Australians to vote on landmark Tamil Referendum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on 14 April 2010

Australians to vote on landmark Tamil Referendum

Thousands of Australians will convene on ballot boxes across the country this weekend to express their desire for an independent Tamil homeland.

Human rights advocates and political figures have thrown their support behind the initiative organised by the Tamil Referendum Council of Australia (TRCA) and based on the Vaddukoddai Resolution (VKR), a mandate for independence drafted in Sri Lanka in 1976 by Tamil leaders that was rejected by the Government and led to full scale civil war.

“The Australian government has done nothing to educate the public regarding the repression of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The VKR referendum can help raise awareness of the situation that the Tamils have faced for decades” said Ian Rintoul, head of the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC).

Over 10,000 voters have registered to vote, with thousands more to enrol in the coming days, according to CPI Strategic spokesperson Stephen Newnhman, a consultancy firm hired by the TRCA to co-ordinate the voting process.

Polling booths will be set up in locations across NSW, Victoria and Queensland on April 17 and 18 with large numbers of voters from other states to submit postal votes.

Pip Hinman, federal election candidate for Grayndler in NSW, described the event as an opportunity to “add to the pressure on the Australian government, which is currently turning a blind eye to the ongoing repression of the Tamil people”.

“Together, we must use these polls to push the Rudd government to break completely from the former Howard government's racist refugee policy in which Tamils (and others) are being denied their basic human rights,” Miss Hinman urged citing the recent political furore surrounding Tamil asylum seekers.

The referendum will be the first of its kind in the Southern-hemisphere, following democratically held referenda across Europe and Canada that have established an overwhelming mandate supporting the formation of a sovereign Tamil homeland in the island of Sri Lanka.

The event takes place almost a year since the Sri Lankan government launched a brutal campaign in the island’s North East, slaughtering up to 40,000 Tamil civilians en-route to a crushing defeat against Tamil Tiger rebels.

Seran Sribalan: 0406 123 503 www.vkr1976.com.au

Asylum seekers protest on Christmas Island

Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 12:07 AM
MEDIA RELEASE

MASS TAMIL ASYLUM SEEKER PROTEST HITS CHRISTMAS ISLAND

In scenes reminiscent of the early protests that rocked Woomera, Port Hedland and Baxter, under the Howard government, a mass protest by Tamil detainees at Christmas Island began at 4.30pm Christmas Island time, on Thursday, 27 January.

The protest is supported by all the Tamils detainees but, “We are hopeful that the Kurdish, Iranians and Arabs people will join us,” a Christmas Island detainee told the Refugee Action Coalition.

At 4.30 around 60 asylum seekers began marching around the path inside the detention with placards saying, “How Long Do we have to wait’, “Oceanic Viking 6 weeks, Christmas Island 6 months”, and “Protection Not Detention.”

The protest coincides wit h the visit to the island by Senator Fielding and Opposition spokesperson on immigration, Scott Morrison.

“People are sick and tired of waiting so long for their the applications to be processed. There are scores of Tamils now who have been waiting for six months and much longer. The government has no explanation for why Tamil asylum seekers are having to wait so long. As their placard says, processing on the Oceanic Viking was done in
six weeks, ” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“They are also angry at the people being charged for last year’s so-called riot and being put into the Red Compound management units.

“Australian of the year, Professor Patrick McGorry, was right when he called detention centres ‘factories for mental illness’ Perhaps Julia Gillard and Chris Evans will face up to the fact that Christmas Island is just as much a mental illness factory as Woomera or Baxter.

“There is no adequate torture and trauma counseling available and medication of the detainees is increasing. A government with a humane policy towards asylum seekers would close Christmas Island,” said Ian Rintoul.

There will be more protests in the days ahead. The detainees said they will maintain their protest “until we get answers.”

The protest also comes after detainees were told that under a new rule, management would no longer allow detainees to have mobile phones. Detainees in mainland detention centres are allowed to have mobile phones, and Christmas Island detainees have been allowed to have phones for months.

Meanwhile, it is expected that the two Australian refugee activists detained by Indonesian immigration authorities will return to Australian on Saturday morning. Tamil community activist, Sara Nathan will arrive in Sydney (Flight QF 042) at 7.40am. She will be available for media comment/interview at the airport.

For more information contact Refugee Action Coalition Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713

Regional left groups statement on Tamil refugees

Respect human rights - free the refugees!

