இலங்கையில் யுத்தக் குற்றச் செயல்கள் இடம்பெற்று வருவதாக நவனீதம்பிள்ளை குற்றச்சாட்டு :

இலங்கையின் வடபகுதியில் அரசாங்கப் படையினருக்கும், தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளுக்கும் இடையில் நடைபெற்று வரும் மோதல்களின் போது யுத்த குற்றச் செயல்கள் இடம்பெற்று வருவதாக ஐக்கிய நாடுகளின் மனித உரிமைப் பேரவையின் ஆணையாளர் நவனீதம்பிள்ளை தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

யுத்தத்தில் ஈடுபட்டு வரும் இரண்டு தரப்பினரும் யுத்த குற்றங்களை புரிவதாக அவர் குற்றம் சுமத்தியுள்ளார்.

வன்னி யுத்த வலயத்தில் உள்ள சிவிலியன்களின் பாதுகாப்பை கவனத்திற் கொண்டு உடனடியாக யுத்த நிறுத்தம் அமுல்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டுமென அவர் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளார்.

வடகிழக்கு கரையோரப் பகுதியில் சிக்கி அல்லலுறும் 180,000 சிவிலியன்களை மீட்பதற்கு அரசாங்கப் படையினரும், தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளும் மோதல்களை கைவிட வேண்டுமென அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

யுத்த சூன்ய வலயங்கள் மீது அரசாங்கப் படைத்தரப்பு தொடர்ச்சியாக எறிகணைத் தாக்குதல்களை நடத்தி வருவதாகவும், தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் சிவிலியன்களை இடம் நகர விடாது தடுத்து வைத்திருப்பதாகவும் அவர் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் மற்றும் அரசாங்கப் படையினரின் சில நடவடிக்கைகள் சர்வதேச மனிதாபிமான சட்ட திட்டங்களை மீறிச் செயற்படும் வகையில் அமைந்துள்ளதென அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

ஜனவரி மாதம் 20ம் திகதி முதல் இதுவரையில் சுமார் 2700 அப்பாவிச் சிவிலியன்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டும், 7000த்திற்கும் மேற்பட்டோர் காயமடைந்தும் இருப்பதாகத் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

கொல்லப்பட்ட சிவிலியன்களின் நூற்றுக் கணக்கான சிறுவர்கள் அடங்குவதாக நவனீதம்பிள்ளை சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

தற்போது இலங்கையில் இடம்பெற்று வரும் யுத்த முனைப்புக்கள் பாரிய மனிதப் பேரவலத்தை நோக்கி நகர்ந்து கொண்டிருப்பதாக அவர் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.

இந்த நிலை தொடர்ந்தால் சர்வதேச யுத்த குற்றச் செயல்களின் அடிப்படையில் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க நேரிடும் என அவர் எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளார்.

Edited March 13, 200916 yr by Tamilmagan

UN fears Sri Lanka 'war crimes'

Actions by Sri Lanka's government and the Tamil Tiger rebels may amount to war crimes, the United Nations says.

UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Navi Pillay called on the two warring sides to suspend hostilities immediately in the island's north-east.

Describing the level of civilian deaths as "truly shocking", she warned it could reach "catastrophic" levels.

The government said it was "very disappointed" at the UN commissioner's "unprofessional statement".

There was no immediate reaction from the rebels.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, by telephone that Washington was deeply concerned about deteriorating conditions and increasing loss of life in government-designated safe areas.

The army has pressed the rebels into a shrinking area amid heavy fighting, saying it is engaged in a final offensive to capture the last Tamil Tiger strongholds.

'Thousands dead or injured'

This is the UN's strongest message on the conflict so far, BBC Sri Lanka correspondent Anbarasan Ethirajan reports.

"Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the LTTE [Tigers] may constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law," said Ms Pillay.

She accused government forces of repeatedly shelling safe zones set up to protect civilians.

Tamil Tigers, she said, had reportedly held civilians as human shields and fired on those who tried to flee.

"The brutal and inhuman treatment of civilians by the LTTE is utterly reprehensible and should be examined to see if it constitutes war crimes," she continued.

