"Hundreds of children have been killed and many more injured as a result of the conflict in Sri Lanka,

TO BE NOTED: From ReliefWeb:

"Hundreds of children reported killed, more injured, in Sri Lankan violence

Source: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Date: 18 Mar 2009

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 has 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."

"We will be able to finish this war soon."

In Sri Lanka, from Reuters:

1 of 1Full Size

By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan soldiers captured the last major town held by Tamil Tiger separatists on Sunday, moving a step closer to finishing off one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies, the army commander said.

The eastern port of Mullaittivu is one of the final targets of a military onslaught to end a 25-year war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels. The army had not set foot inside it since the Tigers seized it in 1996.

"After one month's fight we have totally liberated Mullaittivu town," Lieutenant-General Sarath Fonseka said in an address on state television. "We will be able to finish this war soon."

Fonseka said the LTTE-held area is down to 300 square km (186 square miles), cut from 15,000 square km (5,792 sq miles) when the war re-ignited in 2006.

The capture leaves the LTTE confined to a wedge of jungle in the northeast of the Indian Ocean island, with its remaining defenses and bases scattered in a handful of villages.

The 59th Division has been battling up the eastern coast toward Mullaittivu for a year and a month ago reached the edge of the fortified town, which served as a major LTTE operations base.

"We have destroyed large-scale earthen defenses and trenches. We have complete control of Mullaittivu and have destroyed the terrorists," Fonseka said.

The army has racked up a string of victories this month, including capturing the rebels' self-proclaimed capital of Kilinochchi and expelling them from the Jaffna Peninsula.

Aid agencies say about 230,000 civilians fleeing the fighting are trapped in the war zone. Rights groups and the government accuse the LTTE of keeping them as human shields.( A WAR CRIME )

At least 100( 100 ) civilians were killed in artillery exchanges last week, according to a top government official working in the Tiger-controlled area.

The army set up a 32-square-km safe area inside the war zone, but said the LTTE had moved its artillery and heavy weapons inside it.

The LTTE, on U.S., EU, and Indian terrorist lists after years of suicide bombings and assassinations of politicians and rival Tamil figures, could not be reached for comment.

On Saturday, the military said the Tigers had blown up a dam to flood land and slow a rapid army advance. Soldiers also found two facilities for making bombs and landmines, with 4,000 detonators and 150 kg (330 lb) of explosives.

It is difficult to get a clear picture from the war zone, since both sides block independent media from entering it.

The LTTE seized Mullaittivu, a strategic harbor, in 1996 in a massive attack that killed more than 1,000 soldiers. Navy boats have already cordoned off the sea around it, but it had been the last remaining route for the LTTE to bring in weapons.

The LTTE began fighting in earnest in 1983 and say they are the sole representatives of the Tamil minority, which complains of mistreatment by successive governments led by the Sinhalese ethnic majority since independence from Britain in 1948."

We need to see how the government moves forward from these victories.

"It was the constant dream of all Sri Lankans, whether Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, who are opposed to separatism, racism, and terrorism"

Has military force ended the war in Sri Lanka? From Reuters:

"Jan 2 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military on Friday said it had seized Kilinochchi, which the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had claimed as capital of the nation they want to create for Sri Lankan Tamils.

With that, the military has struck a strategic and symbolic blow that shows it has made the most battlefield progress at any time since the war began in 1983( TRUE ) [ID:nSP417902]. That has analysts asking if the ground war could soon be over.

Here are some scenarios of what could happen next:

THE BATTLE HEADS EAST

With Kilinochchi in government hands, the Tigers now control a wedge-shaped piece of land in the northeast corner of the island and a heavily defended strip on the neck of the Jaffna Peninsula that soldiers can hit from both sides now. The only major town the Tigers still control is the Mullaittivu port in the east. Troops are heading towards there on all fronts to the west and south, trying to push the LTTE towards the ocean. Another unit of near division strength -- Task Force Five -- is soon to deploy, the military has said.

DOES MILITARY SUCCESS MEAN EARLY ELECTIONS?

