Rajiva Wijesinha

“ Civilians fleeing the fighting are being placed in government controlled camps which are actually confining them to these camps and preventing them from moving. Should it not be the case that only individuals suspected of being violent or of danger be retained in these camps?
The full screening process cannot be finished quickly, particularly when the LTTE high command is still active, and able to activate any suicide cadres or other violent elements at will. ”

“ The point is that civilians also see these ships as a route to freedom, and the LTTE is determined to stop them.
The government is committed to the safety of these civilians, and in any case has had much to do, clearing PTK completely, and dealing with the bulwarks the LTTE had built up in the area on the west of the lagoon. And remember that the LTTE still has its own heavy weaponry, which it used from the earlier safe zone as the Bishop of Jaffna reported on January 26th. ”

“ Meanwhile, unlike in such centres in other parts of the world, there are concerted efforts to provide occupation and training, so that when these people, who have been oppressed for so long, return to their native places, they will be empowered to participate more fully in the economic and social development the area requires. ”

“ Civilians entering into government controlled areas are being subjected to an intense screening process. While the government does have legitimate security concerns there are allegations that many Tamil men and women disappear from this point. ”

“ Is there any truth or substance to this statement?
We know that there has been killing of civilians in the safe zone, because the LTTE has, as they did in the other safe zone on 26th January, fired into it. One reason obviously is to ensure that civilians do not use the safe passages from the safe zones into government controlled territory that have been suggested. ”

“ As mentioned above, hundreds of youngsters who fought with the LTTE are in the camps, and though we can sympathize with them, as the army did, and assume that most of them were simply forced to fight, you have to remember that one or two of them may have a deeper, more dangerous commitment. ”

“ You will note that Ms Pillay’s statement also says that, apart from firing into the safe zone – which you have evidence the LTTE has certainly done, from the UN as well as the Bishop of Jaffna – ‘Other areas holding civilians have also been shelled’. ”