11 years today - ‘Horrendous act of genocide’
03 May 2020
Marking 11 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Day’. The total number of Tamil civilians killed during the final months is widely contested. After providing an initial death toll of 40,000, the UN found evidence suggesting that 70,000 were killed. Local census records indicate that at least 146,679 people are unaccounted for and presumed to have been killed.
See more at www.RememberMay2009.com, a collaborative project launched last year, between the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Tamil Guardian and 47 Roots.
3rd May 2009
‘Horrendous act of genocide’
Photographs: Above and below - Tamil children with signs of acute malnourishment, pictured inside the final conflict zone.
The LTTE’s Political Head B Nadesan accused the Sri Lankan government of deliberately carrying out a "horrendous act of genocide", with their restriction on food, medicines and humanitarian access to Tamil civilians in the final conflict zone.
See more from TamilNet here.
The OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) found that,
“Witness testimonies and other documentation refer to many dying of starvation, exhaustion or lack of medical care in addition to those killed by shelling and shooting”.
“It remains to be investigated how many people - particularly the most vulnerable such as the elderly and children - died as a result of lack of access to food and medical care.”
A medical professional was quoted by the OISL as describing the situation in the final conflict zone.
“One of the children who was 18 months old was suffering severe lethargy, she could not stand up or walk and had to be carried all the time. Even though we favoured the children with food, they showed signs of muscle wastage in their legs, they had distended stomachs and their ribs where showing through their skin where the normal layer of fat in a child of this age had disappeared.”
Another witness said,
“Everyone was starving. I could see the children were malnourished and the elderly were very weak.”
The OISL went on to state,
“A senior United Nations official said they were amongst the worst cases of malnutrition he had ever seen”.
The attacks continue
A US State Department report quotes a local source as reporting the Sri Lankan military, as part of a multi-barrel shell attack, launched over 40 shells in the vicinity of civilians living in an area between the Mullivaikkal Pillayar temple and the sea.
Photographs taken on May 3rd 2009, in the aftermath of a Sri Lankan MBRL attack.
03 May 2020
“Witness testimonies and other documentation refer to many dying of starvation, exhaustion or lack of medical care in addition to those killed by shelling and shooting”.
“It remains to be investigated how many people - particularly the most vulnerable such as the elderly and children - died as a result of lack of access to food and medical care.”
“One of the children who was 18 months old was suffering severe lethargy, she could not stand up or walk and had to be carried all the time. Even though we favoured the children with food, they showed signs of muscle wastage in their legs, they had distended stomachs and their ribs where showing through their skin where the normal layer of fat in a child of this age had disappeared.”
“Everyone was starving. I could see the children were malnourished and the elderly were very weak.”
“A senior United Nations official said they were amongst the worst cases of malnutrition he had ever seen”.
