Tamils - a Trans State Nation..

"To us all towns are one, all men our kin.
Life's good comes not from others' gift, nor ill
Man's pains and pains' relief are from within.
Thus have we seen in visions of the wise !."
- Tamil Poem in Purananuru, circa 500 B.C 

• Sri Lanka Air force kills 61 school children and wounds 129 in Vallipunam,  14 August 2006 [TamilNet, August 14, 2006 04:15 GMT]  Also in Streaming Video

Thambirasa Lakiya (17), Mahalingam Vensidiyoola (17), Thuraisingam Sutharsini (17), Nagalingam Theepa(19), Thambirasa Theepa (19), Thirunavukkarasu Niranjini (18), Raveenthirarasa Ramya (18), Kanapathipillai Nanthini (18), Vijayabavan Sinthuja (18), Naguleswaran Nishanthini (17),  Tharmakulasingam Kemala (19), Arulampalam Yasothini (18) Muthaih Indra (18), Murugaiah Arulselvi (18), Sivamoorthy Karthikayini (18), Santhanam Sathyakala (20) Kanagalingam Nirupa (17), Kanagalingam Nirusa (17), Navaratnam Santhakumari (18), Nagalingam Kokila(19), Sivamayajeyam Kokila, Shanmugarasa Paventhini, Balakrishnan Mathani (18), Sivanantham Thivya (18), Thambirasa Suganthini (18). S Vathsalamary (20), Thanabalasingam Bakeerathy (19), Thanikasalam Thanusa (19), Pathmanathan Kalaipriya (18), Markupillai Kelansuthayini (18), Rasamohan Hamsana (19), Vivekanantham Thadchayini (18), Santhakumar Sukirtha (19), Uthayakumaran Kousika (19), Nallapillai Ninthija(18), Veerasingam Rajitha (18), Thamilvasan Nivethika (18), Suntharam Anoja (17), Puvanasekaram Puvaneswari (17), Kiritharan Thayani (17), Mahalingam Vasantharani (18),  Thuraisingam Thisani (18), Vairavamoorthy Kirithika (19), Chandramohan Nivethika (17), Sellam Nirojini, Tharmarasa Brintha (17), Thevarasa Sharmini (17), Varatharaja Mangaleswari (17), Rasenthiraselvam Mahilvathani (18), Nilayinar Nivakini (17), Kubenthiraselvam Lihitha (19), Chandrasekaran Vijayakumari (27), Kandasamy Kumarasamy (48), Solomon Singarasa (65), S Jeyarubi (20)

Q: Was there any evidence to prove it was an LTTE training camp of some kind? 
A: It was a training camp – but for first aid. We found no traces at all for military training or military equipment. Interview by Ulf  Henricsson, Swedish Head of  Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission

Sinhala Sri Lanka Airforce Kills School Girls at Chencholai (in Real Video) Courtesy: Sankathy.com
International Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (ITRO London) condemns SLAF attack on  orphanage
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) condemns  Sencholai attack as "pre-meditated, deliberate and genocidal"
Bombed compound, a well-known humanitarian zone says Grama Sevaka but Sri Lanka claims that there were were no civilian settlements...
Sri Lanka Government denies that bombing took place - Voice of America Report
Sri Lanka (then) claims that it attacked an LTTE 'facility' not a children's home - CBC Report
Bombed site ‘not military installation’ says Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission - but Sri Lanka claims that it was a military camp.
Killed Students participants in a publicly announced 10-day residential workshop
International Educational Development  raises bombing of orphanage at Human Rights Council, Geneva, 14 August 2006

 "..On 14th of August, the government forces deliberately bombed a girl’s orphanage killing 60 girls and wounding 120 who were between the ages of 15 and 18... ... in our view the US has given the government of Sri Lanka a “green light” to undertake actions that violate humanitarian law under the pretext that due to the unabated demonization of the Tamils by Sri Lankan and US authorities, no one will dare defend them, and in any case, no one will be able to do anything about it. However, because now the UN independent experts, UNICEF and UNHCR have spoken up, and because the UN is in a process to reform its work, we hope that the Sub-Commission, which as rightly undertaken to address attacks against medical and other protected persons in time of war, will inform the Council of its concerns regarding Sri Lanka and the situation of the Tamil people and will request that the Council act."

Mass Killing of School Children - Failure of UN bodies To Act Constitutes A Violation of  their Duties  - International Federation of Tamils,15 August 2006

"..Because the verified examples of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions at the hands of the Sri Lankan government force all parties to the Geneva Conventions to take requisite action in conformity with Common Article 1, we await action from UN human rights bodies and Member States. As in the situation in Lebanon, it is not sufficient for human rights bodies, Member States of the United Nations, or High Contracting Parties of the Geneva Conventions to remain silent. Failure to act when on notice by the ICRC, the UNHCR and UNICEF as well as numerous NGOs would itself constitute a violation of the duties of human rights bodies, and would indicate that the attempts to reform UN action on human rights have failed..."

US fails to condemn Chencholai killings and expresses no sympathy to the families of  the Tamil school children killed by Sri Lanka Airforce
But... Tamils in Vanni mourn for school children killed in airstrike
Oru Paper in London - Poster Mourning the Dead
SL Military had 'precise coordinates' of bombed peace zone
UNICEF: "UNICEF staff from a nearby office immediately visited the compound to assess the situation"  -

"UNICEF staff from a nearby office immediately visited the compound to assess the situation and to provide fuel and supplies for the hospital as well as counselling support for the injured students and the bereaved families. "These children are innocent victims of violence," said Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director. "We call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and ensure children and the places where they live, study and play are protected from harm""

But...Sri Lanka claims that the UNICEF might not have been taken to the right spot!

Black Flags and Fasts in Tamil Nadu...

  சென்னையில் பழ.நெடுமாறன் அறிக்கை: சிங்கள வெறியர்களின் கொலை வெறி தமிழ்ச் சிறுமிகளைக் கூட விட்டு வைக்கவில்லை.. 15 August 2006

தமிழ்நாடு முதல்வர் கருணாநிதி-  முல்லைப் படுகொலை மனிதாபிமானம் சிறிதும் அற்ற ஒரு செயல், 15 August 2006

வைகோ கண்டனம்: செஞ்சோலையில் கோர நர்த்தனம் ஆடிய சிங்கள அரசு ஒரு பயங்கரவாத அரசு, 15 August 2006

UN Officials and Truce Monitors say that those killed by the bombing were pupils from local schools - BBC, 15 August 2006

Vavuniya, Trinco observe hartal, mourning day for massacred children
Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously condemns killing of 61 school girls
Sencholai air-strike killed 55, details released

Dr. Arul Ranjithan, 19 August 2006...

Sixty-three schoolgirls in children's home, killed in airstrike,
screamed headlines on websites,
mind goes numb and blank and suddenly the world makes no sense
when children's lives are snuffed out with such cruelty and ease.

