WHEN there are credible sources to find out the facts about something, it seems that even those who hold high office seem to turn a blind eye to them and rely on news published by those whose mainstay is lying.
The recent announcement by Mrs. Navaneethan Pillai, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, about the civilian deaths in Vanni has prompted a series of counter responses by the government as well as other individuals who understood where her affiliations lie although it is presumed that officials of her capacity will act without being biased.
Out of curiosity, I counted the death figures according to Tiger media for the month of March and it exceeds 1500, and therefore, the total for the last three months is around 4000. This means there should be a similar number of graves to account for the number in the No Fire Zone. If that is the case, where are people living in this limited space?
Does Mrs. Pillai know that all those cadres who die in battle become civilians later? Is she aware of the fact that civilians are being forcefully sent to protect the Tiger frontlines after a few hours’ of training? When they die, it is easy to call them civilians because they have lived the life of a civilian until they were forced to become cannon fodder a few hours ago.
Instead of jumping to conclusions, Mrs. Pillai should have waited for some more time because the area will be liberated and an official count can be carried out then to ascertain whether the numbers are correct. If she had really felt that she had a moral obligation to help save the life of the terror chief, she should have done it some other way, not by citing numbers which are exaggerated by the terrorists. (Courtesy: The Island)
