Action Alert ArchiveProposed House Resolution on Sri LankaFebruary 5, 2006 We are aware of your long-standing interest in issues of global peace and justice. In pursuit of these righteous aims, we are requesting you to ensure that the resolution Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) presents this Tuesday regarding Sri Lanka’s peace process is justly balanced. We urge you to demand that the resolution also call for an equitable devolution of power, along the lines of U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead’s January 17th statement, quoted below. We are concerned that a partisan resolution at this time would be a grievous risk to Sri Lanka’s peace process. Only a few weeks ago, amidst escalating violence, both parties to Sri Lanka’s conflict agreed to resume peace talks. Any unilateral condemnation from the House of Representatives, a few days before the two sides are finally to meet in Geneva, would seriously threaten Sri Lanka’s prospects for peace. “Sri Lankan Tamils have legitimate grievances which must be addressed in any solution. The only practical way to address them is through some type of devolution of power. The political process which began with the cease fire in 2002 offered great hope to settle this issue. Unfortunately that process has floundered, for a number of reasons. Some blame lies with successive governments in Colombo and with other political forces in the South; some blame lies with the LTTE”—US Ambassador Lunstead, January 17, 2006. We hope you affirm the democratic principles Ambassador Lunstead presents in his speech and work to ensure that any resolution regarding Sri Lanka accurately reflects the situation there. Decades of political marginalization of the Tamil minority have spurred the three decade-long conflict, and it is our hope that the upcoming resolution accurately reflects this tragic truth. |
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Jun 20, 2008 - Aftenposten
Peace brokers from around the world will once again gather for the annual Oslo Forum next week, to swap experience in conflict mediation. Participants include Mohammad Khatami, former president of Iran; Jonathan Powell, former chief of staff for ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group. Read this article
As Sri Lanka's civil war escalates, so do attacks on its journalists
Jun 19, 2008 - AP
With civil war raging in Sri Lanka, the journalists trying to cover the conflict find themselves increasingly under siege. They have been hounded by the government, attacked by unknown assailants and accused of aiding the rebels. Many reporters have been arrested or fled the country, while others have resorted to self-censorship, journalists said.Read this article
Review of Sri Lanka under the Universal Periodic Review
Jun 14, 2008 - Amnesty International
Themes raised by member states participating in the review of Sri Lanka under the UPR dialogue included concerns related to the lack of protection of civilians caught in the internal conflict; enforced disappearances, unlawful/extrajudicial killings; torture and other forms of ill treatment, threats to freedom of expression, the need to strengthen national human rights institutions, attacks on dissent and ongoing impunity for human rights violations.
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Press freedom in Sri Lanka continues to deteriorate
Jun 13, 2008 - CPJ
The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by government’s policies toward journalists who write critically about the conflict between Sri Lanka’s military forces and Tamil secessionists. We have seen an increase in harassment, intimidation, and detention of reporters, many of whom are columnists in senior positions with well-established careers.
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S.Lanka says peace brokers can't visit rebel area
Jun 12, 2008 - Reuters
Sri Lanka has refused requests by Norwegian peace mediators to visit rebel territory, and said fresh peace talks hinged on Tamil Tiger guarantees to lay down arms and stick to a negotiation timetable. Nordic ceasefire monitors quit the country this year after the six-year Norway brokered truce disintegrated.
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