A Hymn (in memory of the lives lost at Sencholai), Jana Nayagam, 19 August 2006

Milk and clear honey,
sweet rice and lentil
These tasty four have I fed thee
So hear me, beloved

 முல்லைத்தீவில் விமானக் குண்டுவீச்சுத் தாக்குதலில் 61 பாடசாலை சிறுமிகள் கொல்லப்பட்டதனை கண்டித்து புலம்பெயர் நாடுகளில் நடத்தப்பட்ட கவனயீர்ப்பு போராட்ட நிகழ்வுகளின் படத்தொகுப்பு - 

Tamils in many lands demonstrate against genocidal attack - Australia (1),  Australia (2),  Netherlands (1), Netherlands (2), Netherlands (3) , London, USA, Kovai- Sri Lanka, France (1) France (2), Chennai,  Salem (1), Salem(2), Finland (1) Finland (2), Germany (1), Germany (2), Germany (3), Ottawa - Canada, Toronto (1), Toronto (2), Quebec - Canada  New Zealand, Norway (1), Norway (2),  Switzerland, Denmar, Belgium , Italy, Sweden

Brian Senewiratne on the Bombing of Tamil School Children in Sri Lanka, 21 August 2006

Cowardly act, says Vallipunam survivor 23 August 2006

Sri Lanka Government Air Strikes kill 61 innocent schoolgirls - Video Footage

Tamils in Germany Remember the Massacre of Innocents at Vallipunam -  14 August 2007

TRO Memorial for School Girls Killed in SLAF Bombing - 14 August 2007 [see also http://august14memorial.com/ ]

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At least 61 schoolgirls were killed and 129 were wounded when Sri Lankan Kfir jets bombed a children's home compound in Mullaitivu district Monday morning where schoolgirls from Mullaithivu district were attending a residential course on  Leadership, Self-Awareness and First Aid workshop.  Ambulances were rushing the wounded, many of whom are bleeding badly, to hospitals, sources said. Officials of the Liberation Tigers’ Peace Secretariat, briefing reporters in Kilinochchi, described the attack as “a horrible act of terror” by the Sri Lankan armed forces. UN’s child agency, UNICEF, and international truce monitors have visited the scene of the carnage.

Four Kfir jet bombers of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) dropped 16 bombs on the premises of the Chencholai children’s home in Vallipunam on Paranthan-Mullaithivu road, killing at least 61 schoolgirls. 33 bodies have been taken to Puthukudiyiruppu hospital. Other bodies, in severely damaged state, were being identified.

More than 400 schoolgirls were staying in Chencholai. Kfir bombers were flown to the target without circling over the attack site, civilian sources said. 52 wounded girls were rushed to Mullaithivu hospital. 13 were admitted at Puthukudiyiruppu hospital. At least 64 wounded were taken to Kilinochchi hospital.

Girls from various schools in the Mullaitivu district were staying overnight at the compound, attending a a residential course on  Leadership, Self-Awareness and First Aid  LTTE officials in Kilinochchi said. The officials at the LTTE Peace Secretariat denounced the Sri Lankan airstrike as “a horrible act of terror.” They condemned the “deliberate, cold-blooded and inhumane” targeting of the schoolgirls compound by the daylight air raid. The LTTE Peace Secretariat urged representatives of international agencies in Kilinochchi, including UNICEF, to visit the site of the bombing.  They also urged the international Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM), overseeing the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) to attend the site.

Background In September 1999, SLAF jets killed 21 people in a similar daylight raid. Commenting at the time, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said: “We can confirm that 21 civilians were killed consequent to the air strike at Manthuvil junction …The ICRC deplores the fact that the air strikes were carried out in a civilian area.” And in September 1995 Nagerkoil School was bombed by Sri Lanka airforce under cover of press censorship.The bombing of the school happened at 12.50 p.m. during the school's lunch break when several of the school children were gathered under a shade tree in the school compound. 25 school going children were among 40 Tamil civilians killed on the spot. The British Refugee Council publication, Sri Lanka Monitor September 1995 reported - "Military sources first denied the attack then claimed Nagaroil was a Sea Tiger base where LTTE cadre had gathered to honour Tiger martyr Thileepan.. Six weeks earlier, Sri Lanka aircraft bombed civilians seeking refuge around Navaly Catholic church four miles west of Jaffna town killing 130 people and injuring 120... Reports of the Nagarkoil bombing were heavily censored under the new restrictions.. Like Navaly, whether Nagarkoil was accidental or deliberate, air and artillery attacks on northern civilians will continue... Civilians are unidentifiable from the air - unless perhaps there are 750 of them all dressed in spotless white school uniforms."

  International Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (ITRO London) condemns SLAF attack on  orphanage
[TamilNet, August 14, 2006 13:42 GMT]

iTRO calls upon the international community to condemn the bombing of Chencholai orphanage and call for an immediate international investigation of this mass murder of children. Chencholai Valaham an orphanage for girls in Vallipunam was bombed by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir jet bombers at 7 am this morning (14/08/06). The latest information indicates that 61 girls have been killed, with the death toll expected to increase, and over 129 injured. The location of this children’s home is well known by all parties: the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government Agent, ICRC, UNICEF and all those who work in the Vanni. It has been in existence at the current location since 1998. This area is a “peace village” with 5 orphanages, which are registered with the Government of Sri Lanka as orphanages, within a 1 km radius:

Chencholai Girls Home
Bharathy Illam Girls Home (a TRO run home): 160 girls - tsunami and war affected
Inniya Valvu Illam (a TRO run home for deaf & blind children): 78 children
Vasanthan Children’s home: 60 girls - tsunami and war affected
Senthair Ilam (relocated from Mullaitivu after being destroyed by the tsunami): 130 children

Every weekend girls from the surrounding areas come to the orphanage for ‘first aid’ training which includes life and leadership skills training. These children were preparing to go back to their homes when 16 bombs were dropped on them. The surviving children have been severely traumatised by the events of this morning and will require further counselling and support.

TRO calls on the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, International Human Rights agencies (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch), the Government Agent, and Civil Society investigate this crime against humanity. The climate of impunity that exists in Sri Lanka contributes to the abuse of human rights and extrajudicial killings. The bombing of this orphanage, the execution of the 17 Action Contre la Faim Tamil staff, the abduction of the 7 TRO staff in January, and the continuing denial of humanitarian relief to war displaced in the Trincomalee District are just a few of the recent human rights abuses committed by the government or paramilitaries affiliated with the government.
 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) condemns  Sencholai attack as "pre-meditated, deliberate and genocidal"
[TamilNet, August 14, 2006 11:23 GMT]

Full text of the press release:

According to reports received thus far 61 children – all girls – students in GCE (O/L) and GCE (A/L) classes in different schools in Mullaitheevu have been killed as a result of heavy aerial bombardment by Kfir jet bombers of the Sri Lankan Air Force, around 7am this morning on the premises of the “Senchcholai” at Vallipunam, on the Paranthan – Mullaitheevu Road, at Mullaitheevu. Over 150 other children, all girls, also students in GCE O/L and GCE (A/L) classes in different schools in Mullaitheevu have been seriously injured in the course of the same aerial bombardment at the same place. It is feared that the number of deaths would increase. “Senchcholai” is an institution housing a girl’s home caring for children rendered orphans by war. The children were attending a seminar on First-Aid. These were all unarmed and innocent children engaged in an educational program related to humanitarian aid.

The heavy aerial bombardment on the premises clearly indicates that the attack was premeditated deliberate and vicious. The heavy repeated aerial bombardment of the same premises clearly indicates the bombing was definitely not accidental. The ferocity of the attack clearly indicates that its objective was to cause the maximum possible casualties. The objective was to kill the maximum number of Tamil children. It is significant that thus far there are no reports of adult casualties.

This attack is not merely atrocious and inhuman - it clearly has a genocidal intent. It is yet another instance of brazen State Terrorism.

