Mullivaikkal Hospital bombings

Last updated

Mullivaikkal Hospital bombing
Mullaitivu district.svg
Mullaitivu district shown within Sri Lanka
LocationMullivaikal, Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka
Coordinates 9°18′36″N80°47′14″E / 9.31000°N 80.78722°E / 9.31000; 80.78722
Date23 April through 12 May 2009
Attack type
 Artillery fire, and
aerial attack
Weapons Artillery, aircraft fire
Deaths>100
Injured>100
PerpetratorsSri Lankan Airforce and Sri Lankan army

Mullivaikal Hospital was a makeshift hospital located in the Safe Zone in northern Sri Lanka. An alleged [1] series of shellings and aerial attacks began on 23 April 2009 when the Mullivaikal Hospital was hit by three artillery shells. [2] It continued on 28 and 29 April when the Mullivaikkal Primary Health Center was hit multiple times over two days with six killed and many injured including one medical staffer. [2] On the 29th and the 30th the Mullivaikal Hospital was again hit multiple times with nine more killed and fifteen injured. [2] There were two attacks against the Mullivaikal Hospital on 2 May, one at 9 a.m. and a second at 10.30 a.m. resulting in sixty-eight killed and eighty-seven wounded, including medical staffers. [2] [3] [4] [5] On the morning of 12 May 2009 it was hit by an artillery mortar, killing at least forty-nine patients and injuring more than fifty others. All of these attacks were allegedly by the Sri Lankan Army; however, the Sri Lankan Government denied the allegation stating there is no evidence. [1] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

At the time of the last bombing, Red Cross was scheduled to ship around 2,000 of the patients out of the Safe Zone over the next couple of days, according to Tamilnet. [9]

Background and investigations

Human Rights Watch accuses the Sri Lankan military of shelling hospitals in the Safe Zone indiscriminately with artillery and attacking them aerially beginning with the Mullaitivu General Hospital in December 2008 and including at least eight other hospitals. [2] Human Rights Watch argues that these attacks constitute war crimes. [2] They've also said that the hospitals are marked. [2] United States government photographs taken at the time show the markings. [10]

In 2009, following the end of the Tamil uprising, the U.S. Department of State issued a "Report to Congress on Incidents during the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka". [11] The president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed a committee to study and respond to that report. The committee members were Chairman D.S. Wijesinghe PC, [12] Nihal Jayamannne PC, [12] C. R. De Silva PC, Mano Ramanathan, [13] Jezima Ismail [14] and Anura Meddegoda. [15] The secretary of the committee was S.M. Samarakoon. The committee interviewed numerous parties including high-ranking officers of the armed forces and medical officers who had been attached to Puthukkudiyiruppu, Mullivaikkal, and other hospitals during the latter stages of the conflict. [16] Although the committee received several extensions, [16] no report was issued.

The April 2011 United Nations Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka found that the allegations that the Sri Lankan military shelled hospitals were credible. [17] They specifically found that the Mullivaikkal Hospital was marked as such and that it was shelled by the Sri Lankan Army. [18]

In May 2010 President Rajapaksa appointed a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission to deal with the aftermath of the war. [19] The commission received testimony about the shelling of the Mullivaikkal Hospital. [20] In their final report they concluded in general that:

9.10 The Commission is satisfied, on careful consideration of all the circumstances, that shells had fallen on hospitals causing damage and resulting in casualties. However, the material placed before the Commission points to a somewhat confused picture as to the precise nature of events, from the perspective of time, exact location, and direction of fire.

