Zone Zero in Sri Lanka

Published July 07, 2009 @ 08:20AM PT

It's always fun to play bad news, good news when it comes to Sri Lanka.

Bad news - Months after the Sri Lankan military defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers, hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians are still trapped in displaced person camps. According to the Enough Project:

"But, after what was touted as the end to Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, the effects of the crisis on civilians are still unfolding. The Sri Lankan government has thus far been woefully cavalier with the lives of the more than 300,000 Sri Lankans who have been forced to remain in squalid IDP camps while the authorities work to filter out all former Tigers"

Good news - Well, ummmm, at least massive infringements of civil rights are better than war crimes. After all, just a few months ago, the Sri Lankan military was happily bombarding 50,000 civilians trapped behind Tamil Tiger front lines. So there's that.

Bad news - Looks like those displaced person camps might be permanent. So much for the war-displaced going home again.

Good news - There's some humanitarian access. After all, the Sri Lankan government has divided Manik Farm - the largest displaced person camp, holding 230,000 people - into six zones, and is allowing aid workers to access four of them. That's 67%. Not too shabby.

Bad news - According to The Times, aid workers are barred from the other two zones at Manik Farm, "including the mysteriously named Zone Zero."

Oh, and Sri Lanka has proudly joined Burma - Myanmar, I mean Myanmar - as the only countries in the world taxing funding for aid groups. And they're backdating the tax to 2005.

For more information on the humanitarian situation, please see the most recent UN OCHA Emergency Situation Report.

[Photo of Tamil IDPs from Lakruwan Wanniarachchi / AFP / Getty Images]

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Comments (1)

Hi Michael, thanks for the updates. I find it inconceivable that Sri Lank and Myanmar get away with taxing. Its like doing a deal with the devil. Liz

Posted by Elizabeth Palmer on 07/09/2009 @ 02:07AM PT
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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.