Revise policies on Tamil struggle: Karen Parker tells U.S. Senate
The twenty-six year old armed conflict between the armed forces of the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has reached a phase that can only be called genocide-like and catastrophic for the Tamil people in the north and east of the island, said human rights expert Karen Parker, Wednesday to the subcommittee of the US Senate, hearing on the situation in the island of Sri Lanka. Read more
Danish media consultant refused entry into Kaarainakar by SLN
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) did not permit Dr. Henrik Grunnet, the media consultant of the Media Research and Training Centre (MRTC) affiliated to Jaffna University to attend an introductory event of a media course that was to be inaugurated Wednesday at Kaarainakar R. Thiyagarajah Maththiya Viththiyaalayam in his official capacity and as a guest of honour, sources close to MRTC said. Read more
Thousands of Tamils rally at White House
A young protestor yells out her protest chants towards US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Thousands of members of the Tamil diaspora rallied Friday outside the White House to demand US pressure on the Sri Lankan government as it pursues a major offensive against Tiger rebels. The rally was met by a smaller counter-demonstration, mostly by members of Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese community, who called for the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to end their trademark suicide attacks.
Tamils demonstrate in Geneva: “Stop Genocide”, “We Want Tamil Eelam”
Thousands of Tamils travelled from several European countries and demonstrated outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on Friday calling for an end to “genocide” of Tamils in Sri Lankan. Police put the number of demonstrators at at least 14,000 and the demonstrators said they were more than 20, 000. Police said the crowd was extremely well marshalled. They had come to Switzerland from a number of European countries.
“Sri Lankan forces shelling hospitals, so-called safe zones & slaughtering civilians” – HRW
Calling on both warring parties to stop firing at civilians or shelling areas where they are concentrated, Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday estimated that 2,000 people have been killed in the government offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In a statement the HRW said the number of civilian deaths in Sri Lanka has risen sharply in the last month.
India does not want LTTE to lose or gain
The Indian Central Government led by the Congress Party does not want the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lose or gain political, military and economic powers as India prefers to keep Sri Lanka as a buffer state in the Indian Ocean. India’s location in the Indian subcontinent as a pyramid state allows India to create three buffer states in the region for its own benefit –Kashmir, Tibet, and Sri Lanka.
The end results of war
What the Sri Lankan government fails to understand is that technology is advancing daily, and it is only a matter of months or years before nuclear devices become available to suppressed people around the world. If the Sri Lankan government chooses not to settle this dispute peacefully they will create hatred amongst the Tamil people , resulting in future rebels, and as technology becomes available it is inevitable that Colombo will face a terrible technological attack one day.
European Union foreign ministers call for ceasefire in Sri Lanka
European Union foreign ministers are set to make a joint call next week for an immediate ceasefire between Sri Lankan security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels to allow aid in and civilians out of the conflict zone. “The E.U. is deeply concerned about the evolving humanitarian crisis and vast number of internally displaced people,” according to a draft agreement prepared for European Foreign Ministers to endorse when they meet in Brussels Monday.
Sri Lanka prepared to accept India’s offer
Sri Lanka yesterday conveyed its willingness to accept India’s assistance in evacuating civilians caught in the conflict in the island nation. “India has formally indicated its interest in evacuating civilians. We are open to accepting logistical help from friendly countries like India,” the envoy said. Government however, underlined that such a decision will depend on the realities on the ground.
150 Tamil Nadu lawyers arrested
Over 150 lawyers were arrested on Friday for participating in a protest march outside the Tamil Nadu secretariat. They were agitating against the violence in the Madras High Court complex on Thursday. Madras Bar Association President S. Prabhakaran was also arrested. Earlier, the lawyers’ agitation issue dominated proceedings in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
