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Following reports of abductions of two relatives and a secretary of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians in Batticaloa, by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) operated paramilitary Pillayan Group, the European Union, on Thursday, condemning abductions said it was deeply concerned by disturbing reports of abductions of a number of civilians connected to members of the Sri Lankan parliament. Kidnapping is the behaviour of terrorists and the EU condemns it without reservation, said a press release issued by the British High Commission, acting as local EU Presidency on behalf of Portugal.

Full text of the press release follows:

EUROPEAN UNION CONDEMNS ABDUCTION

The British High Commission issued the following statement on behalf of the European Union:

The European Union is deeply concerned by disturbing reports of abductions of a number of civilians connected to members of the Sri Lankan parliament. Kidnapping is the behaviour of terrorists and the EU condemns it without reservation.

We call upon those holding the individuals to release them immediately and without harm. We urge those with any influence over the kidnappers to work urgently to this end.

We offer support to all those who seek to fully uphold and safeguard democratic values and the rule of law.

British High Commission
Colombo
13 December 2007

The Economist magazine, has published a map of the Indian subcontinent that shows the North-East of Sri Lanka as ‘Eelam’. It is not clear if this was a draft or intentionally sketched for publication by the reputed British Magazine for any specific article related to Sri Lanka on the matter. The map is published alongside of an article on Indian state of Gujarat.

Eelam is the name of the Sovereign state that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, (LTTE) is fighting to create in the North East of Sri Lanka.

[Map showing 'Eelam', in The Economist]

However, many Sri Lankan newspapers and news sites are prominently carrying the finding of the map in The Economist.

The following is the news item that appears in the Sri Lankan newspaper ‘The Bottom line’:

The Economist puts Eelam on the global map?

By Mendaka Abeysekera in New York

Globally reputed journal The Economist has for the first time put the state of Eelam on the global map.

The Economist, in its December 6 issue, displays Eelam as a sovereign state alongside countries like India, Pakistan and China. Particulars regarding Eelam are displayed using the same font, size and colour as other sovereign states are shown on this map.

Earlier, it appeared as ‘Areas claimed by the LTTE’.

Interestingly the map supports the article on India titled “India “Don’t mention the massacre” referring to Narendra Modi’s campaign for re-election in Gujarat,(p. 47) and not in an article featuring Sri Lanka that appeared on page 48 titled “The Tigers and the government match outrage with outrage.”

On December 10 in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice announced that the recipient of the first annual Freedom Defender’s Award is the NGO Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, chosen out of an impressive group of nominees from across the globe. The Freedom Defenders Award, announced last year in commemoration of International Human Rights Day, goes to a foreign individual or nongovernmental organization that has shown exceptional courage and leadership in the defense of human rights.

[On February 20, 2007, U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake visited Mano Ganesan at his CMC office to recognize his contributions to the defense of human rights and his other democracy-building activities.]

The First Runner-up for this award was Mano Ganesan, a leading Sri Lankan human rights activist and Member of Parliament. Mr. Ganesan has been in the forefront of those seeking an end to the abductions, disappearances and extrajudicial killings that afflict Sri Lanka. He has demonstrated commendable integrity in combating the climate of impunity for human rights violators.

In 2006 Mano Ganesan founded the Civil Monitoring Commission on Extra-Judicial Killings and Disappearances (CMC), based in Colombo, and continues to serve as the CMC Convener. He has shown enormous personal courage and dedication in exposing crimes against Sri Lanka’s several minority communities, including the country’s Muslims. Relatives of those abducted, “disappeared” and killed often turn first to the CMC to try to obtain information on their loved ones or secure their release.

Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe, Convener of the Civil Monitoring Commission Mano Ganesan at the second public meeting for ” Expression of grief of the families and friends of the disappeared”, Aug 1, 2007 – Pic by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai

Mano Ganesan, describing his mission as a representative of the voiceless, said: “I am speaking against injustice, and my cause is to achieve human dignity and human rights for the people of this country who are placed in a deliberate and unfortunate situation in an extremist political climate.”

The U.S. Embassy is proud to share this moment with Mano Ganesan and the many others in Sri Lanka who have worked tirelessly to defend human rights and to seek justice for the victims of human rights abuses.

[Full Text of US Embassy. COlombo, Sri Lanka Press Release]

COLOMBO, 5 December 2007 (IRIN) – The Omanthai crossing point 190km north of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, is the only gateway currently open between areas controlled by the Sri Lankan government and those controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and traffic through this key transit point falls off sharply each time the security situation deteriorates.

For example, in the aftermath of two Colombo bombs on 28 November that killed 21 civilians, security was quickly tightened throughout the island. At the Omanthai crossing point civilians in Tiger-controlled areas were not allowed through, although government officials and humanitarian workers have continued to travel in both directions.

“It is not a new restriction, but only those with a legitimate need will be allowed into government-held areas for the time being,” Sri Lankan military spokesperson, Brig Udaya Nanayakkara, told IRIN. There were also no restrictions on supplies moving north, he said.

The Omanthai crossing links Tiger-controlled Vanni in the north with the rest of the country in the south. According to government statistics, over 400,000 civilians in Vanni depend for basic provisions and medicine on goods from the south and on the ability to travel south for official or personal reasons.

A smoothly functioning Omanthai crossing point is critical to their lives and livelihoods. Included in this 400,000 population, according to a 22-30 November situation report of the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC), are 93,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in urgent need of food, non-food items and livelihood assistance.

