|
Sri Lanka military attack on Tamil party’s poll campaign |
 |
 |
 |
|
Sunday, 19 June 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 20 June 2011
Sri Lanka military attack on Tamil party’s poll campaignThe Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA) wishes to draw the attention of the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, the media and the human rights organisations to the last Thursday’s reported attack by the Sri Lanka’s military on Tamil party’s poll campaign. AFTA condemns this uncivilised, undemocratic, terror tactic of the Sri Lankan forces unleashed on the Tamil citizens of that country, whom the Sri Lankan government claims its armed forces had liberated from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). AFTA expects every democratic government and human rights organisations also to condemn this dastardly action.
On last Friday, Reuters reported that “Legislators of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which backed the now defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, have said supporters were chased away at a meeting in the main town of Jaffna by the military at the start of the first election campaign for 52 local bodies in northern district.” The July 23 polls are the first local government elections in the former war zone in 26 years due to a three-decade war.
"Despite our security guards telling them that we are members of parliament, around 30 military personnel in their uniforms attacked with batons," E. Saravanabawan, a Jaffna district Tamil legislator told Reuters. "This is designed to create a fear psychosis among the Tamils to prevent them from attending our election campaigns" he added.
"There is no point in holding elections if there is not a level playing field," Keerthi Tennakoon, spokesman for Campaign for Free and Fair Election, a non-government organisation which monitors polls in the island nation told Reuters. "This proves that there is no environment for people in the north to exercise their political rights freely. There is a semi-military administration in the north. The government has a responsibility to allow to have a free and fair election with equal playing field", he added further.
AFTA feels that it was a calculated demonstration by the occupying army to tell the Tamils of the north and east of the island that they are under military rule. By this action Sri Lankan forces have demonstrated to the international community that Tamils in Sri Lanka need to be protected from the occupying armed forces of Sri Lanka.
In this context, AFTA welcomes the call from Mr. Thankabalu, the Indian Congress Party leader of the southern State of Tamil Nadu requesting the Prime Minister of India to intervene and stop this attitude of the Sri Lankan administration.
AFTA feels, in the wake of the UN Secretary General appointed panel’s report and the last week British Chanel 4 documentary on “Killing Fields” of Sri Lanka (http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sri-lankas-killing-fields/4od#3200170)
Tamils in Sri Lanka need protection from a multi-national force until an internationally supervised political solution is reached respecting the right to self-determination of the Tamils, to save them from genocide in the hands of the Sri Lankan state.
AFTA calls on the International Community in general and the Australian and New Zealand governments in particular, to condemn this tactic of intimidation by the Sri Lankan armed forces and facilitate to provide a system of protection in consultation with other democratic nations in the world, including the Indian Government. AFTA would like to request the Australia-Sri Lanka parliamentary relationship committee that visited Sri Lanka recently to use any influence it may have with the Sri Lankan government to ensure the physical security of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka and to restore normalcy, democracy, political authority and dignity for the Tamil people.
AFTA calls on the Independent Media in Australia and New Zealand to highlight this undemocratic terror tactic being unleashed by the Sri Lankan forces which continues its subjugation of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439 Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web: www.tamil.org.au |
|
Last Updated on Sunday, 19 June 2011 23:07 |
|
Leaked UN Report Says War Crime Allegations in Sri Lanka are Credible |
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 19 April 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 19 April 2011
Leaked UN Report Says War Crime Allegations in Sri Lanka are Credible The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), wishes to draw the attention of the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, the media and the NGOs to the sections of the UN report leaked to Sri Lanka's Island Newspaper that accuses both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. This 3-member expert panel was appointed by the UN Secretary General (UNSG) to examine the modalities, applicable international standards and comparative experience on how to provide accountability for reported violations of international humanitarian law and advice him how to proceed with the accountability process. This report that was presented to the Sri Lankan Government prior to its intended release to the public is reported to have been leaked by a government official aimed possibly to trigger opposition to the report from Sri Lanka’s allies.