In yet another incident, displaced Tamil civilians who had taken refuge at the Philip Neriyar Church at Allaipiddy came under heavy artillery fire around midnight on Saturday the 12th of August 2006. Over 25 Tamil civilians were killed by this attack and over 50 other Tamil civilians grievously injured.

In both these instances, the Government Military Forces were definitely aware that the victims would be the Tamil civilian population. The attacks were nevertheless carried out with callous disregard to the sanctity and security of Tamil civilian life.

The government’s indiscriminate aerial bombardment and artillery shelling has in the recent past caused heavy civilian casualties in several parts of the Tamil speaking Northeastern region.

We appeal on behalf of the Tamil speaking civilian population to the International Community particularly to India, to take the earliest possible action to stop the Sri Lankan State from proceeding with its genocidal program.

We strongly condemn the massacre of innocent children at “Senchcholai” Mullaitheevu and innocent civilians at Philip Neriyar Church at Allaipiddy.
 

Bombed compound, a well-known humanitarian zone says Grama Sevaka
[TamilNet, August 14, 2006 10:43 GMT]

The Grama Sevaka (a civil servant) of Vallipunam, Mr. Sivarajah, told reporters Monday that the area around the "Sencholai" home where 61 children were killed and 129 wounded by Sri Lankan bombers Monday morning was a well identified civilian zone with other residential homes, including those for the disabled, sources in Mullaitivu said. “[The Sencholai] compound was established eight years ago and is well known to international agencies,” Mr. Sivarajah said. “Many UN seminars, including those conducted by UNICEF have been held here.”

"The Sencholai building has been for the past 8 years used to house girls who had lost one or more parents. Several other institutions providing humanitarian services are located close to Sencholai. ""Iniya Valvu Illam," a house for the severely disabled, "Gandhi Illam," a children's home for boys, "Vasantham," another children's home are located within 1 km from the Sencholai building that witnessed the carnage today," Mr Sivarajah said.

"Administrators of the Iniya Valvu Illam have informed me that the disabled children in their home are severely traumatized, and their staff has been consoling and counselling the children," Mr Sivarajah added.
 

Sri Lanka Government (first) denies that bombing took place - Voice of America Report by Patricia Nunan, 14 August 2006

"The Tamil Tiger rebels are accusing the Sri Lankan government of bombing an orphanage in the east of the country - killing at least 43 children and injuring dozens more. And there are reports of a massive bomb in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. The latest violence comes after hopes of renewed peace talks were again dashed.

International cease-fire monitors say the Tamil Tiger rebels informed them early Monday that the air force had bombed the children's home in eastern Sri Lanka.

But the spokesman for the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, Thorfinnur Omarsson, says fighting is preventing the monitors from reaching the site.  "We'll try to go to this spot if it's possible," said Omarsson. "But as far as this hour, we cannot confirm if it's correct or not."  The government denies the bombing took place. ..."

Sri Lanka claims that it attacked an LTTE 'facility' not a children's home - 14 Aug 2006 09:03:40 EDT CBC News

"A website that favours the rebel Tamil Tigers says bombs dropped from Sri Lankan jets killed 61 schoolgirls at a children's home on Monday (14 August 2006)

The Tamilnet site also reported that 129 girls at the school in Vallipunam in the northeastern Mullaitivu district were wounded. The girls were attending an overnight first-aid course at a Tamil organization's school.

The Sri Lankan government said it attacked a Tamil Tigers facility, not a children's home. The government has proof the building is a rebel base, Air Force spokesman Group Capt. Ajantha Silva said."

Bombed site ‘not military installation’ says Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
 

"We couldn't find any signs of military installations or weapons in this area" - Sri Lanka Truce Monitor Ulf Henricsson: Interview with MTV/Srisara, 14 August 2006

" Well, we have had monitored this place at 11 o'clock today and we found at least 10 bomb craters and also found an un-detonated bomb at this place. And eyewitnesses have recalled they saw 4 aircrafts. And the total number killed is 61 officially. We haven't counted. I think the figures are fairly accurate. And we Monitors couldn't find any signs of military installations or weapons in this area. So it was not a military installation as we can see."

also [TamilNet, August 14, 2006 16:15 GMT]

International ceasefire monitors who visited the site of the Sri Lankan airstrike Monday which killed 61 school girls and wounded 129 said they couldn’t find “any evidence of military installations or weapons.” Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Ulf Henricsson, said monitors who visited Chencholai Valaham after the airstrike said they found at least 10 bomb craters and an unexploded bomb. “It was not a military installation, we can see [that],” Mr. Henricsson told Sri Lanka’s MTV television. Mr. Henricsson said his staff visited Chencholai Valaham at 11 a.m. Monday. They examined the site and spoke to eyewitnesses who described the raid by four jets.

SLMM official at Bomb Site

He said his staff had not finished counting the dead, but said the official count of 61 killed seemed “fairly correct.”  “We couldn’t find any sign of military installations or weapons,” Mr. Henricsson said. “This was not a military installation, we can see.”

Note by tamilnation.org  For the SLMM it was not a military installation. But Sri Lanka Government spokesmen Keheliya Rambukwela and Brig Athula Jayawardene told the media in Colombo that the orphanage "was in fact a training and transit camp for the LTTE's military cadres. The camp, Jayawardene pointed out, did not look like an orphanage at all or any civilian structure for that matter. It had the typical structure of a military camp, with outer and inner bunds and barricades. It was in the midst of jungle and had no other human settlements around. When it was pointed out that the UNICEF had said that there was no sign of any military activity in the scene of the bombardment,  Rambukwela retorted that the LTTE might not have taken the UNICEF to the right spot. Even if it was granted that the victims were minors (under 18 years of age) they were soldiers alright, or soldiers under training, Rambukwela and Jayawardene argued." They carry guns and are trained to kill soldiers," Jayawardene said. "You can't expect us to pamper them if they come armed to kill soldiers," added Rambukwela."  [Hindustan Times Report filed by P.K.Balachandran, 15 August 2006]
 

Killed Students, participants in a 10-day publicly announced workshop
[TamilNet, August 14, 2006 22:33 GMT]

V. Ilankumaran, Director of Educational Board for Tamileelam, in an exclusive interview to TamilNet said that the students killed and injured in Monday's Kfir attack were "participants in a 10-day residential Leadership, Self-Awareness and First Aid workshop." More than 400 G.C.E. A/L students from 18 schools in Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, and Oddusuddan Educational Zones, Ilankumaran said.

Mr.Ilankumaran, head of the Education Division of the Liberation Tigers, speaking at the education workshop.
"This annual program, started on 11th August and scheduled to end on 21st, was initiated by the Zonal department of Education, Kilinochchi and funded and supported by Centre for Women's Rehabilitation and Development (CWRD). The workshop aimed at developing student leaders by building self confidence through understanding self, building inter-personal relationship, knowing leadership qualities, effective time management, helping self and others by learning first aid, and learning principles of gender equality," said V.Ilankumaran.

The residential workshop was held with public knowledge, and parents were visiting the girls throughout the course, Ilankumaran added.Today's terrible pre-meditated attack on the helpless schoolgirls is an attack not only to destroy educational opportunities for the deprived Tamil students. but also an attack on the student community at large, said V.Ilankumaran.

