Hundreds Of Children Reported Killed, More Injured, In Sri Lankan Violence

[Saturn]

http://www.unicef.org/emerg/index_48791.html

NEW YORK, USA, 18 March 2009 – In a statement issued yesterday, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman expressed alarm at the high number of children affected by continuing violence in the northern area of Sri Lanka known as the Vanni.

"Hundreds of children have been killed and many more injured as a result of the conflict in Sri Lanka," Veneman said. "Thousands are now at risk because of a critical lack of food, water and medicines."

More than 150,000 people are currently trapped by fighting between government troops and the rebel group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE.

"Regular, safe access for humanitarian agencies is urgently required, so that lifesaving supplies can be provided, and civilians must be allowed to move to safe areas where essential humanitarian support is more readily available," Veneman added.

40,000 have escaped

Around 40,000 people have been able to escape the conflict zone, and humanitarian groups are rushing to assist them.

"UNICEF, other UN agencies and partners have been rapidly setting up toilets, getting proper sanitation and providing clean water," said UNICEF Sri Lanka Chief of Communication James Elder. "We're also supporting hospitals who, of course, are overcrowded with the injured."

Elder said there are over 500 pregnant women among the displaced; UNICEF is supplying pregnancy kits for them. If the fighting continues, the number of children and women in need could increase exponentially in the coming weeks.

Rights of children compromised

Even temporary displacement can have a massive impact on children's health and development. UNICEF is working to mitigate the effects of school disruptions and the adverse psychological effects caused by exposure to violence in Sri Lankan conflict areas.

Veneman urged all sides in the conflict to prevent civilian casualties and respect the rights of children.

"Children are the innocent victims of Sri Lanka's conflict," she said. "They desperately need assistance and extraordinary efforts must be taken to protect them."

[YALA]

there is going to be hundreds more killed if the war doesnt finish and we go on to a ceasfire no thanks to the eu, un and the us.....jus my opinion though....

[Pericles]

No concern for the kids injured/killed in terrorist attacks elsewhere in the country, like Akuressa? Probably sitting in an A/C New York office looking at a spreadsheet of numbers and "expressing alarm". No mention of the people hiding behind them using them as sheilds. "Trapped"? "Held hostage" might be better.

[Terabite]

What about the people that are disabled for life.. who talks about them !!!.. not forgetting the parents & loved ones of the diseased people.. this WAS, IS & WILL be a CASH COW for soo many politicos.. that’s all. thats what i think.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Terabite

[jaga]

How many innocent civilians have been killed by LTTE in the south and other areas in the country. Bus and Railway bombing by shooting and cutting hammering in a ruthless way. Has UNICEF or any human right institute made any comment on thise type of incidents?

God bless for the war againest bloody terrarism and once this is over all the problems could be sorted out by a political solution.

[YALA]

i dont see why outsiders need to poke there fingers into our war now after 25 years...no one helped us to get to the point where we have come so i dont think any one should interfere into our matters now that there is progress in the war.....it jus pisses me off when i here about india or eu or un and us been so called concerned about human right violations and everythin in between when the war is leaning on to our side...where were all of these so called humanitarians when there were bus bombings taking 30 to 40 lives at one time....

[Saturn]

@pericles - Unicef (appear to have) expressed concern about children used as human shields/soldiers in the past:

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/child-soldiers-peril-unicef

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-02-17-tig...ght-says-unicef

As for not having complained about X or Y issue, does that make this specific situation any less dire?

I posted this here because I believe its significant and relevant to us, and there doesn't seem to notice much coverage of this topic in the local media (I don't actively follow local media so I may have missed it)

As for "outsiders poking fingers" they are unicef. Unless I'm mistaken, they have done a lot to help kids. Shouldn't we thank them?

Edited March 19, 2009 by Saturn

[Pericles]

Two ways to look at it. One is, halting the fighting will help the situ right now. Two is, finishing what has been started will help more in the long run. Coz if you don't finish it now, it'll have to be done later, at it will be proportionately more difficult if you give the tigers time to rest, re-arm, and reinforce, and that just means more prolonged suffering then.

I don't think it'll end terrorism, but at least it makes it much more difficult for them to do things like build submarines and munition factories, and fly aircraft if they don't control the real estate.

