100,000 Sri Lankan civilians tonight are trapped in a strip of land roughly the same size as Central Park, caught between the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) and the SLA (Sri Lankan Army) in the endgame to the 25-year civil war.
The LTTE is staring at defeat. In its public statements, the government has promised that it will wipe them out altogether, and for their part, the LTTE will be absolutely prepared to fight to the death. Both sides appear to be interested in taking out as many civilians as possible in a final bloodbath.
Here's a quick briefing on the situation for those who are interested. This is all information I have picked up from being in Sri Lanka, and from contacts in the aid sector here. As a result there are no links, and some of this isn't in the news. Sri Lanka is a dangerous place for those who try to get information out. Ask me specifics in comments, I can try to find official sources.
The strip of land where the civilians are dug in is the government declared "No Fire Zone", where they were told to shelter while the battle raged around them. However, government forces have repeatedly shelled into this so-called safe area, densely packed with families, and have even carried out airstrikes.
Since 20th February, according to the government's own health officials who are operating clinics in the area, over 5,000 civilians have been killed, including more than 500 children. On Tuesday evening alone, SLA forces entered into the northern part of the safe area and killed over 1,000.
The civilians are Tamils who used to live in the LTTE-controlled area that covered most of the North of the island. As the front line of the conflict swept across the island, forcing the LTTE to retreat, the civilian population was also driven before it, either unwilling or unable to leave the shrinking Tiger territory. They are bound to the LTTE by extortion, the threat of violence and forced recruitment, and they are also fearful of retribution by government forces. These fears appear justified, as those who have escaped through the front line to government controlled areas have been placed in razor-wire internment camps.
Firing into the declared safe area is a deliberate attack on civilians, and as such constitutes a war crime. The government forces are refusing to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. At this stage, all Tamils appear to be fair targets. The LTTE are also refusing to let civilians escape, firing on those who try. An extremist death cult, the LTTE view any Tamil who flees as a traitor to the nationalist cause.
The government are also refusing to allow any international agencies into the conflict zone, citing security issues. They will not allow humanitarian aid or medical supplies to the civilians, on the ground that some of it will be used by the Tigers.
International Crisis Group has already noted the similarities between the current crisis and the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, where 25-30,000 refugees were ethnically cleansed from a UN-designated safe area. With over three times that number of civilians, there is a potential for this crisis to eclipse that tragedy in Bosnia.
The ball is firmly in the court of the Sri Lankan military. The LTTE are all but defeated, and destroyed as a military organization. The government can show mercy and restraint, or they can act like a conquering power and wipe out thousands of innocent people.
--
Yesterday I posted a diary on the same subject, noting that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Secretary of Defence and the man chiefly responsible for Sri Lanka's implacable descent into a military dictatorship, happens also to be a US citizen. I was hoping somebody could give suggestions for legal pressure that could be exerted on Gotabaya in the US to prevent further war crimes from taking place.
I'm still interested in any ideas.
This subject seems to be deeply politicised, as some people assumed yesterday that because I am trying to raise awareness about the fate of civilians, I must somehow be pro-LTTE. I got some very strange comments, so just to be completely clear:
I am not a Tamil activist.
I do not support the political goals of the LTTE, nor of Tamil separatists generally.
I support the right of the Sri Lankan government to fight and defeat the LTTE, and will welcome their success.
I condemn the tactics and crimes of the LTTE which include the intimidation, forced recruitment, extortion, brutalization and killing of Tamil civilians as well as terrorist attacks and political assassinations throughout Sri Lanka.
I support a political solution that addresses the genuine grievances of the Tamil population of Sri Lanka.
As the US has almost nothing to do with this conflict, I obviously don't blame America for the current situation.