Statement by the President on the Situation in Sri Lanka and Detainee Photographs

by US President Barack Obama, Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, Washington, DC, May 13, 2009

For Immediate Release                              May 13, 2009
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
ON THE SITUATION IN SRI LANKA
AND DETAINEE PHOTOGRAPHS
South Drive
4:12 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Good to see you. I want to take a few moments at the top to talk about something that, with all the big issues going on, hasn’t received much attention, but I think is worth talking about briefly.
As some of you know, we have a humanitarian crisis that’s taking place in Sri Lanka, and I’ve been increasingly saddened by the desperate news in recent days. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians are trapped between the warring government forces and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka with no means of escape, little access to food, water, shelter and medicine. This has led to widespread suffering and the loss of hundreds if not thousands of lives.
Without urgent action, this humanitarian crisis could turn into a catastrophe. Now is the time, I believe, to put aside some of the political issues that are involved and to put the lives of the men and women and children who are innocently caught in the crossfire, to put them first.
So I urge the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and let civilians go. Their forced recruitment of civilians and their use of civilians as human shields is deplorable. These tactics will only serve to alienate all those who carry them out.
I’m also calling on the Sri Lankan government to take several steps to alleviate this humanitarian crisis. First, the government should stop the indiscriminate shelling that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, including several hospitals, and the government should live up to its commitment to not use heavy weapons in the conflict zone.
Second, the government should give United Nations humanitarian teams access to the civilians who are trapped between the warring parties so that they can receive the immediate assistance necessary to save lives.
Third, the government should also allow the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross access to nearly 190,000 displaced people within Sri Lanka so that they can receive additional support that they need.
The United States stands ready to work with the international community to support the people of Sri Lanka in this time of suffering. I don’t believe that we can delay. Now is the time for all of us to work together to avert further humanitarian suffering.
Going forward, Sri Lanka must seek a peace that is secure and lasting, and grounded in respect for all of its citizens. More civilian casualties and inadequate care for those caught in resettlement camps will only make it more difficult to achieve the peace that the people of Sri Lanka deserve.
Now, let me also say a few words about an issue that I know you asked Robert Gibbs about quite a bit today, and that’s my decision to argue against the release of additional detainee photos. Understand, these photos are associated with closed investigations of the alleged abuse of detainees in our ongoing war effort.
And I want to emphasize that these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib, but they do represent conduct that did not conform with the Army Manual. That’s precisely why they were investigated — and, I might add, investigated long before I took office — and, where appropriate, sanctions have been applied.
In other words, this is not a situation in which the Pentagon has concealed or sought to justify inappropriate action. Rather, it has gone through the appropriate and regular processes. And the individuals who were involved have been identified, and appropriate actions have been taken.
It’s therefore my belief that the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals. In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.
Moreover, I fear the publication of these photos may only have a chilling effect on future investigations of detainee abuse. And obviously the thing that is most important in my mind is making sure that we are abiding by the Army Manual and that we are swiftly investigating any instances in which individuals have not acted appropriately, and that they are appropriately sanctioned. That’s my aim and I do not believe that the release of these photos at this time would further that goal.
Now, let me be clear: I am concerned about how the release of these photos would be — would impact on the safety of our troops. I have made it very clear to all who are within the chain of command, however, of the United States Armed Forces that the abuse of detainees in our custody is prohibited and will not be tolerated. I have repeated that since I’ve been in office, Secretary Gates understands that, Admiral Mullen understands that, and that has been communicated across the chain of command.
Any abuse of detainees is unacceptable. It is against our values. It endangers our security. It will not be tolerated.
All right. Thank you very much, everybody.
END
4:18 P.M. EDT
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Intervene in the name of humanity: Pathmathan calls on IC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 09:20 GMT]
“Every passing day is resulting in the loss of countless number of civilian lives and alienation of the entire Tamil community,” said Selvaraja Pathmanathan, the LTTE plenipotentiary for international relations, in a statement issued on Wednesday, and called on the International Community for its urgent and immediate intervention, not based on territorial or geo-political ambitions, but based on basic human values. “It is our firm view that a cessation of all hostilities would be the only mechanism that would prevent further civilian carnage and we remain committed to an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”

We urgently call upon the International Community, the United Nations and World Leaders to assert their moral right to get actively involved in Sri Lankan Tamil conflict, even without leave from the Security Council, if it is the only way to stop the dire suffering of the Tamil People,” Mr. Pathmanathan said in his statement.

