Report 12

PREFACE

     The subject of internal refugees forms the underlying thread of the current report. Some of its wider implications, such as the forced return of Tamil refugees who fled the country to India and further a field, are also addressed. This also brings to a conclusion our documentation which attempts to present the effect of ten years of war on the district of Trincomalee. This is a district in which a high proportion of Tamils remain displaced.

     The reports on refugees straddle the districts of Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee, and deal with all three communities. Although quantitative balance may be lacking vis-a-vis the communities because of our technical limitations, the result may not be unrepresentative. Though several refugees are bitter, it might happily be said that many of them are reflective and non-partisan to a remarkable degree. It also becomes clear that given a healthy political direction there are hardly any inherent reasons for conflict between the communities.

     The question of a healthy political direction is intimately tied up with other matters dealt with in the report. Some of these are aerial bombing of a section of the citizenry, the Jaffna Lagoon issue, the all important land issue and their impact on sovereignty. On the first two, influential sections of the press and the political establishment are urging the government towards more bellicose positions. These in turn have visited further humiliations on the armed forces, each humiliation further complicating the crisis. The recent one at Puneryn owe's something to conceptually flawed political decisions. One was to meet the LTTE's inexcusable reluctance to reach a settlement on the passage of civilians between the Jaffna peninsula and the mainland by punishing the civilians. The continuing practice of fudging the matter of disappearances and a reluctance to check even notorious operatives who have been publicly named by the HRTF among others, shows a fatal desire to pursue the mirage of a military solution. Fifteen years of repression, and the bloody victory over the JVP and their accumulated baggage cast a long shadow over the Island's future.

     We have pointed out before that a political solution would necessitate taking a fresh look at the land question and in particular at ingrained habits in handling matters such as colonisation. This requires much courage and a will to do battle with chauvinistic forces. Sadly, this government seems to lack the moral and intellectual qualities for such a task. It seems much easier to do nothing and let this nation tear itself apart.

     The current report is based on a selection of materials gathered over six months. The bulk of it was completed three months ago. On the one hand the quick succession of events seems to be changing the ground situation rapidly. But then, on land and refugee matters for instance, change is very slow. The materials brought together were selected so as to reflect long term concerns and to provide unity of subject matter. Where possible, ongoing developments are accounted for.

     This will be the penultimate report in a series that will bring to an end a phase of our activity extending over 5 1/2 years from our inception. We have been equally critical of the direction of Tamil society which led to human rights violations becoming the symptom of a cancerous growth within its body politic. The last report in this series (No. 13) will have an extended section on this subject together with developments in the districts of Batticaloa and Amparai. It will be issued shortly.

Home | History | Briefings | Statements | Bulletins | Reports | Special Reports | Publications | Links
Copyright © UTHR 2001