The United Nations, which has not asserted its international authority and responsibility with the Colombo government in directly taking charge of the affected civilians of Vanni, has no moral or humanitarian grounds to urge the civilians to submit themselves against their will into the hands of those who commit genocide on them, said Batticaloa parliamentarian S. Jeyananthamoorthy on Saturday. "Hitherto, the UN and the International Community have only demonstrated their miserable failure in making the Colombo government to observe human rights. What is their guarantee now for the security and dignity of civilians, other than untrustworthy assurance of Mahinda Rajapaksa," asked the MP who charged the UN for playing in the hands of a genocidal government.
The Colombo government is keen in capturing the civilians of Vanni against their wishes and amidst their fear for life and dignity in the hands of the Sinhala regime, just to materialise and institutionalise its ‘victory on Tamils’.
"Colombo deliberately attacks and everyday kills and maims hundreds of the civilians in the government declared safety zone itself, in order to subjugate the spirit of the people and to make them to come to the breaking point," the MP said.
The UN and the International Community should see that the genocidal government’s intention is to exploit the capture of the hapless civilians for military and political ends and should be seen as worse than the unfounded accusation against LTTE for using them a ‘human shield,’ he added.
"It is a truth obvious to everyone that the civilians at every stage of the war only moved spontaneously towards the LTTE controlled areas, and never opted to turn to the SLA. Why couldn’t all those who accuse the LTTE as preventing free movement of the civilians see this truth. Do they expect the LTTE to chase away the civilians," the MP asked.
"Some argue that why can’t the civilians allow themselves to be captured and screened as it happened in the Eastern Province. As all know, the Tigers withdrew from the East. The situation is different in Vanni. The truth what those who uphold people’s democratic rights should understand is that as long as the LTTE remains people would choose to remain with them."
"The UN and some world powers don’t want to stop the war, yielding in to the pressure of belligerent Colombo, but at the same time abet Colombo’s ultimate intention of the subjugation of the Tamil people by treacherously advocating the civilians to go to Colombo’s side."
"This is the net result of Ban Ki-moon and his Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar meeting Basil Rajapaksa in UN headquarters and the UN Chief’s deliberations with the Establishment in New Delhi."
A statement released by the spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said: "The Secretary-General calls upon the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in particular, to allow civilians in the conflict zone to move to where they feel most secure, including areas controlled by the Government of Sri Lanka."
"The Secretary-General welcomes President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s announcement of safe passage for all civilians trapped in the area of intense fighting in the North to a secure environment," reads the statement, which followed the meeting of Basil Rajapaksa with the UN Secretary General.
Full text of the UN statement follows:
The Secretary-General welcomes President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s announcement of safe passage for all civilians trapped in the area of intense fighting in the North to a secure environment. However, he continues to be concerned by the threat to the estimated 250,000 civilians caught in the area, who are in close proximity to the fighting. He urges the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to do all in their power to make this safe passage a reality, and to ensure the protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The Secretary-General calls upon the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in particular, to allow civilians in the conflict zone to move to where they feel most secure, including areas controlled by the Government of Sri Lanka. He also calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure that those civilians arriving from the Vanni and other conflict areas are treated in accordance with international standards. Such standards include guaranteeing their freedom of movement, providing basic services and allowing full access by humanitarian agencies. For its part, the United Nations stands ready to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance.
The Secretary-General strongly underlines the need for urgent steps towards a speedy and orderly end to the fighting.
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