Sri Lankan Ethnic War: India Could Enforce a No-Fly Zone Over Sri Lanka
TAMIL TRIBUNE, November 2008 (ID. 2008-11-01)
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ABBREVIATIONS
LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
USA - United States of America
Tamil civilians in the north are going through untold sufferings in the current ethnic war in Sri Lanka. Many human rights organizations and relief agencies have sounded alarm over what is happening. Many governments have criticized Sri Lankan government apathy over the sufferings of Tamil civilians.
Sixty million Tamils live across the Palk Straights in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are not deaf to the cries of the brethren Tamils in Sri Lanka. In the past few weeks, Tamil public and leaders have called Indian government to take action to protect Tamil civilians. Almost every political party in Tamil Nadu has come out asking India to act. Attorneys, movie artists and students have held demonstrations demanding action from India.
As of this writing (mid-October 2008), India has made a few noises but no action was taken other than expressing "grave concern and unhappiness at the growing casualties of unarmed Tamil civilians" to the Sri Lankan envoy in New Delhi.
Sri Lanka Air Force is bombing LTTE-held Tamil areas with no concern for civilian casualties. Air Force Spokesman, Commander Andrew Wijesooriya told in March 2008 that the air force does not keep count of the number of civilians killed in bombings, but it does issue their count of number of LTTE cadres killed. What can India do to stop these killings? There is a recent historical precedence of what could be done.
Year 1991. Soon after the First Gulf War, Iraqi military attacked the minority Kurds in the north. Iraqi aerial attacks were killing Kurdish civilians. United States of America (USA) took effective and immediate action to prevent further killings. It enforced a no-fly zone over the Kurdish area thus halting further killings from air.
India can do the same to protect Tamil civilians. India could and should enforce a no-fly zone over Tamil areas in northern Sri Lanka.
I know that some would say that it would infringe on Sri Lankan sovereignty. When innocent civilians are killed in large numbers, outside forces can act to protect the people. American enforcement of a no-fly zone over northern Iraq (Kurdish area) is an example. NATO action on Kosovo is another example. Indian military action to liberate Bangladesh is undoubtedly the largest such humanitarian intervention in recent history. If India could act in Bangladesh, why not in Sri Lanka? We are not even asking India to send troops and liberate Tamil areas (as it did in Bangladesh), we are merely asking India to enforce a no-fly zone to protect civilians.
We ask Tamilnadu politicians to urge the Indian government to do so immediately. There should be no procrastination on the part of Tamil Nadu politicians or the Indian government. Urgent action is needed. America took action within days. Indian government should do that too.
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