WHILE the Sri Lankan army has announced the capture of Mullaitivu, the last bastion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the plight of more than 250,000 civilians caught in the fighting continues to be as grim as that of civilians in Gaza, say those involved in humanitarian work.

The defence ministry’s website said that the army had ‘’gained total control over the Mullaitivu township after completing mop up operations’’. However, there was no word that any of the leaders of the LTTE, including its elusive supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, had been captured.

"We now have a high number of people concentrated in a small area and we are very concerned for their safety. They are close to the fighting and have poor access to healthcare and shelter as well as proper water and sanitation," Philippe Duamelle, country representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund, told IPS.

"While every effort must be made by the government and the LTTE to avoid any civilian casualties, the best thing for these people is that the LTTE allows them to move freely and enter a safe area where they can receive appropriate support,’’ Duamelle said.

Peter Balleis, international director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), one of the few agencies with access into the LTTE dominated Vanni area, described the situation as a second Gaza in the making.

"Around 300,000 people, that is two-thirds of the civilian population, have been forced out of their homes and are living in camps in areas controlled by the LTTE. They are trapped in (an area) not more than 50 sq km, the size of Gaza,’’ Balleis said.

"It is the last stronghold of the LTTE which imposes a strict pass system, preventing people from moving to safer places. They are crowded together in temporary shelters, surrounded by mud, with no promise of regular access to food or adequate sanitation," he said. The JRS’s affiliate Caritas works in the Vanni through Catholic churches in the region.

According to a report on Sunday in the defence ministry website, the LTTE has ‘’laid a swathe of land mines, in the densely populated LTTE controlled areas - Theravikulam, Visuamadu and Puthukudiyirippu in Mullaitivu - to prevent the civilians fleeing to the government controlled areas’’.

John Holmes, U.N. under-secretary for humanitarian affairs, told the U.N. Security Council on Jan. 14 that he feared that as many as 350,000 civilians may be trapped by the fighting. "I am, however, concerned that some 350,000 civilians are trapped in an increasingly confined space and effectively prevented from leaving by the LTTE. This raises deep concerns over the possible use of civilians to render areas immune from military operations.’’

Holmes later called on the LTTE to allow the civilians to move to safety. "In accordance with International Humanitarian Law, the United Nations calls upon the LTTE to allow civilians to be able to move freely to areas where they feel most secure and for the government to receive newly displaced people according to internationally agreed principles," he said in a statement on Jan.16.

Food and other supplies have been transported to the civilians by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), the only international agency with a permanent presence in areas still under LTTE control.

"Because of ongoing combat operations and the moving frontline, tens of thousands of displaced civilians are concentrated in an area so small that there are serious concerns for their physical safety and living conditions, in particular in terms of hygiene,'' the ICRC said.

Limited information is available on the casualties suffered by the civilians due to access restrictions into the areas of heavy fighting. The government said that troops have taken extra precautions to avoid civilian casualties and that a policy of 'zero civilian casualties' was being adopted on the ground.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the fighting since early 2008 and according to the U.N. at least 230,000 may be now remaining in areas just east and north of the fighting. Whle the initial flight was deeper into Tiger held areas they no wfind themselves nowhere to turn.

The first civilians to escape the fighting in mid and late 2008 made it out by the sea route.

Kumar Ganesh a fisherman from Mullaitivu, escaped the fighting in November by taking a midnight boat ride along with 13 others. "We took the boat soon after midnight because we did not want to get detected by anyone," Ganesh said.

"Near Kuchiveli (south of Mullaitivu) we were stopped by the (Sri Lankan) Navy, they handed us to the police and we were brought to Siddamabaram IDP centre in Vavuniya (250 km from Colombo),'' Kumar said.

There are two welfare centres already functioning in Vavuniya and the government has said that it planned to increase it to three to accommodate at least 30,000 families.

"Civilians in the Vanni are weary from the conflict. Repeated displacements, often involving the loss of their personal belongings, have taken a toll on them. Nevertheless, their ability to cope has been remarkable," ICRC chief Paul Castella said.

Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, director of Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a think tank based in Colombo, said that despite the Sri Lankan army’s victories "a low-level insurgency could last forever unless there is a negotiated settlement with the Tamils’’.

