US President Barack Obama has urged Sri Lanka's military to stop indiscriminate shelling of civilians and for the Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down their arms.
President Obama said without urgent action, the humanitarian crisis could turn into a "catastrophe."
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers Barack Obama, US President; Charu Lata Hogg, associate fellow of the Asia programme at Chatham House in London
BARACK OBAMA: So I urge the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and let civilians go. Their forced recruitment of civilians and their use of civilians as human shields is deplorable. These tactics will only serve to alienate all those who carry them out. I'm also calling on the Sri Lankan Government to take several steps to alleviate this humanitarian crisis. First, the government should stop the indiscriminate shelling that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, including several hospitals. The government should live up to its commitment to not use heavy weapons in the conflict zone. Second, the government should give United Nations humanitarian teams access to the civilians who are trapped between the warring parties so that they can receive the immediate assistance necessary to save lives. Third, the Government should also allow the United Nations and the international committee of the Red Cross access to nearly 190,000 displaced people within Sri Lanka so that they can receive additional support that they need. The United States stands ready to work with the international community to support the people of Sri Lanka in this time of suffering. I don't believe that we can delay. Now's the time for all of us to work together to avert further humanitarian suffering. Going forward, Sri Lanka must seek a peace that is secure and lasting and grounded in respect for all of its citizens. More civilian casualties and inadequate care for those caught in resettlement camps will only make it more difficult to achieve the peace that the people of Sri Lanka deserve.
SEN LAM: US President Barack Obama. His statement comes as the UN Security Council holds its first formal session on the plight of an estimated 50,000 civilians trapped by the fighting. There are also about 200,000 people displaced by the latest phase of the conflict. Charu Lata Hogg is Associate Fellow of the Asia Programme at Chatham House in London. I asked her if President Obama's statement was too late in coming.
CHARU LATA HOGG: It is too little, too late. But having said that, the US has made statements - throughout this last phase of the conflict, it has urged for a humanitarian evacuation of the civilians. It has also made many behind the scenes sort of moves to allow that to happen. But a statement from President Obama has come in now after over 6,000 lives have been lost. So I would definitely agree with the assessment that this is happening too late.
SEN LAM: Well, the Tamil Tigers have been proscribed a terrorist organisation by the United States, among some 32 other countries. But might President Obama's statement put extra pressure on Colombo to exercise more care in military shelling of rebel areas in Sri Lanka?
CHARU LATA HOGG: You know, if you look at the kind of statements and the kind of public - the public line of most international governments and most concerned governments has been to condemn what's going on, has been to urge for a humanitarian ceasefire, a negotiated surrender of LTTE country, but that hasn't happened. So if you look at the statement in isolation, does it have any leverage on the government of Sri Lanka? It does not. There are other leverages which exist and the fact is, the United States just speaking out could have some very, very limited impact. But this is: A, it's happening too late; B, it's not happening in a coordinated fashion. It should have happened - the US should have brought pressure on Japan, which is a bilateral donor to Sri Lanka, which is the largest single bilateral donor - 40 percent of Sri Lanka's aid comes from Japan, and the US should have brought pressure on India, which has a huge influence on Sri Lanka. So in that sense, there should have been more coordinated action. Just a statement alone does not amount to sufficient pressure.
SEN LAM: Charu Lata, you speak of a coordinated approach. Do you think it's helpful that the UN Security Council is holding its first session on the civilians' plights?
CHARU LATA HOGG: Well, again, this is a human rights organisation and humanitarian agencies have been urging for a special session on Sri Lanka by the Security Council for over three months now. In the month of January alone, when the civilian casualty crossed the 1,000 mark, there was a need for the Security Council to meet with urgency on Sri Lanka and to put pressure on the government. It did not happen. What is the outcome of this council meeting going to be? Even though it's happening in a formal plenary, I understand? Is it going to mean a strong enough indictment, a strong enough message is going to be sent out to the Sri Lankan Government? That is what's important. The outcome is more important than the fact that this meeting is being held itself.
SEN LAM: So, for the moment, what do we know of the plight of civilians caught in the fighting, their numbers and news of their well-being? For months, Tamil groups overseas have called for the Sri Lankan government to allow international media into or near the conflict zone. What news do we have filtering out of the area?
CHARU LATA HOGG: Very little and very unreliable. The main source of information remains the doctors, who are operating in the no-fire zone, which is ironically called the no-fire zone because it has been shelled repeatedly and hospitals in the area, at least, have been shelled at least 12 times, including makeshift hospitals. You know, there's a severe crisis in terms of access to food, sanitation, drinking water, medicines. Whatever little hospital facilities exist, they're conducting operations without anaesthetics, without pain relief. It is a crisis situation for those who are vulnerable, including children, elderly and women. We are talking about very, very shocking conditions. And recently the ICRC has also said that it was - it is not in a position to conduct any more humanitarian evacuations and nor will it be able to take in essential supplies because it doesn't have sufficient security guarantees. So in that scenario, we're looking at conditions getting worse before they get better.
"Indiscriminate shelling" of Tamil civilians that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, must stop, Obama said in Washington Wednesday. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also must stop using civilians as human shields, he said.
