Compromise or capitulation? Report on WFP and the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka

A major humanitarian disaster has been unfolding in Sri Lanka. The message in official pronouncements and most of the national press is that this is a disaster that the government has been trying to ameliorate. Defence Minister Gotabaya Rajapakse described the situation as “the world’s biggest hostage rescue operation.” Sri Lankan officials have described the government’s military push as a “humanitarian” operation. Simultaneously, it has been presented as part of a war on terrorism. With the military defeat of the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam], according to the Sri Lankan government, “The President’s dream of creating an environment in which all citizens can live in harmony and liberty is now being realised.”