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UNIVERSITY TEACHERS FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS (
UTHR(J)
Special Report No: 34
Date of release:
Let Them Speak:
:
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall – think of it, ALWAYS.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Executive
Summary
This latest report from the University Teachers for Human
Rights (
Both sides treated truth as an enemy. Outsiders who
could bear witness to these events were kept out or silenced; dissent on either
side was crushed; the poor and powerless were treated as cannon fodder and
in the case of Tamil civilians, ultimately locked up to prevent them from
revealing what they had experienced. As the report notes,
But this report is more than a catalogue of war-time atrocities; it provides an analysis of the social and political underpinnings of the conflict that made atrocities possible, and that have historically shielded the people who committed such crimes from justice.
This report is a call to Sri Lankans of all communities to examine their history and take control of their present; to acknowledge the degeneration of the country and its democratic institutions, to demand justice for the crimes that have been committed in the name of fighting terrorism or securing Eelam, and to declare “never again.”
~~~
It was bloody war and international norms were breached by both sides, which by trapping people in the conflict zone wrought large scale death and destruction.
The State systematically marginalised and restricted the operation of international organisations, subverting their efforts to humanise the conduct of the war and secure reduced casualties. It convinced the majority of people in the country (and many outside), that utter annihilation was only way to deal with the forces like LTTE. At the same time the Government blatantly lied about the real number of civilians trapped in the zone, and the number killed by their disproportionate use of force in the form of intense shelling and bombing.
The LTTE’s callous attitude towards the civilians, its forced conscription and the violent and coercive methods it used to prevent people from fleeing for their lives, further helped the government to successfully neutralise any criticism against their modes of operation.
Perpetrators must
be brought to account.
It is also imperative for international human rights activists and organisations to go beyond mere condemnation of the way in which this war was conducted and recognise what it has shown us about the limitations of the present broader architecture of international Human Rights and Humanitarian mechanisms and institutions, which failed utterly to avert this disaster.
Social and political forces with narrow ethnic or religious ideological trappings continue to undermine democracy in most of the developing nations. These are not new phenomena; the world had seen many major religious crusades to wars between nations which in the modern era led to the creation of international institutions, conventions and treaties. The unequal economic and military power structures operating at a global level continue to undermine these institutions while allowing local actors to blame the external powers for their own failures.
In Sri Lanka, the political elite continues to fail the people, and whatever potential the country had to move towards a healthier path of development and prosperity has been continuously undermined by narrow electoral politics. The country is at a crossroads. Improvement will not be achieved by relying on the political elite in the belief that they will have at last to moderate self interest and address the many underlying social and economic issues which caused the war.
The callousness of
There is only one way forward. An initiative to forge a broad multi-ethnic and multi-religious movement that challenges these narrow ethnic and religious agendas and Sri Lanka’s climate of impunity; that demands accountability for the grave and systematic violation of human rights that has for so long prevented Sri Lanka from progressing. This should be the priority for all those who desire to fight for social justice and human rights.
Contents:
Summary
1. When People Do Not Matter and Tyrannical Egos
are Dressed-Up as Nations
1.1 The Still Eloquence
of Wastelands
1.2. IDPs and Hidden Agendas: A Dark Shadow
over Lanka
1.3. Never Again
1.4. Rajapakse Strategy: Plagiarising a Well-Known
Script
1.5. “Operational Freedom”
1.6. Absence of Rules of Engagement and Rain
of Shells in Safe Zones
1.7. The Shelling and Aerial Bombardment of
Murukandy, 16th September 2008, Limitations on Reportage and the
Mounting Death Toll
2. From Kilinochchi to Puthukkudiyiruppu
2.1. The fall of
Kilinochchi and After
2.2. Conscription: From the Realm of Black
Humour to the Calamitous
2.3. Caught between the Army and the LTTE,
the Fate of LTTE Prisoners