A joint statement of: Socialist Alliance, Australia; Socialist Party (Australia); Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM); CWI Malaysia; Network of the Oppressed People (JERIT), Malaysia; Confederation Congress of Indonesian Union Alliance (KASBI); Working Peoples Association (PRP), Indonesia; National Liberation Party of Unity (PAPERNAS); Indonesian National Front for Labor Struggle (FNPBI); Socialist Worker - New Zealand

Reject Australia's 'Indonesian solution'
Australia should welcome the asylum seekers

All respect for elementary human rights and dignity have been thrown overboard as the governments of Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia refuse to accept the latest wave of Tamil asylum seekers fleeing war and oppression in Sri Lanka and instead treat them like criminals.

The Australian government is the only of these three governments to have signed the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees but it is refusing to carry out its obligations to asylum seekers under that convention.

For weeks, more than 250 Tamil-speaking people, including children, remain in dire conditions on a boat in Merak, Indonesia. Another 68 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers, including children, remain on the Australian customs ship Oceanic Viking off Tanjung Pinang, Indonesia. Both groups are refusing to leave their boats for fear that Indonesia will lock them up in detention centres with a reputation for brutality and/or send them back to an uncertain future in Sri Lanka. On November 1, it was reported that a boat of asylum seekers had sunk near the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, and 12 are missing feared drowned.

Meanwhile, 207 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers are being held at the Immigration Detention Centre at Kuala Lumpar International Airport, and 108 Sri Lankan refugees are being detained at Pekan Nanas Immigration Detention Centre in Johor, Malaysia. Malaysia is both a transit point and a country of permanent asylum for tens of thousands of refugees from countries such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Australian PM Kevin Rudd claims its policy is "humane" but "tough". It is neither. The Rudd Labor government of Australia is bribing the Indonesian government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intercept the boats of asylum seekers on their way to Australia. This "Indonesian solution" out-sources Australia's obligation to asylum seekers to Indonesia just as its predecessor did to Nauru and PNG in the name of a "Pacific solution".

Many of those seeking asylum in Australia come from Sri Lanka where the Tamils have suffered from decades of brutal oppression at the hands of various Sinhala national chauvinist governments. The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa unleashed an all-out terror campaign this year, killing some 20,000 Tamil people in the month of May. Since the end of the military offensive, more than 300,000 Tamil people have been imprisoned in concentration-style camps and denied the right to return to their homes. It is estimated that 31,000 children are among those incarcerated, without proper access to shelter, food and medicine.

The Australian government, like many governments in the West and across Asia, supported the Rajapaksa regime throughout its final onslaught preferring to maintain trade links, including selling arms, rather than stop the Tamil minority from being massacred.

We condemn the Australia, Indonesian and Malaysian governments for their lack of commitment to the humanitarian problems faced by the refugees and we demand:

• That the governments of our countries withdraw financial and diplomatic support from the Sri Lankan government until it closes the concentration camps, and allows the Tamils trapped in camps to go back to their homes without fear of persecution.
• That no refugee fleeing war and persecution should be forced to return to the country they fled.
• That Australia, as a wealthy and developed country which has exploited its poorer neighbours, should immediately develop a program to settle tens of thousands of asylum seekers and take a leading role in helping reduce the misery of the world's millions of refugees, most of whom are trying to survive in desperate conditions in refugee camps in some of the world's poorest countries.
• That Australia allow the asylum seekers trapped in Indonesia to come to Australia to have their claims heard here and we condemn the Indonesian government for being a puppet for the Australian government in preventing refugees from going to Australia. This cooperation between these two governments is a threat not only to the Tamil refugees but to human rights in the region.
• That Australia must immediately close the Christmas Island refugee prison, close it down and allow those asylum seekers to live in freedom in Australia while their claims are processed.
• That the Indonesian, Malaysian and Australian governments respect the human rights of the refugees, give protection, humanitarian aid and accomodation to the refugees as long as they are in Indonesian territory and place no limitation for their rights to seek an asylum.
• That the Malaysian and Indonesian governments sign the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, release the asylum seekers they have in detention and allow them full access to UNHCR and human rights groups.

We appeal to all democratic and progressive people in Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia, trade unions, human rights organisations and women's rights organisations to understand the plight of the asylum seekers and to support our demands.

November 5, 2009

[If your organisation would like to add its name to this statement, please write to the Socialist Alliance .]

