UN Secretary-General to visit Sri Lanka

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced yesterday that he will be visiting Sri Lanka this coming Friday and Saturday, May 22-23, to visit the conflict zone and the camps for the internally displaced civilians.  The Sri Lankan government had said last Monday that its forces had defeated the opposition Tamil Tigers, killing their leaders and reconquering all the area once controlled by the Tigers.  Toward the end, the Tigers had with them an estimated 50,000 civilians who they were using as human shields and preventing from leaving the conflict area.  Around 200,000 other civilians were able to flee the war zone and have been held by the government in overcrowded internment camps which they can’t leave.  The Sri Lankan government had barred journalists and most aid agencies from the war zone for months.  The UN and other aid agencies are reportedly still trying to get access to the area.

I hope Secretary-General Ban is able to get the Sri Lankan government to open up the war zone and the internment camps to the UN, other aid agencies and journalists.  The long-suffering civilians should immediately get the care they need and be allowed freedom of movement, the same as other citizens of the country.  We need to find out what happened in the last stages of the war and hold anyone who committed war crimes accountable.

AIUSA welcomes a lively and courteous discussion that follow our Community Guidelines. Comments are not pre-screened before they post but AIUSA reserves the right to remove any comments violating our guidelines.

3 thoughts on “UN Secretary-General to visit Sri Lanka

  1. I feel that if the SL Government is wise, the time has come to send all these INGOs home before they create further problems. I think the SL Goverment has very well understood this. As the first step it has said NO to Red Cross. The western people and INGOs are pushing the SL Government towards China, Russia and Iran, as we understand. If the west or the INGOs are really worried, they can give aids and be away from SL soil. I feel that this is the high time for SL Government to make that decision. If further troubles were created by these INGOs, the public may go uncontrollable by the SL Government and take the control to their hands,

  2. I completely endorse Jim's view that the UN should call on Sri Lanka to open uo the war zone & internment camps to the UN, rights & aid groups & the media, & give the displaced Tamil population all medical & nutritional care plus the rights given all Sri Lanka citizens including full freedom of movement & the right to return to their homes. Urgently recommended. There's a danger the Tamils' displacement may be made permanent by the Sri Lanka govenment in order to solve the Tamil "problem".

  3. I completely endorse Jim’s view that the UN should call on Sri Lanka to open uo the war zone & internment camps to the UN, rights & aid groups & the media, & give the displaced Tamil population all medical & nutritional care plus the rights given all Sri Lanka citizens including full freedom of movement & the right to return to their homes. Urgently recommended. There’s a danger the Tamils’ displacement may be made permanent by the Sri Lanka govenment in order to solve the Tamil “problem”.

Comments are closed.