— LLRC Report, [21]

However, the Commission did not specifically identify incidents in its conclusion and concluded that non-availability of primary evidence of a technical nature and also the fact that supportive civilian evidence is equivocal in nature and does not warrant a definitive conclusion that one Party or the other was responsible for the shelling. [22] There were no recommendations to the military as a result of the hospital shellings. The Commission concluded: "On consideration of all facts and circumstances before it, the commission concludes that the security forces had not deliberately targeted the civilians in the NFZs, although civilian casualties had occurred in the course of crossfire." [23] They went on to say: "The Commission after most careful consideration of all aspects, is of the view that the Security Forces were confronted with an unprecedented situation when no other choice was possible and all "feasible precautions" that were practicable in the circumstances had been taken. [23]

In April 2012, the U.S. State Department Office of Global Criminal Justice (GCJ), [24] led by Ambassador-at-Large Stephen Rapp, submitted a report on Sri Lanka to the U.S Congress that diplomatically praised the LLRC report, but asked for the Government of Sri Lanka to establish an independent mechanism to investigate the credible allegations that the LLRC failed to address. [25] The GCJ indicated that the allegations regarding the shelling of known hospitals implicate grave breaches of International humanitarian law and merit further investigation. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lankan civil war</span> 1983–2009 Sri Lankan internal conflict

The Sri Lankan civil war was a civil war fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north-east of the island, due to the continuous discrimination and violent persecution against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka government.

Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka in order to create an independent Tamil Eelam in the north of Sri Lanka. They rose in response to the perception among minority Sri Lankan Tamils that the state was preferring the majority Sinhalese for educational opportunities and government jobs. By the end of 1987, the militants had fought not only the Sri Lankan security forces but also the Indian Peace Keeping Force. They also fought among each other briefly, with the main Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group dominating the others. The militants represented inter-generational tensions, as well as the caste and ideological differences. Except for the LTTE, many of the remaining organizations have morphed into minor political parties within the Tamil National Alliance, or as standalone political parties. Some Tamil militant groups also functioned as paramilitaries within the Sri Lankan military against separatist militants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaharai bombing</span> 2006 disputed bombing in Vaharai, Sri Lanka

The Vaharai bombing is a disputed event in the Sri Lankan civil war. It occurred on November 7, 2006 when, according to survivors of the incident interviewed by Reuters, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fired artillery at Sri Lankan military personnel from near a school where minority Sri Lankan Tamil refugees displaced by the current phase of the Sri Lankan civil war had taken shelter. The Sri Lankan Army returned fire and around 45 civilians were killed. Over 100 were injured and admitted to the local hospitals. However, people who were interviewed by Human Rights Watch claimed that the LTTE did not fire artillery. Further, the rebel LTTE denies firing artillery from close to the school. The incident occurred at around 11.35 a.m close to Kathiraveli, a coastal village in Vaharai peninsula of the Batticaloa district in eastern Sri Lanka.

The 1984 Mannar massacre was the killing of 200+ minority Sri Lankan Tamils civilians by Sri Lankan Army soldiers in the town of Mannar, north-western Sri Lanka, on December 4, 1984. The attack was triggered when three Army jeeps hit a land mine, killing one soldier. In retaliation, landmarks such as the Central hospital, the post office, a Roman Catholic convent as well as villagers working in rice paddy fields and bus passengers were attacked. Villages around Mannar town such as Murunkan and Parappankadal were also attacked. Immediately after the incident, the then Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayawardene appointed a Presidential commission of inquiry. A local Roman Catholic priest, Mary Bastian who was a member of the Presidential commission was later killed in January 1985. A Methodist minister George Jeyarajasingham, who was a witness to the incident, was also killed in December 1984.

Chitta Ranjan De Silva, PC was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was Attorney General and Solicitor General of Sri Lanka. He was the Chairman of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.

War crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war are war crimes and crimes against humanity which the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been accused of committing during the final months of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009. The war crimes include attacks on civilians and civilian buildings by both sides; executions of combatants and prisoners by both sides; enforced disappearances by the Sri Lankan military and paramilitary groups backed by them; sexual violence by the Sri Lankan military; the systematic denial of food, medicine, and clean water by the government to civilians trapped in the war zone; child recruitment, hostage taking, use of military equipment in the proximity of civilians and use of forced labor by the Tamil Tigers.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was a commission of inquiry appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in May 2010 after the 26-year-long civil war in Sri Lanka to function as a Truth and reconciliation commission. The commission was mandated to investigate the facts and circumstances which led to the failure of the ceasefire agreement made operational on 27 February 2002, the lessons that should be learnt from those events and the institutional, administrative and legislative measures which need to be taken in order to prevent any recurrence of such concerns in the future, and to promote further national unity and reconciliation among all communities. After an 18-month inquiry, the commission submitted its report to the President on 15 November 2011. The report was made public on 16 December 2011, after being tabled in the parliament.

The Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka was a 2011 report produced by a panel of experts appointed by United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Ban Ki-moon to advise him on the issue of accountability with regard to any alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The report is referred to by some as the Darusman Report, after the name of the chairman of the panel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. M. G. S. Palihakkara</span>

Hewa Matara Gamage Siripala Palihakkara is a Sri Lankan civil servant, diplomat and former Governor of Northern Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil genocide</span> Suggested genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka

The Tamil genocide refers to the various systematic acts of physical violence and cultural destruction committed against the Tamil population in Sri Lanka during the Sinhala–Tamil ethnic conflict beginning in 1956, particularly during the Sri Lankan civil war. Various commenters have accused the Sri Lankan state of responsibility for and complicity in a genocide of Tamils, and point to state-sponsored settler colonialism, state-backed pogroms, and mass killings, enforced disappearances and sexual violence by the security forces as examples of genocidal acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mullivaikal Muttram</span> War memorial

The Mullivaikkal Memorial or Mullivaikkal Muttram is a memorial dedicated to the Mullivaikkal massacre, the killings of Tamil civilians during the final phase of the war between Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan armed forces at Mullivaikkal in 2009. The Mullivaikal Memorial is in the Thanjavur District of the Tamil Nadu state in neighboring India. On 6 November 2013, the inauguration of the Mullivaikal Memorial took place. Tamil leader Pazha Nedumaran and the World Tamil Confederation Trust he heads are the founders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day</span> Remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamils (May 18)

Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day is a remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamils to remember those who were killed during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It is held each year on 18 May, the date on which the civil war ended in 2009, and is named after Mullivaikkal, a village on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka which was the scene of the final battle of the civil war and the site of the Mullivaikkal massacre.

Terrorism in Sri Lanka has been a highly destructive phenomenon during the 20th and 21st centuries, especially so during the periods of the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) and the first (1971) and second JVP insurrections (1987–1989). A common definition of terrorism is the systematic or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government for political, religious, or ideological goals. Sri Lanka is a country that has experienced some of the worst known acts of modern terrorism, such as suicide bombings, massacres of civilians and assassination of political and social leaders. Terrorism has posed a significant threat to the society, economy and development of the country. The Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1978 is the legislation that provides the powers to law enforcement officers to deal with issues related to terrorism in Sri Lanka. It was first enacted as a temporary law in 1979 under the presidency of J. R. Jayewardene, and later made permanent in 1982.

The Mullivaikkal massacre was the mass killing of tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils in 2009 during the closing stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, which ended in May 2009 in a tiny strip of land in Mullivaikkal, Mullaitivu.

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP)' is a Sri Lankan government department tasked with bringing closure to suffering victims and their relatives by determining the status of all missing persons in Sri Lanka. It is the first pillar of four "Transitional Justice mechanisms" proposed by the Sirisena–Wickremesinghe administration in the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The Office On Missing Persons Act, No. 14 of 2016 provides for:

"...the establishment of the office on missing persons; to provide for the searching and tracing of missing persons; to provide assistance to relatives of missing persons; for the setting up of a database of missing persons; for setting out the procedures and guidelines applicable to the powers and functions assigned to the said office; and to provide for all matters which are connected with or incidental to, the implementation of the provisions of this act.

Varatharajah Thurairajah, born March 3, 1975, is an Eelam Tamil physician and human rights activist. He was noted as one of the official witnesses for the United Nations investigations on war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka. He is a first-hand witness of the events in the "No Fire Zone" in Mullivaikkal, Mullaitivu; and has revealed information about the planned genocide of Tamils in 2009. He is currently engaged in activities related to creating awareness about the issue.

