Sampoor: Facts vs. hype on Sri Lanka's 'post war recovery'.
On the 1st of August , Colombo based pro-government English daily "The Island" quoted a top UN official praising the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) for 'achieving excellent results in its Northern and Eastern rehabilitation and resettlement programme and post-conflict economic development drive'. Wrapping up his three-day visit to Sri Lanka, John Ging, Director of Operations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reportedy said that "I have travelled to many countries with similar problems. But I can say Sri Lanka's progress after the end of the conflict is tremendous." On the 3rd August, the JDS wrote to Mr Ging's office requesting a clarification. The JDS wrote: "The content of the quoted statements above, gravely contradicts the factual information gathered by rights groups regarding the state of the IDPs. Therefore we are interested to know whether the above news reports have fairly and accurately reflected your position on the matter or whether you have been misquoted." His office kept mum.
But later on the same day an official statement was released, confirming that it was in fact the opinion of the senior UN officer. The statement said: "The scale of what Sri Lanka has accomplished over the past three years – the pace of resettlement and the development of infrastructure – is remarkable and very clearly visible.” The shocking level of willful ignorance of the grim realities displayed by the UN affiliated agencies was lauded by the Sri Lankan government while more enthusiastic cheerleaders from India and US echoed the same sentiments.
On the 08th of August, speaking at a defence seminar in Colombo organized by the Sri Lanka Army, a senior Indian military officer praised the GoSL on it's success in 'bringing normalcy to affected areas'. Addressing the gathering titled 'Defence Seminar 2012: Towards Lasting Peace and Stability' , Major General G.S Shergill, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Romeo Force - an elite counterinsurgency force operating under the Indian Rashtriya Rifles - stressed that 'any post-conflict development should be independently mapped out by respective governments in power and no other nation could impose any conditions on that right'. Presenting the Indian perspective on the matters under a sub-theme titled ‘Indian Assistance in Reconstruction and Resettlement in Sri Lanka’ , he said: "Sri Lanka has done tremendously well in addressing many of those issues and bringing normalcy to affected areas. We see a much improvement in the sphere of reconstruction and recovery, of course with the able support of the Army."
But he wasn't alone in his opinion. Speaking on ‘Civil-Military Cooperation’ , a retired US Brigadier General congratulated 'Sri Lanka Army’s gains in the post-war recovery.' The former Commander of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Lewis, Washington and the former Director of the Jebsen Center for Counterterrorism Studies at the Fletcher School, Dr.Russell D. Howard went even further in praising the government stating that "Sri Lanka has performed remarkably well in the fields of recovery and de-mining. A nation’s military can have a profound source of unification spirit for a country battered by a civil war and Sri Lanka’s military assistance has gone a long way, particularly in the field of de-mining and reconstruction."
But the irrefutable evidence contradicts much of the hype surrounding Sri Lanka's 'Post-War Recovery'. The following report compiled by a team of grass root social activists and rights defenders exposes the harsh ground realities prevailing in the north -east of the island. The four member team of the National Fisheries Solidarity (NAFSO) / Praja Abhilasha Network (PA) / PCHR / Rights Now Sri Lanka' met the displaced communities of Sampoor, Thirumurugandi, Sinnavalai, Uduppitti, Jaffna Moor Street and Mullikkulam in July 2012. The subsequent report compiled by them titled 'Resettlement of the war affected IDPs in Sri Lanka: Going behind the Camouflages' provides detailed information on the plight of the surviving Tamil communities in the north and east. The blatant disregard for facts displayed by many, including the senior UN officials, deserved to be re-examined in the light of these ground realities. - Editors
On the 1st of August , Colombo based pro-government English daily "The Island" quoted a top UN official praising the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) for 'achieving excellent results in its Northern and Eastern rehabilitation and resettlement programme and post-conflict economic development drive'. Wrapping up his three-day visit to Sri Lanka, John Ging, Director of Operations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reportedy said that "I have travelled to many countries with similar problems. But I can say Sri Lanka's progress after the end of the conflict is tremendous." On the 3rd August, the JDS wrote to Mr Ging's office requesting a clarification. The JDS wrote: "The content of the quoted statements above, gravely contradicts the factual information gathered by rights groups regarding the state of the IDPs. Therefore we are interested to know whether the above news reports have fairly and accurately reflected your position on the matter or whether you have been misquoted." His office kept mum. But later on the same day an official statement was released, confirming that it was in fact the opinion of the senior UN officer. The statement said: "The scale of what Sri Lanka has accomplished over the past three years – the pace of resettlement and the development of infrastructure – is remarkable and very clearly visible.” The shocking level of willful ignorance of the grim realities displayed by the UN affiliated agencies was lauded by the Sri Lankan government while more enthusiastic cheerleaders from India and US echoed the same sentiments.
On the 08th of August, speaking at a defence seminar in Colombo organized by the Sri Lanka Army, a senior Indian military officer praised the GoSL on it's success in 'bringing normalcy to affected areas'. Addressing the gathering titled 'Defence Seminar 2012: Towards Lasting Peace and Stability' , Major General G.S Shergill, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Romeo Force - an elite counterinsurgency force operating under the Indian Rashtriya Rifles - stressed that 'any post-conflict development should be independently mapped out by respective governments in power and no other nation could impose any conditions on that right'. Presenting the Indian perspective on the matters under a sub-theme titled ‘Indian Assistance in Reconstruction and Resettlement in Sri Lanka’ , he said: "Sri Lanka has done tremendously well in addressing many of those issues and bringing normalcy to affected areas. We see a much improvement in the sphere of reconstruction and recovery, of course with the able support of the Army."
But he wasn't alone in his opinion. Speaking on ‘Civil-Military Cooperation’ , a retired US Brigadier General congratulated 'Sri Lanka Army’s gains in the post-war recovery.' The former Commander of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Lewis, Washington and the former Director of the Jebsen Center for Counterterrorism Studies at the Fletcher School, Dr.Russell D. Howard went even further in praising the government stating that "Sri Lanka has performed remarkably well in the fields of recovery and de-mining. A nation’s military can have a profound source of unification spirit for a country battered by a civil war and Sri Lanka’s military assistance has gone a long way, particularly in the field of de-mining and reconstruction."
But the irrefutable evidence contradicts much of the hype surrounding Sri Lanka's 'Post-War Recovery'. The following report compiled by a team of grass root social activists and rights defenders exposes the harsh ground realities prevailing in the north -east of the island. The four member team of the National Fisheries Solidarity (NAFSO) / Praja Abhilasha Network (PA) / PCHR / Rights Now Sri Lanka' met the displaced communities of Sampoor, Thirumurugandi, Sinnavalai, Uduppitti, Jaffna Moor Street and Mullikkulam in July 2012. The subsequent report compiled by them titled 'Resettlement of the war affected IDPs in Sri Lanka: Going behind the Camouflages' provides detailed information on the plight of the surviving Tamil communities in the north and east. The blatant disregard for facts displayed by many, including the senior UN officials, deserved to be re-examined in the light of these ground realities. - Editors