According to what the UN called credible sources, more than 2,800 civilians may have been killed and 7,000 others wounded in the fighting over the last two months.

Hundreds of children are believed to have died, Ms Pillay said, and more than a thousand have been injured.

The Sri Lankan minister for human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said the government was surprised at the UN using what he called unsubstantiated figures about civilian casualties.

"We have very clearly stated that we have not at any time fired at the no-fire zone," he added.

"We are very disappointed and we are very surprised that this kind of unprofessional statement has been issued."

While there was no immediate response top the UN report from the Tigers, pro-rebel news website TamilNet accused government forces of killing 30 civilians and wounding 60 inside safe zones on Thursday alone.

The assertions could not be verified independently.

Separatist war

The Tigers, who are proscribed as a terrorist group in many countries, started fighting in the 1970s for a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east.

They argued that the Tamils had been discriminated against by successive majority Sinhalese governments.

After army advances in the east in 2007 and progress in the north in 2008, most of Sri Lanka is now under government control.

But despite the army's commanding position, the rebels have shown on innumerable occasions their capacity to fight a guerrilla war through the use of suicide bombings, assassinations and even aerial attacks carried out by planes operating from secret jungle bases.

The conflict has killed an estimated 70,000 people, displaced thousands more and held back the island's growth and economic development.

Both the military and the Tigers have been regularly accused of gross abuses of human rights by organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7942051.stm

Sri Lanka: actions by Government forces, rebels possible war crimes – UN rights chief

The top United Nations human rights official today deplored the mounting deaths and injuries of civilians due to the “bitter” conflict in northern Sri Lanka between Government forces and a rebel group, pointing out that some moves by both sides could amount to war crimes.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that certain actions undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

“We need to know more about what is going on, but we know enough to be sure that the situation is absolutely desperate,” she said. “The world today is ever-sensitive about such acts that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Although there is a Government-designated ‘no-fire’ zone for civilians in the Vanni region, repeated shelling has continued inside these areas, according to information made available to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Last week, the UN humanitarian wing said that that the conflict zone has shrank from 300 square kilometres to nearly 58 square kilometres in February, with many civilians – the UN puts their number at between 150,000 and 180,000 – taking refuge in a new 14-square kilometre ‘no-fire zone.’

Other areas where civilians are sheltering have been hit, and OHCHR noted reports that over 2,800 people may have been killed and 7,000 others injured – many in the no-fire zones – since 20 January. Many children are believed to be among the casualties, with hundreds having lost their lives and over 1,000 hurt.

“The current level of civilian casualties is truly shocking, and there are legitimate fears that the loss of life may reach catastrophic levels if the fighting continues this way,” Ms. Pillay said, adding that “very little attention is being focused on this bitter conflict.”

The LTTE is believed to be continuing to hold civilians as human shields and shooting those trying to leave their control. Further, they are reportedly forcibly recruiting civilians, including children, as soldiers.

“The brutal and inhuman treatment of civilians by the LTTE is utterly reprehensible, and should be examined to see if it constitutes war crimes,” the High Commissioner said.

Limited amount of food and essential medial supplies to treat victims are leading to further deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

Ms. Pillay called on both the Government and the LTTE to immediately halt the fighting to allow all civilians to evacuate the conflict zone, urging Sri Lankan authorities to give UN and other independent agencies full access to accurately assess conditions.

Last week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly deplored the mounting civilian death and stressed the urgent need for the end of clashes.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban repeated his call to the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE to “suspend hostilities for the purposes of allowing civilians to leave the conflict zone, and allowing immediate humanitarian access to them.”

He appealed to the LTTE to take its weapons and fighters out of areas where there are many civilians, cooperate in humanitarian efforts and instantly end recruiting children, some as young as 13 years of age, as soldiers. In addition, he urged the Government to begin “serious” efforts to resolve the underlying causes of the conflict.

- http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?News...+lanka&Cr1=

Matthew of Inner city Press UN : UN Plaza : Closed-Door Diplomacy

Part 1