The Times/UK, Jan 8, 2010
A photograph taken by The Times from a Sri Lankan helicopter flying the UN Secretary-General shows a devastated refugee camp in the ‘no-fire’ zone
Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent, and James Bone in New York
Archive for the ‘Sri Lanka’ Category
Tamil Tiger video killing is genuine, declares the UN
January 8, 2010Demand the release of Tamil detainees in Sri Lanka
October 7, 2009By the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), wsws.org, Oct 7, 2009
The Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka and the World Socialist Web Site are launching an international campaign to demand the immediate and unconditional release of more than 250,000 Tamil civilians who have been detained in huge internment camps since the defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May.
The government falsely describes these squalid prison camps as “welfare villages.” However, detainees are not permitted to move in or out of their camps, which are surrounded by barbed wire fences and guarded by heavily armed soldiers. Relatives are allowed to see inmates only after the type of rigorous screening found in high security prisons.
Tamils shot by army after attempting to ‘escape’ from internment camp
September 28, 2009Tamil detainees in Sri Lanka: “Almost living in hell”
September 25, 2009By our correspondent, wsws.org, Sep 25, 2009
The Sri Lankan government has underscored its determination to keep 280,000 Tamil civilians in internment camps indefinitely, in blatant violation of their basic democratic rights.
UN Under-Secretary, Lynn Pascoe arrived in Sri Lanka last week for further talks on resettling detainees. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse told him his government had a target of resettling 70 percent of the people within 180 days. But he added that this target would depend on the de-mining of the former war zone in the island’s north.
Sri Lanka ‘expels Unicef spokesman’
September 7, 2009| Al Jazeera, Sep 7, 2009 |
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A senior official from Unicef, the United Nations’ children’s fund, has been ordered to leave Sri Lanka after he expressed concerns over the plight of Tamil children during the government’s military campaign against Tamil rebels, the UN has said. James Elder, the official spokesperson for Unicef, has reportedly been told by Sri Lankan officials that he has two weeks to leave the country. Unicef says no reason has been given for the expulsion. |
Sri Lanka Continues War on Media
September 4, 2009Thursday 03 September 2009
by: J. Sri Raman, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
In a statement, President Barack Obama said journalist J.S. Tissainayagam was “guilty of nothing more than a passion for truth and a tenacious belief that a free society depends on an informed citizenry.” (Photo: Reuters)
Colombo’s war on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam may have ended. But its war on media freedom is far from over. Unlike the army offensive in the northeast of Sri Lanka, this is a war waged in disregard of the island-state’s ethnic divide.
The latest illustration of this years-long offensive has come with the Colombo High Court sentencing a Sri Lankan journalist to a 20-year prison term, with “hard labor,” on August 31 for his published comments on the armed conflict. Forty-five-year-old Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam is a Sri Lankan Tamil, but has never been known to function as a member of the LTTE.
Sri Lanka jails journalist who criticised war policy
September 1, 2009Twenty years for writer who was hailed by President Obama as a hero facing persecution
By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent, The Independent/UK, September 1, 2009
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ISHARA S KODIKARA/ AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Journalist JS Tissainayagam leaves court yesterday after he was jailed for 20 years for causing ‘racial hatred’ and ‘supporting terrorism’
enlargeA Sri Lankan reporter, recently named by US President Barack Obama as an example of the way journalists are persecuted around the world, has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for writing articles critical of the government’s military operations.
Sri Lankan troops shot Tamil prisoners of war
August 28, 2009Morning Star Online, Thursday 27 August 2009
by Paddy McGuffin
Printable
EmailGraphic footage which appears to show Sri Lankan forces summarily executing Tamil prisoners during or after the recent bloody conflict has been handed to the British media.
The footage, captured on a mobile phone, was supplied to the media on Wednesday by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka.
It shows uniformed troops dragging naked and bound prisoners into a clearing and shooting them in the back of the head.
Sri Lanka: attacks on free media put displaced civilians at risk
August 15, 2009
Vigil marking the first anniversary of the detention of Sri Lankan journalist Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam, London, March 2008
Amnesty International, Aug 14, 2009
Attacks on journalists, relentless intimidation, and government-imposed restrictions on reporting threaten freedom of expression in Sri Lanka and jeopardize the safety and dignity of civilians displaced by war.
The Sri Lankan government actively obstructed reporting on the last stages of the recently concluded armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE – Tamil Tigers). Civilians were subjected to artillery attacks and both sides were accused of committing war crimes.
The government continues to deny journalists and media workers unrestricted access to hundreds and thousands of displaced people living in camps, hindering reporting on their war experiences and on conditions in the camps themselves.
Peace and Justice Post 
Sri Lanka: End Indefinite Detention of Tamil Tiger Suspects
February 13, 2010Tamil women in a camp for displaced persons in Sri Lanka asking for news of their relatives who were taken away by the army, allegedly for rehabilitation.
The government has been keeping 11,000 people in a legal limbo for months. It’s time to identify who presents a genuine security threat and to release the rest.
(New York) – The Sri Lankan government should end its indefinite arbitrary detention of more than 11,000 people held in so-called rehabilitation centers and release those not being prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 30-page report, “Legal Limbo: The Uncertain Fate of Detained LTTE Suspects in Sri Lanka,” is based on interviews with the detainees’ relatives, humanitarian workers, and human rights advocates, among others. The Sri Lankan government has routinely violated the fundamental rights of the detainees, Human Rights Watch found. The government contends that the 11,000 detainees are former fighters or supporters of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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Tags:detainees, detention of Tamils, Human rights, Human Rights Watch, Sri Lankan government
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