SL Red Cross creates hurdles

Published Date: 16-JULY-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 15: FATE of the 27 container loads of essential humanitarian relief items, sent by Tamils living in Europe for the three lakh Lankan Tamil civilians in the Vanni area of Northern Sri Lanka, hangs in balance as the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society (SLRCS) demanded SL Rs 76 lakhs for the entire distribution process.

These containers of relief materials landed at Colombo Port on last Thursday, but are still lying uncleared there. Uncertainty looms large over distribution to the needy Tamil civilians, who were displaced by the war and now living in the government-run ‘camps’.

According to G Subramanian, executive director of Manitham, a Chennaibased human rights organisation and the local representative for Vanni Mercy Mission, United Kingdom, said, “S H Nimal Kumar, honorary national secretary of SLRCS through Indian Red Cross Society has sent a letter to Mercy Mission organisers to remit SL Rs 76 lakh immediately to carry out the distribution of relief materials to the poor people of Sri Lanka.”

“Though the relief materials are destined for the internally displaced Tamil people (IDP) living in camps, I do not understand why the Lankan Red Cross registers the beneficiaries are ‘poor people of Sri Lanka’ instead of Tamil IDPs in particular, he wondered. The relief cargo was earlier sent through Mercy Mission Ship M V Captain Ali from Europe.

As the Lankan government turned away the ship, Mercy Mission organisers were forced to change the cargo at Chennai Port and loaded the 884 tonnes of cargo into 27 containers. They were sent to Colombo through another ship MV Cap Colorado which landed at Lankan port on last Thursday.

“We do not see any difference between money-minded commercial agents and the Lankan Red Cross, as they demand hefty money for distributing relief goods sent from another country on humanitarian basis,” Subramanian added. Going by the indications in Lankan government, the relief goods are unlikely to end up in the hands of destined Tamil people living in several government- run camps as they started using every available tactics to delay the process, an expatriate Lankan Tamil living in London told Express via e-mail.