13 years today - 'Amongst the worst cases of malnutrition he had ever seen'

 03 May 2022

Marking 13 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’. 

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. By examining different sources, including the United Nations, census figures and World Bank data, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) found that the highest estimate of those killed during that final phase could be as large as 169,796. 

See more at www.RememberMay2009.com, a collaborative project launched last year, between the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Tamil Guardian and 47 Roots.

3rd May 2009

‘Horrendous act of genocide’

Photographs: Above and below - Tamil children with signs of acute malnourishment, pictured inside the final conflict zone.

The LTTE’s Political Head B Nadesan accused the Sri Lankan government of deliberately carrying out a "horrendous act of genocide", with their restriction on food, medicines and humanitarian access to Tamil civilians in the final conflict zone.

See more from TamilNet here.

The OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) found that,

“Witness testimonies and other documentation refer to many dying of starvation, exhaustion or lack of medical care in addition to those killed by shelling and shooting”.

“It remains to be investigated how many people - particularly the most vulnerable such as the elderly and children - died as a result of lack of access to food and medical care.”    

A medical professional was quoted by the OISL as describing the situation in the final conflict zone.

“One of the children who was 18 months old was suffering severe lethargy, she could not stand up or walk and had to be carried all the time. Even though we favoured the children with food, they showed signs of muscle wastage in their legs, they had distended stomachs and their ribs where showing through their skin where the normal layer of fat in a child of this age had disappeared.”

 Another witness said,

“Everyone was starving. I could see the children were malnourished and the elderly were very weak.”

 

The OISL went on to state,

“A senior United Nations official said they were amongst the worst cases of malnutrition he had ever seen”.

 

The attacks continue

A US State Department report quotes a local source as reporting the Sri Lankan military, as part of a multi-barrel shell attack, launched over 40 shells in the vicinity of civilians living in an area between the Mullivaikkal Pillayar temple and the sea.

Photographs taken on May 3rd 2009, in the aftermath of a Sri Lankan MBRL attack.

2nd May 2009

Hospital bombed twice

The aftermath of a Sri Lankan military attack on a hospital, which was hit twice on the morning of 2nd May 2009.

The only remaining hospital in Mullivaikkal was attacked twice by the Sri Lankan military on the morning of the 2nd of May 2009, with at least 64 people killed and a further 87 injured.

A US State Department report quoted a local source as stating the hospital was shelled twice, once at 9 a.m. and again at 10.30 a.m. The main outpatient department was hit as well as a bunker in the immediate vicinity to the hospital. Human Rights Watch later reported these attacks, noting that the second attack also resulted in dozens of casualties.

The OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka quoted a witness describing the scene:

“There were many bodies everywhere and I could still smell the smoke from the shells hanging in the air. The smell of blood and the screaming from the injured was overwhelming. There were many women and children dead.”

Human Rights Watch would go on to state that there were “at least 30 attacks on permanent and makeshift hospitals in the combat area since December 2008”.

Photographs: Above - The aftermath of a Sri Lankan military attack on a hospital, which was hit twice on the morning of 2nd May 2009.

 

LTTE calls once more for a ceasefire

The LTTE released a statement calling once more for a ceasefire to end the humanitarian crisis. Extracts of their statement below.

“May, I take this opportunity to draw attention to our unilateral announcement of a cease fire on 26th April and our position that only such a ceasefire can end the humanitarian crisis. We are ready to engage in the process to bring about a ceasefire and enter into negotiations for an enduring resolution to the conflict.”

We call for an international monitoring mechanism that can ascertain for itself the plight of civilians who have sought sanctuary in the areas under our control.”

“Given the political ideology that drives the Sri Lankan state, there is little reason to hope that it would, on its own accord, consider any accommodation with Tamil aspirations. Indeed this is the bitter lesson learnt by the Tamil people during the last 60 years following the departure of the British in 1948. We are convinced that this particular phase of the conflict is an attempt to eradicate a distinct Tamil identity. It is in the face of this situation that we seek the recognition and the support of the international community for our struggle. It is a struggle for democracy and an enduring peace based on our aspirations as a people. Should the Sri Lankan regime be permitted to continue with its ultimate objective of imposing a ‘final solution’ through military means, we have no doubt that it will destabilize the region.

See more from TamilNet here.

 

Protests in Tamil Nadu, Indian military vehicles attacked

Indians in Tamil Nadu protested against the Sri Lankan military’s offensive and attacked a convoy of military trucks they accused of transporting weapons to the Sri Lankan government.

 

Paramilitary operatives kill 8-year-old girl in Batticaloa

Meanwhile, paramilitary cadres attached to the Pillaiyan and Karuna groups are accused of killing 8-year-old Thinusika Satheeskumar in Batticaloa, who was abducted whilst on her way home from school earlier in the week. Her body was found dumped in a well.

Tamil paramilitary groups aligned with the government continue to operate with impunity in the region, with the Sri Lankan military providing them continued protection.