More civilians dead in Sri Lanka than Gaza
More civilians have died in the military assault by Sri Lanka armed forces, than in Gaza yet the United Nations and the world media has shown very little attention to the plight of the suffering Tamil civilians.
Tamils say Sri Lanka is in brutal campaign to uproot the Tamil civilians under a guise of ‘war and terror’ and put them in internment camps.
Members of the Tamil community lament that only an increased awareness will bring an end to the suffering, and are seeking media attention to the plight of Tamil civilians. To increase the awareness they are continuing with vigils, rallies and writing letters to the editors in newspapers etc.
[Tamil Demonstration in Toronto - January 30, 2009-more pics by: TricotTreat]
One such letter that appeared in the Toronto Star by Ganes Selva of Toronto on March 7th is as follows:
We heard on a daily basis about the events in Gaza earlier this year. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for what’s been happening in Tamil areas of Sri Lanka, where 2,000 innocent people have lost their lives and hundreds of thousands more have lost their homes as the government seeks to end what it calls the terrorism of the Tamil Tiger rebels.
The government has declared a victory in its long-running battle with the Tigers, having captured what was once rebel-held territory. But at the same time, it has left many without food, water or sanitation. And it has kicked out the UN agencies, which might have helped to alleviate people’s suffering.
There are 250,000 Tamils living in Canada, many desperately worried for the relatives they have left behind. And while the civil war has cost more than 100,000 lives over its bloody path, the violence is far worse today. Since the New Year, 5,000 people have been injured. That’s more than the highest estimates for casualties in Gaza.
I hope our local media and everyone else will do their bit to ensure that a peaceful conclusion is reached to this bloodiest of wars. If we don’t act now, many more innocent people will lose their lives in the months ahead.