The Sri Lankan government had earlier responded to the report by calling it "fundamentally flawed" and "biased". A foreign ministry official confirmed to AFP that the leaked document was genuine. The UN spokesperson for the UNSG had expressed regret over the leaking of the report to the media.
The newspaper quoted the report as saying, "the Panel found credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law were committed both by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Among those alleged crimes were "(i) killing of civilians through widespread shelling; (ii) shelling of hospitals and humanitarian objects; (iii) denial of humanitarian assistance; (iv) human rights violations suffered by victims and survivors of the conflict, including both IDPs and suspected LTTE cadre; and (v) human rights violations outside the conflict zone, including against the media and other critics of the Government," the leaked text said. The report also rapped UN political bodies for not doing enough to protect civilians during the final stages of the brutal war.
The UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka at the time of Sri Lanka’s last phase of the war, Gorden Weiss in an interview to the British Channel 4 TV on 16 April 2011 had said that the death toll of the civilians could be “shockingly high.” “I believe a modest estimate of the number of civilians [killed] is probably 20-40,000. Others have said the figures may well be far higher” said Mr Weiss.
Reacting to the contents of this report, Professor Boyle, expert in International Law, and Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law has called for the support to the recommendation in the report that U.N. Secretary General set up an International Commission of Inquiry on Sri Lanka to investigate the government of Sri Lanka for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Tamil people by reference to and in accordance with, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Given that the war crime allegations directed against the Sri Lankan government and its armed forces are credible, the Sri Lankan President appointed local Lessons Learnt and Recociliation Commission (LLRC) has now, no credibility. AFTA strongly feels that the UNSG has to now either ask the Security Council to request the ICC to initiate its own investigations or appoint a Special War Crimes Tribunal for Sri Lanka, similar to the one created for the former Yugoslavia. AFTA appeals to the UN Member Nations, Australian and New Zealand governments in particular, to persuade the UNSG to take immediate action on this matter to bring the perpetrators of the war crimes and crimes against humanity to book. AFTA also calls upon the independent media to give prominance to this matter in the days and weeks to come to mount pressure on the member nations of the UN to render justice to the victims and help restore rule of law, normalcy, dignity and peace for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439
Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web: www.tamil.org.au |
|
Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 09:16 |
|
|
On the Official Release of the Report of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Panel on Sri Lanka |
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, 27 April 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 19 April 2011
On the Official Release of the Report of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Panel on Sri Lanka The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil Associations in Australia and New Zealand welcomes the official release of the above report by the United Nations on Monday 25 April. AFTA earlier appealed to the UN Secretary General (UNSG) to release the report in full without further delay, to end Sri Lanka’s partial release of the report and the mischievous media speculations that followed.
AFTA is satisfied to see that the three member panel has said in its report that there were "credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity". AFTA is also contended that the panel in their report has urged the Sri Lankan Government (SLG) to acknowledge formally and in public its responsibility for the extensive civilian casualties in the final stages of the conflict.
AFTA, whilst welcoming the panel’s recommendation that the Sri Lankan government should respond to the serious allegations "by initiating an effective accountability process beginning with genuine investigations" which would meet international standards, wishes to register its grave doubts on SLG taking any genuine effort on this matter. The blatant failure of the several commissions of inquiry appointed by the SLG in the past to investigate crimes committed by its security forces and that of the latest Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), stand testimony for this pessimism.
The SLG had earlier dismissed the report handed to them for their review as "fundamentally flawed" and "biased". Subsequently their foreign miniser Hon. G. L Peiris had asked the United Nations system to consider “whether this report will be useful. Is it going to contribute to the building up of national unity? Or will it do the opposite, really to accentuate differences, bitterness, acrimony? Which are the many things that we want to get away from.” But the past experience gained from many conflicts around the globe including in South Africa shows that genuine reconciliation can be achieved only through establishing the truth, acknowledging wrong doings, bringing perpetrators to books, compensating the victims and implementing a lasting political solution and not through sweeping the crimes under the carpet as Hon. Peiris wants.