2.4. Thevipuram Safe Zone and the Battle for
Visuamadu: Escape Debarred from the Rain of Shells
2.5. Some Developments concerning LTTE’s
Detainees
2.6. Puthukkudiyiruppu Hospital, Battle for
the Town and the ICRC Pullout
2.7. The Bombing of Ponnambalam Memorial Hospital
2.8. The Battle for Puthukkudiyiruppu and
Bombing of the LTTE Prison
2.9. 2nd Week of March, LTTE’s
Two Deep Penetration Missions
2.10. Kilinochchi Hospital: An Astonishingly
Disturbing Encounter
2.11. Anandapuram
3. At Sea in ‘Mattalan:
Escape invites Death and Staying is Worse
3.1. Use of Bombs,
Cluster Munitions and White Phosphorous; and Curtailment of Medical Aid
3.2. Putumattalan Hospital
3.3. The State of the LTTE
3.4. Early March 2009: People Take Matters
into their Hands
3.5. Civilians at Putumattalan: Waiting in
the Rain for Storms of Bullets and Shells
3.6. Running the Gauntlet: The Lethal Game
of Escape
3.7. 20th April, Army enters the
NFZ
3.8. The Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Valaignarmadam
3.9. A Background to Events in the Church
3.10. April 23rd to May 8th
4.1. Deception
over Civilian Safety
4.2. A Tenuous Link to the Outside World on
the Brink
4.3. 8th May
4.4. 9th May
4.5. 10th to 12th May
4.6. 13th May
4.7. 14th May
4.8. 15th May
4.9. 16th May: Uncertainties of Escape
4.10. 16th May: A Deceptive Truce and
Denial of Relief to the Injured
4.11. 16th May Dusk: Truce ends Unannounced
and a Rude Awakening
4.12. 16th May Night
4.13. May 17th Morning: End of the
Road at Kepapulavu? Balakumar Surrenders
4.14. 17th Night to 18th
Morning: An Apocalyptic Close
4.15. Some Vital Questions of Humanitarian
Law and Ethics
4.16. Beyond Death; a Survivor’s Experience
in His own Words
<
UNIVERSITY TEACHERS FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS ( UTHR(J) Special Report No: 34 Date of release: Let Them Speak: “When I despair, I remember that all through
history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants
and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always
fall – think of it, ALWAYS.” –
Mahatma Gandhi Executive
Summary This latest report from the University Teachers for Human
Rights ( Both sides treated truth as an enemy. Outsiders who
could bear witness to these events were kept out or silenced; dissent on either
side was crushed; the poor and powerless were treated as cannon fodder and
in the case of Tamil civilians, ultimately locked up to prevent them from
revealing what they had experienced. As the report notes, But this report is more than a catalogue of war-time atrocities;
it provides an analysis of the social and political underpinnings of the conflict
that made atrocities possible, and that have historically shielded the people
who committed such crimes from justice. This report is a call to Sri Lankans of all communities
to examine their history and take control of their present; to acknowledge
the degeneration of the country and its democratic institutions, to demand
justice for the crimes that have been committed in the name of fighting terrorism
or securing Eelam, and to declare “never again.”
~~~ It was bloody war and international norms were breached
by both sides, which by trapping people in the conflict zone wrought large
scale death and destruction. The State systematically marginalised
and restricted the operation of international organisations,
subverting their efforts to humanise the conduct
of the war and secure reduced casualties. It convinced the majority of
people in the country (and many outside), that utter annihilation was only
way to deal with the forces like LTTE. At the same time the Government blatantly
lied about the real number of civilians trapped in the zone, and the number
killed by their disproportionate use of force in the form of intense shelling
and bombing. The LTTE’s callous attitude towards the civilians,
its forced conscription and the violent and coercive methods it used to prevent
people from fleeing for their lives, further helped the government to successfully
neutralise any criticism against their modes of
operation. Perpetrators must
be brought to account. It is also imperative for international human rights activists
and organisations to go beyond mere condemnation
of the way in which this war was conducted and recognise
what it has shown us about the limitations of the present broader architecture
of international Human Rights and Humanitarian mechanisms and institutions,
which failed utterly to avert this disaster. Social and political forces with narrow ethnic or religious
ideological trappings continue to undermine democracy in most of the developing
nations. These are not new phenomena; the world had seen many major religious
crusades to wars between nations which in the modern era led to the creation
of international institutions, conventions and treaties. The unequal economic
and military power structures operating at a global level continue to undermine
