Action Alert ArchiveSupport HR 2764 and stop military funding to Sri LankaSeptember 17, 2007 We are writing to call your attention to Section 690 of The Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act 2008 [HR2764.RS], which ties US military assistance to improvement in the human rights record of Sri Lanka. We strongly encourage you to express your support for this crucial language in the final bill. The Sri Lanka section of HR 2764.RS, with amendments added and passed unanimously by the Senate on 9/6/2007, reads as follows: SRI LANKA Last month, Human Rights Watch published a scathing 129-page report entitled "Human Rights Under Siege," detailing how government security forces have subjected civilians to "disappearances," indiscriminate attacks, forced displacement and restrictions on humanitarian aid. Critics of the government have been threatened and demonized as attacks and assassinations of media and aid workers continue. The dire situation recounted in the HRW report, and in countless other reports, demands the U.S. Congress' urgent attention. The United States has an obligation to ensure that it does not financially support the human rights violations being perpetrated against the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. The amended language, as presented by Senator Leahy, would help prevent this from taking place. Please support the inclusion of this language in the final version of HR 2764. We look forward to hearing from you regarding this urgent issue. |
|
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.
Read this article
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.
Read this article
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.
Read this article