GERMAN AIDWORKER's SHOCKING REPORT ABOUT SINHALA ARMY's BEHAVIOURS!!!

Press Release, 11.02.2009
Sri Lanka: Aid organisations concerned about the fate of 200000 persons
military offensive with no regard for civilians / systematic shooting of refugees
According to partner organisations of the NGO aid and development charities „Brot fuer die Welt“, „Kindernothilfe“, „medico international“, „MISEREOR“ and the „Vereinte Evangelische Mission“ the conflict in Sri Lanka is at present escalating dramatically.

The Sri Lankan army is obviously paying no regard to the well being of the encaptured 200 000 civialians as they try to defeat the LTTE rebels now surrounded in a 150 km² enclave. The civilians are seeking cover from perpetual bombardment in hurredly erected and hopelessly overfilled shelters, in which there is standing room only. A charity aid partner organisation on the spot, who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons, reports that „supplies are catastrophic, no food, water or medicine have reached the enclave since mid January. The situation of the children is the most serious, many of whom are injured,“ Peter Osvald Firth a longtime partner of Misereor has stated that „the army has defined social institutions like schools, hospitals and health centres as military targets and bombed them with no respect for civilian life“.

More than 30 000 persons have managed to flee the enclave through the front lines into the area controlled by the army. Around half of them have been brought into the city of Vavuniya., where, some heavily injured, they have been interned in prison camps run by the army and allied paramilitaries. They are all under general suspiscion of being LTTE members and are being subjected to systematic torture, rape and shootings, especially the young men and women.

In an attempt to end the massacre, the NG Organisations are demanding an immediate cease fire and safe passage for the encaptured population. The army and paramalitaries must immediately withdraw from the refugee camps and hand over responsibility to international aid organisations.

At the same time these organisations are appealing to the EU-Commissioner for foreign affairs, Benita Maria Ferrero-Waldner and the EU Commissioner for development and humanitary aid Louis Michel to take action on the human catastrophe in Sri Lanka. An EU-initiative failed last week in the UN security council. „Only the international community can stop the systematic war crimes, infringements against of basic human rights and the dramatic human crisis“ according to Joerg Denker from „Kindernothilfe“

„Brot fuer die Welt“, „Kindernothilfe“, „medico international“, „MISEREEOR“ and „Vereinte Evangelische Mission“ are engaged in delivering acute ermergency aid and longterm development cooperation.

For more information and interviews please contact:

medico international: Thomas Seibert, +49 (0)160/9755 7350, seibert@medico.de