Or it could be that I've just been watching too much Patton.

[Saturn]

From an academic viewpoint, it would be interesting to see how this plays out, but being here in the middle of it (so to speak) is no fun Let us hope we live to see a peaceful end.

[tharindu6]

You know what I dont understand is when they Bombed colombo and others places and when the killed so many civilians all of these countrys and NGOs kept their mouth shut...now all of a sudden everybody very concerned about civilians being killed...even some of the sri lankans talk against current militory movements in north..why????? because they are f**king jobless I guess..

and no one talks when LTTE use children as suside carders..

and please do keep in mind we are living in colombo and having all this fun and talking about cars and how to pimp them while our soliders fight in the north againts terroists sacrifising their youth,limbs,eyes,hands and THEIR LIFE..please have some respect for what they do..Im not a fan of war..but at the moment what I think is we all should support our army on what they do..

After all A Solder is also some ones Son/Daughter/husband/wife/mother/father

PS: pople who have time to talk aganist our army are f**king ass holes who would sell their own mother for money ( mods im very sorry for my langauge but i cant help it)

[Ripper]

Two ways to look at it. One is, halting the fighting will help the situ right now. Two is, finishing what has been started will help more in the long run. Coz if you don't finish it now, it'll have to be done later, at it will be proportionately more difficult if you give the tigers time to rest, re-arm, and reinforce, and that just means more prolonged suffering then.

I don't think it'll end terrorism, but at least it makes it much more difficult for them to do things like build submarines and munition factories, and fly aircraft if they don't control the real estate.

Or it could be that I've just been watching too much Patton.

I'm with Peri on most of the points he has brought up...

true UN and those NGO folks have uttered a word or two when tigers killed civilans... But it's quite an obvious fact that they've had some bias towards the tigers... Majority of their statements, even when it's clear that tigers were behind the acts...they would mostly say "we request both parties to protect civilians" etc... That alone is treating a terrorist outfit far too well and almost equating it to a legitimate govenment...

Say when US forces were operating Iraq and in Afghanistan, none of these fools released statements asking "both parties" to respect HR laws etc....

So IMHO most of these international bodies added fuel and gave strength to ltte with their baised statements all because we're a small nation of asians... Had we been like Israel or something like that, things would have been lot different...

In Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently in Palastine...the human suffering on cmoplete innocents was un imaginable and yet where was these bleeding hearts? what did HRW do?

why mr. Ba ki moon couldn't even go to palestine and had to cancel the trip due to security issues, why israel didn't allow media into gaza and how most international bodies looked on as thousands of bodies piled up?

End of the day in SL, this useless cursed ltte is fighting for a worthless cause...a cause they no longer can justify eveb to the same people they supposedly represent... atl east if they had little more brains than an amoeba...

these guys have killed not only soldiers, but also children, men and women from their same group.... no tamil voice opposing ltte's view can survive in SL....

there will be no permanent solution until ltte holds on to arms and have the power to force people... and force their ideals on them.... So as it's easy for me to say this and as tough things will be... defeating ltte militarily is the only solution...

we've never come this far so let's finsih off these MF's once and for all...

at least our kids will have a future without a war and most importantly people under ltte areas will finally have a life and a future of their own...

[MasterDon]

Two ways to look at it. One is, halting the fighting will help the situ right now. Two is, finishing what has been started will help more in the long run. Coz if you don't finish it now, it'll have to be done later, at it will be proportionately more difficult if you give the tigers time to rest, re-arm, and reinforce, and that just means more prolonged suffering then.

I don't think it'll end terrorism, but at least it makes it much more difficult for them to do things like build submarines and munition factories, and fly aircraft if they don't control the real estate.

Or it could be that I've just been watching too much Patton.

i agree with peri...i've never been a war monger,but we need to finish what has been started to avoid ending up in even deeper trouble

i honestly dont know what will come after the impending "victory",but i do sincerely hope thet it'll be as sweet as most people think it would be.

