At UN, Sri Lanka Briefing Now Set for Friday, As Editor Arrested in Colombo

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, February 26 -- A UN Security Council briefing on Sri Lanka has now been scheduled for Friday, February 27, Inner City Press has learned. Three days after the spokesperson for the UN's top humanitarian John Holmes told Inner City Press that "there is no request for a Council briefing," and a week after the Council's president, Yukio Takaso, said "there is no strong request" anymore, a Permanent Five Council member told Inner City Press on Thursday morning that the Sri Lanka briefing is set for Friday.

He said it was not easy to set up, and that the Sri Lankan government has been consulted and informed. It will take place under the heading "Other Matters," after presentations on peace-building and by the Greek Foreign Minister.

UN's Holmes in the Security Council, under P-5 eyes, closed consultations not shown

Meanwhile in Colombo, Nadesapillai Vithyatharan, the editor of the Tamil daily newspaper Sudar Oli, was picked up by police for questioning. The government has confirmed the arrest, here. Reporters Without Borders, among others, have issued protests. India's foreign minister is due in Colombo on Friday. Sources say the target audience is in Tamil Nadu, to show them that the government is trying to do something. The play acting continues

http://www.innercitypress.com/unsc7srilanka022609.html

At UN, Sri Lanka Briefing Now Set for Friday, As Editor Arrested in Colombo

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http://www.innercitypress.com/

Britain legally obliged to prevent Genocide in Sri Lanka: Prof. Boyle

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 February 2009, 20:27 GMT]

Since the British Foreign Minister has now publicly admitted on behalf of his Government that Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is "quite prepared to go ahead with acts of genocide," then under Article I of the Genocide Convention, the British government has a legal obligation "to prevent" this expected genocide of the Tamils by GoSL, said Professor Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, in a note sent to TamilNet.

Britain also has domestic implementing legislation for the Genocide Convention that leads to the same legal conclusion, Prof. Boyle added.

Reporting form the transcript of the discussion on Sri Lanka in Parliament from Hansard, TamilNet earlier said, "Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, agreed Tuesday with parliamentarians who said that the Sri Lankan government is "quite prepared to go ahead with acts of genocide."

"Responding to Mr. Elfyn Llwyd, MP, Mr. Miliband said "the resolution of [a] terrorist problem cannot be achieved at the expense of the rights of minority communities in Sri Lanka, and that is what we are trying to work on." Britain was encouraging Sri Lanka's government to work with London's newly appointed Special Envoy to Sri Lanka, former defence minister and Secretary of State for Scotland, Des Browne, the Foreign Secretary said." http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=28539

On 27 February, the Council is expecting a briefing by John Holmes, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka . This briefing follows his 19 – 21 February visit to Sri Lanka . It will take place in closed consultations under “Other Matters”, following a briefing on the Peacebuilding Support Office. Given the difficulty of obtaining first hand news of the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka , members seem very interested in Holmes’ assessment of the humanitarian situation in the conflict zone.

Recent Developments

In the last month the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) appeared to be moving into a decisive phase.

The LTTE, led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, began fighting for a separate homeland in 1983. In recent months the Sri Lankan army has succeeded in confining the area controlled by the LTTE to about 34 square miles.

Humanitarian groups estimate that there are about 250,000 people trapped in the area and that the combination of its small area and intensity of the fighting was leading to disproportionate risks for civilians. (The government claims that there are only 70,000 civilians in the area.)

It seems that civilians trying to leave the war zone have been targeted and recruitment of child soldiers is on the increase.

It appears that Sri Lankan forces are currently moving on the last LTTE bastion, Puthukkudiyiurppu near the northeastern coastal town of Mullaitivu.

Restrictions to journalists in the war zone have made it very difficult to ascertain actual state of the fighting and numbers killed.

On 20 February the LTTE flew two aircraft to Colombo in an attempted aerial attack. The plans were shot down, with one crashing into the Internal Revenue Department and the second coming down north of Colombo . Forty-five people were killed including the two pilots.

The Sri Lankan government has rejected calls by the US , UK , Japan and the EU for a negotiated truce and are looking for an unconditional surrender from the LTTE. The LTTE has indicated a desire for a ceasefire but are unlikely to agree to surrender their arms, a pre-condition of the Sri Lankan government for ceasefire negotiations. The Secretary-General has called on “all sides to pursue serious efforts toward political discussion” to end the conflict.

India has said that it is willing to facilitate the evacuation of civilians and provide humanitarian relief materials, medicine and medical care. (In 1987 India sent a peacekeeping force to Sri Lanka but withdrew three years later.)

