Two months after leaving Fos-Sur-Mer, France on 7 May 2009 the humanitarian relief sent by the Tamil Diaspora in Europe through the Mercy Mission is currently being unloaded at Colombo Port.

After being detained by the Sri Lanka Navy for several hours on 8 July 2009 the MV Cap Colorado was released and allowed to proceed into Colombo Port late at night on the 8-9 July and began unloading on the 9 July morning.

The MV Cap Colorado sailed from Chennai, India with 27 containers of Mercy Mission’s humanitarian aid that was unloaded from the MV Captain Ali and packed into containers.

The Government of Sri Lanka had on 8 June denied permission for the MV Captain Ali to unload its cargo in Colombo even though the Govt of SL itself admitted that the cargo was purely humanitarian in nature. The Sri Lankan authorities also arrested, on 4 June, Mr. Athmanathan, a Colombo based businessman who was named as the ‘consignee’ of the humanitarian cargo. Mr. Athmanathan is still being held without charge in the notorious ‘4th Floor’ of the CID 34 days after being arrested.

As a result of the Govt of SL’s actions the MV Captain Ali was forced to travel to Chennai where the humanitarian cargo was, as per an agreement between the Governments of Indian and Sri Lanka on 24 June 2009, unloaded and handed over to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) for transportation to the for distribution to the approximately 300,000 Tamil civilians being held in internment camps in the North of the island.

The actions of the Government of Sri Lanka have cost the Mercy Mission well over £50,000 in additional costs associated with travel to Chennai, waiting in Chennai (20+ days) for a response from the Indian government, unloading in Chennai, rental and transportation of containers, loading of containers, port and customs fees in Chennai, transportation to Colombo.

The MV Cap Colorado is carrying over 300 containers destined for other parts of the world and will depart Colombo after unloading the 27 Mercy Mission containers.

The Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Government, in contravention of the agreement they made with the Govt of India on 24 June 2009 (http://meaindia.nic.in/cgi-bin/db2www/meaxpsite/coverpage.d2w/coverpg?sec=pb&filename=pressbriefing/2009/06/24pb01.htm), has once again blocked the humanitarian relief from the Tamil diaspora. We are awaiting details of the incident.

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTRY STATEMENT 24 JUNE 2009:

“ I also requested the delegation that as a humanitarian gesture, the Sri Lankan Government allow the ship Captain Ali to off load the relief items on board meant for IDPs in Northern Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan delegation kindly agreed to our suggestion and these would now be routed to Sri Lanka through the Indian Red Cross.“

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna

New Delhi
24 June, 2009

MV Cap Colorado leaves for Colombo, Sri Lanka

Unloading & checking went on 24 hours a day - Man in white is the customs official

Unloading the MV Captain Ali

Customs Official with Metal Detector

'Sniffer' Dog for explosives? drugs?

After checking the humanitarian aid is loaded in the containers

MV Cap Colorado leaves for Colombo, Sri Lanka

The humanitarian relief aboard the MV Captain Ali has been unloaded and handed over to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) for transport to the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS).

The humanitarian relief was thoroughly searched by Indian Police and Customs using metal detectors and “sniffer” dogs as it was unloaded. Indian Customs cleared the cargo and the two passengers aboard the ship were allowed to leave the ship at 3:30AM 5 July 2009.

The humanitarian relief was packed (“stuffed”) into 27 containers and on 6 & 7 July the 27 containers were loaded aboard the MV Cap Colorado (IMO number: 9143104, Flag/Nationality: Malaysia; Owner: Anglo Eastern Ship Management).

The MV Cap Colorado sailed for Colombo, Sri Lanka at 10:00 AM and is due to berth in Colombo in the early morning of 9 July 2009.

The MV Cap Colorado is carrying 27 containers from the Indian Red Cross Society (handed over by Mercy Mission as per the instructions of the Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on 24 June 2009) and over 300 from other commercial shippers.

