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The Jaffna Civilian: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

As fighting continues in Jaffna, the cries of the civilian victims of this bitter conflict are silenced. The Tamil civilian has been caught in the pincer between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army. As of 1 June 2000, international aid workers estimate that as many as 150,000 people have left their homes in the Jaffna peninsula. As of 24 April, over 400,000 civilians were cut-off from the rest of the island because of fighting in the North and the East. Sadly, the international community has in the main, disregarded the plight of the non-combatants in this ongoing conflict.

On 26 March 2000, LTTE forces launched a multi-pronged attack code-named "Unceasing Waves 3"on the Jaffna peninsula. LTTE achieved a series of military victories at Elephant Pass and Pallai, a military base about 15 kilometers north of Elephant Pass on their march to Jaffna town. In recent weeks, the LTTE cadres have reached the outskirts of Jaffna town. Thousands of civilians in Jaffna town are at risk from the indiscriminate shelling indulged in by both sides to the conflict.

The Sri Lankan Government has allocated an additional US $ 150 million for buying military hardware following the Jaffna setback. It also receives aid from many foreign countries. Much of this aid has been used to finance military operations. While many governments express concern about the abuses by the LTTE, none have consistently expressed concern about the civilians caught in the armed conflict. If it were not for the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Medecins Sans Frontieres/ Doctor Without Borders (MSF) the non combatant civilians would have faced even more hardship than they do presently.

The government claims to operate shelters to sustain the internally displaced persons. Major General Sarath Munasinghe, Commissioner of Essential Services, informed diplomats from donor countries that the government has supported 8,352 people in government welfare centres. However, even conservative estimates put the internally displaced population from the present round of fighting at 50,000 people. The Sri Lankan Government shelters are grossly inadequate protection for the displaced people in the northern region. Reliable sources from Sri Lanka have informed SAHRDC that many civilians are being made to do forced labour to carry supplies to Sri Lankan troops.

Both sides have also restricted the movement of civilians who are fleeing war zones. Although the UNHCR has set up camps for the internally displaced of this 17-year battle, many civilians cannot reach the camps or have been stranded in the midst of the fighting. On 27 May 2000, the LTTE claimed to have issued a cease-fire order to enable the civilian population to evacuate the Thenmarachchi region near Jaffna. However, the Sri Lankan government claimed that it had no information about the cease-fire. As a result, 70,000 people are believed to be stranded in a battle-zone. On 1 June 2000, the government admitted that the conflict over Jaffna has caused many people to lose their homes and to become refugees. Sources from Doctors without Borders report that many people have moved into churches, temples and mosques with little food and the cold cement floor for bedding. These makeshift shelters have few toilets, little water, and inadequate electricity to support the flood of refugees.

The US Under Secretary of State, Thomas Pickering has called attention to the need for humanitarian assistance in the northern regions. However, the US has not taken a position as to whether it will provide such aid.

The conflict in Jaffna poses a potential refugee problem for India. Over a thousand refugees have already arrived in the Indian state of Tamilnadu since the fighting broke out. The less than normal flow of refugees to India has been due to several factors. Firstly, Sri Lankan army imposed strict curfew in the Jaffna district. The Sri Lankan navy and army have intensified their vigil in order to avert any possible LTTE intrusion. The Sri Lankan navy has fired upon fleeing refugees.

The Government of India also instructed the Indian Coast Guard to interdict the boats carrying the refuges and many of the boats have been forcibly sent back. The Indian Government states that it is ensuring a strict vigil against any possible entry of LTTE cadres. On 14 May 2000, the Government of India extended the ban on the LTTE. The Indian navy has also increased its vigil and the refugees are subjected to questioning by Tamilnadu’s notorious intelligence department, "Q branch", on their arrival about possible LTTE links. A few have been detained as suspected LTTE sympathizers.

Indian Naval officials on the record were quoted saying "No way refugees can come". Media reports in India allege that the Navy has got permission to shoot at the fleeing Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka to prevent them from reaching India. Consequently, refugees are dropped at the Sixth Island, which falls within Sri Lankan territorial waters. Since the Indian Navy waits to shoot at them, according to Lieutenant Commander Satish, Executive Officer, Naval Detachment at Rameswaram " this has brought refugee arrival to a halt". Not surprisingly, as usual, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has developed an acute attack of laryngitis and has not commented on the interdiction of refugees.

Recently, the Sri Lankan government instituted emergency regulations that gave the police broad powers of arrest and detention. These measures indicate that the government is taking wartime measures without adhering to the precepts of humanitarian law set forth in the Geneva Conventions.

Censorship of the press has also deprived the Sri Lankans and the international community of evidence about the violence unfolding in the country. On 21 May 2000, the newspaper "Uthayan" was banned for "continuously publishing information…prejudicial to the interests of national security." Newspaper stories appear with notable deletions labeled "CENSORED". National and international press has been denied access to the war zones. No campaign by the international media has been launched on the blanket censorship in variance at the stand they took when the Serbians imposed censorship during the Kosovo crisis.

This violence against non-combatants is in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its Additional Protocols. The UN Security Council Resolution 1265, adopted in 1999, expresses severe condemnation of deliberate attacks on civilian populations during armed conflict. There have been consistent and flagrant violations of the provisions of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II).

UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan has called for international action to prevent human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, particularly the "disappearances" caused by the army and armed opposition groups. Sri Lankan sovereignty does not invalidate international intervention to protect civilians from these acts. Specifically, Common Article 3 of both Geneva Conventions protects non-combatants from harm in armed conflicts. Article 3 states that "persons taking no active part in the hostilities…shall in all circumstances be treated humanely." Hostage taking, torture, and extrajudicial executions are all expressly prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. It also states that "the wounded and sick shall be cared for." Clearly, all of these principles have been violated in the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Civilians must be protected from being ravaged by civil war. Yet, disappearances, bombings, rape and torture of innocent civilians have not been focus of the international community. Although diplomatic solutions are being explored, diplomacy alone cannot protect the helpless civilians. Like pawns in a game of chess, the civilians in Jaffna are being sacrificed for larger political and ideological interest. International community including the media that accepts "censorship" by the Sri Lankan government contributes to the growing misery of the civilians in Jaffna.

-Human Rights Features

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