"Internment Camps" in Sri lanka
Fleeing Tamils Civilians are escorted to so called "refugee camps" surrounded by
barbed wire and loaded guns
"Sri Lanka plans to hold displaced
Tamils in 'concentration camps'"
Daily Telegraph, UK
"Barbed wire villages raise fears
of refugee concentration camps"
Times, UK
"Meanwhile, there are official reports that several "welfare villages" have been
established to house displaced Tamils in Vavuniya and Mannar districts.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, these villages "will be compulsory
holding centres for all civilians fleeing the fighting.""
Arundhati Roy
Indian novelist and human rights activist
Sri Lanka is the tear drop Island right below India. The ethno-religious mix of
Sri Lanka, with 20 million people, consists of ethnic Sinhalese (74%), Tamils (18%)
in two groups (ethnic Tamils, 12.5%, and the plantation, or Indian, Tamils, 5.5%)
and Moors (6.5%).
The Sinhalese and Tamils had their own independent states for over 2000 years until
1833 in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon). However, under the British colonial ruling,
these two states were combined for administrative convenience, essentially making
Tamils “minority” in the Island.
Once the British left in 1948, the Sinhalese chauvinism was promoted by the Sinhalese
politicians and Buddhists monks & leaders, who campaigned for “This Island only
belongs to Sinhalese” mentality. Consequently, the Sri Lankan elected governments
had oppression of Tamils as one of their main agenda to secure votes from the 75%
Sinhalese majority.
TAMIL REFUGEES SINCE 1948
There have been many violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
by the Sri Lankan Government(s). Violations regarding refugees are listed here:
- 1956 The “Sinhala Only” Act was passed in the Sri Lankan
Parliament. This Act made Tamils as second class citizens in the island. Tamils
staged peaceful protests in Colombo and Gal Oya. 150 Tamils were burnt or hacked
to death; 20 Women were raped; 3000 were made refugees and their properties were
looted by Sinhala mobs. (Violation of UDHR article - 2, 3, 5, 12, 17 )
- 1958 Anti Tamil riots in Sinhala areas. Massacre of Tamils,
looting of their properties, setting fire to their houses. 25,000 Tamils were made
refugees; 500 Tamils were burnt or hacked to death; 200 Women were raped and Tamil
properties were looted or destroyed by Sinhala mobs. (Violation of UDHR articles
– 2, 3, 5, 12, 17)
- 1983 The Government masterminded anti-Tamil riots in July
83. 250,000 Tamils were made refugees; 2,500 Tamils were burnt or hacked to death;
500 Women were raped; (Violation of UDHR articles - 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14,
17, 23, 24, 25, 26)
- 1984 - To date Tamils living in the North-East were arrested,
tortured and killed. Women were raped, many disappeared. Tamil properties were looted
or destroyed by the Sri Lankan security forces.
WHAT TAMILS HAVE LOST SO FAR?
What Tamils have lost so far in the ethnic cleansing in Sri Lanka:
- 0ver 100,000 lives; many of whom were tortured, and raped
before death
- 500,000 permanent IDPs
- Over 2500 culturally valuable building were intentionally
destroyed
- 500,000 driven out to foreign countries
Sri Lankan government has decided to deliver all-military-solution to Tamils’ aspiration
to live freely in Sri Lanka. In doing so, it has systematically corned over 200,000
Tamils civilians along with the rebel force, LTTE, in to tiny strip of land. Shelling,
bombing and shooting are targeted the Tamils civilians in the so called “safety
zone” of the Sri Lankan Government. The government has banned food or medicine in
to the “safety zone” subjecting 200,000 Tamils civilians to starvation and death.
The Sri Lanka Army has been escorting fleeing Tamils civilians to interim camps
with barbed wire control and Sri Lankan Army surveillance.
Closer to 200,000 Tamils civilians of the “safety zones” are to be restrained in
these “welfare villages” for 3 years, according to the Sri Lankan Government.
Already constrained 35,000 Tamil refugees are subjected to regular torture, rape
and shooting by the Sri Lankan Army and the paramilitary forces, reported by Medico
International quoting Human Rights activist Thomas Seibert.
SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT REFUSES ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Sri Lankan government has decided to carry out the systematic annihilation of Tamils
under the heavy veil of media ban and absence of international monitoring.
No journalists are allowed to report on the current war or the refugee camps. There
have been 14 journalists killed in last 3 years.
“The lack of credible investigations into these crimes is in keeping with a long
history of impunity for those who attack journalists in Sri Lanka. With a failure
to investigate and a realistic suspicion that government actors are complicit in
the violence against journalists, the time has come for the international community
to act.”
Committee to Protect Journalists
Foreign aid agencies are denied visas to enter Sri Lanka.
UN has been denied access to its own workers came out from the “safety zone”; these
workers are also restrained in an interim camp setup by the government. UN’s repeated
requests to visit the Tamils’ regions and refugee camps have also been denied.
Absence of UN monitoring, foreign aid agencies and independent media will permit
the Sri Lankan Government to orchestrate torture, rape and killings in these “refugee
camps” without reservation.
Sri Lankan Government’s indisposition to discuss a political long-term solution
to Tamils in Sri Lanka will destroy these Tamils refugees’ future and make them
permanent IDPs in Sri Lanka, unless the international community takes a firm stance
against Sri Lanka.
"Many are tortured or simply shot in the refugee camps. There are also reports of
regular rapes,"
Medico International
Quoting Human Rights activist,
Thomas Seibert
