Tamil Justice

Official Press Release – Dublin Tribunal finds against Sri Lanka on charges of War Crimes

In Dublin today, 16th January, at 2.00pm the Peoples’ Tribunal Chairman Francois Houtart read the preliminary findings of the Peoples’ Tribunal on the war in Sri Lanka and its aftermath. There were four findings:
1: That the Sri Lankan Government and its military are guilty of War Crimes;
2: That the Sri Lankan Government is military are guilty of crimes against humanity;
3: That the charge of genocide requires further investigation;
4: That the international community, particularly the UK and USA, share responsibility for the breakdown of the peace process. More

BBC – Sri Lanka ‘guilty’ of war crimes

The Sri Lanka government was found guilty of war crimes, a peoples tribunal in Ireland has said.

In its preliminary findings, the People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka (PTSL) that conducted hearings from 14 to 16 January in Dublin has also concluded that the Sri Lanka government is also guilty of crimes against humanity. More

However, the-pro Tamil Tiger groups’ accusation that the government carried out Tamil genocide at the last phase of war between the security forces and the LTTE needs to be investigated.

“Harrowing evidence, including video footage, was submitted by eye-witnesses of the use of heavy artillery and phosphorous munitions, and of the continuous violation of human rights by military activity to a panel of ten international jurors over two days,” the PTSL said in a statement.

Tamilnet – Dublin verdict: Sri Lanka guilty of War Crimes

Dublin war-crimes tribunal, conducted by Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) based in Milan, which held hearings on Thursday and Friday on war-crime charges on Sri Lanka from eye-witnesses and other material evidence, in the preliminary findings issued Saturday said, Sri Lanka Government is “guilty of War-Crimes” and “guilty of Crimes Against Humanity.” The tribunal also concluded that the charge of Genocide requires further investigations. Eye witnesses included several escapees from the final week of Sri Lanka offensive in the Mullaitivu “No Fire Zone” where more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were allegedly slaughtered by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) training heavy weapons on them.

ABC – Asylum seekers fear forcible removal

The Age – Rudd must relent to avoid costly stand-off

The Australian – Tamils ‘concerned they will be removed’

Sydney Morning Herald – Tamils’ horrific treatment makes them desperate to leave

BBC – Indonesia ‘might expel’ refugees

The Australian – Indonesia ‘might expel’ refugees

The Australian – Caucus united on refugees

The Australian – Kids destined for detention: Jakarta

News.com.au – Chilli weapon ruled out in asylum seeker boat standoff

The Australian – The strange and puzzling case of Dr Kevin and Mr Rudd

CTV News: Men aboard migrant ship may get hearing today, 20 October 2009

Dozens of men found aboard a rusty vessel that arrived off the coast of Vancouver Island may soon know if they can apply for refugee status.

Detention hearings are expected to begin as early as today for the 76 men, who are being held in a Vancouver jail.

It is believed the men found aboard the ”Ocean Lady” are from Sri Lanka, though officials have not identified the passengers or the reason for their journey. More

CTC: Canadian Tamil Congress Statement, 20 October 2009

As we sit here today, much of the details about these 76 men remain unknown. But there are two things that are clear. One is that these individuals risked their

lives to travel thousands of miles on a rusty old boat to seek refuge in Canada. The second is that these men come from a country where persecution of the Tamil minority remains commonplace despite the end of the 26-year-old civil war.

To give you an idea of the kind of persecution Tamils face in Sri Lanka, keep in mind that more than a quarter of a million citizens are currently being held against their will in about 40 internment camps in the country. They are all Tamil and they are being held in violation of international law. Tens of thousands of these civilian detainees are children. Their reality is overcrowding, poor sanitation and severe restrictions on their freedom of movement. Despite calls from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to free them, and the threat of monsoon rains and flooding, the Sri Lankan government continues to hold these Tamil civilians in essentially open-air prisons. This is the Sri Lanka that these men were forced to flee from, one which continues to persecute Tamils. More

AFP: Sri Lanka sends home displaced civilians, 23October 2009

Sri Lanka, under pressure to release 250,000 Tamil civilians displaced in the final defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels, has begun resettling some who fled their homes more than two years ago.

The top government administrator in the northern town of Vavuniya, PSM Charles, said 41,000 civilians were being released from camps and allowed to return home.

“Those released fled their homes when fighting broke out in their areas over two years ago. Some of them will stay in school buildings in their areas till they are able to renovate their houses,” Charles told AFP.

