny to fall on our brothers and sisters.

Our message to all the minority communities across the world, what is happening to us can happen to you tomorrow. Sri Lanka has set the precedence to the world, in denying minority rights and to conduct genocide without witness.

We appeal to UN and the world, to visit the conflict zone and acquaint you of the humanitarian situation. We appeal Mr Nambiar who is there already to visit the conflict zone and get to know the real situation and meet civilians and understand their demands.

Here we wish to attach the statement issued recently by the most respected Supreme Court Judge and Jurist Krishna Iyer.

“I do not take sides in this message with the LTTE or the Sri Lankan Government although there have been violent excesses on both sides resulting huge loss of life, property and tremendous suffering which I hate as one who stands for human rights. I pity the beautiful island of Sri Lanka which has now been a criminal field of carnage and butchery and savagery.

Day after day, the Sri Lankan Government since the days of its Independence been guilty of discrimination against Tamils as a class and the fuel for this fury and extremism and terrorism by the LTTE was the terrible discrimination in many dimensions against the Tamil Minority.
A fair federal system would have been perhaps the finest political, solution where justice, social, economic and political evenly managed, would have created a highly developed and prosperous island but that was not to be. Even now statesmanship of Sri Lankan Government should have declared a glorious federal state unilaterally.
Currently claiming victory the State Government in Colombo is inflicting untold slaughter tragedies, killing daily bleeding lives and indescribable human suffering. International law, so far as the Tamils are concerned, is the vanishing point of humanist jurisprudence.
Sovereignty does not authorize internal atrocity and incalculable casualty. I plead with moral indignation with the Buddhist Colombo Cabinet in power that militarized torture of a minority will never be lasting if Rome and Greece and London have fallen, Colombo cannot survive by brute force. Please declare immediate cessation of military operation under international supervision. 'Humanity, not legality, is the process of Buddhism and Shaivism.' The world around should intervene to see that justice is done.
The most satisfactory ideal I have ever been able to form of justice is embodied in the picture of a judge courageous enough “to give the devil his due,” whether he be in the right or in the wrong. - (John F. Dillon)

மேலே ஐ.நா. மற்றும் அதன் பாதுகாப்பு கவுன்சிலின் முக்கிய பொறுப்பில் உள்ளவர்களது மின்னஞ்சலுக்கு அனுப்பவும்.

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