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Statement of International Educational Development under Agenda Item 2 at General Assembly, Human Rights Council, 58th Session, 14 August 2006 [full text at Sri Lanka Accused at United Nations]

",,,While we welcome the action undertaken by the Human Rights Council in regards to attacks on protected facilities and persons under the Geneva Conventions and humanitarian law as a whole in Lebanon, the Council has not called for action regarding several other conflicts in which targeting of protected facilities and persons is equally serious. One of these is the conflict in Sri Lanka, where since the elections in November there has been the worst levels of fighting since the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement. In the past few weeks, the level of fighting has increased dramatically, as have the numbers of military operations of the government armed forces flagrantly targeting protected facilities and persons.

For example, on 6 August 2006 17 humanitarian aid workers from the French NGO Action Contre le Faim were brutally massacred in the government controlled areas in Trincomalee, prompting 3 independent experts of the Council (H.Jilani, human rights defenders; P. Alston, extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions; J. Ziegler, the right to food) to issue a press release on 11 August 2006 in which they state: “the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers is a serious violation of the basic principles of international and humanitarian law and the Declaration of Human Rights Defenders.” Also on 6 August 2006, several members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission narrowly escaped attacks from the government forces in Maavil Aaru. On 9 August 2006 government forces attacked an ambulance belonging to Nedunkerni hospital killing a doctor, 2 nurses and the driver. On 14th of August, the government forces deliberately bombed a girl’s orphanage killing 60 girls and wounding 120 who were between the ages of 15 and 18. An attack on St. Philip Mary church in Allaipiddy left 15 dead and more than 100 injured.

... in our view the US has given the government of Sri Lanka a “green light” to undertake actions that violate humanitarian law under the pretext that due to the unabated demonization of the Tamils by Sri Lankan and US authorities, no one will dare defend them, and in any case, no one will be able to do anything about it. However, because now the UN independent experts, UNICEF and UNHCR have spoken up, and because the UN is in a process to reform its work, we hope that the Sub-Commission, which as rightly undertaken to address attacks against medical and other protected persons in time of war, will inform the Council of its concerns regarding Sri Lanka and the situation of the Tamil people and will request that the Council act."

Mass Killing of School Children - Failure of UN bodies To Act Constitutes A Violation of  their Duties  - International Federation of Tamils, Press Release, 15 August 2006

The International Federation of Tamils most strongly condemns the deliberate aerial bombardment of an orphanage for girls in that took place at Chencholai Children's Home in Vallipunam in Manthuvil District in the north of the island of Ceylon. The most recent figures indicate 61 girls killed and 129 wounded. The girls from the area had congregated at the Children's Home for a course in first aid.

Regarding this attack, official spokesman of the Sri Lankan Govt., Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, defending the bombardment, insisted the target was, beyond doubt, an LTTE military training camp and those killed were military trainees. However, the SLMM official who personally visited the scene of carnage vouched he could find no trace of anything military about the place. The UNICEF Representative who visited the place was of the same opinion. The TRO officials pointed out that the land as well as the Institution were registered as belonging to the Orphanage and the Diplomatic community was also fully aware of it.

At the same time, Sri Lanka military force at Jaffna fired on St. Philip Neri's Church, Allipity, killing more than 15 persons and severely injuring over 100.

These atrocities follow on the heels of the cold-blooded assassination on 8 August 2006 of 17 aid workers from the French NGO Action Contra le Faim (Action Against Hunger) – a war crime prompting three independent experts of the UN (Hilani – rights defenders; Alston—extra-judicial, arbitrary and summary executions; Ziegler – the right to food) to issue a strong statement on 11 August 2006 condemning this as a "serious violation of the basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law and the Declaration of Human Rights Defenders." We have provided information of other grave breaches that have occurred in the past few weeks by the Sri Lankan military forces against the Tamil civilian population. Other atrocities are taking place as we write this: we are simply unable to keep up with the attacks that have now spiralled out of control.

Because the verified examples of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions at the hands of the Sri Lankan government force all parties to the Geneva Conventions to take requisite action in conformity with Common Article 1, we await action from UN human rights bodies and Member States. As in the situation in Lebanon, it is not sufficient for human rights bodies, Member States of the United Nations, or High Contracting Parties of the Geneva Conventions to remain silent. Failure to act when on notice by the ICRC, the UNHCR and UNICEF as well as numerous NGOs would itself constitute a violation of the duties of human rights bodies, and would indicate that the attempts to reform UN action on human rights have failed.]
 

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Tamils in Vanni mourn for teenagers killed in airstrike
[TamilNet, August 15, 2006 09:50 GMT]

Tamils in the Vanni Tuesday mourned the 61 teenage schoolgirls killed in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing Monday. Urging the international community to condemn the attack, the Tamileelam Students Association (TSA) said “there are no words strong enough to condemn the Sri Lankan government’s pre-meditated massacre of innocent school girls in a peaceful learning environment”

Tamileelam Students Association (TSA) called “immediate action against those responsible for this vicious massacre, so justice can prevail.”

“We mark this day, the 15th of August, as a Day of Mourning of the Vallipunam school girls massacre. We ask the people of Tamil Eelam and all Tamils living throughout the world to observe this Day of Mourning wholeheartedly,” the press release further said.

Meanwhile a protest march was held in Kilinochchi condemning the air attack. A large number of people gathered at Kandaswamy temple in Kilinochchi and marched to the UNCEF office, shouting slogans and carrying placards condemning the Sri Lanka Government for the attack.

Sri Lanka Government’s spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, claimed the bombed site was a Tamil Tiger military training camp.International ceasefire monitors who visited the site said they couldn’t find “any evidence of military installations or weapons.” The head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Ulf Henricsson, said monitors who visited Chencholai Valaham after the airstrike said they found at least 10 bomb craters and an unexploded bomb. “It was not a military installation, we can see [that],” Mr. Henricsson told Sri Lanka's MTV television.

US fails to condemn Chencholai killings and expresses no sympathy to the families of  the Tamil school children killed by Sri Lanka Airforce
[TamilNet, August 15, 2006 09:39 GMT]

The United States Embassy in Colombo Tuesday 15 August 2006,  said it condemned the slaying of Ketheshwaran Loganathan, the Deputy Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat of the Government of Sri Lanka, and expressed sympathies to families of those who perished in Monday's attack on the Pakistani High Commissioner's motorcade in Colombo. Full text of the press release follows:

United States Expresses Sympathy and Concern

"Colombo—August 15, 2006: The United States condemns the August 12 murder of Deputy Secretary General of the Government Peace Secretariat, Ketheshwaran Loganathan, and mourns the loss of an individual dedicated to bridging communities and building peace in Sri Lanka. We also express our sympathies to the families of those who perished in yesterday’s attack on the Pakistani High Commissioner’s motorcade. The United States is deeply concerned over the mounting casualties in this conflict and calls on both sides to immediately cease hostilities and negotiate a just and lasting settlement. "

[see also

1. Statement of International Educational Development under Agenda Item 2 at General Assembly, Human Rights Council, 58th Session, 14 August 2006  "... in our view the US has given the government of Sri Lanka a “green light” to undertake actions that violate humanitarian law under the pretext that due to the unabated demonization of the Tamils by Sri Lankan and US authorities, no one will dare defend them, and in any case, no one will be able to do anything about it. However, because now the UN independent experts, UNICEF and UNHCR have spoken up, and because the UN is in a process to reform its work, we hope that the Sub-Commission, which as rightly undertaken to address attacks against medical and other protected persons in time of war, will inform the Council of its concerns regarding Sri Lanka and the situation of the Tamil people and will request that the Council act."

