Case Update: Sri Lanka

From the Christian Science Monitor:

UN report faults Sri Lanka, Tamil Tigers over war conduct

A UN panel has found 'credible allegations' of war crimes committed by both sides as the long-running civil war drew to a close in May 2009.

April 19, 2011
Bangkok, Thailand

Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended nearly two years ago with the battlefield defeat of the Tamil Tigers.
  The panel’s findings contradict many of Sri Lanka’s assertions about the conduct of its troops, who are accused of deliberately shelling civilians caught in the war zone. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), whose leadership was wiped out at the end of the war in May 2009, is also cited for violations such as child recruitment and using civilians as human shields. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians trapped behind enemy lines may have died during the fighting.
  Sri Lanka’s government, which refused to cooperate with the panel, has already criticized its findings as “fundamentally flawed” and based on unverified claims. An executive summary of the report was leaked last week to a Sri Lankan newspaper after the UN sent a copy to the government.The panel’s findings contradict many of Sri Lanka’s assertions about the conduct of its troops, who are accused of deliberately shelling civilians caught in the war zone. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), whose leadership was wiped out at the end of the war in May 2009, is also cited for violations such as child recruitment and using civilians as human shields. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians trapped behind enemy lines may have died during the fighting.

Read the rest of the story here.

GOTB Celebrates Sweet 16! Part 2

After the morning speaker's panel, we broke for lunch and then reconvened outside of the Chad Mission to the United Nations to call on the Chadian government to protect Darfur refugees and IDPs living within their borders. The energy that students brought to the demonstrations was striking.

Photo: Scott Langley Photography.

From there, we moved to the Sri Lankan Mission to the UN to call for independent investigation of war crimes committed by both sides during the Sri Lankan Civil War. A number of passers-by seemed intrigued by the goings-on, and our student activists handed out flyers and information.

Photo: Kelly Turley.

Our Filep Karma action was an interesting one, as Dag Hammarskjold Plaza is apparently a popular demonstration spot on a Friday afternoon.

From Demotix.com:

New York -- three separate rallies, for three separate causes, came together at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza on Friday afternoon. 

Dozens of supporters showed up at 3pm for the Yemen/Libya rally, to show solidarity with the uprisings in those countries. An hour later, more than a hundred high school and college students marched in, part of Amnesty International's "Get on the Bus For Human Rights" program, supporting Filep Karma, a prisoner of conscience in Indonesia. These younger protesters had been bussed in from New England. 

Mixed in with the crowd, were 4 protesters who comprised a 'flash mob', rallying in support of the Goldstone Report, against Shimon Peres appearance at the UN. 

All three causes stood side by side, shared the space and the microphone and the media attention. There must be something in the air this spring.

The day concluded at the Chinese Mission to the UN, and through the rain, our demonstrators kept up their tireless energy, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen.

This was my first Get On The Bus, I've been looking forward to the event since November when I started working with Group 133. And although I woke up terribly sick on Saturday morning, I can say now (after a few days of antibiotics), that the experience was well worth all the work and even the maladies. The coordination team is an amazing group of people, taking time out of busy personal lives to pull this event together. The students and participants are equally inspiring with their creativity and energy during the event. And of course, the expert speakers and the success stories make the event well worth all the work.

Thanks to everyone who worked and participated to make Get On The Bus's Sweet Sixteen a smashing success!

Case Update: Sri Lanka

From amnestyusa.org:

US should investigate alleged war crimes by Sri Lankan President

20 January 2011

The United States should investigate Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on a surprise visit to the US this week, for his alleged role in perpetrating torture and war crimes, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

Mahinda Rajapaksa reportedly left Sri Lanka early Wednesday morning with a delegation of 20 bound for the US.

"The US has an obligation under international law to investigate and prosecute people who perpetrated war crimes and grave human rights violations such as extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director.

Mahinda Rajapaksa is commander in chief of Sri Lanka's armed forces, which face numerous allegations of war crimes, enforced disappearances, and torture.

Under international law, military commanders may face criminal responsibility if they knew, or should have known, of such crimes being committed by their subordinates.

The President's visit comes as a Panel of Experts appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon works on a report advising him on accountability issues in Sri Lanka.

Both Sri Lankan government forces and members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are accused of having committed war crimes in the final phase of the decades-long conflict.

Amnesty International has called for the UN to initiate an international investigation.

"Thousands of victims in Sri Lanka demand accountability for the abuses they've suffered from the Sri Lankan security forces as well as armed groups such as the LTTE," Sam Zarifi said.

In December Wikileaks exposed a secret US Embassy cable sent by Ambassador Patricia Butenis from Colombo in which she noted the difficulty of bring perpetrators of alleged crimes to justice when "responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa and his brothers ...."

Amnesty International said the US should further investigate these allegations and support calls for an international investigation into Sri Lanka's role in war crimes.

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.