Outgoing United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was deeply critical on Tuesday of Sri Lanka’s warring parties, blaming both sides for the violence that has slowed rebuilding after the 2004 Asian tsunami.
In a statement on the second anniversary of the tragedy, he said the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels was making the reconstruction effort ”even more difficult”.
”No one could have prevented the tsunami’s wave of destruction.
But together we can stem the tide of conflict, which threatens once again to engulf the people of Sri Lanka,” Annan said.
He praised the spirit of solidarity in the country as well as in Indonesia’s Aceh province in the aftermath of the disaster, which killed about 220 000 people around the region.
”Alas, in Sri Lanka that spirit has not been sustained. Instead, the spiral of tension and open conflict, which had wrought so much misery and destruction over the years, has resumed,” Annan said.
”I am deeply disheartened by this turn of events. Let me remind all parties of their obligation to respect human rights and international law, and particularly to protect and allow access to the civilian population,” he said.
The Tigers are fighting for independence for the island’s minority 2,5-million Tamil community. The conflict has claimed more than 60 000 lives since 1972. — Sapa-AFP