these institutions while allowing local actors to blame the external powers
for their own failures. In Sri Lanka, the political elite continues to fail the
people, and whatever potential the country had to move towards a healthier
path of development and prosperity has been continuously undermined by narrow
electoral politics. The country is at a crossroads. Improvement
will not be achieved by relying on the political elite in the belief that
they will have at last to moderate self interest and address the many underlying
social and economic issues which caused the war. The callousness of There is only one way forward. An initiative to forge a
broad multi-ethnic and multi-religious movement that challenges these narrow
ethnic and religious agendas and Sri Lanka’s climate of impunity; that
demands accountability for the grave and systematic violation of human rights
that has for so long prevented Sri Lanka from progressing. This should be
the priority for all those who desire to fight for social justice and human
rights. Contents: Summary 1. When People Do Not Matter and Tyrannical Egos
are Dressed-Up as Nations
1.1 The Still Eloquence
of Wastelands 1.2. IDPs and Hidden Agendas: A Dark Shadow
over Lanka 1.3. Never Again 1.4. Rajapakse Strategy: Plagiarising a Well-Known
Script 1.5. “Operational Freedom” 1.6. Absence of Rules of Engagement and Rain
of Shells in Safe Zones 1.7. The Shelling and Aerial Bombardment of
Murukandy, 16th September 2008, Limitations on Reportage and the
Mounting Death Toll
2. From Kilinochchi to Puthukkudiyiruppu
2.1. The fall of
Kilinochchi and After 2.2. Conscription: From the Realm of Black
Humour to the Calamitous 2.3. Caught between the Army and the LTTE,
the Fate of LTTE Prisoners 2.4. Thevipuram Safe Zone and the Battle for
Visuamadu: Escape Debarred from the Rain of Shells 2.5. Some Developments concerning LTTE’s
Detainees 2.6. Puthukkudiyiruppu Hospital, Battle for
the Town and the ICRC Pullout 2.7. The Bombing of Ponnambalam Memorial Hospital 2.8. The Battle for Puthukkudiyiruppu and
Bombing of the LTTE Prison 2.9. 2nd Week of March, LTTE’s
Two Deep Penetration Missions 2.10. Kilinochchi Hospital: An Astonishingly
Disturbing Encounter 2.11. Anandapuram
3. At Sea in ‘Mattalan:
Escape invites Death and Staying is Worse
3.1. Use of Bombs,
Cluster Munitions and White Phosphorous; and Curtailment of Medical Aid 3.2. Putumattalan Hospital 3.3. The State of the LTTE 3.4. Early March 2009: People Take Matters
into their Hands 3.5. Civilians at Putumattalan: Waiting in
the Rain for Storms of Bullets and Shells 3.6. Running the Gauntlet: The Lethal Game
of Escape 3.7. 20th April, Army enters the
NFZ 3.8. The Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Valaignarmadam 3.9. A Background to Events in the Church 3.10. April 23rd to May 8th
4.1. Deception
over Civilian Safety 4.2. A Tenuous Link to the Outside World on
the Brink 4.3. 8th May 4.4. 9th May 4.5. 10th to 12th May 4.6. 13th May 4.7. 14th May 4.8. 15th May 4.9. 16th May: Uncertainties of Escape 4.10. 16th May: A Deceptive Truce and
Denial of Relief to the Injured 4.11. 16th May Dusk: Truce ends Unannounced
and a Rude Awakening 4.12. 16th May Night 4.13. May 17th Morning: End of the
Road at Kepapulavu? Balakumar Surrenders 4.14. 17th Night to 18th
Morning: An Apocalyptic Close 4.15. Some Vital Questions of Humanitarian
Law and Ethics 4.16. Beyond Death; a Survivor’s Experience
in His own Words
5.
The Population Game: Disappeared on Paper and Killed with Cannon
5.1. Strategic
Numbers 5.2. Quantifying the Suffering 5.3. Attempts to Set the Record Straight 5.4. OCHA figures 5.5. Other Estimates 5.6. Indicators from persons resettled. 5.7. The Task 5.8. Who was Responsible for Short-changing the People
in Food and Medicine?
6. Protecting
Crime by Criminalising an Entire Populace
6.1.
Welcome to Snake Farm 6.2. To Live Perpetual Suspects under a Paramilitary
Regime 6.3. Interned behind barbed wire in ‘Welfare
Centres’; Whose Welfare? 6.4. The Talking Game of Releasing IDPs 6.5. Screening – a Farcical Exercise
leading to Crime 6.6. Women and the Risk of Abuse 6.7. Military Abuses at Vavuniya Hospital 6.8. Defrauding a People in War and in Peace 6.9. Fooling India and the World, and Getting Away with It Appendix
7. Misunderstanding Terrorism and the Importance
of Root Causes
7.1. A Time for Reckoning:
Where Have we Failed? 7.2. Dangerous Miscalculations about Terrorism 7.3. Stuck in a 60 year Groove: Progressive
Poisoning of Atmosphere 7.4. When Politics is Depraved and Old Soldiers
Refuse to Fade Away: Facing up to Anarchy at the Door
8.
Addendum: The End of the LTTE’s
Vanni Gulag
8.1. Muted Celebration 8.2. Manoharan and Chelvi. 8.3. The End of an Era 8.4. Bearing Witness: Ravi 8.5. Ravi relates the fate of
fellow prisoner, Inspector Jeyaratnam 8.6. Bearing Witness: Satheeshkumar
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