New testimony by a group of Sri Lankan refugees appears to counter government claims that it has stopped shelling its so-called safe zone in the north of the island.
Al Jazeera’s David Chater reports from Colombo.
The Canadian Peace Alliance has produced a solidarity statement, calling for an end to the attacks on the Tamil people. If your group would like to endorse this statement, please e-mail cpa@web.ca.
Solidarity statement by the Canadian Peace Alliance: Stop the attacks on the Tamil people
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has unilaterally abandoned the internationally mediated ceasefire agreement and has engaged in aerial bombings and artillery shelling of civilians in an intense war on the Tamil minority in the country. This war, which has killed as many as 70,000 Tamil civilians, has become more brutal. In 2008 alone, thousands of civilians were killed.
According to former UN Human Rights Commissioner, Louise Arbour, “The most fundamental rights of people to be secure in their persons and homes are being violated almost daily… There is an urgent need for the international community to monitor the unfolding human rights situation, as these are not merely ceasefire violations, but grave breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law.” She went on to say that the “weakness of the rule of law and prevalence of impunity is alarming.”
This devastating war has internally displaced over 500,000 Tamils, and the Government of Sri Lanka has expelled all local and international NGOs from the war-affected areas in the North. They have also placed an economic embargo on all food, medicine, fuel and other essential items reaching the civilians in the affected areas, creating a humanitarian disaster.
The Government of Sri Lanka has banned all reporters from the affected areas and has led a campaign of persecution against journalists. Reporters Without Borders has expressed outrage at the Sri Lankan government after they censored the BBC World Service reporters in the country and after the murder of prominent editor of the Sunday Times, Lasantha Wickrematunga. Wickrematunga, in his last editorial, published after his death, said he knew that he was being targeted by the government: “When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me,” he wrote. The lack of access to international monitors is making it impossible to know exactly how many innocent civilians are being killed.
We call on the government of Canada to:
- Condemn the Government of Sri Lanka and call for an end to all attacks on Tamils
- Call on the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately allow international aid organizations and NGOs to bring emergency assistance to the civilians affected and to support the internally displaced Tamils
- Call on the Government of Sri Lanka to support the right to a free press and allow journalists into the affected areas
We also call upon the United Nations to condemn the Sri Lankan government’s human rights violations and apply pressure on the Sri Lankan government to stop its genocidal war on the Tamil people.
Contact your Member of Parliament
The Canadian Peace Alliance has produced a sample letter that you can send to your Member of Parliament. Download the letter here.
Please copy the letter and circulate to family, friends, co-workers, etc. Remember that no postage is required to send a letter to your Member of Parliament. Just mail your letter to the following address, and it’s free of charge:
Member of Parliament (add your MP’s name)
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Alternatively, you can email your MP. Here is a list of MPs and their contact information.