The LTTE has for more than a quarter century been fighting to establish an independent state for ethnic Tamils - who make up about 18 percent of the island nation’s population of 21 million people - in the north and east of the island country. [Courtesy IPS]

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Coping with stress

Sonia G Handa

STRESS is derived from the word ‘Stresse’ meaning strain. In medical sense, it refers to increased strain on the body system and is associated with a higher degree of mental and physical preparedness to face threatening situations. According to Wikipedia, stress is a biological term which refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined.

Stress can be both positive and negative. Positive stress helps an individual in reaching a goal or completing a task or a job but the negative stress can have impairing effect on the person’s health.

The adverse effects of stress can diseases like heart disease, diabetes, raised blood pressure, lowered resistance to infections, peptic ulcers, joint and muscle pains, tension headaches etc. Stress also plays havoc on the emotional well being of the individual. It can give rise to panic, irritability, exhausted feeling, lowered stamina, ‘burnout’, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders. The more serious effect includes suicidal tendencies. The stress also reduces the performance of the individual as he may have difficulties in concentration and memory, and impaired ability of decision. Uncontrolled and prolonged stress is an important cause for the marital and familial problems. Depression which is a major by-product of stress is expected to become the second largest illness by 2020.

After seeing what stress can do to a person it becomes mandatory that we have to find ways to cope with stress. Coping resources are factors which we develop gradually, with due practice. These factors, once developed, are already in place within our personality, before the stressful situation occurs. The following are some of the time-tested coping resources.

One of the imperative coping resources is the physical fitness that results from the regular physical exercise. It relaxes our body and helps in concentration and is now believed to be one of the most effective stress – busters.

Abdominal breathing is another way to remain stress free. It can be practiced almost anywhere and can also be used as an emergency relaxation technique when faced with a stressful situation.

Engagement in spiritual practice like yoga, and meditation has been shown to have a strong role in both, preventing the stress response in an exaggerated fashion, as well as for coping up with a deleterious stressful situation.

Reiki is a Japanese art of relaxation as well as healing. The technique is based on drawing “solar energy”, thereby leading to mental relaxation. It is also claimed to improve concentration, as well as said to naturally “heal” the various ailments, though, apparently, there are no controlled trails available at present to substantiate these claims.

Sleep and rest are very vital for de-stressing as well as in supporting the repair of the physical and the mental breakdown that occurs during the whole day. Stress often interferes with our normal sleeping pattern. Practicing methods for getting a good sleep like avoiding tea or coffee before sleeping, good physical exercise in the morning and regular sleep schedule are likely to be of much help in both preventing stress as well as negating its adverse effects.

Developing social support networks like keeping good relations with the extended family, friends and colleagues help in buffering the shock of stressful situations.

Assertiveness is particularly useful when dealing with “difficult” people and the consequent stress. Some of the characteristics of assertive behavior which need to be developed are speaking up for oneself, one’s needs and rights, protesting politely against unfair treatment or unjustified criticism, taking honest responsibility for one’s own mistakes but, at the same time, not taking responsibility for someone else’s lapses and lastly saying “NO”, politely, when a task or favour being asked for is unjustified.

There are some inevitable difficult situations which one has to accept like growing old, suffering from chronic diseases, being ignored for rightful at work place and home. As one learns to live a healthy and peaceful life that one cherishes so much, one also learns the harsh reality that life is just not picnic.

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SAFMA confernce ends: 11-point Cox's Bazar declaration adopted

Gobind Thukral writes from Dhaka

SOUTH Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) called upon the SAARC member countries to consider a task force to handle cross-border crimes and develop a judicial mechanism to try such criminals.

This declaration was passed on the occasion of concluding ceremony of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) Conference, which started on February 10 at Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh and ended on February 11, 2009.

The theme of the conference was 'Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia' in view of the fact that the conference is taking place at a time when a new wave of democracy has enveloped the South Asian region - especially in Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan.

The two-day seventh adopted eleven-point declaration making a call to the governments of the SAARC to strengthen democratic values, open and plural societies, liberal culture and safeguard the rights of women, minorities and the dispossessed.

The declaration called as Cox's Bazar declaration also welcomed the recent surge of democracy in the region and expressed deep concern over the rise of terrorism and religious extremism in the region.

The conference with the theme of "Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia" began yesterday at this picturesque tourist resort town with the participation of senior journalists and media experts from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives, Bhutan and host Bangladesh.

