By Rajitha, a supporter of the Trade Union campaign in Sri Lanka
After decades of fighting, the Sri Lankan Army have forced the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) back into their last stronghold, some 30 square kilometres on the north coast. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (I. C. R. C.) and UNICEF, as many as 150,000 civilians are trapped in the war zone. For them, the situation is already a disaster. They are suffering from starvation, lack of shelter and health services. Relief organisations such as ICRC have difficulty providing any support because there is no letup in the army offensive. No one, apart from government-approved reporters, is allowed to witness the real situation. The international media have continued to carry reports from relief workers, despite opposition from the government, but have no independent access to the war zone. The government web site, directly monitored by the Defence Secretary, presents very different statistics. They estimate the civilian numbers at around 75,000 and insist that it is the Tigers who are preventing them escaping from the war zone.
The government has defined a ‘safe zone’ in which civilians can be accommodated and at which no bombardments are directed but there are constant reports in recent months of civilians being killed in this area. According to the government, the Tigers are responsible for all these killings.
Although they are now on the brink of defeat, until recently many regarded the Tigers as an invincible organisation. The dramatic change is the result of the decision by the government of Mahinda Rajapakse to launch an all out offensive despite the huge cost and inevitable loss of thousands of soldiers and civilians. In preparation for the offensive, Rajapakse secured a legal banning of the LTTE which effectively prevents any public discussion of any aspect of the widespread oppression of the Tamil population throughout the island. In addition, the free media movement was crushed by the killing of the journalist Lasantha Wicramatunga.
Having whipped up nationalist sentiment amongst the Sinhala majority, Rajapakse is now a hero among the nationalist and chauvinist forces as the war reaches its climax. On the political front, he has used this to gain majorities in five provinces and is now concentrating on elections to be held in the Western province where Tamils and Moslems form a majority.
Throughout the country, the minority Tamils, who have always faced oppression from the Sinhalese majority, now face a worsening situation.
Anybody who speaks in defence of the Tamils or against the war is automatically denounced as a terrorist, a ‘Sinhala Tiger’ as the pro-government media put it. The government justifies its offensive as a ‘liberation’ of the region previously controlled by the Tigers, claiming it as a ‘humanitarian mission’ and part of the ‘War against Terror’. The reality is of continuous bombardment from the air and ground artillery against a population of thousands of children, parents and grandparents. As the army advances, these people are now facing a catastrophe. The hardship our fellow citizens face is now dreadful and all the reports by the international media seem to guarantee that the disaster will get worse as the territory shrinks.
We appeal to all democrats, radicals and trade unionists around the world to protest against this genocide. We need to mobilise against the Sri Lankan government to stop the killing of innocent Tamil people in the war zone and the constant oppression of the Tamil community throughout the island. As revolutionaries we have a responsibility to defend and protect the Tamil people and to do this we need to build a solidarity movement against their continuing oppression.
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