With the LTTE losing ground and the military riding high, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has plenty of political support. That has prompted allies to call for an early parliamentary election to consolidate power and sidestep criticism of his government's handling of the $32 billion economy levelled by the main opposition United National Party. Dates are already set for polls for two provincial councils in February, which many political observers say will be a chance for Rajapaksa to test the waters and shore up support before a national election. Some were expecting Kilinochchi's fall to be the trigger for an early national poll, but advisers have said that is but one of many factors that figure in Rajapaksa's political calculations.

WHAT ABOUT THE ECONOMY?

As predicted, both the Colombo Stock Exchange .CSE and the sliding rupee currency <.LKR=> got a boost from Kilinochchi's capture. It remains to be seen how long that will last since both tend to move on their own fundamentals and have recorded some impressive performances in the course of the 25-year war. In December, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut Sri Lanka's sovereign rating by one level to B, five notches below investment grade, on declining foreign exchange reserves and a high fiscal deficit. Most analysts say a sovereign default is unlikely. That said, the IMF has warned that Sri Lanka's impressive economic growth could slow if it doesn't cut spending, stop taking expensive foreign loans and spend its foreign exchange to support the rupee. It has eased up its support for the rupee to conserve cash.

IS THAT A RISK TO RAJAPAKSA?

Not really, especially with popularity for his war effort so strong. Rajapaksa's mainly rural power base has been largely shielded from economic woes through his populist budgets and development projects. Rajapaksa is also counting on a flood of post-war reconstruction money to come in after fighting ends.

ARE THE TIGERS DOWN FOR THE COUNT?

Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran in his annual speech in November said the government was living in a "dreamland" if it thought it would win. But most analysts say the Tigers are on the defensive and losing strength. The diplomatic currency on which the Tigers had long traded -- that they are defending a minority -- suffered in December when Human Rights Watch accused them of mistreating and forcibly recruiting the Tamils they say they represent. Many analysts say Prabhakaran may order bombings or air raids in Colombo, but will not be able to reverse military gains as spectacularly as he did in the 1980s and 1990s. The military and analysts expect the Tigers to increasingly go underground as they lose turf, changing back into the guerrilla group they started as and away from the conventional force they have become. In a possible sign of things to come, a suspected rebel suicide bomber killed three airmen in Colombo hours after Kilinochchi fell.

INDIA: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Sri Lanka's giant neighbour has always loomed large in the war. Despite a lot of noise from ethnic Tamil politicians in southern India with decades of links to the LTTE, Rajapaksa and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have agreed Tamil political grievances must be addressed while the Tigers should be dealt with militarily. And since Islamist gunmen assaulted Mumbai last month, analysts say Singh is unlikely to give any quarter to a group his own government lists as a terrorist outfit despite renewed pressure for a ceasefire from Indian Tamil politicians. (Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Alex Richardson)"

I think that the Tigers might well become a guerrilla group again, but, since they are having to force Tamils to fight, they might not have the necessary support for an effective resistance movement, especially if the Sri Lankan government reaches out to Tamils. In any case, we have to hope the human rights situation improves for all concerned. We cannot condone the War Crimes committed by the Tigers, or by the government. Pressure should be put on the Sri Lankan government to address Tamil concerns, in order to end the war, defang the Tigers, and bring about peace and justice for all Sri Lankans.

More from Reuters:

"The LTTE started fighting the government in 1983. It says it is battling for the rights of ethnic Tamils in the face of mistreatment by successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948.

Exactly a year ago, Rajapaksa's government formally scrapped an increasingly tattered six-year truce brokered by Norway, saying the rebels were using it as cover to regroup and re-arm.

The military had been closing in on Kilinochchi since September. Over the past month, it has been assaulting Tiger defences encircling the town and both sides claim to have inflicted ever higher death tolls on the other.

"It was the constant dream of all Sri Lankans, whether Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, who are opposed to separatism, racism, and terrorism, and have always, sought peace, freedom and democracy," Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address on Friday.

"Today our heroic troops have made that dream a reality. A short while ago, our brave and heroic troops have fully captured Kilinochchi that was considered the main bastion of the LTTE."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the Tamil Tigers had been "one of the most notorious and brutal terrorist organizations over the past 20 years" but he urged the government to address Tamil concerns.