Australian Tamil Congress: Our Crusade for Peace and Justice

In welcoming to its official homepage of The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), a national organization that has been set up to actively serve Australia’s Tamil community the founding member Dr. R T Rajeswaran states that as the unified voice of Australian Tamils, the ATC will avidly work to integrate various community service organizations and individuals across the states in an effort to better represent and serve the nationwide community. [Eelam Nation]

Our Crusade for Peace and Justice

An initial policy statement by the Australian Tamil Congress

Introduction

The need of the hour is for our people, in each and every country that we have taken refuge in throughout the world, to unite and form country organisations that can constructively engage in diplomatic political dialogue with the governments of those countries to bring peace, dignity and freedom to our people wherever they may reside.

Crisis

The immediate situation that needs to be resolved as a matter of prime urgency is the desperate plight of our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka. Here in Australia we must engage as Tamils with one voice, through political dialogue and awareness campaigns, with the Australian government, political leaders of every persuasion, trade unions, eminent Australians and the general public to bring to their attention the dire humanitarian, human rights and self sufficiency issues that the Tamils in Sri Lanka are now facing.

Upholding Human rights

This process of engagement must be a democratic one and as such we must unite and speak as one. The current plight of our people warrants that we must expeditiously explore all political avenues we can engage in to bring immediate relief and protection under international law and independent supervision, and guarantee the upholding of human rights for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

Global awareness of our conflict

The current problem we are facing with the International Community is twofold. Through lack of understanding of the problems the Tamils have faced in Sri Lanka since the country’s independence from Britain in 1948 many simply ignore the issue as unimportant. Others, who are perhaps better informed, nevertheless feel that their individual geopolitical interests will be better served by the current Sri Lankan Government, and as such raise no objection to what is happening.

Genocide

To begin with we must find out why we did not have one single friendly nation standing up for us, even with all the protests by our Diaspora throughout the world, during our time of desperate need and despair which unfortunately is still continuing without any signs of respite. It is our solemn duty to make sure that the International Community is made aware and then accepts that genocide of the Tamil People has taken place in Sri Lanka, and that ethnic cleansing of the areas traditionally occupied by the Tamil people was carefully orchestrated soon after independence and is being carried out at an even greater pace today than ever before. Families are being forcefully separated based on age and gender, our people are being abused and many go missing routinely. This is undoubtedly ethnic cleansing and must be stopped through the engagement of the International Community and the United Nations.

Importance of Tamil unity

We have no choice but to establish a single organisation that represents the political aspirations of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and speak for them as they have been made voiceless through harassment and imprisonment. This must be our top priority. The age old Tamil proverb “Adampan Kodium Thirandal Miduku” seems a very logical statement however somehow we are failing to grasp this concept which has been successfully embraced by those faced with similar situations in the past. We must start afresh with no baggage from the past.

Remember our heroes

Please do not forget our men and women who fought bravely to the end and effectively left us, the Tamil Diaspora, with a clean slate to work out, in our own way, how to carry on the struggle to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil people left in Sri Lanka. We must not desert them in their desperate hour of need and we cannot forget those heroes who laid down their lives so that we may lead a better life.

Australian Tamil Congress

Ideally we would like to unite all the existing Australian Tamil organisations, however, starting a fresh organisation with clearly stated political goals under one umbrella will help us move forward without any unwanted and unfair labels attached to it and this would also encourage all Tamil people to participate in a free and democratic manner. We appeal to you all to rid yourselves of all petty aspirations and think exclusively about our people in need who are voiceless and are looking to us for help. We must establish an inclusive single entity built from grassroots support through which everyone can make a statement. The time is right for such an organisation to be created and we are appealing for your support.

Need to prove

To this end we have formed the Australian Tamil Congress. We can and will make this Congress function effectively and thereby show the world that Tamils throughout Australia can unite and that they can be unselfish for the sake of their kith and kin languishing in concentration camps wondering “will our people ever come to our aid”.

Lead by example

If we in Australia can demonstrate that through unity we can move a mountain, then it is to be hoped that other Tamils living throughout the world will follow this example and collectively we can form a world body that will take care of the needs of all Tamils in the world.

Our Aim

The Australian Tamil Congress encourages the positive participation of Tamils in Australian society, highlights issues of importance to Tamils, upholds core Australian values and engages other communities, governments and organisations in addressing the socio-cultural and political concerns of Tamils.

Collective action

Through ‘Collective Global Tamil’ action it is hoped that an international Human Rights and Political Organisation can be established in the not too distant future to represent the voice of the Tamil people,

This organization will attempt to educate people on the Tamils’ right to survival and self-determination, and to promote the safety, welfare, and economic development of Tamils worldwide. It will also ensure that the genocide that has taken place in Sri Lanka is acknowledged by the International Community, that perpetrators are brought to justice and that future generations are never allowed to forget.

