Action Alert ArchiveCall-in Today to Stop Military Aid To Sri LankaOctober 1, 2007 Due to the unprecedented legislation facing the United States Congress that would stop military aid to Sri Lanka until there was a significant improvement in human rights, PEARL’s Advocacy Network is taking the unprecedented step of asking you to call a Congress member’s office. This will only take two minutes of your time. Please call Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY), head of the House Appropriations Committee on State and Foreign Operations, and urge her to keep Section 690 in the final appropriations bill. Please call Representative Lowey's office at 202-225-6506 today, Monday October 1. Read this following statement to the receptionist: My name is ______ and I am very concerned about the escalating human rights crisis in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Armed Forces continue to attack innocent Tamil civilians with impunity. Section 690 of this year's Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, HR 2764, ties U.S. military assistance to Sri Lanka to an improvement in their human rights record. I am urging Representative Lowey to keep Section 690 in the final bill. Thank you for your time! And then please tell us on PEARL's website that you have made this important call: Take Action Now! Thank you all for continuing support! |
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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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