Ilankai Tamil Sangam
Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA
Published by Sangam.org
In the 2 media releases posted here, Amnesty is quite forthright about what the problems are, and its numbers are generally accurate. What is notable, however, is how coy they are about mentioning
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AI Index: ASA 37/010/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 070
12 April 2007
Sri Lanka: Human rights is the issue, not cricket
The distortion in Sri Lanka of Amnesty International's campaign "Play by the Rules" is a ploy to distract attention from the increasingly desperate plight of hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan people.
"We are concerned at abuses by all parties to the conflict -- civilians are killed, abducted and forcibly disappeared every day at the hands of government forces, Tamil Tigers, the Karuna faction and other armed groups," said Purna Sen, Asia Pacific Director at Amnesty International. "Let us be clear -- no side in this conflict has anything to be complacent about. On the contrary, all parties are breaching international law by failing to protect civilians."
Increasing abductions, illegal killings and child recruitment in Sri Lanka are all going on unchecked and victims do not receive justice. The intensified fighting over the last year has forced over 300,000 people to flee their homes. At least 1000 people have been forcibly disappeared since the beginning of 2006.
"The situation in Sri Lanka has become so desperate for local people that urgent action is needed. Civilians desperately need better protection and a key goal of our campaign is to press for independent human rights monitors to investigate human rights abuses and identify the perpetrators, so they can be brought to justice," said Purna Sen.
"Through our campaign we are drawing attention to the increasing human rights abuses committed against civilians by the Sri Lankan government, the Tamil Tigers, the Karuna faction and other armed groups. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans are being affected -- our campaign is about these people, not the Sri Lankan cricket team."
"The Sri Lankan government is failing in its responsibility to protect civilians; there have been over 4000 deaths since early 2006 while this government has been in power. Reported accusations that Amnesty International has 'tarnished the country's image' do not bear scrutiny -- the authorities need to look closer to home," continued Purna Sen.
"The Tamil Tigers have killed hundreds of civilians in summary executions and indiscriminate bomb attacks. They are continuing to forcibly recruit child soldiers and have even prevented civilians from fleeing the fighting in the North and East."
"It is a small step for all parties to the conflict to agree to allow access to independent human rights monitors but it would make a huge difference to the lives of ordinary Sri Lankans."
"Cricket is a great game and the Sri Lankan people are rightly proud of their ethnically diverse national cricket team, which symbolises the best of Sri Lanka," said Purna Sen. "But hundreds of thousands of people have had to flee the fighting to live in temporary shelter -- and so are not able to live in safety let alone watch cricket."
Amnesty International emphasised that it was not calling for a boycott of the Sri Lankan cricket team or Sri Lankan sports overall and is not campaigning in any stadiums in the West Indies.
Public Document
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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org
For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org
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Media Briefing
AI Index: ASA 37/009/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 068
5 April 2007
Sri Lanka: urgent need for effective protection of civilians as conflict intensifies
Amnesty International urges all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international law, to protect civilians and allow access by humanitarian aid agencies to populations in need. The security forces and the LTTE must renew their commitment to respect international humanitarian law, immediately cease all violations and take all measures necessary to ensure they are not repeated in the future.
Armed conflict in Sri Lanka between government forces, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other armed groups, which has escalated since April 2006, continues to be marked by widespread human rights abuses.
Amnesty International is gravely concerned about the rising number of civilians being killed or injured as a result of deliberate attacks in Sri Lanka’s increasing violence.
Unlawful killings, abductions and enforced disappearance of civilians are daily occurrences, as is arbitrary detention. Both sides to the conflict systematically violate their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect from harm those taking no active part in hostilities. Tens of thousands of families have lost their property and their means of livelihood, and the number of conflict-affected internally displaced persons (IDPs) nationally has risen to at least 290,000. This adds to the large numbers of IDPs who have been kept away from their homes due to lack of safety there including ongoing fighting and fear of heavily mined areas for over a decade.
Lack of civilian protection
Fighting in Batticaloa District in Eastern Sri Lanka involves government forces, the LTTE, and a breakaway armed faction led by the LTTE’s former eastern military commander, Colonel Karuna. Col. Karuna broke away from the LTTE in March 2004 and has since formed a political party, the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP). The Karuna faction has been implicated in recruiting child soldiers. In the last month conflict has led to the displacement of at least 80,000 civilians doubling the existing IDP population in Batticaloa District to over 160,000. Fearful and facing acute insecurity, many of these IDPs are experiencing food shortages. They are unable to work and face an uncertain future due to loss of livelihoods. Water shortages are severe forcing families to attempt to dig their own wells. In one incident, the BBC Sinhala Service reported that on 3 March 2007 a child drowned in a water hole that her mother was attempting to dig.
Since hostilities escalated humanitarian access has been restricted. For example, from late November 2006 until LTTE held Vakarai town, in the northern part of Batticaloa District, fell to the Sri Lankan army offensive on 19 January UN agencies and the ICRC had only very limited access to both the area and civilians, while the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation was unable to re-supply its aid workers on the ground appropriately to deal with civilian needs due to government imposed restrictions on bringing aid into LTTE controlled areas.
Aid agencies report that prior to the latest military offensive in March, the government as well as the LTTE severely restricted access to Batticaloa District and other conflict areas under their control, leaving tens of thousands of new IDPs, and large numbers of other affected populations, without adequate international protection and access to humanitarian assistance.
In this context civilians are at grave risk of being caught up in apparently indiscriminate artillery bombardments by both sides, or subjected to deliberate reprisal killings.
Recent incidents illustrating the continuing threat include:
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