Make a Stand

On behalf of the Australian Tamil Congress, we invite you to join us and work with us to bring lasting justice and peace to our people. This work must start today; it cannot wait until tomorrow. Please join with us and make a difference and we shall rise from the ashes like the phoenix.

"You died when you refuse to stand up for right... You died when you refuse to stand up for truth... You died when you refuse to stand up for justice..."Martin Luther King Jr.

-Eelam Nation-

Tamils to mark Black Friday - Sydney

Friday 24th July 2009.
5 - 8pm.
Sydney Town Hall Square.

July 23rd 1983 marks a significant phase in the history of the Tamils. On this day, 3000 Tamil lives were taken, tens of thousands of houses were destroyed and many were forced to leave their homes to other countries. It is now 26 years on and the Tamils are still facing brutal genocide at the hands of the Sri Lankan government. 300 000 Tamils remain detained behind barbed wire in internment camps with no freedom of movement and minimal access to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing. The Sri Lankan government continues to play their propaganda and have denied aid agencies, media monitors and journalists access to these camps to cover up their atrocities.

Black July is a day of commemoration by Tamils all around the world and a day that remains implanted in the hearts of every single Tamil. In Sydney, Tamils will unite in Town Hall Square on Friday 24th July for a candle light vigil, as we stand together in solidarity and mourn the many lives we have lost on this Black Day.

When: Friday 24th July
Time: 5 – 8pm
Venue: Sydney Town Hall Square

Please wear something black/dark and warm clothing and bring your own candles if possible.

As we lament the lives of our fellow brethren, we shall remain unified and together we shall work for a brighter future for our people still trapped in the camps!!! Let us be one voice for the voiceless.

Please forward this to your family and friends.

New Pamphlet: The Tamil Freedom Struggle in Sri Lanka

The Tamil Freedom Struggle in Sri Lanka
Chris Slee, Brian Senewiratne, Vickramabahu Karunarathne
Published by Resistance Books
2009, 40pp, ISBN 978-1-876646-65-3, Pamphlet
$5.00

Ever since Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) gained independence from Britain in 1948, the basic rights of the Tamil minority have been under attack.

The ruling elite from the Sinhala majority have found anti-Tamil racism an extremely convenient device to secure their power and privilege and deflect discontent from below. The history of Sri Lanka is marked by a shameful and bloody series of government-instigated anti-Tamil pogroms.

The persecuted and besieged Tamils finally turned to armed struggle to secure independence or self-government in their traditional homeland areas. With the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the death of its main leaders, this phase appears to have come to an end.

The victory of the regime was made possible by the backing of the West and China. These governments — Australia included — all have blood on their hands.

Is the Sri Lankan regime going to continue with its Nazi-like ‘final solution’ or will the Tamils be offered some measure of autonomy? Now more than ever, the oppressed Tamil people need the solidarity of progressive forces around the world.

This pamphlet provides an essential background to the conflict from a socialist and Marxist viewpoint.

• Chronology of Key Events
• The Tamil Struggle in Sri Lanka by Chris Slee
• Sri Lanka: Genocide of the Tamil Minority by Brian Senewiratne
• Sri Lanka: A War on Tamils by Brian Senewiratne
• Genocide of Tamils & Atrocities in Sri Lanka While Australia Looks On by Brian Senewiratne
• Right of Self-determination of Ilankai Tamils by Vickramabahu Karunarathne

Published by Resistance Books. 40pp, $5. Available from your local Activist Centre, or online at www.resistancebooks.com

Police smash Tamil protest in Parramatta

Via Peter Boyle on the greenleft discussion list:

---

Yesterday the cops smashed up a Tamil community protest in Parramatta Mall. A young Tamil man, Sutha (27), who had begun a hunger strike at the May Day rally in Sydney on Sunday was dragged off in a paddy wagon then carted to prison where they tried to force him to eat, community activists say. The racist local Liberal mayor said to angry community members: "If you want to have a hunger strike go back to your own country and do it there".

On Monday night 150 Tamils and their supporters held a peaceful interfaith prayer service at Hyde Park, A huge squad of riot police also attended.

