Remember the disappeared in Sri Lanka

Today, Aug. 30, is the International Day of the Disappeared, observed by Amnesty International and other human rights groups around the word to remember the disappeared and to press for justice for the victims of enforced disappearance and their families.  An “enforced disappearance” occurs when agents of the state arrest a person and the state then denies any knowledge of the person’s status or whereabouts.  Over the past several decades, Sri Lanka has experienced tens of thousands of enforced disappearances, most of which remain unresolved.  Most of those responsible for these enforced disappearances have never been held accountable.  Please remember the disappeared today, especially those in Sri Lanka, and help to get the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance adopted.

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21 thoughts on “Remember the disappeared in Sri Lanka

  1. I do admire the PROFESSIONALISM of many journalists of the leading media AND THE EXPERTS who reviewed the GSP+ for Sri Lanka. The underestimation of the barbarism of Sri Lankan State Terrorism is also quite understandable since neither independent media nor independent aid agencies are allowed to the war zone even after many months of the "victorious ending " of the war. Knowing the environment of these journalists and experts, one cannot expect even their imaginative minds to extrapolate and reach the conditions in Sri Lanka unlike those of us who suffered at the hands of GOSL. So I salute the journalists and experts for saying the truth as they see it and my feelings are like the praise by Karl Marx of the British Professional Class of his times. I have reasons to believe that the Professional Class of UK in particular and the West in general continue to exercise their independence. BUT LIKE MARX, I am not an apologist of the RULING CIRCLES. For that matter, the ruling circles of Sri Lanka's new friends are no better. Who would expect China to follow Mao's Thinking? The Ruling circles of the world believe that the continuation of the PRESENT WORLD ORDER is in their interests AND DO NOT CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, NOR ABOUT THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLES, and NOR ABOUT THE WORSENING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. The GSP+ was to have been reviewed long before the war against LTTE was scorching up BUT the ruling circles of Europe who preferred the destruction of the LTTE (not because it was a terrorist organization but because it was a liberation force) continued with the GSP+ PENDING REVIEW while banning the LTTE and coercing the Tamil Diaspora in so many ways. The story is same with all the Western governments. I know of a Foreign Minister who would not open his mouth against Sri Lanka but demanding that the Diaspora to restrain the LTTE! I will not be surprised if the GSP+ follows the same route as the IMF loan. Now what is happening in Sri Lanka is a scramble to share the spoils by the powers of the WORLD and IMF loans, GSP+ and the like are tools in this game. None of these powers are concerned about the human rights of the prisoners of war behind neither the barbed wires nor the Tamils living in the open prisons of the Tamil homeland

  2. The AIADMK(India) threatened to launch a mass agitation along with like-minded parties if the Union ( Indian) government failed to press the international community to force the Sri Lankan government to put an end to the (Human) rights violations against Tamils on its land.

    In a statement here, party general secretary J Jayalalithaa said that the AIADMK and people of Tamil Nadu expect the Centre to raise its voice against the human rights violations in the refugee camps in Sri Lanka.

    If the Centre does not act immediately, “the AIADMK, along with like-minded political parties, will be forced to launch a mass agitation to focus world vision on the brutal civil liberties violations in Sri Lanka.”

    The former chief minister said “The gruesome footage, reportedly filmed by a soldier on a mobile phone camera, reinforces my earlier claim that civil liberties are non-existent in Sri Lanka and that the Tamil population there is subject to barbaric atrocities at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army.”

    “Sri Lanka claims to be a democratic country, where the rule of law prevails. No democracy sanctions this sort of summary mass execution, where human dignity is wantonly trampled upon,” she added.

    “Even assuming that the persons being shot dead in the footage telecast were LTTE activists, executing them summarily without a trial is barbaric, inhuman and contrary to civilized norms. It also violates international law relating to treatment of prisoners of war.”

    Slamming the DMK government, she said “As such, the AIADMK does not expect the DMK government to even make a whimper of protest against the atrocities being perpetrated upon the Tamil people.”
    http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Tit

  3. I do admire the PROFESSIONALISM of many journalists of the leading media AND THE EXPERTS who reviewed the GSP+ for Sri Lanka. The underestimation of the barbarism of Sri Lankan State Terrorism is also quite understandable since neither independent media nor independent aid agencies are allowed to the war zone even after many months of the “victorious ending ” of the war. Knowing the environment of these journalists and experts, one cannot expect even their imaginative minds to extrapolate and reach the conditions in Sri Lanka unlike those of us who suffered at the hands of GOSL. So I salute the journalists and experts for saying the truth as they see it and my feelings are like the praise by Karl Marx of the British Professional Class of his times. I have reasons to believe that the Professional Class of UK in particular and the West in general continue to exercise their independence. BUT LIKE MARX, I am not an apologist of the RULING CIRCLES. For that matter, the ruling circles of Sri Lanka’s new friends are no better. Who would expect China to follow Mao’s Thinking? The Ruling circles of the world believe that the continuation of the PRESENT WORLD ORDER is in their interests AND DO NOT CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, NOR ABOUT THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLES, and NOR ABOUT THE WORSENING PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. The GSP+ was to have been reviewed long before the war against LTTE was scorching up BUT the ruling circles of Europe who preferred the destruction of the LTTE (not because it was a terrorist organization but because it was a liberation force) continued with the GSP+ PENDING REVIEW while banning the LTTE and coercing the Tamil Diaspora in so many ways. The story is same with all the Western governments. I know of a Foreign Minister who would not open his mouth against Sri Lanka but demanding that the Diaspora to restrain the LTTE! I will not be surprised if the GSP+ follows the same route as the IMF loan. Now what is happening in Sri Lanka is a scramble to share the spoils by the powers of the WORLD and IMF loans, GSP+ and the like are tools in this game. None of these powers are concerned about the human rights of the prisoners of war behind neither the barbed wires nor the Tamils living in the open prisons of the Tamil homeland

