13 years today - Sri Lanka admits bombing ‘No Fire Zone’

1st May 2009

A night of heavy shelling

The No Fire Zone, photographed on 01 May 2009.

 

01 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.

Approximately 200 civilians sheltering at Mullivaikkal were rushed to the hospital as the Sri Lankan military bombarded the area on the night of the 30th of April. Dozens were killed.

Earlier that week the LTTE said the Sri Lankan military had fired at least 5,600 shells in the space of 24 hours, killing hundreds.

See more from TamilNet here.

The aftermath of a shell attack took place on the night of 30th April 2009. 10 civilians were killed on the spot in this shelling.

A young boy stands by a makeshift bunker that was hit by artillery fire on the night of April 30th.

Makeshift bunkers made out of old sheets and saris.

 

'Victory without humanity can be no triumph'

Then British and French foreign ministers David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner wrote in The Times on the 30th of April 2009, after a visit to the island where they met with Mahinda Rajapaksa.

 “The Government of Sri Lanka’s announcement of a cessation of heavy military combat is a welcome step towards the protection of civilians. Similar announcements have been made in the past. This one must be implemented and kept to. The UN had an agreement with the Government to send a mission into the conflict zone to help to assess and address civilian needs. That agreement has not been implemented. It must be.”

“Here the refusal to allow the UN, the aid agencies, and the media full and proper access is quite wrong.”

“The gravity of the situation means that the international community has a duty to respond and to do all that we can to halt the suffering.

As members of the UN Security Council we do not shy away from the responsibility of sovereign governments and the international community to protect civilians. Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, has joined us in describing the failure to protect civilians in Sri Lanka as truly shocking. Yesterday we took our plea direct to the Sri Lankan Government. In its moment of triumph it must show the humanity and self-interest to find a way to win the peace.”

See the full piece at The Times here.

Current Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan met with the visiting delegation and informed them that at least 7,000 Tamils in Vanni have been killed and 14,000 injured in the last three months alone.

Meanwhile, Sinhala Buddhist monks in the south protested against the visiting ministers.

 

Government admits it bombed ‘No Fire Zone’

The Sri Lankan government meanwhile finally admitted that it had bombed the ‘No Fire Zone’ where it had instructed Tamil civilians to seek shelter.

Confronted with leaked satellite footage of the region, which showed extensive crater marks from Sri Lankan military shelling, Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona made the admission in an interview with Al Jazeera despite earlier government denials.

However, Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa contradicted his foreign secretary by continuing to categorically deny that the military had attacked civilian areas with heavy weapons.

"If you are not willing to accept the fact that we are not using heavy weapons, I really can't help it," he said. "We are not using heavy weapons. When we say no, it means no. If we say we are doing something, we do it. We do exactly what we say, without confusion."

See more from Al Jazeera at the time here.

 

IMF loan opposition

The International Monetary Fund is considering granting a $1.9 billion loan to Sri Lanka, despite massive opposition.

Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) had filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Treasury and United States Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seeking a declaratory judgment that United States law prohibited voting in favour of the loan.

 

Diaspora protests continue

Tens of thousands of Tamil protesters from around the world continued their protests, calling on international governments to pressure Sri Lanka into an immediate ceasefire and for urgent international humanitarian assistance.

Tamil protesters in Norway, photographed April 2009