Full text of the statement follows:

13 May 2009

We welcome the statement issued by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband calling for immediate suspension of hostilities to provide for the safe passage of the Tamil people trapped in the war zone in Vanni. In particular we are grateful for the statement which calls upon the GOSL to restrain from the use of heavy weaponry against the hapless Tamil civilians and urging the GOSL to allow food and much needed medicine to the so-called “safe zone” in Vanni.

S. Pathmanathan
S. Pathmanathan, Head of LTTE’s International Diplomatic Relations

In one of my earlier statements dated 10 May 2009, I pointed out that “throughout the entire existence of our liberation struggle, we have always extended our most courteous cooperation to the humanitarian relief organisations that have sought to provide relief for our people”. I would like to re-iterate our commitment to providing not only safe passage but also extend all necessary assistance to any humanitarian relief effort that the UN and related agencies may undertake in the conflict zone.

We want to bring to the attention of the international community the fate of the civilians who have moved into the IDP camps from the conflict zone. To date there is no supervision of these camps. The numbers of people who enter these camps are unknown and the number remaining is unaccounted for. Systematic ethnic cleansing carried out by the GOSL in targeting all youth and young adults for culling is a crime against humanity.

Latest reports emanating from the war zone and IDP camps indicate that the bodies, psyche and spirit of the innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka have been shattered. In the name of war on terror, the Sri Lankan government and its military are engaged in genocide. More than 200,000 Tamils are displaced in the war zone with almost all of them barricaded “in concentration camp-like conditions” managed by the Sri Lankan Government. Increasingly common reports of the number of women and girls being raped by the Sri Lankan forces are a crime that needs urgent attention by the international community.

It is important for the International Community to remember that free media does not exist in Sri Lanka, and any foreign journalist who is brave enough to report the truth is immediately arrested and either held in custody or deported. There is a systematic blocking of news about GOSL’s war crimes and genocide coming out of the war zone and IDP camps. Church leaders have pointed out that close to 200 churches have been destroyed in Northern Sri Lanka alone thus preventing the Church from carrying out humanitarian efforts to the war victims.

These facts being common knowledge, most civilians in the conflict zone do not want to be transferred to these IDP camps. It is the moral responsibility of the International community and the United Nations to intervene in the running of these IDP camps and to ensure the welfare of the civilians. If the UK and EU were to take responsibility for the welfare of these civilians including the children, the movement of the civilians in the conflict zone may become a reality. Urgent supply of food and medicine followed by the involvement of the humanitarian relief agencies is long overdue and vital to the survival of the civilian population on whom the GOSL has unleashed the most horrendous carnage using heavy weaponry.

The Tamil people world over are dismayed that the International Community and the United Nations, have so far failed in their actual obligation to take coercive action to protect our people at risk of grave harm. We refer to United Nation’s 2005 World Summit’s “Outcome Document” which allows the R2P to be invoked when there is genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity.

We urgently call upon the International Community, the United Nations and World Leaders to assert their moral right to get actively involved in Sri Lankan Tamil conflict, even without leave from the Security Council, if it is the only way to stop the dire suffering of the Tamil People. Every passing day is resulting in the loss of countless number of civilian lives and alienation of the entire Tamil community. We seek your urgent and immediate intervention, not based on territorial or geo-political ambitions, but based on basic human values.

It is our firm view that a cessation of all hostilities would be the only mechanism that would prevent further civilian carnage and we remain committed to an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

###

Further reading:

  1. Mr. Martin Collacott is Appalled…
  2. Channel 4’s ‘No Fire Zone’
  3. Sri Lanka, MSF Amidst All-Out War

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