Rajiva Wijesinha

“ It is wrong to say that ‘Almost 280 000 Tamil men, women, and children surrendered to the Sri Lankan military’ since these people arrived seeking refuge, having tried for months to flee the LTTE but being prevented from doing so, as they have testified again and again to the visitors who have spoken to them. Even advocacy groups with no sympathy for the government, such as the Jaffna University Teachers for Human Rights, acknowledge that the Tigers brutally held these people as hostages for months, driving them into ever shrinking spaces to use them as and when needed. ”

“ Whilst there is obvious need to check on whether they should be prosecuted for providing material used by a murderous enemy, we can hope that the defence used in the case of Wodehouse, that pressures had been applied to which it would be unreasonable to expect resistance, will be found applicable, and they can return to their generally admirable work. ”

“ The fact is that, for many years, Tamil speaking doctors who were appointed to these areas were unwilling to serve, and indeed they were at greater risk from the Tigers than their colleagues in government service, since they were branded as traitors if they did not give full allegiance to the LTTE. The government has continued to post several doctors to the area, and in particular those who speak Tamil, while others work on a voluntary basis on programmes organized by several NGOs. ”