Ilankai Tamil Sangam

28th Year on the Web

Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA

TRO: 59th Humanitarian Worker Killed

These killings of humanitarian workers appear to be aimed at limiting or ending the humanitarian work that local and international NGOs are engaged in and creating a climate of fear within the humanitarian community and the IDPs that they serve.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

28 September 2007  

59th Killing of a Humanitarian Relief Provider in Sri Lanka  

TRO [Tamil Rehabilitation Organization] categorically condemns the killing of Rev. Fr. Nicholaspillai Packiyaranjith, Manner Coordinator for the International Humanitarian Organisation Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), by an alleged Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) on 26 September 2007 at approximately 3.00 PM at Kalvilaan on the Vellankulam Road near Thunukkai while he was engaged in providing humanitarian relief assistance to the recent IDPs in the Manner.   This is the 59th killing of a humanitarian relief working in Sri Lanka since September 2005 (see full list below) alleged to be carried out by the Sri Lanka Security Forces or paramilitaries affiliated with them. These killings of humanitarian workers appear to be aimed at limiting or ending the humanitarian work that local and international NGOs are engaged in and creating a climate of fear within the humanitarian community and the IDPs that they serve.  

If this situation prevails any longer, there is a real danger of the affected populations being deprived of any and all assistance from humanitarian organizations and being subjected to untold sufferings. This may be the goal of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) but it is against international Humanitarian and Human Rights Law and must be condemned by the international community.

We appeal to the international community and all humanitarian and human rights organizations to raise awareness of the current situation in Sri Lanka and to prevail upon the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure the safety of humanitarian organizations and their staff and to allow access to all affected population.

 

Abductions and killings of humanitarian workers in 2005-2007

Source: Law & Society Trust (Sri Lanka) & TRO [1]

Date

Place, District

Organization

Names

Age

Type of attack

1

28-Sep-05

Batticaloa

Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)

Thambyappa Vellaiuthapillai

70

Machine gun and grenade attack on TRO Batticaloa Office

2

11-Jan-06

Point Pedro, Jaffna

Danish Demining Group (DDG)

T. Tharmasiri

28

Abducted  - presumed dead

3

N. Kandeepan

30

Abducted  - presumed dead

4

29-Jan-06

Welikanda / Batticaloa

Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)

Kasinathar  Ganeshalingam

52

Abducted  - presumed dead

5

Kathirkamar Thangarasa

43

Abducted  - presumed dead

6

30-Jan-06

Thanushkodi Premini

25

Abducted  - presumed dead

7

Shanmuganathan Sujendran

Abducted  - presumed dead

8

Thambiraja Vasantharajan

Abducted  - presumed dead

9

Kailasapillai Ravindran

25

Abducted  - presumed dead

10

Arulthavarasa Satheesharan

Abducted  - presumed dead

11

04-Feb-06

Jaffna

HALO Trust

Gunaratnam Logithas

23

Abducted  - presumed dead

12

17-Feb-06

Batticaloa

Mines Advisory Group (MAG)

Parameswaran

Abducted  - presumed dead

13

09-Apr-06

Jaffna

HUDEC – Caritas Jaffna

Shanmugaratnam Pathmanathan

55

Killed – Claymore, suspected to have targeted a SLA convoy

14

HUDEC – Caritas Jaffna

Chelvendra Pradeepkumar

29

Killed – Claymore, suspected to have targeted a SLA convoy

15

16-May-06

Vavuniya

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Jeyaruban Gnanapragasam

Killed

16

26-May-06

Kalviyankadu, Batticaloa

North East Irrigated Agriculture Project (NEIAP)

Ratnam Ratnaraja

48

Killed

17

02-Jul-06

Valachenai, Batticaloa

Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)

Krishnapillai Kamalanathan

26

Abducted & released

18

08-Jul-06

Polikandy, Vadamaradchy, Jaffna

Mason in a Tsunami Housing Scheme funded by FORUT

Rasiah Muraleeswaran

42

Killed

19

05-Aug-06

Mutur, Trincomalee

Action Contra La Faim (ACF)

