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Sri Lanka: Women Say No to War
Call for Responsible Behaviour from the State and the LTTE

15th May 2006

We voice our concern about recent developments which have yet again raised fears of war in the minds of Sri Lankans. It is disturbing to note that while both the Government and the LTTE claim to be committed to the CFA, the ensuing acts of violence diminish the integrity of an already weak peace process.

We say to both parties with no hesitation that despite their constant rhetoric that civilians will be protected their actions have completely disregarded the safety and security of civilian populations. The Government and the LTTE have both failed to give primacy to the situation of civilian populations caught in the midst or aftermath of hostile acts. We call upon both parties to ensure the safety and security of civilians at all times.

The litany of acts of violence over the past few weeks clearly shows that both parties have paid scant regard to the plight of civilians. The LTTE through the suicide attack on General Sarath Fonseka, the recent attack on the Navy ship, the preceding increase in claymore bombs and other attacks on military targets, extra-judicial killings of political opponents and child recruitment, and the Government through its failure to prevent recent attacks by armed groups on Tamils and their homes and businesses in Trincomalee, to investigate and prevent the daily occurrence of extra-judicial killings in state-controlled territory; and retaliatory aerial bombardment in the North and East, have disregarded the security and needs of the civilian population. We would like to highlight that every such violation further erodes trust between parties and makes the path to peace more difficult.

The events of the past weeks and the overall manner in which both parties have conducted themselves in the peace process do not inspire confidence in the general populace about the commitment of either to finding a negotiated settlement to the conflict. As stated in the recent report of Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, the LTTEÕs targeting and killing of political opponents raises doubts about its ability to enter the democratic process. At the same time, the failure of the Government to carry through its commitments to peace by preventing acts of violence perpetrated by various armed groups exhibits its shortcomings to fulfilling the undertakings made at the Geneva talks. Further, the inadequacy of Government efforts to investigate as well as prevent the disappearances and killings of Tamils encourages impunity. This situation has led to the re-emergence of the phenomenon of headless corpses and deaths in custody which have not been addressed by the mechanisms put in place by the Government.  The existing situation has heightened the capacity for misuse of cordon and search operations, and the indiscriminate detentions of Tamil civilians.

We would like to reiterate, particularly to those who seek to resolve the conflict through war that in cases of protracted conflicts negotiation takes a considerable period of time and often suffers numerous set backs before the issue is finally resolved. The fact that several conflicts all over the world continue today despite armed action by the state proves wrong the notion that military resolution of conflict is possible.    

We call upon all parties to the conflict and civilians to remember the period of war Sri Lanka experienced and come to the realisation that a resumption of hostilities will bring about even greater destruction. From human casualties, damage to infrastructure and adverse impact on the economy, to more checkpoints and cordon and search operations, a return to war will result in the suspension of 'normality' and adversely affect every facet of life of all citizens of Sri Lanka.

A return to hostilities will also have serious economic repercussions for the country. As a report of the Asian Development Bank points out, the economy continues to be sensitive to the state of the CFA and economic forecasts for the next two years require the ceasefire to be in place and the political situation in the country to be stable, i.e. no outbreak of hostilities.

We therefore reiterate that both parties should abide by their obligations under the CFA and international law, and should do so regardless of the actions/inaction of the other. Duties and responsibilities of each party under the CFA and international law are independent of the actions of the other group and violation by one party should not be used as justification for violations or failure to act of the other party.

Both the Government and the LTTE should desist from further action which erodes the integrity of the CFA and instead strive to find means of common ground and continue to engage in seeking a negotiated resolution to the conflict.

NAME                                                                                SIGNATURE

  1. Agnes Mendis

  2. Ambika Satkunanathan                                 

  3. Amila de Mel

  4. Ameena Hussein

  5. Anberiya Haniffa

  6. Anita Nesiah

  7. Anne Abeysekera

  8. Anoma Wijewardene

  9. Anushya Coomaraswamy

  10. Asha Abeysekera Van Dort

  11. Audrey Rebera

  12. Bernadeen Silva

  13. Bhavani Fonseka       

  14. Chandani Herath

  15. Chandra Hewagallage

  16. Damayanthi Muthukumarage

  17. Darshi Thoradeniya

  18. Dr. Dushyanthi Mendis

  19. Dr. Malathi de Alwis

  20. Dr. Pushpa Ramlani Dissanayake

  21. Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran

  22. Dr. Sepali Kottegoda             

  23. Dulcy de Silva

  24. Farzana Haniffa                                

  25. H.M. Dayawathie                                           

  26. Hemanthi Goonasekera

  27. Indira Gonsalkorale   

  28. Jayanthi Dandeniya            

  29. Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala                               

  30. Jean Arasanayagam

  31. Jeanne Samuel

  32. Kanchana Kumarasekara

  33. Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

  34. L.P. Mallika Manuratne

  35. Maithree Wickramasingha                

  36. Manojani Paranawithana

  37. Manouri Muttetuwegama                  

  38. Manori Gunatileke

  39. Manjula Sirimane

  40. Menika Van Der Poorten

  41. Menaka Selvaratnam

  42. Nazreen Sansoni

  43. Nehama Jayewardene                                   

  44. Nelika Rajapakse                                           

  45. Nelun Harasgama

  46. Nimalka Fernando

  47. Nimanthi Perera-Rajasingham

  48. Nimmi Harasgama                              

  49. Pramuditha Buddhini                         

  50. Prof. Neloufer de Mel            

  51. Prof. Savitri Gunasekera      

  52. Prof. Nira Wickremasinghe

  53. Ramani Muttetuwegama       

  54. Ranjani Manuelpillai

  55. Rasika Deepani

  56. Revati Chawla

  57. Rosanna Flamer Caldera

  58. Rose Fernando                                               

  59. Sanjeewani Priyangi      

  60. Sarala Emmanuel        

  61. Sarvam Kailasapathy 

  62. Sharmila Daluwatte                           

  63. Sharmini Boyle       

  64. Sharni Jayawardena                          

  65. Shermal Wijewardene           

  66. Shreen Saroor                                    

  67. Shyamala Gomez

  68. Sithie Thiruchelvam

  69. Soundarie David

  70. Sr. Immaculate

  71. Sriyanie Wijesundara

  72. Stella Philips                           

  73. Sulochana Colombage                                    

  74. Sumika Perera                       

  75. Sunila Abeysekera

  76. Sumathy Sivamohan   

  77. Tharumini Wijekoon

  78. Thushari Madahapolla                        

  79. Tracy Holsinger

  80. Vanamali Galappathi                         

  81. Vathsaladevi                                      

  82. Velayundan Jayachitra                                 

  83. Violet Perera                                                                         

  84. Visakha Dharmadasa                         

  85. Yasmin Zarook

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