Focus on Sri Lanka Action

At last night's Group 133 meeting a Group 133 member and GOTB coordinator gave a presentation detailing the GOTB 2011 Sri Lanka action, including the actions "asks," the current situation in Sri Lanka and background and history regarding the 30 year civil war.

Some History:

Sri Lanka is an island nation off the southeastern coast of India. The island was occupied for some 2,000 years by the neighboring Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms, but like many of the island's neighbors, Sri Lanka (or Ceylon, as it was then known), eventually came under the influence of European colonial powers. The Portuguese arrived in the early 1500s, then the Dutch in the 17th Century, and eventually the British annexed the territory in the 1800s. After World War II, during the decline of colonialism, Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, however, the island which had traditionally been ruled by separate kingdoms, was now under one government, the majority of which was Sinhalese.

Independence:
A pattern of Sinhalese discrimination against the Tamil majority began early in the newly independent nation. In 1949, Sinhalese began colonization of Tamil territories in the north and east of the island, in 1956, the government named Sinhalese the sole, official language of the country. In 1970, the government began a policy of "ethnic standardization," severely limiting access to higher education for Tamil students. By this time, peaceful protests and demonstrations of Tamil people were met with violence by the government. During the 1970s and 80s, Tamil militant groups began forming, most notably, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or "Tamil Tigers." While the Tamil Tigers primarily targeted Sinhalese military targets, they also conducted targeted political killings, even killing Tamil government officials or academics they considered to be "traitors" to the Tamil cause.

Civil War:
Between 1983 and 2009, the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government battled while civilians were often caught in the crossfire. Both sides are accused of committed war crimes, particularly during the final stages of the war in 2009. These include the use of child soldiers and attacks on civilians by the Tamil Tigers, and extra-judicial executions, carpet bombing and indiscriminate massacres of civilians and Tamil fighters by the Sri Lankan government. Ultimately, the war left up to 40,000 civilians dead and some 300,000 people displaced.

"The war has ended - not the conflict."
Although the Sri Lankan government militarily defeated the Tamil Tigers in 2009, troubles continue for the Sri Lankan people.  A climate of repression continues in the country, particularly for journalists; politically motivated killings continue with no investigations. Humanitarian NGOs are very restricted in their work: the Red Cross is restricted from working in the north, and other NGOs are allowed only to deliver material goods and restricted from provided psychological support, community rebuilding, addressing women's needs or searching for missing persons.

GOTB 2011 Sri Lanka Action:
The 2011 Get On The Bus Sri Lanka Action will call on the UN to launch an investigation into war crimes committed during the civil war by both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).

The pressure for an investigation into war crimes is high right now, making a GOTB action on this issue all the more relevant. Pressure is especially high after the release of an execution video in November of last year.

As I posted in my December 28 post, there is currently a three-person panel investigating alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the war. This panel will report back to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with their recommendations for possible future actions.

For more information:

• International Crisi Group - Sri Lanka
• Amnesty International USA - Sri Lanka (lots of resources and action information)
• Human Rights Watch - Sri Lanka (news and downloadable PDF reports)
• UNHCR - Sri Lanka country profile
• UN Human Rights Commission - Sri Lanka
• The ICRC in Sri Lanka
• WFP - Sri Lanka
• BBC News - Country Profile: Sri Lanka
• CBC News - The History of Sri Lanka 
• Reporters without Borders | Reporters Sans Frontières - Sri Lanka
• Committee to Protect Journalists - Sri Lanka

GOTB Action 2011: Sri Lanka

At our upcoming Group 133 meeting, one of our members will be providing more information about our Get On The Bus 2011 Sri Lanka action. The planned action will have activists demonstrating outside the UN building in New York, calling on the United Nations and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to conduct an independent investigation into war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan civil war by both the Sri Lankan security forces and the Tamil Tigers.

If you saw my December 28 post, or follow this issue closely, you know that there is a possibility the UN may decide to conduct an investigation on their own, before the April 8 event. Naturally, we'll be very pleased if this happens, but it will also mean that we'll have to shift our focus for Get On The Bus. Should this be the case, we will demonstrate outside the Sri Lankan Mission to the UN and call on the government of Sri Lanka to protect the freedom of expression of journalists working in the country.

From the AI USA Sri Lanka country page:

In recent years, outside the conflict zone, journalists and other media workers have been attacked. At least 14 media workers have been the victims of unlawful killings since the beginning of 2006; one has allegedly disappeared in the custody of the security forces, while others have been tortured and arbitrarily detained. Emergency regulations issued by the Sri Lankan President have been used to silence critical media and generally violate freedom of expression in Sri Lanka, including through detention without charge or trial for periods lasting up to 18 months.

One of 2010's GOTB actions - and subsequent successes! - included calling for the immediate and unconditional release of J.S. Tissainayagam, or "Tissa," a Sri Lankan journalist who was arrested in 2008 for writing two articles which criticized the Sri Lankan governments conduct during the war with the Tamil Tigers.

Sri Lanka's Ghosts
from Human Rights Watch on YouTube:
(a bit dated, but gives a good sense of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka)




Refugees flee Sri Lanka "safe zone" - May 2009
Al Jazeera English on YouTube




More information:

• AI USA - Sri Lanka (lots of great resources and introductory information)
• Human Rights Watch - Sri Lanka (several downloadable PDF reports and other resources)
• International Crisis Group - Sri Lanka (information about war crimes committed in Sri Lanka)
• Reporters without Borders | Reporters Sans Frontières - Sri Lanka

The next AI Local Group 133 meeting will be Tuesday, January 11 at 7p.m. at the AI Northeast Regional Office in Davis Square at 58 Day Street, Suite 409.