Cluster bomb strike on hospital is despicable
Amnesty International has denounced the reported use of cluster bombs in a civilian area by the Sri Lankan military as a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
According to a UN spokesperson, the main hospital in the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu, was hit by cluster bombs and had to be evacuated. The hospital, which has been subjected to several attacks in recent days, was bombarded by shelling for 16 hours.
"The use of cluster bombs in such circumstances could constitute a war crime," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International' s Asia-Pacific director. "These bombs are inherently indiscriminate because of the wide area covered by the numerous bomblets released and the danger posed to all those, including civilians, who come into contact with them. Cluster bombs have been banned by the Convention on Cluster Munitions."
"There has been no accountability on either side for serious violations of international humanitarian law in this conflict. The Sri Lankan government has an obligation to investigate war crimes and, whenever there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecute the person suspected of those crimes," Said Sam Zarifi.
Background
In line with the 2008 Convention on Cluster Weapons, Amnesty International opposes the use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions and is calling on all states to ratify the Convention. Sri Lanka is not a party to the Convention.
Cluster bombs or shells scatter scores of bomblets, or submunitions, over a wide area, typically the size of one or two football fields. These can be dropped by aircraft, or fired by artillery or rocket launchers. Depending on which type of submunition is used, between 5 and 20 per cent of cluster bomblets fail to explode. They are then left behind as explosive remnants of war, posing a threat to civilians similar to anti-personnel landmines. The use of these bombs in areas where there is a concentration of civilians violates the prohibition of indiscriminate attack.
The explosive debris left behind by cluster bombs also hamper post-conflict rebuilding and rehabilitation and the dangerous work of cluster bomb clearance absorbs funds that could be spent on other urgent humanitarian needs.
More than 300,000 civilians are now trapped in the north-eastern part of Sri Lanka as the fighting between Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the army intensifies. Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in the Wanni region of the island. Recent reports suggest both sides are violating the laws of war by targeting civilians and preventing them from escaping to safety.
[Full Text of Statement by Amnesty International]
2 Comments
Tamil genocide is being successfully carried out by influence peddling by the Sri Lankan state in other countries, blatant lies and criminal actions. The world was taken for a ride for long, away from the truth. In the process, many Sinhalese have become truthless criminals against Tamils and on Tamil matters.
In 1980's, JR Jeyawardene, a foxy president on Tamil rights, sent his bomber aircrafts to destroy Jaffna Hospital. The patients in the intensive care unit were killed. The flesh and blood of civilians were scattered everywhere. It was criminal and very cruel. Without batting an eyelid, JR told a blatant lie to the world that there were "terrorists" in the hospital.
It ended there. The world refused to investigate the killings and refused to hear the cry of Tamils that it was an act of genocide. It was a great mistake.
JR also bombed Navaly church and many temples and killed refugees there. The cunning "fox" again lied that those killed there were "terrorists".
The criminal president should have been charged for war crime in the Hague. But the world let him loose. The world gave thereby an open licence to any Sri Lankan state to kill Tamils.
Since then, history was repeating for nearly 30 years. The world was still silent. Now, cluster bombs are being dropped and hospitals are being bombed daily. Tigers do not have cluster bombs, yet, they are being blamed to cover up genocide by the state. The state continues to be truthless and dishonest with an ego to kill Tamils to satisfy their blood thirst.
To succeed in deceit and dishonesty, news reporters or monitors are disallowed. Journalists and the media are threatened or killed. But Rajapakse and his military are failing. Evidence, enough of it, is already available on the table, to take the soldiers to war crimes court.
Yesterday, in his "independence celeberation" speech, at a time when the state is carrying out ruthless repression and genocide, Rajapakse did not even mention about the civilians killed in hospital bombings. It was non event for a president!
The occasion though called "independence celeberation", was to propagate and justify brutal oppression of Tamils. Can Tamils ever trust these brutes in one country for their safety, security and peace? Never.
Whilst I appreciate your concern for the sufferings of Tamil civilians in the Tamil homelands, do you really think just because you publicly used strong terms likely 'despicable' to describe the use of cluster bomb on hospitals would cause the Sinhala terrorist State to stop using them.
The Sinhala Army has no business to be in Tamil homelands. The only thing that is sustaining the Sinhala terrorist State to continue with such inhuman brutality against the Tamils is the support and funding received from the international community. Without the international funding the terrorist State of Sri Lanka would not sustain itself long enough to continue to prosecute a brutal war against Tamil in their homeland.
What business does the Sinhala government has in Tamil homeland? Tamil Sinhala Army of occupation should leave Tamil homeland forthwith. The Ceasefire Agreement that was signed with the Tamil Tigers in February 2002 by a government represented by all major Sinhala political parties should be restored in full. This government should not be allowed to unilaterally tear up the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement and get away with it. Only reason for this Sinhala terrorist government to do so is because it is being funded covertly and overtly by the international community without adquately caring for the plight of the Tamil civilians, in their own homeland.
The other things that would put an end to those cowardly Kafir dive bombers ever taking to the sky is to let the LTTE have a handful of surface-to-air Stinger missiles. We know where those cowardly Kfirs would tuck their tails should the LTTE be allowed to acquire them.