...even some of the sri lankans talk against current militory movements in north..why????? because they are f**king jobless I guess..

and please do keep in mind we are living in colombo and having all this fun and talking about cars and how to pimp them while our soliders fight in the north againts terroists sacrifising their youth,limbs,eyes,hands and THEIR LIFE..please have some respect for what they do..Im not a fan of war..but at the moment what I think is we all should support our army on what they do..

After all A Solder is also some ones Son/Daughter/husband/wife/mother/father

PS: pople who have time to talk aganist our army are f**king ass holes who would sell their own mother for money ( mods im very sorry for my langauge but i cant help it)

i'm very sorry but i do not agree on your take on patriotism,the military needs to applauded for it's victories.yes...but believing everything done by them as noble or justified is plain stupid...as the military is only responing to the orders given by executive power

and i refuse to believe that i'm not worthy of breathing sri lankan air if i'm not in the military...because i do my share for the betterment of this country each and every day

as for those critizising the military,the handful of honest and democracy believing jounalists/politicians that are left in the country are NOT critizing the military,they are critizising the higher power that is controling them and how they are letting common people suffer under the guise of a "great military victory"...please try to understand the differance between an LTTE supporter and a true journalist...

[GihanFX]

No concern for the kids injured/killed in terrorist attacks elsewhere in the country, like Akuressa? Probably sitting in an A/C New York office looking at a spreadsheet of numbers and "expressing alarm". No mention of the people hiding behind them using them as sheilds. "Trapped"? "Held hostage" might be better.

well said

[Supra_Natural]

i agree with peri...i've never been a war monger,but we need to finish what has been started to avoid ending up in even deeper trouble

i honestly dont know what will come after the impending "victory",but i do sincerely hope thet it'll be as sweet as most people think it would be.

i'm very sorry but i do not agree on your take on patriotism,the military needs to applauded for it's victories.yes...but believing everything done by them as noble or justified is plain stupid...as the military is only responing to the orders given by executive power

and i refuse to believe that i'm not worthy of breathing sri lankan air if i'm not in the military...because i do my share for the betterment of this country each and every day

as for those critizising the military,the handful of honest and democracy believing jounalists/politicians that are left in the country are NOT critizing the military,they are critizising the higher power that is controling them and how they are letting common people suffer under the guise of a "great military victory"...please try to understand the differance between an LTTE supporter and a true journalist...

Well said mate, very well said!

[Ripper]

and i refuse to believe that i'm not worthy of breathing sri lankan air if i'm not in the military...because i do my share for the betterment of this country each and every day

as for those critizising the military,the handful of honest and democracy believing jounalists/politicians that are left in the country are NOT critizing the military,they are critizising the higher power that is controling them and how they are letting common people suffer under the guise of a "great military victory"...please try to understand the differance between an LTTE supporter and a true journalist...and i refuse to believe that i'm not worthy of breathing sri lankan air if i'm not in the military...because i do my share for the betterment of this country each and every day

very well said mate! If only most folks in SL had that sort of a take on this.....

[Ripper]

Well said mate, very well said!

bummer...u beat me into it

[MasterDon]

Well said mate, very well said!

very well said mate! If only most folks in SL had that sort of a take on this.....

[Saturn]

...they would mostly say "we request both parties to protect civilians" etc... legitimate govenment...

Unless I'm mistaken, INGO's tend to use language like this when working in conflict situations to avoid pissing off either side (and being cut off from helping the civilians), as recently happened in Dafur.

What bothers me is (correct me if I'm wrong):

1. There's a crisis and a lot of kids are suffering/some are dying.

2. INGO's like UNICEF are actively working to help these kids.

3. Everytime this topic comes up in any medium in Sri Lanka, the comments either go as:

a. NGO's suck because (insert reason)

b. Their reporting is biased.

c. I'm patriotic and anyone who speaks against me/our side/some side is unpatriotic etc etc.

Suppose we assume that UNICEF is highly biased/corrupt, and everyone who works there is doing it for highly selfish reasons, etc... does that change the fact that people are indeed suffering, and they (UNICEF) are saving lives, feeding children. Shouldn't we be grateful to them for that?

Edited March 19, 2009 by Saturn

[Mani]

As heartless as this may sound, we have to consider those that who are lost as casualties of this conflict. However, we also have to make every effort to minimize those casualties. If we do all that is within our power to minimize the innocent lives being lost, then we have done our part.