Unloading & checking went on 24 hours a day - Man in white is the customs official

Unloading the MV Captain Ali

Customs Official with Metal Detector

'Sniffer' Dog for explosives? drugs?

After checking the humanitarian aid is loaded in the containers

The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) agreed to accept the humanitarian relief and transport it to the Sri Lanka REd Cros to distribute to the Tamil civilians in the concentration camps in the North of Sri Lanka.

As the cargo was being taken off the MV Captain Ali it was loaded directly into 27 containers which will be loaded on to another ship in the coming days and send to Sri Lanka.

As the cargo was being unloaded the Indian Authorities checked each and every pallet with metal detectors and ‘sniffer’ dogs. The cargo was certified for the 4th time (UK Customs, French Customs, Sri Lanka Navy, Indian Customs/Police/Navy) as being entirely humanitarian in nature.

At 03:30 am, after the unloading was completed and the humanitarian cargo was ‘cleared’, the two Mercy Mission passengers on board, Mr. Kristjan Gudmundsson (ex-SLMM monitor) and Mr. Uthayanan Thavarajasingam (volunteer humanitarian worker) were given permission to disembark and were taken by the Immigration Police directly to the Chennai Airport and placed on a British Airways flight to London.

Mercy Mission wishes to express its profound gratitude to the crew and captain of the MV Captain Ali as well as to the passengers who acompanied the desparately needed humanitarian cargo. They have all undergone a trying experience over the past 59 days due to the politicization of humanitarian relief by the Government of Sri Lanka.

DAY 58- Press Release-MERCY MISSION SHIP UNLOADS IN CHENNAI

MERCY MISSION SHIP UNLOADS IN CHENNAI

DAY 58: Unloading begins at 0700 hours

Mercy Mission is pleased that the MV Captain Ali berthed at Chennai Port at 19:25 (Indian Time) on 2 July 2009 and unloading of the humanitarian relief commenced at 07:00 on 3 July. The unloading is expected to take 36 hours as the Indian Customs is checking each pallet with metal detectors and sniffer dogs. Persons on board have stated that the following have boarded and inspected the crew and/or cargo: Customs, ‘Intelligence’, Immigration, Police, and the ‘Bomb Squad’.

After customs clearance the relief will be handed over to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) who will in turn send it on to Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) for distribution to the internment camps in the North of the Island.

Chennai dockworkers unloading the cargo

After 57 days at sea, 20 of which were spent waiting outside Chennai Port and 4 of which were spent outside Colombo in the custody of the Sri Lanka Navy, it is a relief to have the ship in port and unloading. We now hope that the two passengers, Mr. Kristjan Gudmundsson (ex-SLMM monitor) and Mr. Uthayanan Thavarajasingam (volunteer humanitarian worker), will be allowed by the Indian Authorities to disembark as soon as possible so that they may return to their homes, families and jobs in Iceland and the UK.

Mercy Mission wishes to thank the Government of India for its intervention on 24 June 2009 when it prevailed upon the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to accept the

humanitarian cargo of the MV Captain Ali. Our only wish is that the GoSL would have reacted this way on 4 June 2009 and accepted the ship.

On 4 June 2009, the Sri Lanka Navy intercepted the Mercy Mission ship in international waters and detained it until 8 June 2009 during which time the ship was throughly searched by the SL Navy and found to be carrying only humanitarian relief items. Despite this, the ship was turned away by the GoSL and the desperately needed humanitarian relief was not allowed to be unlo

aded in Colombo Port.

Pallets of food being unloaded from ship directly to containers for transshipment to Sri Lanka

The denial of entry, with no valid reason given, has delayed for over one month the delivery of this food and medicine to the approximately 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). The delay, due to the GoSL’s actions, has also cost Mercy Mission

a significant amount of money. These costs include: the journey from Colombo to Chennai, unloading in Chennai, container hire, repacking in containers, reloading of containers to new ship, transportation to Colombo and distribution to the camps.