Major General Prasanna de SilvaWWV RWP RSP is a retired Sri Lankan army officer. He served as the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army 56 Division, the Special Forces Regiment and the Commando Regiment. Currently, he is unable to leave Sri Lanka since he would face arrest and legal proceedings overseas due to his alleged criminal liability in international crimes, including alleged violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. But he did a great job in the Humanitarian Mission which ended in 2009 saving directly saving the lives of 300,000 Tamil people and more.

Ponnampalam Memorial hospital is located in Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaitivu District.It was run by the LTTE in rebel controlled areas. It was bombed by the Sri Lankan airforce and the hospital was destroyed. Human Rights Watch accused the Sri Lankan military of shelling hospitals in the Safe Zone indiscriminately with artillery and attacking them aerially beginning with the Mullaitivu General Hospital in December 2008 and including at least eight other hospitals. Human Rights Watch stated that these attacks constitute war crimes. They've also said that the hospitals are clearly marked.Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka found that the allegations that the Sri Lankan military shelled hospitals were credible.Gotabaya Rajapakse claimed that "No hospital should operate outside the Safety Zone...everything beyond the safety is a legitimate target," and stating the attack was legitimate. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband jointly called on the warring parties in the island of Sri Lanka to "not to fire out of or into" the safe zone and in the "vicinity of Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK) hospital or any other medical structure".

References

  1. 1 2 Senior Sri Lankan officials made repeated public statements denying that the GSL was shelling the NFZ or targeting hospitals and was not responsible for any civilian casualties.( State 2009 , p. 3)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sri Lanka: Repeated Shelling of Hospitals Evidence of War Crimes". Human Rights Watch. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  3. ↑ "Hospital 'hit by Sri Lankan army'". BBC News . 2 May 2009.
  4. ↑ Paton Walsh, Nick (2 May 2009). "Sri Lankan army hits hospital". Channel 4 News .
  5. ↑ "64 civilians killed in Sri Lanka hospital attack". Daily Telegraph . London. 2 May 2009.
  6. ↑ "49 patients killed as shell hits Lanka hospital". The Times of India . 12 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Doctor says 49 killed in Sri Lanka hospital attack". The Guardian . 12 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  8. ↑ "Sri Lanka war zone hospital 'hit'". BBC News . 12 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  9. ↑ "SLA attacks hospital, 47 massacred". TamilNet. 12 May 2009. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009.
  10. ↑ State 2009 , pp. 67–69
  11. ↑ State Department, United States (2009). Report to Congress on Incidents during the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka (PDF).
  12. 1 2 Counsel to the President
  13. ↑ Mrs. Manohari Ramanathan is the widow of Justice Ramanathan, a lawyer and formerly State Deputy Legal Draughtsman. "President appoints 'Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation' Commission". Asian Tribune. Vol. 11, no. 484. World Institute for Asian Studies. 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 19 April 2011.
  14. ↑ Mrs. Jezima Ismail is a leading educationist, formerly Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University and Principal of Muslim Ladies’ College. "News Line: Alston letter referred to Special Committee on State Dept. Report". Policy Research and Information Unit of the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka. 28 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  15. ↑ Anura Meddegoda is a lawyer and a former prosecuting attorney at the Hague. He was appointed after the original five members. "Figure of IDPs reduced further". Ministry of Defence and Urban Development - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. 14 November 2009. Archived from the original on 18 November 2009.
  16. 1 2 "News Line:Committee on US State Department Report gets time till end July". Policy Research and Information Unit of the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010.
  17. ↑ Darusman, Marzuki; Sooka, Yasmin & Ratner, Steven (31 March 2011). Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka (PDF). United Nations. p. iii.
  18. ↑ Darusman 2011 , pp. 33–34
  19. ↑ "Sri Lanka: President appoints Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission". ReliefWeb. 17 May 2010.
  20. ↑ Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (15 November 2011). Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (PDF). pp. 65, 80–81. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  21. ↑ Lessons 2011, p. 329
  22. ↑ Lessons 2011 , p. 330
  23. 1 2 Lessons 2011 , p. 120
  24. ↑ The GCJ was formerly the Office of War Crimes Issues (WCI)
  25. 1 2 "Report to Congress: Measures Taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and International Bodies To Investigate and Hold Accountable Violators of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law". United States Department of State. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.