02/07/2002

Ambassador Ed Marks and Advocate Sayre Nyce are conducting a follow-up mission to Sri Lanka to investigate the situation for internally displaced people in the country. Refugees International last conducted a mission there in March 2001 and made a series of recommendations for humanitarian initiatives to improve the conditions of displaced Tamils, while building confidence in the peace process underway between the government and the rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). (Read: “Sri Lanka: Muslim Victims of Ethnic Cleansing Require Special Attention (03/27/01)” and “Sri Lanka: A Humanitarian Agenda Amid a War Without End (03/21/01)” These recommendations were largely not acted upon as the ceasefire at the time of the mission soon broke down and the long-running civil war resumed. In the light of the recent change in government, the team will analyze whether there is a new opportunity for both sides to act on a humanitarian agenda that will bring immediate improvements to the lives of the displaced. The RI team will assess whether announced shifts in policy, such as the lifting of the restrictions on the shipment of goods to Tamil areas, have actually been implemented and, if so, what their impact has been on civilians. The 18-year civil war in Sri Lanka has killed more than 64,000 people and displaced more than 1.6 million. The LTTE has been fighting for a homeland in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The newly-elected government has begun negotiating with them, renewing hopes that a lasting peace might be possible. For now, both sides have committed to a ceasefire until February 24.