2. A Lesson in Foreign Policy: When China taught Vietnam a Lesson with US Support  from Power and Principle - Memoirs of the National Security Adviser 1977-1981 by Zbigniew Brzezinski  "..The Chinese did not give us a precise date for the forthcoming "educational experience" that they were planning for Vietnam.... I developed a proposal that the United States should criticize the Chinese for their military action but should couple that criticism with a parallel condemnation of the Vietnamese for their occupation of Cambodia, and demand that both China and Vietnam pull out their forces. I knew that such a proposal would be totally unacceptable to the Vietnamese and to the Soviets, and hence would provide a partial diplomatic umbrella for the Chinese action without associating the United States with it... The Chinese learned in the course of the three critical weeks that they now had a reliable friend: they could confide in us, we could keep a secret, and our public reaction - formally critical but substantively helpful- was firm and consistent..."]

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Oru Paper, London  Poster Mourning the Dead

SL Military had 'precise coordinates' of bombed peace zone
[TamilNet, August 15, 2006 11:32 GMT]

The site bombed by Sri Lankan jets on Monday, 14 August 2006  had been designated a humanitarian zone and the LTTE had passed its coordinates on to the military via the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), NGO sources said Tuesday. The Sri Lankan military had been given precise coordinates of where ‘Peace village’ comprising the Senchcholai home hit by Monday’s airstrike and other humanitarian centres is located.

The GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) details were passed to the Sri Lankan military during the last period of conflict, before the 2002 ceasefire, as part of efforts to ensure protection of humanitarian spaces during conflict, NGO sources told TamilNet.

On Monday four Kfir jet bombers dropped 16 bombs directly on the children’s home, destroying several buildings and killing scores of teenagers and wounding 150 others.

The Sri Lankan government says it targeted an LTTE training camp, killing “50-60 terrorists” and Tuesday showed journalists what if claimed was footage.

But UNICEF chief in Colombo JoAnna VanGerpen told AFP Tuesday: "As of this time, we don't have any evidence that they are LTTE cadres." "These were children from surrounding schools in the area who were brought there for a two-day training workshop on first aid, by whom we don't know yet," Ms. VanGerpen told AFP.

Sri Lankan officials had briefed some journalists claiming the Senchcholai home had a firing range and fortifications. But the international monitors overseeing the 2002 truce disagreed.  “We couldn’t find any sign of military installations or weapons,” Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Ulf Henricsson said. “This was not a military installation, we can see [that from our visit]”

But the Sri Lankan government’s official spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, insisted the bombed site was a Tamil Tiger training camp. He said the accusations that innocent schoolgirls had been killed "was purely a propaganda exercise [by the LTTE] to counter their defeats in the North and East."
 

UNICEF: "UNICEF staff from a nearby office immediately visited the compound to assess the situation - Bombing of innocent girls, shocking result of violence"
[TamilNet, August 15, 2006 11:12 GMT]

 UNICEF Press Release

Colombo, New York, Geneva, 15 August 2006 – The bombing on Monday of a Vallepuram compound in Mullaitivu district that reportedly killed dozens of girls and wounded many more is a shocking result of the rising violence in Sri Lanka, UNICEF said today.

"These children are innocent victims of violence," said Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director. "We call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and ensure children and the places where they live, study and play are protected from harm."

The compound in the northern part of the country was bombed, reportedly killing as many as 40 adolescent girls. Some 100 children were wounded, many critically. Girls from various schools in the nearby district of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi were staying overnight at the compound, attending a two-day course in first-aid.

UNICEF staff from a nearby office immediately visited the compound to assess the situation and to provide fuel and supplies for the hospital as well as counselling support for the injured students and the bereaved families.

This latest incident comes amidst escalating hostilities in Sri Lanka in recent weeks, where tens of thousands of children were displaced from their homes. Hundreds of children have been injured, lost family members, and live in constant fear of the violence and continuous shelling of their communities.
 

Black Flags and Fasts in Tamil Nadu, 16 August 2006

Social Justice Forum of Advocates of Chennai protest against Sri Lanka muder of school childred at Chensolai

Several political parties and people’s representatives across Tamil Nadu have stepped up their campaign in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils in the wake of the recent killing of over 60 girls in air strikes in north Lanka. Dalit Panthers of India general secretary Thol Thirumavalavan announced he would go on a fast in Chennai on Thursday 17 August 2006 to press his demand. He added that instead of celebrating his birthday on Thursday, thousands of his DPI volunteers across the state would also observe a day long fast in a peaceful expression of their anguish at the suffering of the Eelam Tamils.

“A grave situation has arisen as was clouds gather in Sri Lanka. Under the pretext of fighting the LTTE, the racist Sinhala rulers have been massacring innocent Tamils in recent times,” he said in a statement, condemning the Monday bombing that killed 61 girls at the Sencholai orphanage in Mullaitivu. The Dalit leaders said the “emerging situation gravely threatened the lives and properties of the innocent Tamils” in the island.

Convener of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Supporters’ Coordination Committee, Pazha Nedumaran, announced a weeklong campaign starting Friday in the state, calling upon all like-minded persons and organisations to take out peaceful processions wearing black badges and carrying black flags to protest against the Mullaitivu bombing. His committee has over 80 organisations as members and he expected “overwhelming support” from all sections for the cause, the Tamil nationalist leader told this newspaper.

Dalit leader Dr Krishnasamy, heading the Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT) demanded in Coimbatore that India recall its cricket team from Colombo.In a statement Mr Krishnasamy demanded recall of the Indian cricket team “in protest against the continued massacre of innocent Tamils in Eelam.”  He also wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to condemn the Mullaitivu bombing. “The Indian government raised its voice against attacks in Lebanon but remains mum when hundreds of Tamils are massacred in Sri Lanka. Why?” asked the Dalit leader.

A section of lawyers of the Social Justice Forum of Advocates held a demonstration in Chennai on Wednesday, 16 August 2006 condemning the Lankan government for the air strikes on the girls’ orphanage. They have asked all political parties in Tamil Nadu to unite in supporting the cause of the Eelam Tamils and fly their flags at half-mast to condole the death of the orphans in the air raids.

The MDMK general secretary Vaiko dismissed as a “total lie” the Lankan claim that the bombing targeted only a Tiger camp. He also pointed out that the UNICEF and the SLMM teams had come out with statements that the air-strike was on a school and innocent children were killed.

சென்னையில் பழ.நெடுமாறன் அறிக்கை: சிங்கள வெறியர்களின் கொலை வெறி தமிழ்ச் சிறுமிகளைக் கூட விட்டு வைக்கவில்லை.. 15 August 2006

இலங்கையில் தமிழர் பகுதியில் வல்லிபுனம் செஞ்சோலை வளாகத்தின் மீது சிங்கள விமானக் குண்டு வீச்சின் விளைவாக 61-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட பள்ளிச்சிறுமிகள் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்டும் 129-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட சிறுமிகள் படுகாயமடைந்தும் உள்ள செய்தி மனித நேயம் கொண்ட அனைவரையும் பதைபதைக்கச் செய்துள்ளது.

ஏற்கெனவே போரில் பெற்றோரை இழந்து அனாதைகளாகி செஞ்சோலை அமைப்பில் பராமரிக்கப்பட்டு வந்த குழந்தைகளுக்கு நேர்ந்த கதி நம்மை நெக்குருக வைக்கிறது.