AFTA is encouraged by the decision of the UNSG to respond positively to the Panel's recommendation for a review of the United Nations' actions regarding the implementation of its humanitarian and protection mandates during the war in Sri Lanka – particularly in the last stages.
AFTA is disappointed by the UN statement that “in regard to the recommendation that he establish an international investigation mechanism, the Secretary-General is advised that this will require host country consent or a decision from Member States through an appropriate intergovernmental forum.” This means the Security Council, General assembly or the UN Human Rights Council only can initiate such an International investigation mechanism. However AFTA wishes to point out that whilst the UN Charter describes the UNSG as "chief administrative officer" of the Organization, the Charter also empowers the Secretary-General to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”.
AFTA is also encouraged by the recent Security Council decision to be more proactive in the name of human rights, authorising military intervention in Libya to protect civilians.
AFTA therefore appeals to the UNSG to bring this matter to the urgent attention of the UNSC and urges the UN member nations, especially the power wielding nations in the UNSC, US, Britain, France, Russia and China to help the UNSG to implement the panel’s recommendation to bring sustainable reconciliation and lasting peace and prosperity in Sri Lanka.
Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439
Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web: www.tamil.org.au |
|
Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 09:12 |
|
Tamil parliamentarian narrowly escapes Assassination |
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 10 March 2011
Tamil parliamentarian narrowly escapes Assassination
The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil associations in Australia and New Zealand, condemns in the strongest term the assassination attempt on Mr. Sivagnanam Sritharan, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian from Northern Sri Lanka.
Mr. Sritharan told Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (ATBC) - a 24 hour Radio broadcasting from Sydney - on Tuesday night that he narrowly escaped from a group of attackers who lobbed two hand grenades targeting his vehicle and fired at the vehicle using pistols from behind at Nochchiyaagama in the north central Anuradhapura district on Monday 7 March. When he was attacked, the parliamentarian was on his way from north to Colombo in the south to attend the Tuesday’s sittings of the Sri Lankan Parliament. “The armed men fled the site when my security guard opened fire in self-defence”, the parliamentarian told the ATBC radio from Colombo by telephone. According to the police in Anuradhapura district, no one was hurt in the attack and the shaken parliamentarian was escorted by them to the capital Colombo.
His party colleague in parliament and the General Secretary of TNA, Mr. Senathirasa has told that this attack on the parliamentarian has been carried out as a threat to silence Tamils’ democratic voice. If the perpetrators of this dastardly act are not identified and dealt with, it will be construed as the government is accepting responsibility for this crime, he added.
Even after this attempt on his life, Mr. Sritharan declared publicly on Tuesday that his constituents are being photographed and forced to register with the military, despite the fact that there was a court ruling that it is illegal for the military to be involved in such activities.
AFTA feels that the experience Mr. Sritharan has just gone through on Monday could be the beginning of a new series of assassinations of democratically elected Tamil leaders to undermine Tamil voice seeking a just political solution to the long standing ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It should be noted that after Mr. Rajapakse took over the presidency, three Tamil parliamentarians were killed in cold blood and the perpetrators of these crimes are yet to be brought to justice.
In a written statement to the sixteenth session of the Human Rights Council (28 February – 25 March 2011) the Amnesty International has pointed out that “Sri Lanka’s human rights record has not improved since Amnesty International last addressed this Council in May 2010. Impunity persists for past violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law, and new and serious violations of human rights continue to be reported.” The full AI statement can be accessed at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA37/002/2011/enAFTA
AFTA calls on all the Australian and New Zealand parliamentarians and the governments to condemn this terror tactic outright and bring pressure on the Sri Lankan authorities to identify and bring to books the perpetrators of this crime.
Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439
Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web: www.tamil.org.au |
|
Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 09:34 |
|
