It’s an account of the last phase of war in Sri Lanka which left thousands dead
The sheer intensity, scale and speed of the killings in the last stage of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009 were unprecedented in recent times, according to Frances Harrison, journalist, and author of ‘Still Counting the Dead,’ an account of the turbulent phase that left thousands dead.
She was referring to the huge death toll (estimated to be 40,000 and 70,000 according to two UN reports) that happened within 120 to 130 days inside the ‘No Fire Zones’ because of the use of artillery, mortars, rocket launchers and supersonic jets by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Ms. Harrison was speaking at a function at which a Tamil translation of her book was launched.
Quoting a World Bank document, she said one lakh persons were missing between 2006 and 2010 and there had to be an explanation on where these people are. Referring to her interviews with 10 persons mentioned in the book and the countless others she had spoken to, Ms. Harrison said most of them were broken and suicidal after seeing the destruction of lives around them. Reading excerpts from the book, Ms. Harrison described how a priest lost his life due to delay in getting treatment and through a journalist’s account, the final moments of a starving mother who died while breast-feeding her baby.
Noted art critic and writer Sadanand Menon, who received the first copy of the translated work at a function here on Saturday, said the Sri Lankan State had to be made accountable for the horrible crimes. As there was a possibility that Sri Lanka might get away with “war crimes,” Tamils in the mainland must read, circulate and discuss Ms. Harrison’s “testimony” of the final ‘Eelam’ war through the voices of members of different sections of society who were witness to it, using a “dispassionate” narrative, he said.
Poet Cheran, read from his poetry collection Kaadatru, written during the final stages of the Eelam war, and presented the first copy of the translated book published by ‘Kalachuvadu’. Four other poets recited poems on the Eelam struggle and the horrific crimes committed by the Sri Lankan State.
Keywords: Lanka civil war, Frances Harrison, Eelam war
I am at a loss to comprehend how can a democratically elected government act so
autocratically.It is really sad that the political parties India were silent at the time of killing. It
is high time an international probe is ordered.
Sri Lanka was the first country in the 21st century to massacre thousands of its own citizens, before Gaddaffi and Assad. Gaddaffi is gone, Assad treated as a war criminal is on the way out. But Rajapaksa's future looks good.
Look at it. When 28 people killed in Newtown, connecticut, entire USA is mouning and the president is with tears. More than 100,000 killed in Srilanka including children, no sympathy from the Buddha nation and the Gandhi Nation. The brown man talk high about the religion,but no heart. Mahatma Gandhi was lucky, he fought the independence struggle with a white man. Imagine if he would have fought the stuggle with Brown man??????
Decent democracies of the world should demand an independant imternational inquiry. Never again this should happen anywhere!!
Pointless discussing this story of Genocide and death of Tamils, they fought a war with the
state and lost. Now they want the government who had the right to defend , blamed and
punished for their defeat. Important thing is let vultures do their business. It's not for the love
of Tamils or to punish somebody, just like vultures they feed on the left overs. Good luck
Harrison.
Mr.Mathu rightly said. Apart from that LTTE has misused the support of Tamil Nadu state people irrespective of their political affiliation. Srilanka used its military power to eliminate LTTE. knowing fully well that India can not do beyond negotiations due to its own northern problems like Bodoland, Ulfa, Kashmir.
Neither the Sri Lankan Govt. nor the LTTE respected the UN
intervention in sorting out their issues for an amicable settlement.
Nor did they sincerely cooperate to implement the Indo-Sri Lanka
accord reached during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure as PM. It is no secret
that LTTE had done away with moderate Sri Lankan Tamil Leaders . Right
from the beginning, it was a misadventure on the part of LTTE to take
up arms against their own Government. For their own survival and
without any reservation political parties in TN extended their
support to LTTE on and off . It became evident at a certain stage
that they could not prevail on Prabhakaran for agreeing to a
negotiated settlement . Even the Norway mediators who had volunteered
to bring the warring factions closer to a negotiation had to abandon
and leave the premises. The resultant scene is the loss of innocent
lives in a bloody war for which both the SL Army and the LTTE are to
be equally blamed for.
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