சிங்கள வெறியர்களின் கொலை வெறி தமிழ்ச் சிறுமிகளைக் கூட விட்டு வைக்கவில்லை. இந்தக் கொடிய செயலுக்குக் கண்டனம் தெரிவிக்கும் வகையில் தமிழகமெங்கும் ஓகஸ்ட் 18 முதல் ஒரு வார காலத்திற்குள், வசதிப்பட்ட நாளில் கறுப்புப் பட்டிகள் அணிந்தும்இ கறுப்புக் கொடிகள் தாங்கியும் அமைதி ஊர்வலங்கள் நடத்துமாறு அனைத்துத் தமிழர் அமைப்புகளையும் உணர்வாளர்களையும் தமிழக மக்களையும் வேண்டிக் கொள்கிறேன்.

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தமிழ்நாடு முதல்வர் கருணாநிதி-  முல்லைப் படுகொலை மனிதாபிமானம் சிறிதும் அற்ற ஒரு செயல், 15 August 2006

முல்லைத்தீவில் சிறிலங்கா விமானப் படையின் வான்குண்டுத் தாக்குதலில் 61 பாடசாலை சிறுமிகள் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்டமை மனிதாபிமானம் ஒரு சிறிதும் அற்ற செயல் என்று தமிழ்நாடு முதல்வர் கலைஞர் கருணாநிதி கடும் கண்டனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

முதல்வர் கலைஞர் கருணாநிதி இன்று செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை சென்னையில் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கை:

இலங்கையின் இராணுவ நடவடிக்கைகளில் கொடுமை நிறைந்த நிகழ்ச்சியாக குழந்தைகள் காப்பகம் தாக்கப்பட்டு குண்டுமாரி பொழிந்து 60-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட இளஞ்சிறார்களை கொன்று குவித்திருப்பது மனிதாபிமானம் ஒரு சிறிதும் அற்ற செயல் என்றே கருதப்பட வேண்டியுள்ளது.

மனித நேயத்தில் தோய்ந்துள்ள எவராயினும் அவர்களால் மன்னிக்கப்பட முடியாத நிகழ்ச்சிகளுக்கு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்பதில் இருவேறு கருத்துக்கு இடமே இல்லை என்று கலைஞர் கருணாநிதி தனது அறிக்கையில் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
 

வைகோ கண்டனம்: செஞ்சோலையில் கோர நர்த்தனம் ஆடிய சிங்கள அரசு ஒரு பயங்கரவாத அரசு,  15 August 2006

சென்னையில் நேற்று திங்கட்கிழமை வைகோ வெளியிட்ட அறிக்கை:

உலகெங்கும் உள்ள தமிழர்களின் நெஞ்சத்தை மனிதநேயம் உள்ளோர் மனதை நடுநடுங்கச் செய்யும் படுகொலையை சிங்கள அரசின் விமானப்படை நடத்தி இருக்கிறது. இலங்கைத் தீவின் கிளிநொச்சிப் பகுதியில்இ செஞ்சோலை எனும் குழந்தைகள் காப்பகம் மனிதநேயத் தொட்டிலாக இயங்கி வருகிறது.

சிங்கள அரசின் ஈவு இரக்கம் அற்ற இனப்படுகொலையால் உயிர்நீத்த தமிழர்களின் குழந்தைகளை-தாய்-தந்தையரை இழந்த அனாதைக் குழந்தைகளைப் பாதுகாத்துஇ அரவணைத்து வளர்க்கும் சேவை மையமாக இந்த செஞ்சோலையை விடுதலைப் புலிகள் அமைப்பினர் நடத்தி வருகின்றனர். .

இங்கு பயிலும் மாணவ-மாணவிகளைஇ பச்சிளம் குழந்தைகளைஇ சிங்கள அரசின் விமானங்கள் குண்டு வீசி கொலை பாதகம் புரிந்து உள்ளன.

இஸ்ரேல் நாட்டில் இருந்து சிங்கள அரசு வாங்கி உள்ள கிபீர் குண்டுவீச்சு ஜெட் விமானங்களாக நான்கு போர் விமானங்கள் இங்கு சரமாரியாக குண்டுவீசித் தாக்கியதில்இ 70 சின்னஞ்சிறு மாணவ-மாணவிகள் கொல்லப்பட்டு உள்ளனர். நூற்றுக்கும் அதிகமான பள்ளிப் பிள்ளைகள் படுகாயம் அடைந்து உயிருக்குப் போராடிக் கொண்டு இருக்கின்றனர். இத்தகைய பேரழிவுக் கொடுஞ்செயல்கள் அண்மைக்காலத்தில் வேறு எந்த நாட்டிலும் அரசாங்கப் படைகளால் நடத்தப்பட்டது இல்லை.

ஹிட்லரின் நாஜிப் படைகள்தான் இத்தகைய அக்கிரமமான - அழிவு வேலைகளைச் செய்தது உண்டு. இலங்கையில் போர் நிறுத்தக் கண்காணிப்பு வேலையில் ஈடுபட்டு உள்ள அமைப்பின் பிரதிநிதிகள் பெரும் அதிர்ச்சிக்கு ஆளாகி உள்ளதாகத் தெரிவித்து உள்ளனர்.

ஐ.நா. மன்றத்தில் குழந்தைகள் நல அமைப்பான யுனிசெப் அமைப்பினரும்இ சர்வதேச செஞ்சிலுவைச் சங்கத்தின் பிரதிநிதிகளும்இ செஞ்சோலையைப் பார்வையிட்டுஇ நடந்து உள்ள இந்த படுபாதகக் கொலையை உலக நாடுகளுக்குத் தெரிவிக்க வேண்டும் என்று துன்பக் கடலில் பரிதவிக்கும் ஈழத்தமிழர்கள் விரும்புகின்றனர்.

இந்த மாபாதகக் கொடுஞ்செயலில் ஈடுபட்ட சிங்கள அரசுஇ ஓர் பயங்கரவாத அரசு என்றும்இ அப்பாவி மக்களைக் கொன்று குவிக்கும் பயங்கரவாதச் செயலை பட்டவர்த்தனமாகச் செய்யும் அரசு என்றும் குற்றம் சாட்டுகின்றேன்.

செஞ்சோலையில் கோர நர்த்தனம் ஆடிய சிங்கள அரசின் காட்டுமிராண்டிச் செயலுக்குக் கண்டனம் தெரிவிக்கின்றேன்.

மனித நேய உணர்வு உள்ள இந்திய மக்களின்இ தாய்த் தமிழகத்து மக்களின் மனசாட்சியின் கதவு திறக்கட்டும்.

மானத்தோடும் - உரிமையோடும் வாழ, தங்கள் தாயகத்து மண்ணில் ஆக்கிரமிப்பு ராணுவத்தை எதிர்த்து விடுதலைப் புலிகள் பதில் தாக்குதலை நடத்துகிறார்கள்.

இந்த நிலையில் இலங்கையின் சிங்கள அரசு இந்தியாவின் இராணுவத் தளவாடங்களையும், இந்திய கப்பற்படையின் உதவிகளையும் நாடியதாகவும், அம்மாதிரியான உதவிகளைச் செய்வதற்கு இந்திய இராணுவ அமைச்சகம் முன்வந்து உள்ளதாகவும், ஊர்ஜிதமாகாத தகவல்கள் இலங்கை அரசின் ஆதரவு ஊடகங்களில் வெளிவந்து உள்ளன.