The cops are probably crook on the Tamils because they carried out a 1.5 hour sit in on George Street outside Sydney Town Hall last Friday night. http://fastuntoaction.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/sydney-protestors-block-george-street/

Another factor may be the recent pro-Sri Lankan military reporting by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Matt Wade, who seems to be embedded by in the Sri Lankan army carried out the genocide against the Tamils.
e.g. http://www.smh.com.au/world/kill-or-be-killed-11yearolds-forced-to-fight-for-tamil-tigers-20090504-asm4.html

So far Wade has not said much about the gross atrocities against the Tamils, e.g.
Channel 4 - Sexual abuse, Killings, Rotting bodies inside Sri Lankan camps. The civilians are not allowed to go back to their villages, and they are planned to be kept in these conditions for 3 years.

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_ politics/grim+scenes+at+sri+lankan+camps+/3126257 (exclusive videos taken)

Brisbane protest for Tamils

ASSEMBLE FRIDAY 5.15PM FOR 5.30PM MARCH, STATE PARLIAMENT (George St, City)
All those who stand for basic justice and equality are urged to join and support Brisbane's Tamil community as they march this Friday as part a global campaign to STOP THE RACIST GENOCIDAL SLAUGHTER OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE IN SRI LANKA

Rwanda, Sudan, and now Sri Lanka - again the world stands still in the face of genocide. Never again!

MARCH COMMENCES 5.30PM STATE PARLIAMENT, George St, City (outside QUT Gardens Point)

Please read the international appeal below.

Also see http://www.tamilnet.com/
SLA fired 5,600 shells within 15 hours
Unprecedented carnage unfolds in Vanni
US, UN & International Community facilitate genocide

April 24, 2009, Sri Lanka
An appeal to the international civil society to act immediately to prevent further destruction in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is in a dire situation that begs for the attention of the world community focused on it and for urgent action immediately followed to avoid further destruction.

Sri Lanka government backed by the Sinhala supremacist oppressors, has almost crushed the struggle of the Tamils for their rights, in order to retain the structure the Lankan state as a Sinhala chauvinist regime. For as much as a half a century, the Sinhala supremacist governments have repeatedly avoided granting the political rights of the national minorities within the post-colonial state structure. Instead, they pushed the Tamil minority to the wall through repeated pogroms and terror actions to repress latter's non-violent struggles to win their rights. Eventually this caused the upsurge of a ferocious armed struggle.

The government of Lanka manipulates the conceptual definition of

terrorism to legitimize repression of minority rights and to muster support of the global powers to crush the struggles for rights. In 2008, the government unilaterally revoked the cease fire and moved away from the peace process brokered under the patronage of the Co-chairs of the donor-community. In the process of total annihilation of the struggle of the Tamils for their democratic rights, the government banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and declared war against Tamil radicalism. The media access to the conflict zone was effectively blocked and later the government, ordered the humanitarian organizations as well to evacuate their offices, and expelled the international staff. At the peak of the siege, the state ordered the government health staff too to vacate the hospitals. All these measures were taken while carrying on a massive military onslaught via land, sea and air targeting the traditional dwellings of the Tamil people in Northern Province of Lanka.

People were uprooted from their dwellings and made internally displaced in multiple times.

Their houses were shelled and bombed, cultivations and other property were devastated and the entire environmental topography was demolished beyond repair. At the culmination of this military onslaught, the state urged the people to move into a government-designated no-fire zone in a small patch of land in an area where basic amenities were so scarce for such a massive population.

Later, the government repeatedly shelled and carpet bombed parts of the no-fire zone too in the guise of hunting terrorists. Now they have advanced into the no-fire zone naming the operation a 'hostage rescue mission' killing and miming thousands of civilians.

There are allegations that the government is using chemical weapons as well against the Tamil Tiger rebels disregarding the impact on the civilians huddled in the small area.

This warfare is totally against the accepted norms of war and the international law. Sri Lanka government denies these charges stating that the allegations are mere propaganda of the Tamil Tigers. Independent verification is impossible since free media and humanitarian organizations sans ICRC are blocked entry into the conflict zone.

The government has detained thousands of internally displaced civilians in heavily guarded concentration-styled camps in an environment of thoroughly restricted mobility. They call these places as 'welfare centers'. Even the UN agency staff members that have moved out of the no-fire zone are held in these camps in the guise of screening terrorists.

Several months back, the government submitted a proposal to embassies in Colombo seeking financial assistance to set up semi-permanent camps for 200,000 civilians for three years.

Thus this is not the first time. The government, in the recent past, during operations in the east, retained an area named Sampur in the Eastern Province without allowing the residents to resettle. Now the discussions are underway to set up a coal power plant in the lands of those residents without compensating them. Thus, there is a racially-oriented ploy to change the demography behind the devastation of the traditional lands of Tamils while holding them for a long period in concentration camps.

