ACHR seeks UN SG's help for protection of aid workers in Lanka

New Delhi, Apr 26 (UNI) The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today urged United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to intervene in seeking protection for humanitarian workers in Sri Lanka, who have been threatened by TMVP Party.

ACHR said the Sri Lanka Government does not have a track record of protecting humanitarian workers and unless the UN intervenes, aid workers will become victims.

''The Sri Lankan government does not have a track record of protecting humanitarian workers. Rather, its army personnel killed 17 workers of Action Contre la Faim and the government has failed to establish accountability,'' ACHR Director Suhas Chakma said.

The Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) Party, headed by Col Karuna, issued a threat to the members of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies as well staff of the UN agencies working in Eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

''The threat to fall in line with the directives issued by the Karuna group or face dire consequences, expires on 30 April 2007,'' the ACHR Director said.

The Karuna group sent two threatening emails respectively on April 17 and 20 April to the members of the CHA and UN workers, he added.

''The threat given by Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to Ms Champika Liyanarachchi, editor of The Daily Mirror, on April 17 for the paper's coverage of actions of the Karuna Group testify the involvement of the Sri Lankan government,'' Mr Chakma said.

At least seven humanitarian workers have been killed so far in 2007 while at least three workers of Halo Trust have been reported missing after abduction in Jaffna, he added.

''These are part of the concerted efforts of the Sri Lankan government to throw out humanitarian agencies from the war zones and make the lives of the civilians untenable,'' he said.

UNI