Sri Lanka: Elderly women starve in camps

Saturday, May 9, 2009 - 10:00

The article below is reprinted from a May 5 Tamilnet.com report.

A 79-year-old woman detainee in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centre in Mirusuvil Roman Catholic Church and a 75-year-old woman in Kathadi Saiva Children Home SLA detention centre have been reported dead due to starvation, say sources in Jaffna.

Jaffna's magistrates court, having been told of the deaths, was awaiting post mortem examination reports from medical authorities before considering further legal action, the sources said.

Ms. Ramalingam Annapooranam, 79, in Mirusivil detention centre and Ms. Cheliah Parvathipillai, 75, in Kathadi detention centre are the women who died of starvation.

Meanwhile, a Vavuniya, magistrate has said that at least five people die daily due to starvation in the SLA detention centres in Vavuniyaa.

Many more had been admitted to hospitals due to acute malnutrition and infectious diseases, sources in Vavuniyaa said.

From GLW issue 794