Asia-Pacific, Development & Aid, Headlines, Human Rights

SRI LANKA: Troops Surround Rebel Hq – NGOs Ordered Out

Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Sep 9 2008 (IPS) - Saying it was keen to avoid a repeat of the August 2006 massacre of 17 local workers of a French aid agency, the government has ordered all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to leave the Tamil separatist stronghold of northern Vanni, now under military siege.

The Sri Lankan army has now, according to official reports, ringed Kilinochchi, the headquarters of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the reclusive leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

‘’We don’t want another Muttur happening,’’ defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse was quoted as saying at a Monday meeting. He was referring to the Aug. 6, 2006 massacre of 17 workers of the Paris-based humanitarian group, Action Contre la Faim (ACF), in the eastern town of Muttur soon after the army captured it from the LTTE.

While the government said the LTTE was responsible for the massacre, the rebels and human rights activists are pointing fingers at the army. Several Western governments backed the ACF’s call for an independent investigation. In June the ACF pulled out of a presidential probe into the killings, saying it was disappointed with the way legal proceedings were going and “the blatant lack of will of the Sri Lankan government to establish the truth’’.

Aid workers present at Monday’s meeting quoted government and military officials as saying that authorities were unable to ensure the safety of aid workers in the Vanni region where the rebels are holed out preparing for a major offensive to capture Kilinochchi.

In recent weeks there has been intense media focus on the offensive with different versions of the battle and the gains. Two weeks ago the military said troops were just 10 to 15 km away from Kilinochchi town.

On Monday, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara told IPS that troops were already in Kilinochchi district and at Akkarayankulam, 12 km west of Kilinochchi town. ‘’We can’t give a time-frame for when Kilinochchi would be captured,’’ he said when asked whether the troops were on the verge of capturing the rebel town.

Rebel Internet sites, such as ‘Lankawin.com’ and ‘TamilNet.com’, however, give a different picture of the conflict and speak of casualties and reverses suffered by the Sri Lankan army. Independent reports are hard to come by.

What is clear is that offensives since April-May have displaced thousands of civilians. Their coping mechanisms are stretched to the limit, a U.N. aid worker, who is part of a humanitarian agencies coordinating team, told IPS. In some areas in Kilinochchi school buildings are overflowing with the displaced. At least 70,000 people have been displaced since May this year but unofficial figures could be more, the aid official said.

The U.N. worker, who declined to be named for fear of incurring the wrath of the government, said the situation is fragile in the region, although food and medicine continue to move into the conflict areas. ‘’Safety is our biggest concern – for the people and our workers. We are in discussions with the government about the safety of NGO workers and their security,’’ she said.

The number of foreign workers in Kilinochchi has sharply reduced in recent months, the aid worker said, adding that the recent changes in rules governing visas for foreign aid workers have contributed to this situation.

Under new rules enforced in August, the maximum period of visa for an expatriate worker is three years as against earlier when the period could be extended. The rules permit the head and deputy to be expatriate appointments, but organisations have been told they must advertise all other positions locally and only if unavailable, would an expatriate be permitted to fill these positions. The rules will not apply to U.N. agencies and accredited foreign organisations that work with the government.

The government of President Mahinda Rajapakse has generally frowned on international NGOs and foreign aid workers working in the conflict areas. While journalists are not permitted access to war-torn areas, except on military-conducted tours, humanitarian workers were allowed access, a cause for concern to the government given the flow of information about rights violations that reaches the foreign media, human rights groups and other governments.

Amnesty International (AI), in an Aug. 19 statement, said the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE are putting tens of thousands of displaced civilians at risk as fighting continues in the Vanni area of northern Sri Lanka.

AI said since both sides releasing contradictory statements there was a need for independent international monitoring.

According to AI there is no safe haven for the thousands of families trying to escape the aerial bombardment and shelling by Sri Lankan forces as they push towards the town of Kilinochchi.

In the LTTE-controlled areas, the rebels are preventing families from moving to safer places by imposing a strict pass system. Some individuals have been forced to stay behind as guarantors, to ensure the return of other family members. “These people are running out of places to go and basic necessities,” said Yolanda Foster, AI’s Sri Lanka researcher. ‘’The Tigers are keeping them in harm’s way and the government is not doing enough to ensure they receive essential assistance.’’”

In a sttatement on Monday the government said that, despite the war, it continues to provide and facilitate humanitarian assistance to citizens caught up in the conflict. It said much of the humanitarian assistance sent to areas controlled by the LTTE presence did not reach the civilian population and that the number of internally displaced persons is being artificially inflated by local officials due to pressure by the LTTE.

Government officials, aid agencies or residents in the Vanni could not be reached for comment on the situation there, as communications were down. But residents of the government-controlled town of Vavuniya, about 60 km south of Kilinochchi, said over telephone that the rebels were preparing for the planned army offensive.