International Community Must Condemn Sri Lanka's Dirty War
AUSTRALASIAN FEDERATION OF TAMIL ASSOCIATIONS
P O Box 215, Enfield, NSW 2136
Email:tamand@ozemail.com.au
MEDIA RELEASE
June 17, 2006
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST CONDEMN SRI LANKA'S CONTINUING TERROR CAMPAIGN AND “DIRTY WAR”
We are appalled that the Sri Lanka regime continues to target civilians in a dirty war to resume the armed conflict.
On Thursday 15th June Sinhala civilians were killed in a claymore mine blast. We welcome the press releases issued on Thursday by the Embassies of Japan and Switzerland in Colombo strongly condemning the attack on the passenger bus in the region of Anuradhapura which killed several dozens of civilians, including children.
The LTTE in a press release has described the Claymore attack on Sinhala civilians in Kebitigollawe Thursday morning as "senseless violence used for political ends.” The press release issued from Kilinochchi stated categorically that targeting civilians "cannot be justified under any circumstances," and has charged that the Sri Lankan armed forces, who have intensified their attacks on Tamil civilians for political ends, have also begun targeting Sinhala civilians with the aim of blaming the Tigers.
Just last Thursday, a Tamil family of four were killed by Sri Lankan soldiers, who, armed with bayonets and knives, entered the house on around midnight.
On Saturday, 13th May 20 Tamils were massacred in the village of Allaipiddy by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) troopers who surrounded a civilian house around 8:30 p.m. and opened fire, killing 8 civilians. Those killed included a four-month-old baby, a four-year-old boy, their parents and 4 others. Five other civilians were killed on the same day on an adjoining islet by the Sri Lankan armed forces.
On 16 May 2006, Amnesty International condemned these killings, having “received credible reports that Sri Lanka Navy personnel and armed cadres were present at the scene of the killings”, and highlighted that “there is a disturbing pattern of incomplete or ineffective investigations by the government, with the result that perpetrators of such violence generally operate with impunity.”
The political objective of the latest massacres is to justify so-called ‘retaliatory’ measures which involve bombing Tamil regions. Sri Lankan Kfir bombers, for the third time within the last 36 hours dropped 10 bombs in the suburbs of Kilinochchi Friday evening from 5:20 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Kfir bombers also dropped six bombs in the suburbs of Kilinochchi Friday morning
We call for an immediate end to these politically motivated violence designed to resume the war.
Contact: Ana Pararajasingham
Mobile: 0402904032
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