Floods threaten camp detainees: SL Govt’s failure to free them Worsens Situation
“The government bears full responsibility for the situation in the camps, locking families up in squalid conditions and then blaming aid agencies for their plight is downright shameful,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
TRO honors the memory of humanitarian workers
On this, the inaugural “World Humanitarian Day”, Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) honors the memory of humanitarian workers throughout the world who have laid down their lives in selfless service to those affected by war or natural disaster, said a press release by TRO on Wednesday.
Media release of USTPAC on the meeting with US state department officials
Tamil Diaspora Organizations Met US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake and Other State Dept. Officials last week to Discuss Humanitarian and Political Situation in Sri Lanka. Tamil Americans united under US Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) issued a media release on this matter.
Media Release:
Attacks on free media in SL put displaced civilians at risk: Amnesty
Attacks on journalists, relentless intimidation, and government-imposed restrictions on reporting threaten freedom of expression in Sri Lanka and jeopardize the safety and dignity of civilians displaced by war, says Amnesty International.
A statement from Amnesty International Friday said: The Sri Lankan government actively obstructed reporting on the last stages of the recently concluded armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE – Tamil Tigers). Civilians were subjected to artillery attacks and both sides were accused of committing war crimes.
Sri Lankan State Terror extends boundaries: BTF
The Sri Lankan Government has once again exposed its arrogance as a ‘democratic state’ apparently unbound by international law and order, extending their practice of illegal abductions, kidnap, disappearances and violations of human rights with impunity, this time across international borders, says British Tamil Forum in its press release yesterday. The military establishment’s disrespect and disregard to international law and order in Sri Lanka is now being permitted internationally, it seems.
Tamils affirm their quest for self-rule: AFTA
The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil Associations in Australia and New Zealand would like to draw the attention of the International Community (IC) to the outcome of the local council elections held in northern Sri Lanka that stands a testimony to their quest for self-rule in the Tamil homeland.
KP arrest: Malaysia being accused of violating international law
Human rights activists have accused Malaysia of violating international law by handing over new leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to Sri Lanka.
Commenting on the arrest of LTTE leader, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, in Malaysia, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Director Sam Zarifi told media that if any country arrests LTTE members the detainee should face charges in the country that they had been arrested.
Jaffna University students speak to WSWS
Jaffna University students and staff recently spoke with WSWS correspondents over the run-down state of the campus, its desperate lack of basic facilities and the ongoing military repression in the northern Sri Lankan town of Jaffna.
Despite the military defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, Jaffna remains under heavy army occupation with extensive roadblocks and constant patrols. The names of the students have been withheld to protect them from persecution by the security forces.
Arrest of KP will not arrest the struggle of Tamils to win their rightful aspirations: Norwegian Tamil Forum
A media release by Norwegian Tamil Forum on the ‘Illegal arrest of KP and extraordinary rendition’ says that the arrest of KP and the abominable act of extra-ordinary rendition may set a very bad precedence in the South which is already fraught with Human and Fundamental Rights violations. ‘Junta rule’ and ’Marcos types ’ are to be condemned in the strongest terms, it said.
UK Parliament committee says Britain should push for international probe into Sri Lanka war crimes
The UK parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee wants Britain to press for the setting up of an international war crimes inquiry into the conduct of the war in Sri Lanka.
The Committee said Britain should use the leverage at its disposal to end the “prevalent culture of impunity” regarding rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