“There is no other way, it is only through Omanthai that we get supplies,” Nagalingam Vedanayagam, the government agent in Tiger-held Kilinochchi district, told IRIN. “We can get rice and vegetables here… but everything else comes from the south.”

His counterpart in Tiger-held Mullaithivu District, Imalda Sukumar, said that the day after the new restrictions were applied at Omanthai on 29 November, trucks intending to sell rice in the south found it impossible to cross over to government areas. “They returned with the drivers saying they were granted no access.”

An essential route

The World Food Programme (WFP) transports over 300 metric tonnes of supplies through Omanthai every week, officials in Colombo said. Jean-Yves Lequime, WFP deputy head in Sri Lanka, told IRIN the WFP was constantly in touch with government military officials over security at Omanthai, acknowledging how important it is to maintain access through the critical gate.

“We do not have any alternate method, we have to keep this humanitarian gateway open to keep supplies moving,” he said. Along with supplies for civilians and IDPs, WFP now transports the bulk of the supplies for humanitarian agencies working in Tiger areas.

During a four-week period from 27 October, 26,000 people and 8,900 vehicles had passed through the crossing point in both directions, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) monthly bulletin for November.

“It is an invaluable conduit for the transport of commercial items and allows humanitarian action to be taken to meet the needs of people on both sides,” ICRC delegation head in Sri Lanka, Toon Vandehove, said in the report.

Situation “tense”, access restricted

Escalating fighting in the area and tightened security regulations have nevertheless resulted in frequently restricted access and sometimes total closure of the crossing point.

“The situation in the area remains tense. The ICRC hopes the entry/exit point can remain open,” Vandehove said. The ICRC pulled out its staff from Omanthai on the morning of 6 November due to nearby fighting, but returned that afternoon when both the government and the Tigers gave security guarantees.

ICRC officials maintain a monitoring presence at the gate to facilitate the movement of vehicles and persons through the narrow no-man’s land between government-and Tiger-controlled areas.

Closure of other transit points

The Omanthai crossing point has become even more critical with the closures of other transit points in the north. “Heavy fighting in early September near the Uliyankulam crossing point in Mannar District, 60km west of Omanthai, led to both ICRC monitoring staff retreating and to the indefinite closure of the transit point. It has remained closed ever since, putting additional stress on Omanthai.

In late September, the UN High Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had to re-route supplies to IDPs near Uliyankulam in Tiger areas through Omanthai after the former ceased to function.

“With the closure of the Uliyankulam entry/exit point, the UNHCR office in Mannar was not able to respond to an emergency in Manthai West, and instead assistance was provided by the UNHCR Kilinochchi office,” UNHCR information assistant in Colombo Sulakshini Perera told IRIN.

Fighting has escalated along the front lines near Omanthai since the 28 November bombings in Colombo and had claimed the lives of 48 LTTE rebels and five government soldiers just between 1 and 2 December, according to the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry.

“It has to remain open regardless of the fighting,” Vedanayagam, the government agent in Kilinochchi, said. “There is no other option or route available at the moment.” [irinnews]

NPC condemns mass arrests in Colombo:

“Hundreds of Tamils residing in Colombo have been arrested in a crackdown reminiscent of the attempt to evict temporary Tamil residents from Colombo in June this year,” said National Peace Council, a Colombo based peace group, in a press release issued yesterday. “The people who have been arrested include women with children. Some of them are Tamil workers from the central hills who have been living in Colombo for many years. When they are arrested in this manner, they stand to lose their livelihoods for which they do not obtain compensation. Others are people who have left the north and east where they cannot live peacefully and safely due to the war conditions in that part of the country.”

Full text of the press release issued by the NPC follows:

SECURITY PRECAUTIONS YES, MASS ARRESTS NO

Hundreds of Tamils residing in Colombo have been arrested in a crackdown reminiscent of the attempt to evict temporary Tamil residents from Colombo in June this year. The national and international outcry and Supreme Court decision to outlaw those evictions led to a public apology from the government. It is likely that the two recent bombings in Colombo, both suspected to be by the LTTE, in which over twenty civilians were killed and many more injured led to the latest phenomenon of mass arrests.

The National Peace Council has condemned and called upon the LTTE to immediately halt acts of violence, especially those directed against civilians. We have repeatedly stated our belief that attacks of this nature continue to distract attention, both within Sri Lanka and internationally, away from the crucial issues of Tamil rights and aspirations.

The National Peace Council accepts the need for strict security precautions in Colombo. But we cannot accept the large scale arrests of people without following due process and respecting their basic rights. Like in the case of the attempted eviction, the people who have been arrested include women with children. Some of them are Tamil workers from the central hills who have been living in Colombo for many years. When they are arrested in this manner, they stand to lose their livelihoods for which they do not obtain compensation. Others are people who have left the north and east where they cannot live peacefully and safely due to the war conditions in that part of the country.

The government position seems to be that Tamil citizens from the North and East can only reside in Colombo if they can satisfy the security forces about their reasons for being in Colombo. This is a gross violation of the human rights of citizens under the Sri Lankan constitution and in terms of international law to live or reside wherever they choose to. Several hundred of those arrested have been taken to the Boosa detention centre which is more than a hundred kilometers from Colombo. There are reports that they had to undergo extreme hardships such as not having water to drink or toilet facilities.

NPC calls on the government to take immediate steps to conduct inquiries speedily and according to procedures established by law, and to ensure that those who have been arrested are treated humanely. We urge the government to take immediate steps to inform the relatives of those arrested about the whereabouts of their loved ones. We also call on the government to make public the name lists of those who are in custody and permit access for relatives and legal aid.