Action Alert ArchiveHundreds of Tamils DeportedJuly 11, 2007 "Police didn't listen to us, they tried to beat us, they where scolding and they put us in to the vehicles," said a 54-year old mother who was ousted from her lodge last month. Like her, nearly four hundred Tamil men, women, and children were forced to leave their homes in Colombo. The police said that anyone living in the capital that couldn't "provide valid reasons" would need to return to their villages. However, about 300 evictees were instead thrown onto several buses and sent to a detention camp in Vavuniya. [1] Like this deportation, many similar acts have occurred in the past and continue now. Beginning in April of 2006 and intensifying in Oct-Nov 2006, the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) began denying relief to the internally displaced peoples (IDPs) of the Vaharai area. [2] Mothers and children were refused food and medical attention. The SLA cut off access to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as to truce monitors seeking to get through. Even the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was unable to pass their ambulances through the area. Besides blocking all food and medical essentials, the SLA has continued to intensively shell the area in its hopes to expel the people. More than 30,000 IDPs from Vaharai have been forced to flee due to the SLA's relentless artillery fire. [3] The evictions are reminiscent of the government-sponsored July 1983 "riots". The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said they violate "the most basic norms of humanitarian law and practice". [4] The Sri Lankan government must continue to be held accountable to basic international humanitarian law. We ask you to pressure Sri Lanka into ending these forcible displacements. [1] "Is Sri Lanka 'our country?'" BBC Sinhala.com. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2007/06/070608_evicted_tamils.shtml . 8 June 2007. [2] "Humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka: Operation USA responds" Operation USA. http://wwww.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EKOI-6VD83J?OpenDocument . 8 Nov. 2006. [3] "Civilians' plight in Sri Lanka" BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6043662.stm . 24 Oct. 2006 [4] "AHRC calls for high level inquiry into forcible removal..." Asian Human Rights Commission. http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1050/ 8 June 2007 |
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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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