Information and cultural affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad inaugurated the event while Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni attended the session of the second day as chief guest. Bangladesh, China and Central Asian republics to evolve a regional consensus against terrorism and extremism that must be respected by each state and the international community.

Referring to the recent deadliest terrorist attack on Mumbai, the declaration said, India and Pakistan should make Mumbai a good example of bilateral cooperation leading towards strengthening of anti-terror mechanism at all institutional levels, including intelligence agencies and security establishments.

The Conference called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to fully and sincerely cooperate in investigating the culprits and bringing to justice the perpetrators of terrorism in Mumbai.

"SAARC member countries may consider a task force to handle cross-border crimes and judicial mechanism to try such criminals," the Declaration said.

The Cox's Bazar Declaration said, the SAARC process must be strengthened with the creation of customs and monetary union while lifting all barriers on free flow of information, goods and people.

The declaration urged the countries of the region to lift all restrictions on free movement of journalists and media products forthwith.

"The media owners and government should also ensure the safety of journalists and provide insurance cover to all journalists covering conflict," it said. It added that the right to know and freedom of expression be respected and safeguard both legally and practically. SAFMA calls upon SAARC member countries to consider task force to handle cross-border crimes.

Veteran Pakistani journalist Khalid Ahmed presented a paper on 'The post-Mumbai media war'. He criticized both the Indian and the Pakistani media for their coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks. He said, "Journalism is all about bad news; good news is never acceptable, but our criticism should be genuine and objective."

A declaration was passed at the end of the conference. It called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to fully and sincerely cooperate in investigating the culprits and bringing to justice the perpetrators of terrorism in Mumbai.

Indian journalists, K.K.Katyal, Vinod Sharma, Kumar, Sidarth Vardharajan, Om Thanvi, Nidhi Razdan and many others attended the confenece.

The declaration said that India and Pakistan should make Mumbai a good example of bilateral cooperation by creating effective mechanisms of investigation and prosecution. SAFMA also called upon the international community, especially the US and Nato, to review its strategy in the war on terror, stopping the casualties of non-combatants and winning the hearts and minds of the people in Afghanistan and Pakistan, without which terrorism cannot be defeated.

Earlier on the first day, SAFMA Secretary General, Imtiaz Alam said that despite the end of authoritarian regimes in the region, democracy in South Asia is still not sustainable and has not delivered to the people.

"There is a greater need to empower people at the grassroots level," said Imtiaz Alam and added that democratic regimes must not impose any restrictions on the media. Alam condemned last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai and called upon the Pakistan government to fully cooperate with the Indian government in the investigations.

Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan Ayaz Muhammad Khan and Krishna Murthi, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Bangladesh also attended the conference. The chief guest on the first day was Bangladesh's Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad.

On the first day, Professor Rehman Sobhan presented a paper on 'Development Paradigms and Nation Building in South Asia: An Agenda for Building More Inclusive Societies'. Dr Ayesha Jalal's lecture on authoritarianism and democracy was shown at the conference. Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi also presented a paper on the same topic. The conference was attended by a large number of noted journalists from all 8-member countries of SAARC.

The SAFMA declaration also appealed to the SAARC secretariat and member states to recognize SAFMA as an Apex body of SAARC.

The declaration endorsed the exit of monarchy in Nepal and victorious people's struggle for democracy culminating in the creation of constitute assembly , the democratic change in Maldives resulting in the defeat of the decades old authoritarian regime , emergence of democratic institutions after the February 2007 election in Pakistan and creation of a sovereign parliament and a democratic coalition government , introduction of a constitutional monarchy and free election in Bhutan, and the revival of democracy in Bangladesh and establishment of a secular government.

It also expressed concerned over spread of terrorism in the region in north-western region of Pakistan and south-eastern Afghanistan and its spill over to India, Bangladesh and other countries.

The declaration aggrieved on the increasing casualties of and attacks on journalists in conflict ridden areas. The declaration viewed that ensuing peace and tranquility and a tolerant political culture are the pre-requisite for sustaining democracy and good neighbourly relations among the countries of the region.

The phenomenon of terrorism needs to be handled comprehensively and collectively with active and sincere cooperation of all states of the region and beyond.

The declaration pointed out that the regional cooperation which is essential for the progress of the member countries of SAARC cannot move forward without allowing free movement of information, goods and people and promoting trans-national communication linkage and connectivity.

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