Sri Lanka: the end game?
I imagine that, like me, you're glad that you don't have to deal with the contents of Barack Obama's in-tray.
Think about it: right at the top, two over-excited daughters, constantly squabbling over whose turn it is to take the new puppy for a run. And a wife who - even if she doesn't say it out loud is certainly thinking it: "Don't look at me ... you're the one who promised them a dog if we made it to the White House, so now you can deal with it."
And then, when both the daughters and the dog are finally asleep, there's the nearly as tricky question of what Iran and North Korea are up to at their various nuclear sites. And Iraq and Afghanistan, of course. Oh yes, and climate change. Did someone mention the economy?
And now, the people at the US State Department are telling you that you need to focus on Sri Lanka. They put out a statement last night: "The United States government is deeply concerned about the current danger to civilian lives and the dire humanitarian situation created by the fighting in the Mullaittivu area in Sri Lanka. We call upon the government and military of Sri Lanka, and the Tamil Tigers, to immediately stop hostilities until the more than 140,000 civilians in the conflict area are safely out."
On Wednesday, the British and French governments called on the Sri Lankan government to continue its 48-hour ceasefire, while also criticising the Tamil Tiger rebels for preventing civilians from leaving the conflict area.
So what's happening in Sri Lanka? Here's the brief history: for the last 25 years, on and off, the Tamil Tigers have been fighting for an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka. At least 70,000 - I'll repeat that, 70,000 - people have died in the conflict.
Now, after several months of heavy fighting, government forces seem to be on the verge of a military victory. The rebels control only a tiny sliver of land, but well over 100,000 civilians are trapped there. Many are dying, either as a result of military action or from diseases for which no treatment is available.
I spoke to the Red Cross earlier this week: they told me they have managed to get thousands of people out, but many thousands more are still stuck. Very few got out during the government ceasefire on Monday and Tuesday, either because the Tigers wouldn't let them leave, or because they were too frightened to.
You haven't seen or heard much about all this, have you? The reason is simple enough: the authorities won't let journalists anywhere near the conflict zone. So the Red Cross are just about the only people who know what's really happening.
And so far, all the international appeals for pauses, negotiations and the rest of it have fallen on deaf ears in Colombo. The government and the army are convinced that they are about to win this war once and for all. They are in no mood to stop now.
But those statements from Washington, London and Paris mean something. They mean there is real and growing international concern about the terrible cost in civilian lives of this military end-game. India is the traditional power broker in Sri Lanka, but India has just entered a month-long election process.
President Obama has just arrived in Mexico on his way to a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. He has drug wars, arms smuggling, illegal immigration and relations with Latin America on his mind.
I can't help wondering how much attention he's paying to Sri Lanka.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~07~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
Robin,
I am sure that neither Sri Lankan Government, nor the Tamil Tigers relish the present situation however it is intractable as no one has the desire or wish to intervene and much like Chechnya, Rwanda, Kampuchea, Mynamar and Zimbabwe etc.. etc... We wring our hands and weep for the victims but there is little that can be done. In a sense it would be best if it were over quickly one way or another and ceasefires delay matters and prolong suffering.
Why do you want the USA president to 'pay attention to Sri Lanka? Do you remain under the delusion that the USA is a "Super Power" when the facts so often point to the contrary? (So 'Super' it can't even provide healthcare for its own people! etc. etc.)
India and the other regional powers are members of SAARC - why don't you question why this organisation is not doing more?
[SAARC=South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]
Complain about this comment
John H raises one of the points I would have raised: why is it assumed that the USA can or should police or lead the World?
There are no specific national interests of the USA involved that I know of.
This may imply that an international organisation is needed with the mandate and a quick reaction force to deal with such situations. (This relates to the "Right to Intervene" question, but there is no present "Right to Intervene". Thus an organisation with that sovereign power and police force is needed).
The question of the Indian elections could be very cogent. What is the present electoral situation within Tamil Nadu? Note that the BJP is fully capable of using the Tamil question to asrouse great passions.
Were it to do so, then US relations with India would be threatened.
Complain about this comment
Dear Sir,
i as a British Tamil respect your media for being dedicated proffesionals of Journalism concerning Tamils plight under terror state Srilanka.
Today arround 988 Tamil civillians were killed and 1215 tamils wounded in a major operation led by Srilanka Army since early hours of monday morning targeting IRADDAI-VAAYKKAAL
HEAVY SHELLING OF MULLI-VAAYKKAAL ; VALAIGNARMADAM AND POKKANAI AREAS.
telephone reports indicates that the srilanka army has now let the captured tamil civillians walk infront of army personal in socalled safezone as humanshield avoiding the shootings..and a group of 20 tamil civillians are forced walking infront of srilankan Army as objects for identifying Landmines.
The warcrimes genocide injustice against humanity actions are one reason why TamilDiaspora cant bear the
mental frustrations as international community has only issued statements instead of a fair healthy Ressolution against srilanka goverment..uk us france as veto power nations failed to impose UN ressolution of immediate permanent ceasefire and to send UN monitors to safezone..
Srilanka gov propaganda media "tigers holding tamil civillians" has been repeated by un uk france in recent statement: why does UN and ressponsible countrys like US Eu not listen to facts :
'Regular rapes, killings, degrading interrogations in internment camps'
Tamil IDPs inside the barbed-wire internment camps in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled Vavuniyaa are not only medically underserved, but are subjected to degrading interrogations and there are reports of regular rapes and killings, reveals a well known German writer and Human Rights activist, Thomas Seibert, who recently returned from Sri Lanka after a humanitarian trip, conducting personal interviews that described the plight of civilians kept as near-prisoners under the SLA occupation
The World Wants to support Srilanka goverment the Tamil Civillians to displace after 1000 of years being in Tamilhomeland to shift to srilanka goverment barbered wire Nazi style concentration camps?
please verify the news with makshift hospital DR, ICRC, NON GOVERMENT ORGANISATIONS
and publish the truth as ressponsibility towards true journalism
thanks for your time
Ben Soori
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS