Hoax about dead and injured in Mullaittivu exposed
An "urgent appeal" doing the rounds in the media and
diplomatic circles, UN and relief agencies, and as a widely distributed
e-mail message referring to a "Human Catastrophe and Medical Emergency"
in the Wanni, reporting the alleged deaths of more than 300 and injury
to 1000 in Mullaittivu is found to be a total fabrication.
This is issued as an "URGENT APPEAL to the Government
of Sri Lanka, the ICRC, the UN and the international community for
medical supplies and medical teams to be sent to the Mullaittivu
district." This false appeal refers to an "acute shortage of essential
drugs and medical personnel in hospitals in the Mullaittivu District",
aims at showing a major humanitarian catastrophe in the area.
This false "appeal" refers to "heavy fighting and
continuous multi-barrel artillery shelling has resulted in more than
that 300 internally displaced persons being killed and over 1000
'hundred' injured in Suthanthirapuram, Udaiyaarkaddu and Vallipuram in
the Mullaittivu District".
Dr. Varatharaja, the Regional Director of Health
Services (RDGS) Mullaittivu, who is purported to be the originator of
this "appeal" has denied any association with it, and states its
contents are false and exaggerated; that it has not originated from him
or his office, and that he does not agree with its contents, and that
this "appeal" circulated in order to embarrass him.
Here is the text of the statement issued by Dr. Athula
Kahandliyanage, Secretary, Ministry of Healthcare & Nutrition,
establishing that this "appeal" is a total fabrication. The text of the
false appeal follows.
Your kind attention is drawn to an appeal 26/01/2009,
which has been circulated widely including to diplomatic circles and the
media, purported to have been published by Dr. Varatharaja, Regional
Director of Health Services (RDHS), Mullaitivu calling for the attention
of the Government, Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, ICRC, UN Agencies
and international community to the alleged 300 deaths and 1000 injured
of civilians living in the uncleared areas of the Mullaitivu district as
a result of continuous multi barrel artillery shelling, during heavy
fighting in those areas of the Mullaitivu district.
It also says that there is an acute shortage of
essential drugs and medical personnel in the hospitals in the Mullaitivu
district and has given a list of drugs that are in short supply and
appealed for immediate supply of these and additional medical personnel.
As Secretary of Healthcare & Nutrition, I feel it is
my duty to share with you the following. I am in contact with Dr.
Varatharaja, RDHS Mullaitivu and with Dr. Sathyamoorthy, RDHS,
Kilinochchi regularly and at present on a daily basis by telephone. The
Advisor for North and East to the Hon. Minister of Healthcare &
Nutrition, Dr. V. Jaganathan is in constant contact with these
Directors. Dr. V. Jeganathan has been appointed specially to coordinate
and provide required supplies and assistance to maintain the Health
Services in the North & East. All the drugs and supplies requested by
the uncleared areas even before the humanitarian operations were started
in Vanni were supplied without a break, up to now. The 2009 first
quarter of drugs to Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi has been sent. The
Mullaitivu supplies are awaiting road clearance and will be delivered
soon. Action is being taken by the Ministry to expedite the process.
I must mention here that the first quarter drugs to
these districts have been dispatched by the Ministry on priority even
before the other districts were supplied. Furthermore, I wish to state
with utmost responsibility that I have been contacted by Dr. Vartharaja
twice today, 27/1/2009 and he has categorically denied that the above
mentioned public appeal has been made by him or originated from his
office and he further stated that he does not agree with the contents of
this appeal and that its contents are false and exaggerated in order to
embarrass him. However, he requested me to expedite the delivery of the
first quarter drugs from Vavuniya as the stocks were getting depleted.
He further said that he does not have access to e-mail
or fax facility to release such a statement and expressed his dismay and
concern about it. It is therefore obvious that this has been done by
destructive elements with sinister motives who want to embarrass the
government and implicate Dr. Varatharaja with false propaganda. He also
sought advice from me as to what he should do when the troops advanced
towards the Pudukkudiyiruppu hospital. I advised him to move into the
cleared areas with the patients to which request he very clearly replied
that the LTTE has not given him permission to do so and that he feared
to do it without their permission.
He also said that there had been only six deaths and
15 wounded following a shell falling into the Pudukkudiyiruppu hospital
last week and on further inquiry, he said he was not sure whether it was
fired by the government forces or LTTE. He also said that there were
about 300 injured admitted to Pudukkudiyiruppu hospital during the last
few days.
Gathering from what was revealed, I am of the opinion
that so many civilians have not been wounded as claimed by the above
release. It has been found that the terrorists fight in civil clothes
and when they get wounded they can be mistakenly considered as
civilians. Furthermore, the terrorists forcibly keeping the civilians as
a human shield may result in civilians getting wounded by accident.
I would appeal to the UN and other influential groups
to persuade the terrorists to release the civilians from their custody
and allow them to get to cleared areas where we have arranged medical
services to treat them.
Here is the text of the false release
Office of the Regional Director of Health Services
Mullaitivu
26 January 2009
Human Catastrophe & Medical Emergency in the Vanni
Heavy fighting and continuous multi barrel artillery
shelling has resulted in more than 300 Internally displaced parsons
being killed and over 1000 hundred injured in Suthanthirapuram,
Udaiyaarkaddu, and Vallipuram in the Mullaitivu District.
We are making an URGENT APPEAL to the Government of
Sri Lanka, ICRC, the UN, and the International community for medical
supplies and medical teams to be sent to the District to assist our
staff. We currently only have 9 MMBS Doctors.
The nature of the injuries and the number of the
injuries is such that if these medical supplies, do not arrive in the
next 24 hours many of the injured will die
Needs;
1) Blood Bags
2) Blood Transfusion sets
3) IV Fluids
- Hartmanns
N.Saline
Haemaceai
- Dextrose
Gelafusin
4) IV giving set
5) IV Cannulas of different size
6) Antibiotics
IV - Benzyl pennicilllin
Ampicillin
- Cloxaclilin
Cepazoilin
Ceftriaxone
Metranidazole
Gentamycin
Tazosin
Oral
Amoxicillin
Cioxacillin
CephaleXin
Metranidazole
Augmentin
Dressings
Gauze
Bandage
Cotton
Analgesics
V - Morphine
- Pethadine
Fontanil
Oral
Paracetamol
Ibuprufen
oral morphine
Panedina forte
lndocid
Anaesthetic Drugs
Ketamine
-Propofol
-Thiopental
Suxamethonium
-atrcurium, Rocuronium,Pancuroni
-Neostigmine
-Atropine
Hydrocartisone
Maxalon,Ondenstron,Phenargan
Local anasthatics
lignocaine
lignocaine with adrenaline
ETT Tubes
Urinary catheters, Bags
Intercoatal drainage tube
-Surgical Stuff
-Surgical blade
-Suture meterials
-Vicryl 1.0,2.0,3.0,0.0
Nylon
Proline 2.0,3.0,4.0,5.0
Catgut 0.0,1.0,2.0,3.0
Silk
Suturing needles
Mlscalanious
anti malarials
Note : The spellings of drugs etc... are as in
the original false document.
Courtesy: priu.gov.lk |