-We, representing the civil society of the island, extend our deepest regrets over the inaction and the silent approval given to Lankan regime by the international good governance systems like UN amidst these unfathomed crimes of Lankan rulers and their allies.

-We urge the international community, especially the international civil society not to allow Sri Lankan government, to manipulate the so-called fight against terrorism to win support of the UN and other authorities, and to continue with chauvinist state terrorism on the minority Tamil community.

-International community should urge authorities like UN and the donor forum of Sri Lanka to compel the government to stop war immediately and begin an internationally monitored peace process aimed at a sustainable solution to the dragging national problem of the country.

-The right of people to their traditional villages should be defended. Compensation should be paid for the damages done to their life and property and help must be given to reconstruct their lives.

-Immediately unblock the access of the media and the humanitarian organizations into the areas of the internally displaced and war affected people live, and guarantee their freedom of expression.

Signed by,

Dr. Vickramabahu Karunarathne

Prof. Sucharitha Gamlath

Prof. Jayantha Senewirathne

Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri

Dr. Terence Purasinghe

Chandrapala Kumarage (attorney at Law)

Servant Yohan Devananda

Patrick Fernando

Statement: Stop the Genocide Against the Tamils!

The statement below was initially circulated at the World at a Crossroads conference hosted by Green Left Weekly in Sydney, April 10-12. A selection of the much larger number of names that signed on are included below. To add your name to the statement, email stuartmunckton@gmail.com

Stop the Genocide Against the Tamils!

Participants at the World at a Crossroads conference, Sydney April 10-12, recognise the genocide being carried out against the Tamil people by the murderous Sri Lankan government. The genocidal policies of the Sri Lankan government are a continuation of over six decades of systematic discrimination carried out against the Tamil population.

The drive towards genocide of the Tamils has intensified since the Sri Lankan government abrogated the peace process in January 2008 and embarked on the reconquest of the island's north through brutal war with devastating consequences for Tamils.

The last few months has been particularly brutal. More than 3500 Tamil civilians have been killed in a space of three months by the Sri Lankan state offensive. Tamils fleeing the fighting are being herded into concentration camps.

According to the former Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka “A few months ago the government started registering all Tamils in Colombo on the grounds that they could be a security threat, but this could be exploited for other purposes like the Nazis in the 1930s. They’re basically going to label the whole civilian Tamil population as potential terrorists.”

Two hundred thousand Tamils are now facing starvation.

We believe people throughout the world must become more vocal against this genocide and protest governments that support the Sri Lankan government. Governments such as the United States, Israel, China, India and Pakistan have all equipped the Sri Lankan army with high technology weapons, including illegal chemical weapons and cluster munitions.

The undersigned participants call for:

- an immediate end to the Sri Lankan governments attacks on Tamils and for there to be an immediate ceasefire;
- that diplomatic, economic and cultural sanctions be applied till the Sri Lankan government agrees to an immediate ceasefire
- that all military aid and assistance from governments to the Sri Lankan government must end immediately, because the money is being used to perpetrate genocide;
- the IMF not to grant the Sri Lankan the use of $1.7 billion, as it will be used on military equipment to kill Tamil civilians;
- that governments of the worlds to recognize and give full citizenship rights to Tamil refugees who have had to flee to avoid the genocide;
- that the self determination of Tamils up to and including their right to form an independent state must be respected by the governments of the world; and
- that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam be taken off proscribed terrorist lists.

signed:
* Salim Vally — Spokesperson of the Palestine Solidarity Committee (South Africa); lecturer and senior researcher at the Education Policy Unit and the School of Education at Wits University;
* Kavita Krishnan — central committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) and an editor Liberation magazine; national secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association;
* Michael Lebowitz — Director of "Transformative Practice and Human Development" at the Centro Internacional Miranda, Caracas; Professor Emeritus of economics, Simon Fraser University;
* Luis Bilbao — Union of Socialist Militants (Argentina); advisor to the Hugo Chavez government in Venezuela; editor of XXI magazine;
* Reihana Mohideen — vice-chair of international department of the Power of the Masses Party (PLM — Philippinnes); chairperson of Transform Asia, a gender and labour institute in South East Asia; editor of "Socialist Dialogue magazine;
* Mericio Juvinal Dos Reis — Executive Director of the Luta Hamutuk Institute (East Timor;
* Ian Angus — Socialist Voice (Canada), co-founder of Ecosocialist International Network;
* Roger Annis — Socalist Voice (Canada),
* Ian Beeching — Vancouver Socialist Forum;
* Mike Treen — Nation director of organising, Unite union, New Zealand;
* Daphne Lawless — Socialist Worker New Zealand;
* Dr Brian Senewiratne — Singalese pro-Tamil activist;
* Tim Gooden — Secretary, Geelong and Region Trades and Labour Council;
* Jess Moore — Resistance national co-organiser;
* Dick Nichols — Socialist Alliance national co-convenor ;
* Peter Boyle — Democratic Socialist Perspective national secretary;
* Pip Hinman — Sydney Stop the War Coalition; Socialist Alliance
* Brianna Pike - DSP Sydney organiser;
* Stuart Munckton — Green Left Weekly co-editor;
* Emma Murphy — GLW co-editor;
* Peter Robson — GLW journalist;
* Tony Iltis — GLW journalist;
* Jay Fletcher — GLW journalist;
* Federico Fuentes — World at a Crossroads conference co-organiser, GLW journalist, editor of Bolivia Rising;
* Lisa MacDonald — World at a Crossroads conference co-organiser; DSP National executive;
* Terry Townsend — managing editor of Links, International Journal of Socialist Renewal
* Chris Latham — National Tertiary Education Union, Murdoch University branch organiser;
* Jamie Doughney — Senior researcher at the Work and Economic Policy Research Unit, Victoria University of Technology;
* John Robb — Nelson, NZ;
* Janet Solomon — Ecum Secum, N.S. Canada;
* Simon Ashworth Wood — Socialist Alliance, Sydney;
* Joycey Berry — USA

Sri Lanka - The Tamils need support

Green Left Weekly #791 editorial:

The Tamils need support

One of the great crimes of modern times is occurring on the island of Sri Lanka without a word of protest from governments the world over. The Tamil people are facing genocide.

Already this year, the death toll of Tamil civilians exceeds 4000. Often dozens, and in some cases hundreds, are slaughtered in a single day in Sri Lankan Army (SLA) bombings of the so-called safe zone, into which as many as 300,000 people are crowded.

Those Tamils who flee this zone are being placed into concentration camps by the SLA.

This brutal reality is almost entirely unreported, and not simply because the Sri Lankan government refuses to allow journalists access to the scene of its crime. Instead, the mainstream media is once again siding with the powerful.

When the issue is reported at all, the Sri Lankan government's propaganda is repeated the propaganda of a regime that refuses to allow a free press, with one of the world's highest rates of journalists being murdered each year.

According to Sri Lankan propaganda, the military are merely fighting "terrorism". It claims its war is merely against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an armed group fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in the island's east and north.

Yet Sri Lanka's actions prove its war is against the Tamil people as a whole.

The actions of the LTTE are a response to the decades of discrimination and violent repression meted out to the Tamil minority by a state dominated by the majority Sinhalese ethnic group. Support for armed struggle grew among Tamils in response to the violent anti-Tamil pogroms in 1983 that killed more than 3000 people.

The solution to ending the decades-long war on the island, and bringing about desperately needed peace, is to end the oppression of the Tamil people.

First, and most urgently, there must be a permanent ceasefire declared. The mass killings must be ended. Food and medical supplies must be allowed into the "safe-zone", without which aid agencies are warning of a terrible humanitarian crisis.

The Tamil people must regain their freedom of movement and the concentration camps must be closed.

Once this occurs, the conditions for a negotiated settlement to the crisis, which can resolve the issue of self-determination for the Tamil people, will exist.

However, powerful governments, in defence of powerful interests, are allowing the Tamil people to be sacrificed. In return, the powerful are manoeuvring for access to lucrative shipping routes and ports.

To avoid upsetting the racist and undemocratic regime in Colombo, that regime is allowed a free hand to implement a "final solution" to the Tamil question. Once again, the corporate elite is placing profit over human life.

People around the world who believe in social justice must raise their voices. The Tamil diaspora is desperately attempting to bring the plight of its people to the world's attention. In their hundreds of thousands, they have marched in cities around the globe.

In India, dozens of Tamils have self-immolated to bring attention to the situation. In Australia, six young Tamils went on hunger strike for almost a week. They refused food or water, with a serious risk of death, in an appeal to the Australian government to press Sri Lanka to call a permanent ceasefire.

We cannot let them stand alone. Those who believe in social justice and political parties, trade unions, churches, social movements must speak out against the atrocities occurring right now.

The powerful have abandoned the Tamil people, it must be ordinary people all over the world who use their power to force action.

