11 years today - Hospitals hit by Sri Lankan army

 06 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.

6th May 2009

Photograph taken on May 6th 2009 inside the No Fire Zone.

Hospitals hit by Sri Lankan army

A US State Department report says that on the 6th of May,

A local source reported that the remaining hospital facilities were continually hit by SLA shelling, even though their locations had been carefully reported to the government.

Mano Ganesan, the leader of the Democratic People's Front (DPF), also responded to a statement from the UNP’s Palitharanga Bandara who called for the continued use of heavy weapons, including inside the No Fire Zone, where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were sheltering.

“News from Vanni show that heavy weapons are being used in the war on the ‘safe zone’ in Vanni,” he said.

“Why should Palitharanga Bandara urge the government to use heavy weapons on the ‘safe zone’? Is UNP unaware of the presence of innocent Tamils there? Why this racism against the Tamils? This is something utterly shameful. The UNP will lose its Tamil votes in the future polls.”

Photograph: A woman who was evacuated from the conflict zone, receives medical attention on May 6th 2009.

 

More deaths from starvation

Dozens of people are reported to have died from starvation in the preceding weeks, particularly the elderly.

The US State Department says that,

"An organization’s sources expressed their belief that the GSL was deliberately preventing delivery of medicine to the NFZ and reported that ―over the last week, at least 20 people have died due to starvation and lack of medication"

Deaths are occurring not just inside the No Fire Zone, but also at detention centres in Vavuniya, where on May 4th, ten elderly persons reportedly died.