Posts by pearlaction
Hunger strike ends, but horrific events continue
[Winchester Star] In the past week alone, there have been reports of the Sri Lankan government using white phosphorous-based combustible chemical bombs, on innocent Tamil civilians who are in their “safe zones”. These chemicals can burn away human flesh to the bone, and violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions…
Read MoreTamils set for Geneva mass march over Sri Lanka-UN
[Reuters] About 20,000 Tamils from across Europe are expected to protest in Geneva on Friday at Sri Lanka’s military offensive against Tamil rebels, the United Nations said on Thursday. Police in the Swiss city, which is home to the U.N. European headquarters and to many Tamil immigrants, said 200 buses from across Europe were expected…
Read MoreCMC urges Sri Lanka to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions
[Norwegian People’s Aid] In an open letter to president Mahinda Rajapaska the Cluster Munition Coalition urges Sri Lanka to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions…As you know some recent media coverage of the conflict between Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE focused on erroneous allegations of cluster munition use. As you are no doubt…
Read MoreUN chief in S Lanka civilian plea
[BBC] Visiting top UN humanitarian official John Holmes has urged Sri Lanka’s army and the Tamil Tigers to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. The government says the Tigers are using human shields, but the rebels say civilians are seeking their protection. This is Mr Holmes’s first visit since 2007 when his comment that…
Read MoreTamil killed himself ‘to guide others to liberation’
[Guardian.co.uk] His life had taken him from the northern tip of Sri Lanka to a pebble-dashed semi in north-west London and finally to a cold square in Geneva. But it is for his death that the 26-year-old Tamil, Murugathasan Varnakulasingham, is likely to be remembered. A little after eight o’clock last Thursday night, the computing…
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