ACT Members Call for Free Access to Aid Agencies in Sri Lanka

Members of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International currently working in Sri Lanka have called Friday on the parties involved in recent violence in the country to guarantee access to all humanitarian agencies.

|TOP|The member organisations continue to work in the country in response to the December 2004 tsunami and are urging the warring parties to guarantee the aid groups access to those wounded and displaced by the current hostilities and to allow the post-tsunami reconstruction work to continue.

A statement was released by eight ACT members who describe the difficult situation faced by the aid groups in continuing their relief work for tsunami survivors.

In the statement, the relief organisations stated that “the current situation is having a devastating impact on the tsunami work in the northern and eastern parts of the country, bringing much of the work to a halt and severely setting back the reconstruction work.”

Heavy fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan government troops has prevented humanitarian aid workers from reaching the affected areas.

The statement by the ACT members also follows the discovery of 17 humanitarian workers belonging to the international aid group Action Contre La Faim found killed in their offices in the northeaster town of Mutur.

The killings prompted the call from humanitarian aid groups across the world for parties involved in conflicts to respect international humanitarian law and allow access to aid groups to provide relief for people in need.

|AD|“The murder of 17 local staff members of Action Contre La Faim and attacks on international non-governmental organizations attempting to bring aid to those suffering as a result of the violence is of deep concern to all of us,” the ACT members said in their statement.

In a separate statement issued Friday, church leaders in Sri Lanka have called on both the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka “to bring an immediate halt to their hostilities, declare a new cease fire with improved modalities for monitoring and to sit together and start talking to each other with the expressed objective of restoring normalcy and the free availability of basic human needs to all.”

One of the signatories of the letter was the Rev Dr T. Peiris, general secretary of ACT member National Christian Council of Sri Lanka which is currently working in the country as part of the reconstruction effort.

The entire statement from the ACT members in Sri Lanka and list of signatories is provided below.

Statement of ACT members in Sri Lanka
Eight members of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International working in Sri Lanka are alarmed and distressed at the continuing levels of violence in the country. The murder of 17 local staff members of Action Contre La Faim and attacks on international non-governmental organizations attempting to bring aid to those suffering as a result of the violence is of deep concern to all of us.

As signatories to the International Red Cross Code of Conduct, we are committed to offering humanitarian assistance regardless of religious or political persuasion. In too many places there is a disregard for international humanitarian law, which is clear on the protection of civilians and unconditional humanitarian access to people in need.

The fundamental principles of international humanitarian law are to prevent humanitarian suffering among civilian populations, to ensure that populations have access to basic humanitarian assistance, and to spare civilian life, states John Nduna, the director of the Geneva-based coordinating office of ACT International.

The current situation is having a devastating impact on the tsunami work in the northern and eastern parts of the country, bringing much of the work to a halt and severely setting back the reconstruction work.

We therefore urge both the parties to guarantee safe passage for all humanitarian agencies SO THAT THE RECONSTRUCTION WORK MAY CONTINUE UNHAMPERED and the needs of the people wounded and displaced by the current hostilities can be met.
Signed by:
Christian Aid
Church of Sweden
DanChurchAid
Diakonie Emergency Aid (Diakonische Werk)
Hungarian Interchurch Aid
Lutheran World Relief (LWR)
Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)