Captain Mustafa Captain of the "MV Captain Ali" & the 1st Mate

Thanks must also go to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) for agreeing to take ownership of the cargo and arrange for the transportation of the humanitarian relief to the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) for distribution. Mercy Mission will no longer be directly responsible for the humanitarian relief but will still cover the costs of transportation and distribution as this was the condition under which IRCS agreed to take ownership of the humanitarian cargo.

Thanks are extended to the External Affairs Minister Mr. M. S M Krishna and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. M. Karunanidhi for their interventions. Mercy Mission also wishes to thank the many persons in Tamil Nadu and throughout the world who tirelessly

worked to get the ship berthed. Our local volunteer representative, Mr. G. Subramanian Executive Director of Manitham (http://www.manitham.net/) a Chennai based Human Rights Organisation, and his organization have worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this mission.

The ship has finally docked in Chennai and this leg of the mission may be over but there is much work to be done. The unloading of the humanitarian relief must now be completed, the relief repacked in containers and then sent to Sri Lanka for distribution. Mercy Mission is launching a 2nd Global Appeal for assistance to cover the costs of the next phase of this project.

One of the two holds filled with food & medicine for the Tamil civilians in the internment camps in Sri Lanka

Mercy Mission is also extremely concerned over the continued detention without charge of Mr. Athmanathan by the Sri Lankan authorities. Mr. Athmanathan is the Colombo based businessman who agreed to act as the consignee of the humanitarian relief. He was arrested on 4 June 2009 by the CID and remains in custody in Colombo. The GoSL has now agreed to allow the Indian Red Cross to transport into Sri Lanka the very cargo that Mr. Athmanathan is being detained over. In light of this fact we request that the GoSL conclude its investigations and either charge or release Mr. Athmanathan, who, in our view, has committed no crime other than to have agreed to act as the consignee of the humanitarian relief.

EVENTS of the last two days:

02 July: Day 57 of MV Captain Ali’s Voyage

16:45 (indian time) Permission given to enter Port

17:50 MV Captain Ali weighs Anchor

18:30 Chennai Port Pilot boards MV Captain Ali to guide ship into port

18:35 MV Captain Ali enters Chennai Port Harbour Zone

19:25 MV Captain Ali docks at Chennai Port (GPS: 13 05.5n 80 17.7e)

03 July: Day 58 of MV Captain Ali’s Voyage

0700 Unloading begins. Each pallet is being scanned with a metal detector and sniffer dogs. Expected to take 36 hours to unload.

-ENDS -

After the positive statement by the External Affairs Minister Hon. Mr. S.M.Krishna on Wednesday evening (24 June 2009) regarding the Mercy Mission ship the MV Captain Ali, Mercy Mission personnel, supporters, volunteers and the Tamil Diaspora as a whole were relieved that there was movement on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka and that the desperately needed humanitarian relief aboard the ship would be delivered to the 300,000 Tamil civilians in the internment camps in Sri Lanka.

As of Friday evening (26 June 2009) Mercy Mission has yet to be formally notified of the 24 June decision and statement by the Indian and Sri Lankan governments. There has also not been ANY movement at the ground level and the MV Captain Ali remains anchored five (5) miles off the Port of Chennai.

The situation on the ship is now critical. The crew and passengers have been onboard for 51 days without respite and in very harsh, stressful conditions. The passengers, Uthayanan Thavarajasingam and Kristjan Gudmundsson have formally requested that the authorities allow them to disembark and to take the next flight to London and Iceland.

