Action Alert ArchiveViolence Against Minority Civilians EscalatesApril 16, 2006 Violence against minority Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka has escalated alarmingly since hardliner President Mahinda Rajapakse was elected last November. It has affected children, human rights activists, students, parliamentarians: anyone who dares stand up for freedom from religious and ethnic persecution. Peace talks held at the end of February were anticipated by the international community to herald a respite from the daily violence, but such expectations have unfortunately proven groundless. Recent attacks by the Sri Lanka Army on students at Jaffna University reveal that peace talks which lack the substantive will to uphold political agreements are nothing more than a superficial façade. On Friday morning March 24, Sri Lankan Army troops entered the Jaffna Advanced Technological Institute and beat students paying tribute to Annai Poopathy, a Tamil human rights activist. Soldiers attacked the Student Union Leader of ATI and 15 fellow students. Entering the grounds in an armored vehicle, the Sri Lankan army desecrated symbols of Tamil culture, smashing a garlanded picture of Poopathy, and breaking school windows and students’ motorbikes parked inside the campus. The life of human rights advocate Poopathy is honored annually throughout Tamil areas in Sri Lanka. Annai Poopathy endured a thirty-day fast unto death in 1988 to urge the Government of India to support an unconditional ceasefire between the LTTE and the Indian Peace Keeping Forces who were then perpetrating egregious human rights abuses against the Tamil population. A loving mother, she was spurred into action after one son was subjected to severe torture and two other sons were killed by the Sri Lankan Army. Attacks on students have become increasingly commonplace in Sri Lanka’s restive Northeast. On December 17th, 20-year old Ilayathamby Tharsini was detained and gang-raped by Sri Lankan Navy personnel. Student demonstrations protesting this attack at the University of Jaffna were met with live rounds from the Sri Lankan Army. Three professors were hospitalized after this attack, and numerous students were injured. On January 2nd, five students celebrating the New Year were gunned down by the Sri Lankan Army on the beach of Trincomalee. Just this past Sunday, April 2, three students from Jaffna Technical College and from Hartley College were arrested in a Army search operation, in what residents consider a systematic attempt to intimidate civilians. Peace in Sri Lanka hinges upon the Sri Lankan government’s will and ability to restrain its armed forces from perpetuating such atrocities against unarmed students. Youth represent the hope and future of every people, and the government’s maintained acquiescence to the onslaught of attacks upon Tamil youth reflect the government’s callous disregard for the Tamil people. |
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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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