http://www.spur.asn.au/LTTE_Atrocities_20070528_Ratmalana_Bomb.htm
http://www.spur.asn.au/LTTE_Atrocities_20060615_Kebithigollewa_Massacre.htm
http://www.spur.asn.au/chronology_of_suicide_bomb_attacks_by_Tamil_Tigers_in_sri_Lanka.htm
http://www.spur.asn.au/After_signing_the_so-called_JM.htm
"Lanka news" <rupasinge@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:de351509-8299-42be-ad39-81c4c4172bcb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sri Lanka sliding into humanitarian nightmare- Geneva Group
> [TamilNet, Monday, 25 February 2008, 04:37 GMT]
> Pointing out that the number of civilian deaths has jumped sharply
> after the election of Rajapakse Government and that "the present
> government displays little appetite for peace," Director of Small Arms
> Survey in Geneva, Robert Muggah, in an article appearing in Canada's
> The Star, recommends that if Sri Lanka rebuffs pressure to abandon
> military solution "U.S. and the EU could consider withdrawing the
> country from the General System of Preferences," U.N. should appoint a
> special envoy to start do***enting under-re****ted armed violence, and
> U.N. should use article-99 to take up the issue in U.N. security
> council.
>
>
> Robert Muggah, Research director of the Small Arms Survey, Geneva
> "Much like previous administrations led by Jayawardane, Premadasa or
> Kumaratunga, Rajapaksa claims that a military solution to the LTTE
> question is within his grasp. The current government differs in one
> im****tant respect: It has dropped all pretense to negotiate a
> political settlement," Dr Muggah writes.
>
> On India's approach to dealing with the Sri Lanka conflict, Muggah
> says: "[T]he efforts of South Asia's regional power, India, have
> yielded comparatively little to stem Sri Lanka's slide into violence.
> Although India has long played a Janus-faced role in Sri Lanka, it is
> alarmed by the contagion effects of the long-running war. The UN
> Refugee Agency estimates that more than 20,000 Sri Lankan Tamil
> refugees are langui****ng in southern India and thousands more have
> sought safe haven since the resumption of war. While this has
> irritated India's own sizable Tamil population, the Sri Lankan
> government's repressive tactics risk triggering militarization in
> refugee camps and at home."
>
> Sri Lankan war will likely continue without end, if the current
> military strategy does not change course, Muggah cautions, and
> recommends the following to prevent Sri Lanka from "collapsing
> entirely":
> First, cautious diplomatic pressure must continuously be applied in
> order to convince the government and the LTTE that a military solution
> is not viable,
> Second, if rebuffed, the U.S. and the EU could consider withdrawing
> the country from the General System of Preferences, which applies
> reduced taxes and levies to certain Sri Lankan ex****ts, such as tea
> and textiles,
> Third, because there are no international observers to monitor human
> rights in Sri Lanka, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon could appoint a
> special envoy to the country.
> Fourth, given regional implications or even little-used article 99 of
> the UN Charter, the UN Security Council should be encouraged to take
> up the issue. On the recommendation of a special envoy, the council
> can identify political and economic sanctions to bring the parties
> back to the negotiating table.
> Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations, Chapter 15, reads:
> "The Secretary General may bring to the attention of the Security
> Council any matter which is in his opinion may threaten the
> maintenance of international peace and security."
>
> Robert Muggah is research director of the Small Arms Survey in Geneva
> and is the author of Relocation Failures: A Short History of Internal
> Displacement and Resettlement in Sri Lanka
>
>
> External Links:
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