We came this far and to pause now is a big mistake. It will result in more lives lost in the future. This conflict need to come to an end and fast. So faster we get rid of these LTTE parasites the sooner we can begin to rebuild and recover the country that it once was.

These pathetic assholes [sorry for my French] have put our country in a holt in both economically and socially. We have lot of very smart and gifted individuals whose progress is held back because of this conflict and the country along with that.

IMO. We need to kill every one of these LTTE bastards slowly in a span of several days for destroying our country. Torture the bastards and drag the bodies behind tanks until there is nothing to drag any more.

Secondly, we need to have a heavy military presence in the North and North-East for several years to come to make sure these numb nuts don't regroup.

[YALA]

IMO. We need to kill every one of these LTTE bastards slowly in a span of several days for destroying our country. Torture the bastards and drag the bodies behind tanks until there is nothing to drag any more.

Secondly, we need to have a heavy military presence in the North and North-East for several years to come to make sure these numb nuts don't regroup.

i agree with you on this....but i still think its too lenient of a punishment for wrecking havok in our country....

[ucscsades]

As heartless as this may sound, we have to consider those that who are lost as casualties of this conflict. However, we also have to make every effort to minimize those casualties. If we do all that is within our power to minimize the innocent lives being lost, then we have done our part.

We came this far and to pause now is a big mistake. It will result in more lives lost in the future. This conflict need to come to an end and fast. So faster we get rid of these LTTE parasites the sooner we can begin to rebuild and recover the country that it once was.

These pathetic assholes [sorry for my French] have put our country in a holt in both economically and socially. We have lot of very smart and gifted individuals whose progress is held back because of this conflict and the country along with that.

IMO. We need to kill every one of these LTTE bastards slowly in a span of several days for destroying our country. Torture the bastards and drag the bodies behind tanks until there is nothing to drag any more.

Secondly, we need to have a heavy military presence in the North and North-East for several years to come to make sure these numb nuts don't regroup.

Yes, the war must go on to prevent the situation falling back to what it used to be. BUT the government also needs to be more careful about its fight for the 'freedom of the people'. We can't compare the actions of the LTTE to the government. They are a brutal terrorist organisation that will do anything to get their way. But the government is well, the government, and they have a responsibility to look out for the welfare of the innocent civilians -whose freedom they are fighting for- in fighting this battle.

Yes, the armed forces are doing a great service for our country, but they also need to be more careful about the civilian casualties. Situations like this could very well backfire and cause a great deal of trouble in the future due to possible hatred that is created today in the lives of innocent people. Truly hope the best results as a result of the current military strides, but the politicians backing should also keep in mind the interests of the minorities stranded in the north and east in addition to the applause they get for being heroes and saviours from those removed from the conflict.

[Ruslan]

As heartless as this may sound, we have to consider those that who are lost as casualties of this conflict. However, we also have to make every effort to minimize those casualties. If we do all that is within our power to minimize the innocent lives being lost, then we have done our part.

We came this far and to pause now is a big mistake. It will result in more lives lost in the future. This conflict need to come to an end and fast. So faster we get rid of these LTTE parasites the sooner we can begin to rebuild and recover the country that it once was.

These pathetic assholes [sorry for my French] have put our country in a holt in both economically and socially. We have lot of very smart and gifted individuals whose progress is held back because of this conflict and the country along with that.

IMO. We need to kill every one of these LTTE bastards slowly in a span of several days for destroying our country. Torture the bastards and drag the bodies behind tanks until there is nothing to drag any more.

Secondly, we need to have a heavy military presence in the North and North-East for several years to come to make sure these numb nuts don't regroup.

Hmm.. i guess most of the work done by White van method.. flush down every LTTP parasite with style..

came across with hilarious statement lately done by UN itself.. they just said that they are worried about UN staff abducted by LTTE for military purposes. they just choose their own staff when thousands of IDPs suffering inside LTTE grip.. clowns indeed.. got no words to say about these guys..

talking about "Development" done by these so called helpful INGOs, we could clearly see that from war footage done by local media masses that they (Development) just existed only to Hoardings in Vanni area.. and heavy military presence is could be done with those captured bases.. LTTE and Idiot Diaspora guys already built air strips and Ammunition and all the facilities free of charge for SLDF so we can setup Military bases with No time..