We request the Government of India to:

1. Allow the MV Captain Ali to enter Chennai Port and unload the humanitarian relief which will be kept “in transit” and handed over to the Indian Red Cross for transportation to Sri Lanka and distribution in the internment camps;
2. Allow the passengers to disembark and proceed to the nearest international airport where they will be able to fly to their home countries;

ENDS

Background:
Statement by External Affairs Minister Hon. Mr. S.M.Krishna
“6. I also requested the delegation that as a humanitarian gesture, the Sri Lankan Government allow the ship Captain Ali to off load the relief items on board meant for IDPs in Northern Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan delegation kindly agreed to our suggestion and these would now be routed to Sri Lanka through the Indian Red Cross.” (emphasis added)

New Delhi
24 June, 2009

Link to statement: http://meaindia.nic.in/cgi-bin/db2www/meaxpsite/coverpage.d2w/coverpg?sec=pb&filename=pressbriefing/2009/06/24pb01.htm

This statement is in response to para 6 of the statement by Indian External Affairs Minister Hon. SM Krishna:

http://meaindia.nic.in/cgi-bin/db2www/meaxpsite/coverpage.d2w/coverpg?sec=pb&filename=pressbriefing/2009/06/24pb01.htm

Video from the ship 23 June 2009:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBgaDlkdqn0

MV Captain Ali anchored outside Chennai, India

Sri Lanka ‘turns back’ Mercy Mission Ship - Rejects Tamil Diaspora Humanitarian Aid

Mercy Mission (UK) is disappointed to learn that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has turned away the ship MV Captain Ali, which the government, after detaining and thoroughly inspecting for 111 hours (4.5 days), has admitted is carrying a purely humanitarian cargo.

The Mercy Mission ship is carrying 884 tons of desperately needed emergency humanitarian aid (food, medicine and medical supplies) destined for the approximately 300,000 Tamil civilians held in internment camps by the GoSL.

In light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis unfolding in the internment camps and the GoSL’s numerous appeals for “assistance” and “funding” from the international community, it is disheartening that the GoSL has rejected, on very flimsy grounds, the attempts by the Tamil Diaspora to provide this vitally needed emergency humanitarian aid.

This Mercy Mission ship, the product of the hard work of thousands of volunteers in the UK and Europe and donations from tens of thousands of Tamils throughout the world, could have been, and in fact, should have been, used by the GoSL as an opportunity to show it’s bona fides and engage with the Tamil Diaspora as a means to begin the process of reconciliation in, in the government’s words, “post-conflict” Sri Lanka.

The GoSL has been quoted in media reports as stating that the ship was being detained because certain protocols were not followed and paperwork was not filed in a timely manner. These tasks are the purview of the shipping agent and the ship owner and if they did not follow proper procedure Mercy Mission (UK) extends its apologies. But this is a petty reason to deny the Tamil civilians in the internment camps desperately needed humanitarian relief.

Unfortunately, the GoSL continues to show its true colors when it comes to dealing with the Tamil civilians and fulfilling its responsibilities vis a vis international humanitarian and human rights law. The GoSL continues to deny, and unreasonably restrict, access to the internment camps by local and international NGOs, the UN, the ICRC and other humanitarian and human rights organization. Adequate amounts of humanitarian assistance are not getting into the camps and cases of death by starvation have been reported by the Government’s own Judicial Medical Officer.

It seems that the future will just be a continuation of the past where the Tamil Diaspora is demonized and the Tamils on the island are treated as second class citizens whose voice is silenced by extra-judicial executions, disappearance, secret detentions, rape, torture, bombing, shelling and starvation and the international community will continue to sit back in silence and allow it to happen because it is an “internal issue”.

Mercy Mission (UK) is disappointed that this cargo of desperately needed emergency humanitarian relief has been rejected by the GoSL, but we assure all of our donors and volunteers that this food and

medicine will reach Tamil refugees a

nd that their efforts and donations will not be in vain. We pledge to continue to work harder in order to assist those in need in the NorthEast.

Mercy Mission also wishes to express concern

for Mr. Athmanathan, an independent Colombo based businessman, who is being detained by the CID. He was never on the ship and never came into contact with the cargo, he had only agreed to be named as the consignee for the ship’s cargo and assist in clearing it through customs.

For More Information:

Arjunan Ethirveerasingam

MOBILE: +447545767341

Skype: arjunan1

Mercy Mission to Vanni

497 Sunleigh Road, Suite 27

Wembley, HA0 4LY, UK

Tel: +442087338235

http://www.vannimission.org