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Stop the Sri Lankan genocide of the Tamil people

lily | 25.04.2009 22:30 | Anti-militarism | Repression | Terror War | Cambridge | South Coast

Come and support the continuous peaceful protest calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the Sri Lankan genocide of the Tamil people. Support the hunger striker Prarameswaran Subramaniam, 28, who has refused food and has had little water since 7th April. Do not ignore this genocide!

What`s happening to the Tamil people in Sri Lanka?
The Sri Lankan Government is currently engaged in the ethnic cleansing of the Tamil minority and the International Community is just turning a blind eye. A war that most people don't even know about , a war not so different to Vietnam, the bombing of innocent civilians, schools, temples, orphanages, refugee camps and hospitals.

Since the beginning of 2009, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, thousands of Tamil civilians have been killed and injured in a so called "safe zone" due to bombing and shelling by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.

The British Government has to take responsibility for their part in the roots of this conflict. Sri Lanka was occupied by the British in 1796 who took Tamils from India as slaves and operated the classic `divide and rule` by treating the Sri Lankans better than the Tamils. When Sri Lanka finally got independence in 1948, the Sri Lankan government continued to treat the Tamil minority as second class citizens and started the `ethnic cleansing` that we are still witnessing today. The British have also supplied weapons and support to the Sri Lankan Army.

The Government of Sri Lanka has removed all International Volunteer Organizations out of northern region where the conflict is taking place. As the Government does not allow any International Media into the area, there are NO WITNESSES of the ongoing Genocide and the unfolding Humanitarian crisis. The Sri Lankan Government is currently using food, water and medicine as a weapon of war against the Tamils.
Over 250 000 Tamil civilians have been squeezed into a very small area due to the recent government military offensive. Many people are without shelter, food, water and have inadequate medical supplies.

What`s happening in London?
For nearly three weeks people have been peacefully protesting in Parliament Square and calling on the British Government to act before its too late. Please come and support the continuous protests calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the Sri Lankan genocide of the Tamil people.
Most of his family have been killed by the Sri Lankan army. His demands are for an immediate and permanent ceasefire by the government troops, the LTTE and any others engaged in military action in Sri Lanka. He also calls for Sri Lanka to allow the UN, the Red Cross and international media access to all parts of the country.

What can you do?
Write to your MP- www.writetothem.com asking them to sign the Early Day Motion 1311 and call for the British Government to act immediately in securing a ceasefire.
Spread the word to friends and family
Join any protests happening locally

More information about the humanitarian situation can be found at
www.act-now.info/Site/HOME.html

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly deplored the mounting civilian death toll - which he said included many children. Speaking in Geneva, the ICRC's head of operations for South Asia, Jacques de Maio, said the civilian population was paying the price for the conflict.

Unicef Sri Lanka spokesman James Elder said" the reports we are receiving show an increasing number of children have been injured and killed in the past week".

"I have seen some of these injuries - babies with shrapnel wounds, gun shot injuries and blast wounds; children whose mothers' last act was to cover their bodies and take the force of the shelling."

"The (government-designated) no-fire zone is believed to be very squalid and overcrowded and the UN has received information that people are dying from lack of food.

"The conditions there could lead to outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever and measles, and a chicken pox outbreak has already been reported."

James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch, said: "This 'war' against civilians must stop. Sri Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones and slaughtering the civilians there."

lily

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