Campaign
Muttur : 15 years of indifference !
On 4 August 2006, 17 of our colleagues – M. Narmathan, I. Muralitharan, R. Arulrajah, T. Pratheeban, A. Jaseelan, G. Kavitha, K. Kovarthani, V. Kokilavathani, S. Romila, M. Ketheswaran, M. Rishikesan, S.P. Anantharajah, G. Sritharan, S. Koneswaran, S. Ganesh, Y. Kodeeswaran and A.L.M. Jawffar – were executed in Muttur, Sri Lanka.
These men and women, who were humanitarian workers, were killed in their offices while they worked to help victims of the tsunami. All these years later, justice has still not been done. Action against Hunger continues to call for those responsible for this massacre to be prosecuted and brought to justice.
It is rare that humanitarian workers are targeted so violently. This attack on our colleagues constitutes a war crime. Indeed, the Geneva Conventions state that the protection of civilians in times of war is an inviolable rule, and this includes members of humanitarian organisations.
The 17 Action against Hunger workers were killed during a surprise attack on their offices while they were trying to help the local population. Having supported 100,000 people in Sri Lanka since 2005, we finally decided to leave the country two years after the massacre. As well as the victims, their loved ones and their colleagues, a whole population was affected.
For 15 years, no Sri Lankan government has acted to assist the victims or their families. And yet the severity of this crime has been recognised by the highest international bodies. Still, the involvement of the Sri Lankan authorities, their efforts to block any real inquiry and the years that have passed make the quest for justice for our colleagues all the more difficult and complex.
In the face of this impunity, we managed to get an international inquiry opened in 2014, which led to a report on the crimes committed during the Sri Lankan civil war. The United Nations Human Rights Council corroborated our conclusions with regard to the involvement of Sri Lankan security forces in this attack and the threats made to families and witnesses.
Then, the creation of a special international court (requested by the Council) was approved by the United Nations and the Sri Lankan government. However, it has been met with constant resistance, as the government of Sri Lanka opposes the presence of international judges.
” Sri Lanka remains in a state of denial about the past, with truth-seeking efforts aborted and the highest State officials refusing to make any acknowledgement of past crimes.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR)
Action against Hunger will not give up on seeking justice for the 17 victims of the Muttur Massacre. We will continue to call upon all competent authorities to use their influence so that justice may be done for the victims and their families.
Unfortunately, the Muttur Massacre is not an isolated event, and since the beginning of the year, some 200 humanitarian workers across the world have been killed, injured or kidnapped while trying to help vulnerable populations. Attacks on humanitarian workers are attacks on aid and everyone who needs it. These shocking events remind us that the international community must mobilise so that indifference and contempt for international law do not prevail. The safety of humanitarian workers, along with that of the populations they assist, is not negotiable.
