http://www.trendcounter.com/live/pf6s4w4m.htm

Genocide the Tamil people in Srilanka

Thursday, April 29, 2010

British candidate calls Tamils victims of genocide

Dr Rachel Joyce, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Harrow West, UK, in a statement circulated to her constituents, said she believes that since Sri Lanka's independence "the acts perpetrated the Government of Sri Lanka on Tamils including the burning down of Jaffna library...disappearance of Tamil individuals...and the use of concentration-style camps for internally displaced Tamils should be classed as Genocide." Dr Joyce further made a campaign promise to "work with the Tamils to get the acts perpetrated on the Tamils classed legally as a genocide so that the UN Convention can be used to address the problems." http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=31615

Toronto Tamil spokesman explains the history, crisis in Sri Lanka

The Toronto spokesperson for the Coalition to Stop the War in Sri Lanka spoke with Digital Journal about the history of Sri Lanka, the current crisis that is occurring and what he hopes to be accomplished for the Tamil people. Last year, the crisis in Sri Lanka dominated the news headlines in Toronto. Tens of thousands of Tamils took to the streets and demanded action from the government of Canada and the international community over the actions by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and General Sareth Fonseka. http://digitaljournal.com/article/291248

An indicator of what comes next for Sri Lanka's media

By Bob Dietz/Asia Program Coordinator In Sri Lanka, there is a lull of sorts in outright attacks on the media as the Rajapaksa government takes stock of where it stands, which is in a very strong position. There was recently an indicator of what might come next for the media. The president appointed former Labor Minister Mervyn Silva to be his deputy minister of media and information. We’ve written before about Silva, and it wasn’t very encouraging. http://cpj.org/blog/2010/04/an-indicator-of-what-comes-next-for-sri-lankas-med.php

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Gang boss known for hostility towards journalists appointed deputy media minister in Sri Lankan

“In what country do you appoint an arsonist to put out fires?” Reporters Without Borders asked today after learning that Mervyn Silva, a politician notorious for insulting and physically attacking journalists, has been appointed deputy minister of media and information. Labour minister in the last government, Silva was confirmed in his new post by parliament on 23 April. “The Sri Lankan government has against distinguished itself by assigning key posts to very controversial figures implicated in attacks on press freedom,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The ruling party’s victory in the parliamentary elections is being marred by this kind of appointment, which is casting serious doubt on its ability to carry out reconciliation and reconstruction.” http://en.rsf.org/sri-lanka-mervyn-silva-gang-boss-minister-26-04-2010,37152.html

Friday, April 23, 2010

Global Tamil Forum on Sri Lanka Election: Low Tamil Turnout Reflects their Disillusion in the Sri Lankan Political System

London (PRWEB) April 23, 2010 The Global Tamil Forum views the parliamentary election in Sri Lanka conducted on April 8, as an election that was imposed on the Tamil speaking people of the island. The Tamils living in a highly militarized oppressive condition continue to undergo many forms of immense suffering, depravation of the basic necessities of life, denial of freedom, fear and intimidation. There are still about 100,000 Tamils housed in military run internment camps and their rights have been denied. Thousands of Tamils have been denied their rights to vote in this election. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/04/prweb3911714.htm

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Sri Lanka’s New Parliament Must Drop Emergency Laws, Says Amnesty International

(Washington) -- Sri Lanka's first post-war parliament must get rid of draconian emergency laws that have allowed for decades of widespread human rights abuses, Amnesty International said today. Ahead of the first sitting of Sri Lanka’s first post-war parliament on April 22, Amnesty International is calling on Sri Lanka to lift the State of Emergency that has been in force almost continuously since 1971, and to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act and other associated emergency security laws and regulations, replacing them with human rights-friendly laws. http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20100420001&lang=e

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Hospitals first, hotels can wait, say Jaffna residents

By Vipul Sivakumaran (Island) A mega cash injection is needed to upgrade the quality of services at the overcrowded Jaffna Teaching Hospital and other state medical institutions in the northern peninsula, say residents and parliamentarians. The residents are urging Colombo-based policy-makers to focus on developing hospitals in Jaffna to support post-war reconstruction efforts and tourism promotion. "It is good that new hotels are being planned in Jaffna, but where will visitors and tourists go, if there is no satisfactory hospital system here?" asked 70-year-old pensioner Thanikasalam Ramachandran. http://www.island.lk/2010/04/19/news1.html

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) convention condemns Sri Lanka war crimes

"Conditions in Sri Lanka cannot improve unless the Tamils are given a respectful place in society as equal citizens. Unfortunately, that is not happening,” said Rajinder Sachar former Chief Justice on Delhi High Court in a conference on Sri Lanka's war crimes held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Thursday, a summary report of the convention issued by the organizers said. The convention concluded with passing a resolution condemning "the genocidal war crimes perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government on the Tamils," and demanding that the war criminals in the Sri Lankan government be brought to justice, Tamils who have been forcefully detained in camps be released and settled in their native homes, an immediate end to colonization, and suspension of military aid by India. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=31565

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Has the situation improved for the 380,000 Tamil IDPs?

