Sri Lanka

Tony Iltis, Green Left Weekly
13 February 2010 -- Further evidence of the authoritarianism of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime came with the February 8 arrest of former general Sarath Fonseka, who had stood against Rajapaksa in the January 26 presidential elections.
The government has announced Fonseka will be tried by court martial for “military offences”, despite no longer being a serving officer.

Stu Harrison, Green Left Weekly
30 January 2010 -- Sri Lanka was guilty of crimes against humanity for their war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that concluded last May, a People’s Tribunal in Dublin on January 14-16 found.
The people’s court was organised by the Milan-based Permanent People’s Tribunal and hosted by the Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka.

Stu Harrison, Green Left Weekly
30 January 2010 -- Incumbent and Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa has won the January 26 presidential election, receiving 58% of votes cast.

An independent United Nations human rights expert said on January 7 there are strong indications that a video of alleged extrajudicial executions by Sri Lankan soldiers that aired last August on British television is authentic, a UN News Centre article said that day.

20 November 2009, Green Left Weekly

Ignoring calls from the Washington-based Human Rights Watch to tie the granting of further money to the Sri Lankan government to demands such as resettling the more than 250,000 Tamils imprisoned in detention camps, the International Monetary Fund has granted the regime a further $329.4 million.

By Tony Iltis & Stuart Munckton, Green Left Weekly
National Party leader Senator Barnaby Joyce has sought political capital by promoting an even harder line than the Rudd government on Tamil refugees. “Send the Oceanic Viking to Colombo and you will have made a strong statement”, Joyce told the Nine Network on November 8 about the 78 Tamil people refusing to leave the Australian custom ship to be imprisoned in Indonesia’s Tanjung Pinang Detention Centre.
“If we are going to have people in detention from Sri Lanka, then how about we have them in detention in Sri Lanka.”

By Raisa Wickrematunge
Thirty years ago, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was enacted in the Sri Lankan parliament. It was meant to be merely a “temporary” provision, to stamp out the encroaching terrorist menace.
Yet the PTA is still very much in force. Being convicted under the PTA carries a stigma with it, as clear as if a single, damning word were branded on the forehead: “Traitor.”

"The Tamil people are facing genocide... We cannot let them stand alone. Those who believe in social justice — political parties, trade unions, churches, social movements — must speak out against the atrocities occurring right now... The powerful have abandoned the Tamil people, it must be ordinary people all over the world who use their power to force action."

By G. Vickram/TNS
April 21, 2009: 1496 civilians including 476 of children were killed and 3333 more were injured including hundreds of children when indiscriminate rain of shells including cluster types of shells, Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher, long range gun fire, point blank firing and MI24 gunship firing by the Sri Lankan Security Forces (SF) hitting government announced "Safe Zone" in Mathalan and Ampalanpokanai area as SF forces using civilians in the area as human shield and advancing with full and relentless fire power in Mulaitivu area on Monday April 20, according to the civilian sources in Mulaitivu.

Tamil National, April 20: Sri Lanka army on full fire is pounding the safe zone with heavy weapons from today early morning. 985 were killed and another 1300 or more were injured in the onslaught. The severely wounded are expected to succumb to injuries due to no medical assistance, reports Tamil National Reporter today at 12:00 noon.
Sri Lanka Army’s move to take on safe zone has created catastrophe inside safe zone. The massive onslaught continues and Sri Lanka Army is using the people got trapped in Pokkanai as human shields. More bloodshed expected, if international community does not get in to action immediately.