Grand scale murder, rape of screened civilians feared, TNA MP alerts

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 February 2009, 14:34 GMT]
Around 190 males were murdered and 130 females were taken for sexual abuse among the thousands of civilians so far fled and screened by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), accused Tamil National Alliance MP S. Gajendran Saturday, citing information he received from the inmates of internment camps and from his contacts in Vavuniyaa. The sources informed him that murdered were secretly buried in Anuradhapura. "Unless there is no immediate international supervision and international monitors, situation turning into another Yugoslavia cannot be prevented," the MP said.

The separation of young men and women 'wanted' by the SLA reportedly takes place during the screening process at the so-called 'IDP rescue centres' in the war zone, entirely manned by military personnel.

In mid-90's hundreds of civilians who got into the hands of the SLA in Jaffna were missing. Mass graves of the massacred became known later in a place at Chemma'ni in the Jaffna peninsula. Several instances of rape and murder were proven, whilst the vast majority were not investigated. Those convicted were later released.

The MP expressed fear that a worse situation is faced today.

There are news agencies and websites who claim that the civilians interviewed in the camps accused the LTTE for firing on them and preventing them fleeing. How far these news agencies can expect the civilians living under such terrified conditions to tell the truth other than what is wanted by those who have detained them, asked the MP.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports received from Vanni allege a person directing the war without uniform giving an open licence to the SLA to every form of atrocity, according to sources within SLA, who spoke about it.