OPERATIONAL SUMMARY

This week was dominated by the eviction of Tamil citizens from Colombo. As mentioned in the last SLMM Weekly Report, Tamil citizens living in lodges in the Capital were given warnings to leave unless they could prove connections to Colombo. Early Thursday morning, on the 7 th of June, the police entered boarding houses in Colombo and evicted close to 400 Tamil citizens citing security concerns and sent them on busses to the Northern district of Vavuniya. The act created strong reactions both in Sri Lanka and internationally. SLMM was contacted by civilians, who expressed fear about the situation.

The following day, the Supreme Court ordered a temporary stop in the eviction of Tamil citizens from the capital, saying it was a violation of fundamental rights, and that there would be a hearing on the 22 nd of June. Over the weekend, most of the evictees had returned back to Colombo or settled elsewhere.

 

Conflicting statements were given on the issue from the Government side. By some, the eviction was justified as a necessary action in favour of national security. However, on Sunday the 10 th of June, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister made a public apology during a press brief and said the Government took full responsibility for the action.

 

The SLMM brought up the incident with the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP).

 

Northern Region

The situation in the North was relatively calm compared to last week and no heavy shelling or artillery attacks were made from either side of the Forward Defence Localities (FDL). The situation in Vavuniya has been stable except for the incident relating to the eviction of Tamil citizens mentioned above.

 

No fresh ground attacks were made in or out of LTTE controlled Vanni, apart from smaller clashes in Pampaimadu area where heavy battles occurred the weekend before (see last Weekly Report).

 

However, the SLAF conducted 4 aerial raids during the week in Vanni. No casualties were reported from the LTTE side. The SLMM has observed increasing numbers of fighter jets flying above Kilinochchi. This has created fear and tension among the public.

 

The situation in Jaffna is still tense; the presence of Security Forces and police on the streets is at high level. There is an increased tension among the civilian population regarding the restrictions of fishing and lack of freedom of movement.

 

Eastern Region

The offence in the Thoppigala jungle is ongoing and has continued to draw attention this week as Government forces continued its attack on LTTE positions, with increasing intensity towards the weekend. The military claimed that 30 LTTE cadres were killed, while the SLA captured four LTTE camps. The LTTE oppose such a heavy loss, even though they reported some casualties on their side.  

 

On the 6 th of June the SLMM patrolled in Sampoor for the first time since last year. Sampoor has not been accessible, neither to the SLMM nor to the UN, the ICRC or INGOs. The SLMM visit was done in close collaboration with the Security Forces concerned in Trincomalee district. The SLMM observed no civilian movements in the area. The area is sealed off by the Security Forces. The area is moreover mined, and the Sri Lanka Army reports having recovered 2500 Anti Personnel mines. It is strictly recommended to move around on the hard surface only.

 

The situation of the IDPs has changed over the week. According to Government sources the Government has resettled 99 percent of all IDPs in both Kokkadichcholai and Vellaveli and plans are being made to resettle more IDPs in the near future.

 

Cordon and search operations featured significantly again this week in the district of Trincomalee.

 

There are no significant changes in the level of assassinations this week. Most deaths this week have been attributed to the fighting in Thoppigala area. The number of abductions has not changed much either from last week. These incidents have mainly taken place in the Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES

The SLMM’s Northern Office was operating in Vavuniya and later in the week in Jaffna. The Eastern Office was operating in Trincomalee, but has since the 8 th of June been operating from the Operation Centre in Negombo. The Operation Centre in Negombo, the Support Centre in Colombo, and the Liaison Office in Kilinochchi are operational.