Human Toll Shows Necessity for Alternative to War
Full Text of Media Release, National Peace Council - Sri Lanka:
About 20 persons, including 11 schoolchildren, have been reported killed and a similar number wounded by the blast of a claymore mine on Tuesday as they travelled in a school bus on Mannar’s Madhu Road in the LTTE-controlled area on their way to school. The National Peace Council condemns this heinous crime, not only because children were targeted, but also because the Madhu Church area is sacred to Catholics from all parts of the country who wish that it should be demilitarized. We regret that the Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph’s requests for the Madhu area to be declared a zone of peace has been ignored.
The LTTE has blamed the Government, and the military has denied involvement, calling the assertion LTTE propaganda. The absence of impartial monitors, such as the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission which was scrapped as a result of the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement is sorely felt at this time. While we may never obtain concrete proof of the identity of the perpetrators the assault on civilian school children shows the hypocrisy and nefariousness of those who use violent means in seeking justice.
This attack is notably similar to the claymore mine the LTTE allegedly detonated to weeks ago in Buttala, which similarly deliberately targeted a bus filled with civilians killing over 27 and wounding more than 60and etching a violent end of the Ceasefire Agreement and a violent beginning to 2008. A week ago 16 decomposed bodies, which are believed of people from elsewhere were found in the forests near Kebbetigollewa, which itself has been the scene of two bus bomb attacks that killed over 80 persons over the past two years. A suicide bomb explosion in Jaffna on Thursday killed at least five and injured another 15 civilians. NPC laments the worsening cycle of violence and impunity, and its consequences and the absence of any viable political initiative that can stop the violence.
These further human tolls of war borne by the people of this country show the necessity that the conflicting parties find another way of resolving this conflict. We deplore their actions in repeatedly sacrifice children’s rights and religious rights, among others, in seeking a military solution and in not pursuing a political solution beginning with a cessation of hostilities. The only way of preventing civilian victims is ultimately to end the violence. NPC calls upon the conflicting parties to take responsibility for the people, and the violent actions that the people endure.
In the meantime we call on both sides of the conflict to abide by obligations under international humanitarian law and protect all those not involved in hostilities. It is unfortunate and tragic that after having gained National Independence without shedding a drop of blood sixty years ago, we have not yet found a way to make the February 4 celebration of our Independence more meaningful and acceptable to all Sri Lankans. The people of Sri Lanka deserve to live and travel in peace and deserve more than the sorrow and frustration of more bodies and the shifting of blame with no end to violence in sight.
National Peace Council of Sri Lanka
12/14 Purana Vihara Road
Colombo
E Mail: npc@sltnet.lk
Internet: www.peace-srilanka.org
