Return to War - Human Rights Watch
Return to War - Human Rights Watch Return to War - Human Rights Watch
In mid-December at least six civilians drowned trying to make it by overcrowded boat to government-controlled territory. 24 Many of these displaced persons had fled previously from areas to the north and east, such as Mutur, Sampur, and Kantale in Trincomalee district. Four displaced persons who fled Kathiravelli told Human Rights Watch how the LTTE tried to prevent them from leaving for government-controlled areas. One man explained how the LTTE blocked a large group of civilians, first firing into the air and then shooting one IDP in the leg: Near Pannichchankeni at Murgan Temple they stopped us. We were about 560 families. They were about 150 armed LTTE. They said, ‘Don’t go, you must stop here and go back to your village.’ We said, ‘We’re suffering from the shelling and there’s no security here….’ We pushed ahead past the temple but the LTTE came from behind and assaulted some people. They shot one person in the leg and they hit people with palmyra [a kind of palm tree] strips and gun butts. I don’t know the guy who got shot. He was about 30 years old and he was trying to push an LTTE soldier. 25 The LTTE has restricted IDP movement at other times over the past year, most notably on August 4, 2006, when about 27,000 civilians—Muslims and Tamils—fled shelling in the Mutur area in Trincomalee district, and headed by foot towards Killevedi town. En route, LTTE forces stopped them, claiming the road ahead was mined, and directed them towards Kinanthmunai in LTTE-controlled territory. Along the way, LTTE cadres separated the men from the women and children and forced the men to walk past two masked informants, who were apparently looking for members of Muslim armed groups or the Karuna group, which had been active in Mutur. The LTTE removed from the line at least 32 mostly young men, nearly all of them Muslims, tied their hands behind their backs and pushed them to the ground. After an altercation 24 “Six Civilians Drown Fleeing Sri Lanka Battle Zone,” Agence France-Presse, December 15, 2006. 25 Human Rights Watch interview with displaced person, Valaichchenai, February 26, 2007. 25 Human Rights Watch August 2007
in which an LTTE cadre shot and killed one of the civilians, the army was alerted to the LTTE presence and began to shell the area. The shelling reportedly killed several LTTE cadres (including the LTTE commander) and one of the masked informants. Everyone fled the scene. Families became separated, including parents from their children. Another civilian of this group died—a woman—but the circumstances are not known. 26 The surviving displaced persons all eventually reached camps in the vicinity of Kantale. Violence and intimidation by the Karuna group More than 150,000 Tamil displaced persons are currently staying in IDP camps and private houses along the coast in Batticaloa district. 27 The government has failed to provide them with the security and protection they need. The main threat for those in government-controlled areas comes from the Karuna group, which throughout late 2006 and early 2007 has intimidated, threatened, and at times abducted displaced persons. The Karuna group’s presence vastly expanded in early 2007 with the group’s political party, Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), opening new offices around the district, some of them staffed with abducted children and young men. Armed members of the group are routinely visible along the main coastal road and in Batticaloa town. International humanitarian workers reported seeing checkpoints near TMVP offices in Batticaloa town run by men and boys in civilian clothes. According to displaced persons and humanitarian aid workers who spoke with Human Rights Watch, armed members of the Karuna group have been seen in and around various Batticaloa area camps, threatening and sometimes using violence against displaced persons. An international humanitarian worker told Human Rights 26 Human Rights Watch interview, Colombo, August 22, 2006. See also University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), “Hubris and Humanitarian Catastrophe,” August 23, 2006, http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport22.htm (accessed May 23, 2007). 27 Recent months saw two large IDP waves from the Vaharai area to government-controlled territory in Batticaloa district: December 12-18, 2006, and January 26-28, 2007. Return to War 26
- Page 1 and 2: Sri Lanka Return to War Human Right
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- Page 23 and 24: discriminating against Tamils in th
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In mid-December at least six civilians drowned trying <strong>to</strong> make it by overcrowded boat<br />
<strong>to</strong> government-controlled terri<strong>to</strong>ry. 24 Many of these displaced persons had fled<br />
previously from areas <strong>to</strong> the north and east, such as Mutur, Sampur, and Kantale in<br />
Trincomalee district.<br />
Four displaced persons who fled Kathiravelli <strong>to</strong>ld <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> how the LTTE<br />
tried <strong>to</strong> prevent them from leaving for government-controlled areas. One man<br />
explained how the LTTE blocked a large group of civilians, first firing in<strong>to</strong> the air and<br />
then shooting one IDP in the leg:<br />
Near Pannichchankeni at Murgan Temple they s<strong>to</strong>pped us. We were<br />
about 560 families. They were about 150 armed LTTE. They said, ‘Don’t<br />
go, you must s<strong>to</strong>p here and go back <strong>to</strong> your village.’ We said, ‘We’re<br />
suffering from the shelling and there’s no security here….’<br />
We pushed ahead past the temple but the LTTE came from behind and<br />
assaulted some people. They shot one person in the leg and they hit<br />
people with palmyra [a kind of palm tree] strips and gun butts. I don’t<br />
know the guy who got shot. He was about 30 years old and he was<br />
trying <strong>to</strong> push an LTTE soldier. 25<br />
The LTTE has restricted IDP movement at other times over the past year, most notably<br />
on August 4, 2006, when about 27,000 civilians—Muslims and Tamils—fled shelling<br />
in the Mutur area in Trincomalee district, and headed by foot <strong>to</strong>wards Killevedi <strong>to</strong>wn.<br />
En route, LTTE forces s<strong>to</strong>pped them, claiming the road ahead was mined, and<br />
directed them <strong>to</strong>wards Kinanthmunai in LTTE-controlled terri<strong>to</strong>ry. Along the way, LTTE<br />
cadres separated the men from the women and children and forced the men <strong>to</strong> walk<br />
past two masked informants, who were apparently looking for members of Muslim<br />
armed groups or the Karuna group, which had been active in Mutur. The LTTE<br />
removed from the line at least 32 mostly young men, nearly all of them Muslims, tied<br />
their hands behind their backs and pushed them <strong>to</strong> the ground. After an altercation<br />
24 “Six Civilians Drown Fleeing Sri Lanka Battle Zone,” Agence France-Presse, December 15, 2006.<br />
25 <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> interview with displaced person, Valaichchenai, February 26, 2007.<br />
25<br />
<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> August 2007
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