  4. The AIADMK(India) threatened to launch a mass agitation along with like-minded parties if the Union ( Indian) government failed to press the international community to force the Sri Lankan government to put an end to the (Human) rights violations against Tamils on its land.

    In a statement here, party general secretary J Jayalalithaa said that the AIADMK and people of Tamil Nadu expect the Centre to raise its voice against the human rights violations in the refugee camps in Sri Lanka.

    If the Centre does not act immediately, “the AIADMK, along with like-minded political parties, will be forced to launch a mass agitation to focus world vision on the brutal civil liberties violations in Sri Lanka.”

    The former chief minister said “The gruesome footage, reportedly filmed by a soldier on a mobile phone camera, reinforces my earlier claim that civil liberties are non-existent in Sri Lanka and that the Tamil population there is subject to barbaric atrocities at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army.”

    “Sri Lanka claims to be a democratic country, where the rule of law prevails. No democracy sanctions this sort of summary mass execution, where human dignity is wantonly trampled upon,” she added.

    “Even assuming that the persons being shot dead in the footage telecast were LTTE activists, executing them summarily without a trial is barbaric, inhuman and contrary to civilized norms. It also violates international law relating to treatment of prisoners of war.”

    Slamming the DMK government, she said “As such, the AIADMK does not expect the DMK government to even make a whimper of protest against the atrocities being perpetrated upon the Tamil people.”
    http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Tit

  5. The AIADMK(India) threatened to launch a mass agitation along with like-minded parties if the Union ( Indian) government failed to press the international community to force the Sri Lankan government to put an end to the (Human) rights violations against Tamils on its land.

    In a statement here, party general secretary J Jayalalithaa said that the AIADMK and people of Tamil Nadu expect the Centre to raise its voice against the human rights violations in the refugee camps in Sri Lanka.

    If the Centre does not act immediately, “the AIADMK, along with like-minded political parties, will be forced to launch a mass agitation to focus world vision on the brutal civil liberties violations in Sri Lanka.”

    The former chief minister said “The gruesome footage, reportedly filmed by a soldier on a mobile phone camera, reinforces my earlier claim that civil liberties are non-existent in Sri Lanka and that the Tamil population there is subject to barbaric atrocities at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army.”

    “Sri Lanka claims to be a democratic country, where the rule of law prevails. No democracy sanctions this sort of summary mass execution, where human dignity is wantonly trampled upon,” she added.

    “Even assuming that the persons being shot dead in the footage telecast were LTTE activists, executing them summarily without a trial is barbaric, inhuman and contrary to civilized norms. It also violates international law relating to treatment of prisoners of war.”

    Slamming the DMK government, she said “As such, the AIADMK does not expect the DMK government to even make a whimper of protest against the atrocities being perpetrated upon the Tamil people.”
    http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Tit

  6. The AIADMK(India) threatened to launch a mass agitation along with like-minded parties if the Union ( Indian) government failed to press the international community to force the Sri Lankan government to put an end to the (Human) rights violations against Tamils on its land.

    In a statement here, party general secretary J Jayalalithaa said that the AIADMK and people of Tamil Nadu expect the Centre to raise its voice against the human rights violations in the refugee camps in Sri Lanka.

    If the Centre does not act immediately, “the AIADMK, along with like-minded political parties, will be forced to launch a mass agitation to focus world vision on the brutal civil liberties violations in Sri Lanka.”

    The former chief minister said “The gruesome footage, reportedly filmed by a soldier on a mobile phone camera, reinforces my earlier claim that civil liberties are non-existent in Sri Lanka and that the Tamil population there is subject to barbaric atrocities at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army.”

    “Sri Lanka claims to be a democratic country, where the rule of law prevails. No democracy sanctions this sort of summary mass execution, where human dignity is wantonly trampled upon,” she added.

    “Even assuming that the persons being shot dead in the footage telecast were LTTE activists, executing them summarily without a trial is barbaric, inhuman and contrary to civilized norms. It also violates international law relating to treatment of prisoners of war.”

    Slamming the DMK government, she said “As such, the AIADMK does not expect the DMK government to even make a whimper of protest against the atrocities being perpetrated upon the Tamil people.”

    http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Jaya+threatens+massive+agitation&artid=ux2vdQtiHc4=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=AIADMK+general+secretary+J+Jayalalithaa

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