Edited March 20, 2009 by Ruslan

[GTAm]

i dont see why outsiders need to poke there fingers into our war now after 25 years...no one helped us to get to the point where we have come so i dont think any one should interfere into our matters now that there is progress in the war.....it jus pisses me off when i here about india or eu or un and us been so called concerned about human right violations and everythin in between when the war is leaning on to our side...where were all of these so called humanitarians when there were bus bombings taking 30 to 40 lives at one time....

Ok my two cents worth....... I know this won't be popular.

Why should outsiders poke their fingers in our business? Coz we've been screwing up since forever! It's our politicians who created the damn LTTE don't forget! India used them to their advantage, trained and armed them.

Now since India is a power house and the LTTE got out of control, they need to stabilize the region. I hope everyone realizes that this is the FIRST time in history that India has been AGAINST the LTTE when our army has tried to destroy them. Have we forgotten the parrippu bombardment we got? And the Inod-SL accord that Rajiv Gandhi forced down our throats? We Sri Lankans forget too soon as even Prabakaran says. Just look at the numbers between our forces and the LTTE. We should have won the war ages ago. But big brother was protecting the terrorists. Now big brother is with our brothers . And don't be surprised if you find that our country is already sold by the time the war is over.

Our economy is in dire straits there's a lot LESS than meets the eye. We need all the foreign friends we can have. And the damn govt. knows this. Why else hug the IMF loan which they ridiculed a couple of years back? If we were economically strong things might have been different.

Beggars can't be choosers. We are beggars right now. We've neglected the economy big time. We need foreign aid. But the govt. will tell you otherwise. So don't be fooled by their propaganda. They are on this patriotic trip that wins votes. We are not a lonely planet on our own in the universe. We need others support. If we take their help we need to conform to their requests. Which are fair. What about the civilians killed by the LTTE? It's despicable of course. But that does not mean a govt. can go around killing civilians as well. Or put another way be careless. You and I sitting in our A/Cd Colombo or suburban rooms will probably never be able to imagine the suffering of a displaced civilian who's been harassed all his or her life, lost everything and is in constant anxiety of getting a shell on their arse or a bullet through their skull. I think the people in the A/Cd rooms in NY are better informed on this subject.

After all (again, this is not going to be popular) ...... Most of them are countries who have got things right. Developed themselves into great nations. Before anyone starts snorting at this.... think about where most people in countries like ours wish to migrate to...!!!!!

We have all sorts of excuses about why we have not developed. It's easy to blame the terrorist problem, yes. But isn't that the cause of something more fundamental? We even blame the Invaders who colonized our country. Why were they able to? Because we were screwing around, even at that time. And we are still at it!!! 50 odd years on!

As much as I want to see the back of the evil LTTE I also dream of a Sri Lankan leader who truly loves our country and will stand up for what is right and not what is popular with the foolish masses. Someone brave enough to stick to firm principals and put the country first, not their pockets.

Until then don't count your eggs.....

Gotta go now, I see a white van at the door

[ucscsades]

Ok my two cents worth....... I know this won't be popular.

Why should outsiders poke their fingers in our business? Coz we've been screwing up since forever! It's our politicians who created the damn LTTE don't forget! India used them to their advantage, trained and armed them.

Now since India is a power house and the LTTE got out of control, they need to stabilize the region. I hope everyone realizes that this is the FIRST time in history that India has been AGAINST the LTTE when our army has tried to destroy them. Have we forgotten the parrippu bombardment we got? And the Inod-SL accord that Rajiv Gandhi forced down our throats? We Sri Lankans forget too soon as even Prabakaran says. Just look at the numbers between our forces and the LTTE. We should have won the war ages ago. But big brother was protecting the terrorists. Now big brother is with our brothers . And don't be surprised if you find that our country is already sold by the time the war is over.

Our economy is in dire straits there's a lot LESS than meets the eye. We need all the foreign friends we can have. And the damn govt. knows this. Why else hug the IMF loan which they ridiculed a couple of years back? If we were economically strong things might have been different.

