UPDATE FROM A SRI LANKA INSIDER

COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 15 May 2009

Rita Webb – Nonviolent Peaceforce Veteran Peacekeeper

Dear friends,
As a recently returned five-year veteran peacekeeper in Sri Lanka, I want to give you an update on the situation there.
 
Nearly 200,000 people have now fled the fighting in the northeastern area of Sri Lanka known as ‘the Vanni’. Up to 50,000 more are still trapped in a small area of intense fighting between government forces and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).

The majority of these people have been, or will be, housed in government-designated relocation centres, or ‘welfare villages’, near the town of Vavuniya. These relocation centres are currently run by the Sri Lankan military and access by UN agencies, journalists, local and international humanitarian organizations has so far been severely restricted.
 
While the plight of those still trapped in the fighting remains extremely dire, the longer term plight of those being held in the government’s relocation centres is also of concern. In any civil war, the distinction between combatants and non-combatants can become quite blurred. In the case of Sri Lanka, virtually all the civilians held in these camps are viewed as possible Tiger sympathisers and/or potential combatants in the eyes of the Sri Lankan military.  We are getting reports that these camps are already severely overcrowded.
 
As I write this letter, Nonviolent Peaceforce is seeking permission to work in the Vavuniya area to provide international protective presence for the civilians displaced there.  At the same time the demand for our services in other parts of Sri Lanka continues unabated as civilians directly affected by previous phases of this war try to get their lives back and those not directly affected nonetheless begin to feel the very real consequences of living in a country at war.
 
We are working directly with the government of Sri Lanka to gain access.  Internationally we are talking with our allies in New York, Washington, Brussels, Geneva, and Colombo to explain the added value that NP, as an independent and non-partisan organization with a track record of success in the country, could offer in terms of effective civilian protection and increased human security, both for the internally displaced and for those resettled or returned to their places of origin.
 
The situation is dire and delicate.
 
You are our partners in this life-saving work. We are poised to increase our peacekeeping contribution.  Without your loyal support we would not be in this position.  My fellow peacekeepers working amid the violence today are deeply aware of your commitment. With adequate political and financial support, NP could quickly send a team of 65 peacekeepers. Thank you for being there with us in Sri Lanka.
 
12 May 2009

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 15 May 2009.

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