On 6 February the Secretary-General spoke to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa about the worsening humanitarian situation in the conflict zone and conveyed his strong concern about the heavy casualties, including children. He has also reiterated the responsibility of the LTTE to let civilians move to safe areas and that the government was obliged to conduct its military operations with “due regard to the need to safeguard civilian lives”. On 24 February the Secretary-General called for a suspension of fighting to allow safe passage to civilians trying to flee the conflict.

During his recent visit to Sri Lanka , Holmes visited Vavuniya, a town just south of the conflict zone where many of the escaping civilians have sought shelter. Holmes called on both sides to make greater efforts to stop the rising toll of civilian causalities and to protect the people trapped in the area held by the rebel fighters. Holmes also announced that the UN has targeted $10 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to help civilians caught in the conflict.

Options

The most likely option is for Council members to discuss the issues relating to protection of civilians in the conflict zone with Holmes following his briefing. Specific action at this stage seems unlikely.

A possible option is for the Council to agree on a press statement or authorize the president to convey to the media the convergence of views in the Council including:

*

Expressing concern over the humanitarian situation, particularly the need to protect civilians and minimize the number of civilian causalities, including children.

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urging the parties to work towards a political discussion and an orderly end to the conflict;

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encouraging the Secretary-General to continue the organization’s efforts to assist in these goals

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stressing that steps need to be taken to prevent further recruitment of child soldiers and the release and rehabilitation of those caught up in the conflict

Key Issues

Among the key issues are:

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the potential scale of the humanitarian problem particularly with the food shortages imminent in the zone of conflict;

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the difficulty of obtaining accurate information on the conflict given that journalists have almost no access;

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Whether the UN can play a more useful and active role in this conflict. For example could it help with evacuation given its expertise in this area and reaffirm its willingness to be of assistance in possible peace talks? ;

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the increasing risks of a humanitarian catastrophe as the area held by the LTTE decreases and civilians remain trapped;

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the immediate needs for rebuilding of infrastructure, homes and schools in the north; and

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The problem of internally displaced persons, both in meeting their current needs in the camps and in resettling them in the future.

Council and Wider Dynamics

In recent months Council members have been divided over whether this issue is one that should be brought before the Council. Members like Mexico and Japan were pushing for a Council discussion several weeks ago. They faced opposition from Russia which was of the opinion that the issue should not be on the Council’s agenda. Most other members seemed willing to distinguish between having a formal agenda item and an informal discussion in the context of a briefing. It seems that agreement has been resolved on a compromise under which members would hear a briefing but not agree to a formal agenda item which would open the way to substantive action.

transcurrent.com

உது சும்மா சுத்துமாத்து! ஒரு பிரியோசனமும் இல்லை. சும்மா கண்டிச்சுப்போட்டு விடுவாங்கள். இப்ப இழந்த பிரதேசத்திலை ஒன்றை மீட்பதன் முலமே எமது போராட்டத்தை வலுப்படுத்த முடியும் என ஒரு அரசில் அவதானி தெரிவித்துள்ளார். புலிகளின் 4ம் ஈழப்போர் முடிய இன்னமும் சில தினங்களே உள்ளதாக சிங்களம் தற்போது நம்பிக்கையுடன் உள்ளது. இது முடிய அனைவரையும் தங்களார் தாஜா பண்ண முடியும் என்று அது நம்புகிறது. இன்னும் 48 மணி நேரத்தில் புலிகள் ஒரு பாரிய முன்நகர்வை நடாத்தி ஒரு வெற்றி பெறும் அவசியத்தில் உள்ளனர். ஆனால் அதை நம்மால் மிக இலகுவாக தடுக்க முடியும் என்று சிங்கள இராணுவம் நம்புகிறது. இந்த நிலையில் ஐநாவில் இந்த கூத்து!

எல்லாம் அந்த ஆண்டவனுக்குத் தான் வெளிச்சம்!

இப்ப இருகிற நிலையில எதுவும் நடக்காது, குறைஞ்ச பச்சம் எங்கட சனத்தின்ர பசிக்கு சாப்பாடெண்டாலும் போய்ச்சேர மிகச்சரியான ஆக்களிட்டபோய் வேரென்ன செய்யாலெண்டு கேழுங்கோ.... எது தேவயெண்டு சொல்லுறார்களோ அதை முடிந்தளவு செயுங்கோ.

புலிகள் இண்டைக்கோ அல்லது நாளைக்கோ தங்களுக்கு வசதியான நேரம் வரும்போது அடிக்கட்டும்... அதுவரை சனத்தையார் பாகிறது?.... நாங்கள் செயிறதுகளை நிறுத்தக்கூடாது... அடிக்குமேல அடியடிக்க அம்பியும் நகரும்.

Edited February 27, 200916 yr by Sooravali