Beggars can't be choosers. We are beggars right now. We've neglected the economy big time. We need foreign aid. But the govt. will tell you otherwise. So don't be fooled by their propaganda. They are on this patriotic trip that wins votes. We are not a lonely planet on our own in the universe. We need others support. If we take their help we need to conform to their requests. Which are fair. What about the civilians killed by the LTTE? It's despicable of course. But that does not mean a govt. can go around killing civilians as well. Or put another way be careless. You and I sitting in our A/Cd Colombo or suburban rooms will probably never be able to imagine the suffering of a displaced civilian who's been harassed all his or her life, lost everything and is in constant anxiety of getting a shell on their arse or a bullet through their skull. I think the people in the A/Cd rooms in NY are better informed on this subject.

After all (again, this is not going to be popular) ...... Most of them are countries who have got things right. Developed themselves into great nations. Before anyone starts snorting at this.... think about where most people in countries like ours wish to migrate to...!!!!!

We have all sorts of excuses about why we have not developed. It's easy to blame the terrorist problem, yes. But isn't that the cause of something more fundamental? We even blame the Invaders who colonized our country. Why were they able to? Because we were screwing around, even at that time. And we are still at it!!! 50 odd years on!

As much as I want to see the back of the evil LTTE I also dream of a Sri Lankan leader who truly loves our country and will stand up for what is right and not what is popular with the foolish masses. Someone brave enough to stick to firm principals and put the country first, not their pockets.

Until then don't count your eggs.....

Gotta go now, I see a white van at the door

Amen!

[AMG]

Ok my two cents worth....... I know this won't be popular.

Why should outsiders poke their fingers in our business? Coz we've been screwing up since forever! It's our politicians who created the damn LTTE don't forget! India used them to their advantage, trained and armed them.

Now since India is a power house and the LTTE got out of control, they need to stabilize the region. I hope everyone realizes that this is the FIRST time in history that India has been AGAINST the LTTE when our army has tried to destroy them. Have we forgotten the parrippu bombardment we got? And the Inod-SL accord that Rajiv Gandhi forced down our throats? We Sri Lankans forget too soon as even Prabakaran says. Just look at the numbers between our forces and the LTTE. We should have won the war ages ago. But big brother was protecting the terrorists. Now big brother is with our brothers . And don't be surprised if you find that our country is already sold by the time the war is over.

Our economy is in dire straits there's a lot LESS than meets the eye. We need all the foreign friends we can have. And the damn govt. knows this. Why else hug the IMF loan which they ridiculed a couple of years back? If we were economically strong things might have been different.

Beggars can't be choosers. We are beggars right now. We've neglected the economy big time. We need foreign aid. But the govt. will tell you otherwise. So don't be fooled by their propaganda. They are on this patriotic trip that wins votes. We are not a lonely planet on our own in the universe. We need others support. If we take their help we need to conform to their requests. Which are fair. What about the civilians killed by the LTTE? It's despicable of course. But that does not mean a govt. can go around killing civilians as well. Or put another way be careless. You and I sitting in our A/Cd Colombo or suburban rooms will probably never be able to imagine the suffering of a displaced civilian who's been harassed all his or her life, lost everything and is in constant anxiety of getting a shell on their arse or a bullet through their skull. I think the people in the A/Cd rooms in NY are better informed on this subject.

After all (again, this is not going to be popular) ...... Most of them are countries who have got things right. Developed themselves into great nations. Before anyone starts snorting at this.... think about where most people in countries like ours wish to migrate to...!!!!!

We have all sorts of excuses about why we have not developed. It's easy to blame the terrorist problem, yes. But isn't that the cause of something more fundamental? We even blame the Invaders who colonized our country. Why were they able to? Because we were screwing around, even at that time. And we are still at it!!! 50 odd years on!

As much as I want to see the back of the evil LTTE I also dream of a Sri Lankan leader who truly loves our country and will stand up for what is right and not what is popular with the foolish masses. Someone brave enough to stick to firm principals and put the country first, not their pockets.

Until then don't count your eggs.....

Gotta go now, I see a white van at the door

Very Well Said Machan.