Kokilavathani

29

Killed

20

Romila

25

Killed

21

Kavitha

27

Killed

22

Kovarthani

28

Killed

23

A.L.Mohammed Jawffar

31

Killed

24

Sritharan

36

Killed

25

Kodeeswaran

31

Killed

26

Jaseelan

27

Killed

27

Ganesh

54

Killed

28

Narmathan

24

Killed

29

Ketheswaran

36

Killed

30

Rishikesan

27

Killed

31

Muralitharan

34

Killed

32

Arulrajah

24

Killed

33

Pratheepan

24

Killed

34

Koneswaran

24

Killed

35

Anantharajah

32

Killed

36

20-Aug-06

Cheddikulam, Vavuniya

Sri Lanka Red Cross Society

Nagarasa Thavaranjitham

23

Killed

37

24-Aug-06

Thirukkovil, Ampara

UNOPS

P. Jestly Julian

Killed

38

01-Sep-06

Karavedyy, Jaffna 

Sewalanka

Sathiyamoorthey Selvaroopan

25

Killed

39

12-Sep-06

Nilaveli Road, Trincomalee

World Concern

Ragunathan Ramalingam

31

Killed

40

17-Nov-06

Jaffna

HALO Trust

Charles Huston Ravindran

30

Abducted  - presumed dead

41

23-Nov-06

Kalmunai, Ampara

Terre des Hommes

Sabaratnam Rubesh

31

Killed

42

04-Jan-07

Jaffna

HALO Trust

Subramaniam Parameswaran

Abducted  - presumed dead

43

09-Feb-07

Jaffna

HALO Trust

Nagarasa Narenthiran

27

Abducted  - presumed dead

44

09-Feb-07

Jaffna

HALO Trust

C. Rajendran

35

Abducted  - presumed dead

45

24-Mar-07

Mannar

Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)

Muthuraja Aruleswaran

Killed BY Sri Lanka Army – Deep Penetration Unit Claymore Mine Attack

46

01-Apr-07

Mailampaaveli, Batticaloa

Village of Hope

W. Chandrasiri

Killed

47

01-Apr-07

T. M. Dhanapala

Killed

48

01-Apr-07

W. Dhanapala

18

Killed

49

01-Apr-07

T. Wijekoon

Killed

50

01-Apr-07

L.M. Dayananda Kapporal 

Killed

51

01-Apr-07

Maduranga Kapporal

Killed

52

02-Jun-07

Colombo / Ratnapura

Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRC)

S. Shanmuganathan

Abducted and killed – shot 

53

K. Chandramohan

20

Killed

54

19-Jun-07

Jaffna

Danish Demining Group (DDG)

Sivarasa Vimalarasa

Abducted  - presumed dead

55

18-Jul-07

Jaffna

Sivalingam Prabakaran

34

Abducted  - presumed dead

56

23-Jul-07

Jaffna

Danish Refugee Council

Arumainayagam Alloysius

26

Killed

57

06-Aug-07

Trincomalee

Methodist Community Organization for Refugees (UMCOR)

Mohamed Zavahir Mohamed

Abducted - presumed dead

58

20-Aug-07

Kasthooriar  Road, Jaffna

Danish Demining Group (DDG)

Sivasamy Sritharan

31

Killed

59

26-Sept-07

Kalvilaan:  Mankulam - Vellaakulam Road

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)

Rev. Fr. Nicholaspillai Packiyaranjith

40

Killed BY Sri Lanka Army – Deep Penetration Unit Claymore Mine Attack

[1] Numbers 2-58 are listed in the "Working document on humanitarian workers and religious leaders killed, disappeared and abducted – 1st Jan 2006 – 22 Aug 2007; Compiled by Law & Society Trust. Number 1: details provided by TRO due to the fact that the individual was killed in 2005.


END
--
Arjunan Ethirveerasingam
Media Relations TRO (Colombo)
UK Mobile: +44 77 58 649 198
Skype I.D.: arjunan1
TRO:         www.troonline.org