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Ambassador Allan Rock prevented from visiting Kathiraveli massacre site

Ambassador Allan Rock is Special Advisor to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for children in armed conflict. He is currently the visiting the island to study the situation first hand and report to the special representative. On his schedule drawn well ahead of yesterday’s attack was a visit to Vaharai today.

As scheduled the ambassador went to the Mankerni Sri Lankan military checkpoint from Batticaloa with the view to drive to Vaharai. His delegation was kept waiting at the Mankerni checkpoint till 11.00 am, while the Sri Lankan military continued firing artillery shells from Karadikulam and Kallaru Sri Lankan military camps towards Kallady and Pannichchankerni areas. Waiting ambassador and the SLMM were told by the Sri Lankan military that the LTTE is shelling the area.

When the ambassador was eventually allowed to proceed to Vaharai he had less than an hour to discuss the situation with the affected people. Ambassador is supposed to have said that they are driving at 90K to be in time to catch the helicopter to Omanthai. The SLMM was given just three hours to carry out the investigations and were instructed to leave Vaharai after that.

The possibility of ambassador Allan Rock visiting a site of massacre was eagerly waited by the Tamils and the LTTE. People in the know would find the suggestion that the LTTE would have fired at a time when the ambassador was due to visit the area laughable. Indeed the firing was carried out from the Sri Lankan military camps, Karadikulam and Kallaru, so that to those standing at the Mankerni checkpoint it would appear that the shells are being fired from the LTTE side.

09 November 2006

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