"A peaceful dialogue is what is called for to resolve the differences and legitimate concerns of the Tamils," he said."

"There has to be a devolution package which goes beyond the stale token concessions which various Sri Lankan governments have offered"

Some wars never seem to end. Jonathan Steele in the Guardian:

"Behind a wall of censorship horrendous battles are under way in northern Sri Lanka. The details are unclear since no independent reporters have been allowed access, and both sides – the government army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – give out bombastic and unverifiable casualty figures.

But through the fog of war a dreadful outline emerges. According to international aid agencies about a quarter of a million people ( 250,000 ) have been made homeless by conflict in the area which the Tigers once controlled behind officially agreed ceasefire lines. The government repudiated the ceasefire a year ago, and its army has made major advances towards the Tigers' political capital, Kilinochchi, as well as its military stronghold, Mullaitivu, on the north-east coast.

The government's boast of finishing the Tigers off in this high-casualty war has not yet been fulfilled. The army was bogged down for several weeks in monsoon rains in October and November, and in a typical battle on Monday the military admitted losing 25 soldiers even as they claimed to have killed 120 Tiger troops.

With its back to the jungle, the Tigers are stepping up pressure on civilians to defend their dwindling area of control, according to a Human Rights Watch report this week. "Trapped in the LTTE's iron fist, ordinary Tamils are forcibly recruited as fighters and forced to engage in dangerous labour near the front lines" ( THIS SEEMS TO BE A WORLDWIDE PRACTICE ), Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director said on Monday. "It has recently gone beyond its longstanding 'one person per family' forced recruitment policy and now sometimes requires two or more family members to join its ranks. The LTTE claims to be fighting for the Tamil people, but it is responsible for much of the suffering of civilians" ( FIGHTING FOR THE PEOPLE. THEY JUST WANT PEACE ).

The government, meanwhile, urges civilians to flee the Tiger areas and houses them in so-called welfare camps, which independent sources describe as detention camps ( UNREAL ). There government-paid informers wearing masks walk through the ranks of the displaced, identifying people as alleged Tiger supporters who are promptly detained ( VERY DECENT ).

Caught in the middle politically, civilians are also suffering massive privation. Since September, all foreign aid workers with the exception of the International Committee of the Red Cross have been barred from Tiger areas. The government has only let a handful of food convoys in ( THEIR STARVATION IS NECESSARY FOR THEIR GETTING A BETTER LIFE, APPARENTLY ).

The government's military advance has changed the political balance in Colombo. A rising tide of Sinhalese chauvinism has led the army commander to claim the island belongs to the Sinhalese Buddhist majority, while leading members of the political party founded by Buddhist monks describe all non-Sinhalese as descendants of visitors. The long-accepted consensus that Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic home for several communities – Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian, is becoming politically incorrect in the minds of the country's current power holders( SECTARIANISM ON THE RISE ). The United National Party, the official opposition that brokered the 2002 ceasefire which now lies in tatters, has succumbed to the dangerous new mood. It, too, supports the government's goal of "military victory".

Were it to be achieved, Sri Lanka's problems would not be solved. The Tigers have always turned to suicide bombings ( I DON"T THINK THAT RELIGION FIGURES IN HERE ) and other atrocities in times of trouble. Forcing them out of their areas of territorial control will not produce peace. It will only condemn Sri Lanka's towns and villages to terrorist reprisals. Moderate Tamils do not support the Tiger's methods but they share the Tiger view that the island's current constitution does not offer fairness to non-Sinhalese populations. There has to be a devolution package which goes beyond the stale token concessions which various Sri Lankan governments have offered over the past two decades

Ironically, the only constructive proposals made since the crisis started came from the LTTE in 2003. Their suggested Internal Self-Governing Authority is over-ambitious but it has never been matched by a detailed blueprint from the government side. Until the government comes up with a realistic offer, which will have to involve elements of a federation, there will be no cause for celebration and no chance of compromise and peace."

This war needs to end before there is no population left. Realistically, there does seem to need to be a compromise, with the Tamil areas having some sort of self-determination.