It has been nearly one year since the civil war in Sri Lanka came to an end. It has been more than four months since the Sri Lankan President "released" IDPs from the camps. Two elections have taken place this year. Has anything changed for the Tamils? Andrew Moran by Digital Journalhttp://digitaljournal.com/article/290705

Monday, April 12, 2010

Northern Sri Lanka emerges from conflict but challenges remain

GENEVA, April 7 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation have just released a report that examines the impact of a cash grant provided by UNHCR to help displaced people in northern Sri Lanka return home and restart their lives. As the last phase of the long conflict between government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) unfolded early last year, more than 280,000 civilians were forced to flee. With the end of the war, the majority were relocated to camps run by the government with the help of humanitarian agencies, and towards the end of 2009 they started to return home. UNHCR Senior Policy Officer Vicky Tennant, one of the authors of the report, talked to Public Information Officer Hélène Caux about her visit to northern Sri Lanka earlier this year and discussed the implications of a recent decision to suspend the grant owing to a lack of funding. Excerpts from the interview: http://www.unhcr.org/4bbc9b9b9.html

Sunday, April 11, 2010

A worldwide boycott of Sri LankaThe island's tyrannical government cannot continue to ignore international law – the world must stop supporting it

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said in his speech at the Global Tamil Forum conference in February: "It [political reconciliation] will require you to speak up for a vision of a decent Sri Lanka that respects all its people and it will require you to speak up for a spirit that recognises that if people can not find a way to live together they will drift apart." However, Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, at one of his election campaign rallies in the north of Sri Lanka – which is part of the Tamil homeland – raised his voice in anger last week and shouted in Sinhala: "We are Sinhalese and I am Sinhalese – you listen Tamils!", as the crowd hooted at him to express their frustration and despair about his policies. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/11/worldwide-boycott-sri-lanka

28 Tamil Nadu fishermen wounded in 'attack' by SLankan Navy

Rameswaram (TN), Apr 11 (PTI) Twenty eight fishermen from Tamil Nadu were injured when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan Naval personnel while fishing near Katchatheevu late last night. Three persons suffered serious injuries as they were beaten up badly, official sources and local fishermen's association functionary Anthony Raj said today. They said the incident occurred around midnight when the men were fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India. Their fishing nets were damaged and diesel cans thrown into the sea, they said. The three seriously injured fishermen had been admitted to the Government Hospital http://www.ptinews.com/news/604832_28-TN-fishermen-wounded-in--attack--by-SLankan-Navy

Sunday, April 4, 2010

“Yes, we are Sinhala. The country is also Sinhala. So listen you Demala (Tamil)”

The President during his speech at the Jaffna rally on the 1st had shouted at the Tamil people saying, “Yes, we are Sinhala. The country is also Sinhala. Therefore, you Demala (Tamils) listen to me. If you cannot listen without trying to be too smart, then leave.” The President had made this statement while making his speech in Tamil with the help of the tele-prompter during the UPFA rally at the Duraiappa Stadium. The people who had not understood his speech had started to shout in anger while the President had shouted back in this manner. When the Tamil people unable to comprehend what the President was trying to say in his speech had started to shout, and an angry President had said, “I will not stop. Since you shouted, I will speak more in Tamil.” One of Minister Douglas Devananda’s officials had then taken the microphone from the President and had started to calm the crowd. http://www.lankanewsweb.com/news/EN_2010_04_03_003.html

Friday, April 2, 2010

Landmine ladies - clearing Sri Lanka's deadly harvest

There are an unknown number of land mines littering the once verdant landscape of the Vanni. They’re a deadly legacy of the violent 26-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or ‘Tamil Tigers’) movement, which finally ended in May 2009. Saila knows all too well just how violent this conflict was; it cost her husband his life. "I used to work as a co-ordinator in a rehabilitation centre, but had to leave because of the conflict. Then my husband was killed in the fighting. Now my mother has to look after my daughters, while I do this work”. http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/Case-Studies/2010/Landmine-ladies/

The government spars with aid agencies; the displaced still suffer

Mar 31st 2010 | From The Economist print edition. NEARLY a year after the end of Sri Lanka’s long civil war, life remains grim for hundreds of thousands of Tamils in the north of the country, displaced in the final months of fighting. Now they face a new threat. International agencies are running out of funds to meet their needs, after the government’s rejection of a United Nations-led mechanism for channelling humanitarian assistance to the country. By March 25th only $15m had been promised for the year, just 4% of the estimated total required for humanitarian aid in the camps and return areas. http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15819464