Tamil InsightTamil Voice in the Sun
SRI LANKA: Attack on TV stations - human rights an unmanageable disaster in Sri Lanka
(AHRC, ) - Early this morning (January 6, 2009), a group of armed men forcibly entered, attacked and caused serious damage to the MBC-MTV Transmission Station at Pannipitiya. This TV station is popularly known as Sirasa TV and transmits its programmes across the country. In the attack, which took place at around 2a.m., the intruders set the main control room on fire and then vandalized the entire complex. According to a report published in Lanka Dissent,…
A protest to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, Oswald Gomis by Brian Senewiratne
(by Brian Senewiratne Brisbane, Australia, ) - You can sit in the comfort of your 5-Star palace in Colombo and pontificate on what civilians in the North should or should not do, but what these people want to do is to return to their homes in the North-East and North-West (or live in the North), which they are not being allowed to do, because the Armed Forces of your Government is …
An open letter to Most Rev. Dr Oswald Gomis, Archbishop of Sri Lanka
(By Dr. Victor Rajakulendran - Sydney, AUSTRALIA, 25 12 2008) - I have to write to you this, on Christmas-eve, as I came across this news only this afternoon. I was shocked and could not believe my eyes for a while, that an Archbishop of Sri Lanka also, like the Buddhist priests of Jathika Hela Urumya, have started to get involved in politics and take side in the longstanding ethnic conflict …
Madhu Church remains deserted on Xmas day - Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena
(Tamil Insight, 25 12 2008) - The Madhu Church, home to the 600-year-old statue of Our Lady and revered by Sri Lankan Catholics, has remained deserted for around five years and continues to be so this Christmas, said UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena. “Authorities should, at least now, tell the true situation of the historic shrine in Mannar. Leaders, who issue Christmas messages, should be truthful, without misleading Catholic leaders and the public”, he said in a statement.
Dr. Jayawardena also …
UN EXPERT CALLS ON PARTIES TO THE SRI LANKAN CONFLICT TO BETTER PROTECT THE DISPLACED
(UNsg, 23 December 2008) - The Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin, has expressed his increasing concern for Sri Lankan civilians in the northern Vanni region. In a letter today to the Government of Sri Lanka, the Representative acknowledged the Government’s continuing efforts to enable humanitarian convoys to reach the estimated 200,000 to 300,000 internally displaced persons in the region, but stressed that current supplies of food, medicine, emergency shelter …
A year of tragedies and triumphs for South Asia’s children
(KATHMANDU, UNICEF, 23 December 2008) - For many of South Asia’s children, 2008 will go down as a year of triumphs and tragedies - a year in which children continued to be recruited in conflicts, yet a year when conflicts were briefly halted for the sake of children’s health; and a year when the food, fuel and financial crises threatened to worsen child malnutrition, yet triggered off important new thinking on protection for the most vulnerable, according to the UNICEF …
Besieged, Displaced, and Detained - The Plight of Civilians in Sri Lanka’s Vanni Region - HRW
(HRW, 23 Dec 2008) - Full Report
Sri Lanka: End detentions and aid restrictions - Tamil Civilians Caught in Fighting Denied Relief and Freedom of Movement
(HRW, New York, December 23, 2008) – The Sri Lankan government should stop arbitrarily detaining civilians fleeing fighting in the northern Vanni region and urgently allow humanitarian agencies to return to provide desperately needed aid, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
The 49-page report, “Besieged, Displaced, and Detained: The Plight of Civilians in Sri Lanka’s Vanni Region,” documents the Sri Lankan government’s responsibility for the plight of the 230,000 to 300,000 displaced persons trapped in the Vanni …
British Parliament Debate on Sri Lanka: When Obama comes to London for G20 Summit in April, will Sri Lankan issue be an item for discussion?
(Tamil Insight, 19 12 2008) - British Parliament on Thursday (18 12 2008) debated the present situation in Sri Lanka. Parliamentarians of various parties highlighted the concerns of the Tamil diaspora on the situation in their homeland. The adjournment debate on Sri Lanka was proposed by Mr Andrew Pelling MP (Independent Conservative – Croydon Central) and chaired by Deputy Speaker Sir Michael Lord….
‘Liberation’ and ‘dawn of democracy’ in the East
(TCHR, 19 12 2008) - The present propaganda disseminated worldwide by Rajapaksa’s government is that the government has liberated the Eastern province and that democracy has been born in that area.
In fact, these are terminologies used by any government wishing to attract the attention of Western governments. But the pertinent question is whether Western governments have asked Rajapaksa’s government, what it means by ‘Liberation’ and ‘dawn of democracy’ in the East. From whom, by whom and what so-called ‘liberation’ has …
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18 12 2008
Video: British Parliament on Thursday (18 12 2008) debated the present situation in Sri Lanka. Parliamentarians of various parties highlighted the concerns of the Tamil diaspora on the situation in their homeland. The adjournment debate on Sri Lanka was proposed by Mr Andrew Pelling MP (Independent Conservative Croydon Central) and chaired by Deputy Speaker Sir Michael Lord.
Vanni Situation
Members of British Parliament from all three main political parties in a show of solidarity and concern spoke on 14 Oct 2008 in support of Tamils and the general suffering of the Tamils, particularly in Vanni, North of Sri Lanka.