Sri Lanka's war on the tragic truth

[4dsc]

Source: The Austrailian news

The expulsion from the country of Australian-born Unicef spokesman James Elder this month, for speaking out against those abuses and child casualties in the bloody final stages of Sri Lanka's 26-year long civil war, dims it further still.

Elder was one of very few aid workers on the ethnically riven island nation who was prepared to brave the wrath of the Sinhalese-dominated government to highlight the plight of civilians, especially children, during the war and in its aftermath.

As Unicef's chief of communications in Sri Lanka, this was his brief and his responsibility.

As triumphant Sinhalese Buddhists crowded the post-war streets of Colombo and Tamil Hindus sheltered indoors, he told The Australian: "People have paid a high price for this peace. Thousands have been killed, including large numbers of children."

In the weeks that followed, other aid groups would back those claims.

The UN now estimates as many as 20,000 civilians were killed in the final mayhem, as army shells rained down on as many as 200,000 civilians squeezed into a tiny land sliver between the two sides.

Read more: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26050782-7583,00.html

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Its sad that this travesty is taking place and is for the most part being ignored by the world..

[myrna minx]

1. K&R n/t