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Toronto Star Editorial: Sri Lanka's death zone

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Sri Lanka's death zone

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Mar 21, 2009 04:30 AM

Comments on this story (51)

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa may win his war against the Tamil Tigers, but at what cost? By resorting to war crimes that would stain his nation's image, and make postwar reconciliation between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority even harder to achieve?

That's what United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay fears. She recently warned that tactics by both the Sri Lankan military and the Tigers "could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity." It is a fear Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other Commonwealth leaders should echo, while there is still time to avert a wholesale slaughter in Sri Lanka's death zone.

As many as 150,000 civilians, mostly Tamils, are feared caught in a shrinking 30 square kilometre patch still held by the insurgents in the northeast part of the Indian Ocean island. That is all that is left of the Tigers' former mini-state. Relief agencies report that the civilians are being shelled by government troops, and used as shields and child soldiers by the insurgents. The UN says 2,300 civilians have died so far this year.

The great concern now is that Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his militants plan to go down fighting, taking the civilians with them in a final, defiant bloodbath. That prospect should concentrate minds in Colombo, where officials are counting on massive foreign aid to rebuild from a 25-year insurgency that has cost 75,000 lives.

Fearing a human tragedy, tens of thousands of Tamil Canadians marched through Toronto this week, calling attention to the plight of family and friends caught in the war zone. As Sri Lanka courts disaster, the Harper government should step up its tepid appeals to Rajapaksa and the Tigers for a ceasefire, unhindered UN access to the war zone, safe corridors to evacuate civilians and the delivery of relief supplies.

Canada has credibility with Colombo, having listed the Tigers as a terrorist organization. We should use that leverage to try to save lives. If the Tigers do agree to put down their weapons, Canada should offer to help the UN and the Red Cross ensure all are treated humanely. Moreover, we should press for generous, provincial-style autonomy for Tamils in the region where they are a majority. Sri Lanka can have peace only when the Tamils feel they have a stake.

இந்த செய்திக்கும் அதிகமாக பின்னோட்டம் இட்டவர்கள் சிங்களவர்களே!!!...தயவு செய்து உங்கள் நேரத்தில் சில நிமிடங்களை செலவு செய்து இப்படியான செய்திகளுக்கு பின்னோட்டம் இடுங்கள்.

  • கருத்துக்கள உறுப்பினர்கள்

இணைப்பு எங்கே?

  • தொடங்கியவர்

மன்னிக்கவும்..இணைக்க மறந்துவிட்டேன் :D

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/605922

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