இலங்கையின் சிங்கள இனவாத அமைப்புகளுக்கும், தமிழர்களை அடிமை இனமாக ஒடுக்க முயலும் பேரினவாதிகளுக்கும், யுத்த களத்தில் பீதி அடைகிற சிங்கள இராணுவத்துக்கும் நம்பிக்கை ஊட்டுவதற்கான ஒரு திட்டமிட்ட முயற்சியாகக் கூட இத்தகைய செய்திகள் ஒருவேளை இருக்கக்கூடும்.

இலங்கையில் போர் மூளும் சூழலில் இந்தியா எந்தவிதமான உதவியும் செய்யாது என்றும், ஆயுத விற்பனையில் கூட ஈடுபடாது என்றும் 1999 ஆம் ஆண்டு அனைத்துக் கட்சி கூட்டத்தில் மத்திய அரசு எடுத்த முடிவில் எந்த மாற்றமும் ஏற்படக் கூடாது.

எனவே, பதட்டம் நாளுக்கு நாள் இலங்கையில் வளர்ந்து வரும் இன்றையச் சூழ்நிலையில் சிங்கள அரசுக்கு இராணுவ ரீதியிலான எத்தகைய உதவியையும் இந்தியா செய்யக் கூடாது என்றும், அப்படி செய்தால் தமிழ் இனத்துக்கு எதிராக சிங்களப் படைகளின் ஆக்கிரமிப்புத் தாக்குதலுக்கு உதவுகின்ற பெரும் பழிக்கு ஆளாக நேரிடும் என்றும் பொறுப்பு உணர்வோடு இந்திய அரசுக்குத் தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன் என்று வைகோ அந்த அறிக்கையில் கூறியுள்ளார்.
 

UN Officials and Truce Monitors say that those killed were pupils from local schools - BBC, 15 August 2006

UN officials and truce monitors in Sri Lanka say those killed in a bombing raid in a rebel-held northern area were pupils from local schools.  The target of the air strike has been described by the government as a rebel camp and by the rebels as an orphanage. Tamil Tigers rebels say 61 children died and hundreds were wounded.

The strike took place in Mullaitivu district on Monday. Teams from the UN children's fund (Unicef) and truce monitors went there the same day. Unicef and Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials who visited the site said the victims came from local schools.  Unicef spokeswoman Joanna Van Gerpen told the BBC: "We did see more than 100 (wounded) in the local hospitals, some with loss of limbs, head and shrapnel injuries."  As of this time, we don't have any evidence that they are LTTE cadres. She said most of those injured were girls aged 16 to 19, and there was no evidence that any were rebels. Ms Van Gerpen added: "From what we understand at this point, these children were from surrounding communities." She could not confirm how many people had died in the raid.

A spokesman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) - which also visited the area - said no sign of rebel activity had been recovered from the site. The government says the bombed facility was a training camp run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and those killed were child soldiers. On Tuesday Sri Lankan government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said neither team had used military experts to reach their conclusions..."

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Vavuniya, Trinco observe hartal, mourning day for massacred children
[TamilNet, August 16, 2006 08:20 GMT]

General shut down and the day of mourning day was observed in the districts of Vavuniya and Trincomalee Wednesday condemning the massacre of about sixty one children in Puthukudiruppu Sencholai children home in Mullaitivu district by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), killing of seventeen workers of French NGO in Muthur by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and indiscriminate killing of Tamil civilians in the North East by the State armed forces, sources said.

Vavuniya district

Tamils of Vavuniya district observed day of mourning and hartal in response to the call made by Tamil National Brigade and in Trincomalee Tamils to the appeal by Tamil Resurgence Community, sources said.

In Vavuniya and Trincomalee business establishments of all three communities were closed. Central government and provincial council offices did not function. Branches of State and private sector banks did not operate. Post offices were closed. Law courts in the two districts did not function as lawyers and litigants did not turn up. Public markets did not function as vendors did not turn up. Bus services run by state and private sector to and from Trincomalee and Vavuniya to other parts of the country came to a halt as bus stands were seen deserted without commuters, sources said.

In Vavuniya people in villages hoisted black flags. More Sri Lankan troops were deployed in Vavuniya to enforce law and order. In Trincomalee roads were seen deserted without civilian and traffic movement.

Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously condemns killing of 61 school girls - Chennai, 17 August 2006 (IANS)

"The Tamil Nadu Assembly Thursday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the killing of 61 school girls in Sri Lanka's north by air force jets ... Members observed silence for two minutes to pay homage to the dead children in Mullaitivu district. Speaker R. Avudiayappan tabled the condolence resolution and expressed shock and grief over the killing of the girls at the 'Sencholai' orphanage Monday. The resolution termed the mass killings 'uncivilized, barbaric, inhumane and atrocious'.  It said: 'There can be no two opinions on putting an end to the attacks, which cannot be forgiven.'... The resolution noted that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to persuade Sri Lanka to 'stop the killing of innocent Tamils ... and find a solution through peace talks'. Karunanidhi had Wednesday described the orphanage killing as 'atrocious'.  'There should be a full stop to such incidents as they cannot be condoned by anybody,' he said.

Members of the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) walked out of the legislature Thursday, protesting against the Indian government's silence over the air force bombing. DPI member K. Selvam accused the central government of 'helping the Sri Lankan armed forces' and urged all political parties in Tamil Nadu to fly their party flags at half mast. DPI leader Thol Thirumavalavan is on a one-day fast here Thursday condemning the Mullaitivu killings.The parties in the opposition have vowed to take out peace marches every day for a whole of this week.

MDMK leader Vaiko has urged Manmohan Singh to send a delegation of MPs from India to assess the situation in Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veerasamy warned: 'No political party in the state will accept the brutalities meted out to the Tamils by the island government.' .."

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Sencholai air-strike killed 55, details released [TamilNet, August 18, 2006 09:25 GMT]
see also at Peace Secretariat and in PDF with Photographs

Director of Education for Kilinochchi district, T Kurukularaja, and Director of Education for Mullaitivu district, P Ariyaradnam, have informed their respective Government Agents the details of the 55 victims killed in the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing on Sencholai campus in Vallipunam Monday. The final tally of those killed in the Vallipunam school camp aerial bombing (55 killed of which 51 are students and four are staff) Names of students killed and the school they were attending from Mullaitivu district compiled by the Director of Education for Mullaitivu district, P Ariyaradnam, and sent to the Government Agent for Mullaitivu:

School: Puthukkudiyiruppu Mahavidhyalayam

Thambirasa Lakiya DOB: 26-03-89, Mullivaikal west
Mahalingam Vensidiyoola DOB: 07-10-89, Mullivaikal west
Thuraisingam Sutharsini DOB: 28-07-89, Ward 10, PKT

School: Visuvamadu Mahavidhyalayam

Nagalingam Theepa DOB: 29-03-87, Puthadi, Visuvamadu
Thambirasa Theepa DOB: 07-02-87, Valluvarpuram, Redbarna
Thirunavukkarasu Niranjini DOB: 29-11-88, Puthadi, Visuvamadu
Raveenthirarasa Ramya DOB: 14-11-88, Thoddiyadi, V. madu
Kanapathipillai Nanthini DOB: 05-10-88, Koddiyadi, Visuvamadu
Vijayabavan Sinthuja DOB: 24-05-88, Koddiyadi, Visuvamadu
Naguleswaran Nishanthini DOB: 11-04-89, Thoddiyadi, V.madu
Tharmakulasingam Kemala DOB: 09-09-87, Kannakinagar,
Arulampalam Yasothini DBO: 18-01-88, Puththadi, Visuvamadu