Click here to read full article

SBS News: Tamil refugees resettled, 23 October 2009 - Click here to view news clip

ABC Radio AM Program: Sri Lanka releases Tamils from camps, 23 October 2009 

TONY EASTLEY: After the Sri Lankan military crushed the Tamil Tigers earlier this year, thousands of civilians wound up in Government run camps, largely closed off to humanitarian organisations and the media.

The bloody conflict between the government forces and the Tamil Tigers displaced hundreds of thousands of people and many had their homes and livelihoods destroyed. It led to an outflow of asylum seekers – many of whom have boarded boats in Indonesia bound for Australian territorial waters.

Now, for the first time Sri Lanka’s Government has announced it has released almost 6,000 refugees from the former Tamil Tiger controlled areas. The Government says a further 36,000 displaced people will be allowed out of the camps in the coming weeks.

Click here to read transcript and listen

BBC: Thousands leave Sri Lankan Camp,

Anbarasan Ethirajan, 22 October 2009

Nearly 6,000 Tamil refugees have been released from Sri Lanka’s main camp for war-displaced people, officials say.

It is the first time refugees have been allowed to return to areas formerly controlled by the Tamil Tigers.

Those who left Menik Farm are among almost 40,000 people to be resettled over the next few weeks, officials say.

It would be the largest single batch freed since the Tamil Tigers were defeated in May. Some 250,000 civilians are housed in military-run camps.

The authorities have been criticised for the slow pace of resettlement.

Click here to read full article

Click here to read US State Dept’s study into incidents during the recent conflict in Sri Lanka

VOA News - US Calls on Sri Lanka to Investigate Alleged War Crimes in Tamil Conflict

The United States is calling on the Sri Lankan government to thoroughly investigate charges of war crimes in the final months of its long war with Tamil Tiger rebels. A State Department report issued Thursday listed what were termed credible allegations of abuses by both sides in the conflict.

The State Department says if the Sri Lankan government really is interested, as it says it is, in post-war reconciliation, it should investigate alleged abuses in the closing months of the conflict and bring to justice those responsible.  More

Reuters : U.S. details possible Sri Lanka civil war abuses

New York Times : Sri Lanka Pressed to Investigate Possible War Atrocities

The Australian : Indonesia calls for crisis talks as asylum-seekers’ children head for detention

The Washington Post : U.S. urges probe of Sri Lanka war

SMH : US war crimes report adds to pressure on Sri Lanka

Click here to watch Q&A

Young Tamils swap bombs for BlackBerrys

The Age : Convenient bogeymen
WHY are men, women and children fleeing Sri Lanka? It’s not because they want the thrill of risking life, limb and capture while spending days at sea in barely seaworthy vessels. These people are fleeing a humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka that has been orchestrated by the Government of Sri Lanka and motivated on ethnic grounds.

About 300,000 Tamils remain under military rule in camps that lack basic food, shelter and health requirements. Non-government organisations’ and independent media access to the camps is heavily restricted.

People smugglers are the middle men, and not the root cause of why people are desperate to escape persecution, hunger and an uncertain future. They are, however, convenient bogeymen for the Australian Government to apportion blame as it seeks to preserve its “warm diplomatic relations” with Sri Lanka. Through its silence and apathy, the Australian Government is helping condemn thousands of Tamil Sri Lankans to an uncertain and grim future.

Dr Sam Pari, Australian Tamil Congress, Sydney

Read other letters here.

To demonise Sri Lanka boatpeople dodges the issues

UPWARDS of 250,000 Sri Lankan Tamils are being held in appalling conditions in the vast Manik Farm internment camp, deprived of their freedom solely on grounds of race. Speak out about their plight and their lives are at risk as well: they have a well-founded fear of joining the thousands of others who have “disappeared” with utter impunity for the perpetrators.

They may therefore meet the definition of refugees under the 1951 UN convention, to which Australia is a signatory, but their right to apply for asylum, and have their case fairly considered, is not matched by any right of entry. That is why some turn to so-called people smugglers.

If Australia does not like the consequences of this situation, it should intensify pressure on the Sri Lankan authorities to deliver justice, starting with a properly supported process of return to their homes for the Tamil detainees. To whinge about asylum boats and to demonise those who provide them is to dodge the issue.

Jake Lynch
Director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney

Jake’s article in New Matilda

The Age – Not sorry: PM unmoved by pleas

SMH : Rudd takes a hard line

SMH : Aid given to Sri Lanka to stem people smuggling

The Age : Not sorry: PM unmoved by pleas

Brisbane Times – Hardline faction peddles fear and punitive policies for asylum seekers

Brisbane Times – We are your children. Please take us to your country

Brisbane Times – Aid given to Sri Lanka to stem people smuggling