CPA Condemns the sacrifice of civilian lives in the name of liberation



Innocent civilians throughout the island, including infants, women and school children have yet again been made the victims of armed attacks by the protagonists in the ethnic conlict.
Attacks on helpless civilians have increased following the intensiication of hostilities in the new year and after the abrogation of the Cease ire Agreement (CFA) and the removal of the presence on the ground of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), in particular. The most recent, egregious examples of this terrible violence are the explosions in the Perriyamadu area of Mannnar and the Fort Railway Station respectively, in which the lives of school children were brutally sacriiced.
CPA unequivocally condemns this horrendous violence and condones with the families of the victims on their tragic and irreplaceable loss. CPA calls for the recognition by both sides of the overarching importance of minimizing civilian tragedy and suffering in the context of this conlict and in its conduct.
CPA wishes to stress that it is incumbent on all combatants to respect the principles and standards of international humanitarian and human rights laws and norms pertaining to the situation of civilians caught up in armed conlict and calls upon them to publicly pledge that they will not target civilians as well as agree to the designation and protection of peace zones as places of civilian refuge.
Targeting of civilians and the senseless sacriice of civilian lives belies the claims and commitment to liberation by the Government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE and other armed groups and compounds the challenge of reconciliation which will have to be surmounted if we are to live in peace and unity with justice and dignity for all.