School: Udayarkaddu Mahavidhyalayam

Muthaih Indra DOB: 08-08-88, Suthanthirapuram centre
Murugaiah Arulselvi DOB: 14-07-88, Suthanthirapuram centre
Sivamoorthy Karthikayini DOB: 13-02-88, Vallipunam
Santhanam Sathyakala DOB: 20-08-86, Vallipunam
Kanagalingam Nirupa DOB: 11-02-89, Visuvamadu
Kanagalingam Nirusa DOB: 11-02-89, Vallipunam
Navaratnam Santhakumari DOB: 28-05-88, Kaiveli
Nagalingam Kokila DOB: 12-02-87, Vallipunam
Sivamayajeyam Kokila DOB: Kuravil
Shanmugarasa Paventhini DOB:
Balakrishnan Mathani DOB: 09-05-88, Vallipunam

School: Mullaitivu Mahavidhyalayam

Sivanantham Thivya DOB: 30-05-88, Vannankulam
Thambirasa Suganthini DOB: 18-02-88, Alampil,
S Vathsalamary DOB: 20-11-86, Manatkudiyiruppu
Thanabalasingam Bakeerathy DOB: 03-02-87, Mullivaikal west
Thanikasalam Thanusa DOB: 02-12-87, Kallappadu
Pathmanathan Kalaipriya DOB: 23-09-88, Kovilkudiyiruppu
Markupillai Kelansuthayini DOB: 14-07-88, Vannankulam
Rasamohan Hamsana DOB: 29-05-87, Alampil

School: Kumulamunai Mahavidhyalayam

Vivekanantham Thadchayini DOB: 31-01-88, W 10, PTK
Santhakumar Sukirtha DOB: 08-08-87, Ward 7, Kumulamunai
Uthayakumaran Kousika DOB: 22-08-87, Kumulamunai
Nallapillai Ninthija DOB: 03-03-88, Ward 6, Kumulamunai
Veerasingam Rajitha DOB: 28-02-88, Ward 5, Kumulamunai

School: Vidhyananda College, Mulliyavalai

Thamilvasan Nivethika DOB: 02-12-88, Ward 2, Mulliyavalai
Suntharam Anoja DOB: 12-09-89, Kumulamunai
Puvanasekaram Puvaneswari DOB: 06-06-89, W 4, Mulliyavalai
Kiritharan Thayani DOB: 28-12-89, Thannerutru, Mulliyavalai

School: Chemmalai Mahavidhyalayam

Mahalingam Vasantharani DOB: 23-03-88, Alampil, Chemmalai
Thuraisingam Thisani DOB: 06-12-88, Alampil, Chemmalai
Vairavamoorthy Kirithika DOB: 12-07-87, Alampil, Chemmalai
Chandramohan Nivethika DOB: 04-01-89, Alampil, Chemmalai

School: Oddusuddan Mahavidhyalayam

Sellam Nirojini DOB: Koolamurippu, Oddusuddan
Names of students killed and the school they were attending from Kilinochchi district compiled by the Director of Education for Kilinochchi district, T Kurukularaja, and sent to the Government Agent for Kilinochchi.


School: Muruhananda Mahavidhyalayam

Tharmarasa Brintha DOB: 06-01-89, 189/1 Visuvamadu
Thevarasa Sharmini DOB: 09-03-89, 90, Periyakulam, Kandavalai

School: Tharmapuram Mahavidhyalayam

Varatharaja Mangaleswari DOB: 24-07-89, 577, 13 U, T.puram
Rasenthiraselvam Mahilvathani DOB: 04-12-88, Tharmapuram
Nilayinar Nivakini DOB: 04-04-89, Kaddakkadu, Tharmapuram

School: Piramanthanaru Mahavidhyalayam

Kubenthiraselvam Lihitha DOB: 05-02-87, Kalaveddithidal, Puliyampokanai

Names of staff killed

Chandrasekaran Vijayakumari (Age 27)
Kandasamy Kumarasamy (Age 48)
Solomon Singarasa (Age 65)
S Jeyarubi (Age 20)
 

Dr. Arul Ranjithan, 19 August 2006...

Sixty-three schoolgirls in children's home, killed in airstrike,
screamed headlines on websites,
mind goes numb and blank and suddenly the world makes no sense
when children's lives are snuffed out with such cruelty and ease.

Surely it is a mistaken bombing
and Sri Lankan President will give solace to grief-stricken families.
I wait in vain for words of sorrow and healing.
Instead minister of (dis) information says that the children are child soldiers.

God, is this the thrice blessed land of Buddha,
who preached compassion to all lives?
Love and kindness replaced with hatred and poisoned words,
all in the name of fighting terrorism and preserving Buddhism.

Life after nine eleven is much easier for those in power.
If you are against us, surely you are a terrorist.
Lankan state labels its enemies as terrorists,
and fighting them, the state itself has become the terrorist.

State terrorism unleashed on hapless Tamils,
with news media to spin the events, and blame falls on Tamils.
Never again says the world with each succeeding genocide,
Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia followed now by Sri Lanka.

With sadness and anger I walk outside, in the summer rain,
My tear drops washed away by drops of rain.
Pain that is dull and aching falls drop by drop on my heart,
I long for wisdom, to wash away the pain in my heart.

Tragedy of a believer is infinitely worse than that of a non-believer,
Since I cannot blame God, for the pain of my people in Lanka.
If it is God's plan to rain death and destruction on my people,
Surely the same God expects his children's conscience to guide them to action.

Sixty-three schoolgirls, the flowers of our embattled society,
Raised with love and care only Ammahs (housemothers) can give,
A part of them will be with us forever,
And their deaths shall not be in vain.

Farwell to you our beloved children, here's my pledge
Knowing that your ashes are mingled with our rivers and our land,
The best memorial I can give you, is to persevere till my end,
To enable our people to live with freedom and dignity in our land.

  A Hymn (in memory of the lives lost at Sencholai), Jana Nayagam, 19 August 2006

Milk and clear honey,
sweet rice and lentil
These tasty four have I fed thee
So hear me, beloved

I made glitter the floor of thy home
With garland of flame lily adorned thee
I have lit the lamps of thy mother
Begged her for an auspicious marriage

Kali, the demon-slayer, demanded
Her sacrifice of innocent blood
She dances on my girl companions
Mother, we are thine

Let them not mourn me
For I have been as the grass, the worm,
the slug, rooted as a tree
in this land where the old gods roam

For all these reasons, beloved
Fan out thy elephant ears
Open thy slumbering eyes
Concentrate on my prayer

Make speedy as light thy law
May the boomrang of action begin
May I see the circle complete
the universe reverberate thy voice

Measure out our lives in spoonfuls,
The madness of our mothers,
Our broken fathers, the village elders
Who must outlive the last child

Forget not for any his portion
All action has consequence
Each step makes marks, before and after
Measure with diligence

Portions for the global politicians
For the airmen, the gunmen, the suppliers of munitions,
For the newsmen who will deny us,
The bureaucrats who will not confirm us

All good men who look the other way
May they know, the madness of our mothers,
Our broken fathers, our hollowed elders
May we see the circle complete

Forgive me that I do not forgive
May the wheel turn for me again
Thou art light beyond all imagination
Mercy is thy form

May he who dances for the world
Dance for me,
Show me the worlds that I do not know
Beloved, lets do it now