Ilankai Tamil Sangam
Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA
Published by Sangam.org
by Tamil Centre for Human Rights, March 7, 2008
Kosovo | Tamil Eelam | |
Sq. Kilometers | 10,887 km² | 19,509 km² |
Coastal area | ---- | More than 400 kms |
Capital | Pristina | Trincomalee |
Annexed with | Serbia in 1989 | Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1948 |
Conflicting peoples | Serbs vs Kosovars | Singhalese vs Tamils |
Population | 2,000,000 | 3,598,000 (census in 1979) 93% Tamils |
Domination by | Serbs | Singhalese |
Military composition | 100% Serbs | 99% Singhalese in all forces |
Colonisation | Kosovo region by Serbs | North East by Singhalese |
Settlers | ? | over 300,000 Singhalese colonists |
Negotiations started | 1989 | 1927 |
Failed negotiations | Several | Between Sinhala & Tamil leaders 1927, 1971,1977-82,1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 2003-2006 |
Abrogation of pacts by state | yes |
Unilaterally abrogated by Sri Lanka 1956, 1965, 1987, 2002, 2005 |
Democratic mandate | Sept 1991 & May 1992 | 1977 general elections - Tamils voted overwhelmingly for independence |
Armed conflict | March 1998 | July 1983 to date |
Freedom fighters | Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) |
Civilians killed | over 5,000 | over 100,000 |
Disappearances | over 4,000 | over 28,000 |
Rapes | 20,000 | over 12,600 |
Mass graves | 526 | Numerous |
Internally displaced | 250,000 single displacement | over 800.000 multiple displacements |
Refugees | 61,000 | over 600,000 in western countries & India |
Press & Fredom of Movement | Denied | Denied |
Property damage | figures not known | over US$ eight billion |
Houses destroyed | 128,000 | over 300,000 |
Attacks on religious buildings | 500 | 2,375 (both Christian & Hindu-Saivite) |
Villages demolished | figures not known | over 500 |
Political prisoners | nearly 2,000 (Dec. 2001) | over 3,000 at present |
Ethnic cleansing/violence | 1990 | Since 1956, esp. 1956 , 1958, 1977, 1981 & 1983 onwards |
Economic embargo | not enforced | since 1987 with a few interludes. now in force. |
Forces | Army | Army, navy, air force, police & auxiliary |
Courts | Judicial Development Division (JDD) | Tamil Eelam Courts, including an Appeal Court & Law College |
Human Rights institutions | Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo | North East Secretariat for Human Rights (NESoHR) |
Financial institutions | Banking & Payment Authority of Kosovo (BPK) | Bank of Tamil Eelam |
Education | Kosovar education system | Education Council of Tamil Eelam |
Welfare & sociation institutions | Insitution of social welfare | Homes for the aged, widows, children & war-affected adults & children |
Violation of signed UN instruments | Serbia has not signed many UN treaties | Sri Lanka has violated the UN Charter, UDHR, ICCPR*, ICESCR, ICERD, CEDAW*, CAT & CRC* |
Visit by High Commis. for Human Rights | yes | Visited only the Sri Lankan government-administered areas |
UN/EU intervention | yes | NONE |
UN resolutions | yes | NONE |
International monitoring | yes | NONE |
Visits by VIPs | yes | VIPS who met with LTTE leadership: |
VIP visits prevented | ---- | Sri Lanka prevented visits to LTTE-administered areas for: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan His Royal Highness Prince Charles – UK Ex-Presidents of USA W Bush and B Clinton Secretary of State, USA |
(Updated from the TCHR reports submitted in March 2001 and March 2007)
ICCPR*- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICESCR - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
ICERD- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
CEDAW* - Convention on the elimination of Discrimination against Women
CAT - Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment....
CRC* - Convention on the Rights of the Child
* optional protocols© 1996-2024 Ilankai Tamil Sangam, USA, Inc.