When Israel levelled Gaza, millions marched in opposition. That movement must continue, and the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign seeking to isolate apartheid Israel is beginning to have effect. But that display of "people power" needs to be repeated on behalf of the Tamils.

International solidarity helped end apartheid in South Africa, despite Western governments siding with the regime. It helped the East Timorese win their independence, despite Western governments including Australia siding with Indonesia.

It is placing Israel on the back foot, despite the most powerful nations on Earth backing the oppressors of the Palestinian people.

Now, international solidarity must be mobilised to save the Tamil people and stop the genocide.

[Support this very urgent struggle by joining the heroic campaign of the young Australian Tamils. Visit http://www.tamilsydney.com

More here:
http://tamilsol.blogspot.com/
http://fastuntoaction.wordpress.com/

Australian Tamil hunger strike against genocide

From Green Left:

12 April 2009 Three young Tamil Australians began a hunger strike on April 11 to demand that the Australian government press for a permanent ceasefire by the Sri Lankan Army. The SLA is carrying out a brutal military offensive against the Tamil people in the island's north, with more than 3000 civilians killed this year already.

Initially, the hungers strikers camped outside Kirribilli House, the residence of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Sydney, along with thousands of supporters. On April 14, Tamil protesters and supporters traveled to Canberra to protest.

One of the hunger strikers, Suthra Thanabalasingam, told Green Left Weekly that the hunger strikers have refused to eat food or drink any water since 5pm on April 11. The hunger strikers are demanding that the Australian government to use its diplomatic powers to push the Sri Lankan government:

• To agree to an immediate ceasefire;
• to allow food, medicine and aid into the conflict zone;
• to allow medical and other vital services into the conflict zone; and
• allow the Tamil People, both in the conflict zone and those indefinitely detained in concentration camps in government-held areas, to decide independently where they wish to reside

Thanabalasingam urged the Australian public to support Tamil protests and join the fight against Genocide taking place.

Today there will be protests at The Lodge in Canberra and there are more protests planned.

For more information http://fastuntoaction. wordpress.com/

Socialist Alliance member Brian Senewiratne deported from Malaysia

"An international group "Canadians for Genocide Education" which is an umbrella organisation with some 46 Member Associations annually picks ONE country of greatest concern re Genocide. The country picked in 2008 was Sri Lanka, and I was picked as the "Distinguished Speaker" and given an award... The plaque reads "Canadians for Genocide Education EDUCATORS AWARD 2009 Presented on March 25, 2009 to: Dr Brian Senewiratne In recognition of his dedication to inclusivity and equity in genocide education""

I was invited to come to Canada and receive the award My presentation was titled Peace with Justice in Sri Lanka Genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils. It's Causes & Solution .

It was held in the University of Toronto before a distinguished audience of academics, policy makers etc The hall was packed to capacity The flyer describing me was way over the top (as it usually is)...

The SL Govt coote Bandula Jayasekere, or to use his official title, His Excellency The Hon Bandula, etc, tried their best to block this but failed. Then they got their stooges e.g. Asoka Weerasinghe (patriot) to write scurrilous articles, published in the Mirror ?in Sri Lanka, to the Canadian Foreign Minister asking whether he had taken leave of his senses to allow me into the country.

Unable to block my entry, the next was harassment at Toronto airport ( a 4-hour search of everything, including downloading of every document including my letters to patients and going thru every scrap of paper (hundreds of pages of hand written notes, articles etc, and photocopying them all) It took about 4 hours and I was kept standing (that was after a 23-hour flight economy class which at 78 years is no small problem)

What riled the SL govt even more is action by a bunch (of goats) who are exploring putting my name up for a Nobel Prize for Peace. That is of course a nonsense project but with a one in a million chance, if it materializes, that would be a major blow for Sri Lanka. My very close association with Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu (I think I sent the photo with his arm round my shoulder) added to the concerns of the GoSL

What also of concern was that at the end of my Oration, the whole jolly audience of some 350, rose to their feet (I'll send the recording if/when I get it). This was recorded and sent to the Sri Lankan Ambassador and t the Govt in Colombo. Their blood pressures went thru the ceiling

I was scheduled to deliver the same award winning address in Malaysia (KL and Penang) and in Singapore, some 48 hours after it was delivered in Toronto.

Urgent action was needed. Someone ?Foreign Minister Bogollagama contacted the FM of Malaysia, who contacted the Minister of Home Affairs who contacted the CID who contacted Immigration asking them to prevent me entering the country stating I was a "Security risk"!!!!!

I said that if a 78-year old senile man was security risk for Malaysia, they should urgently review their Security set-up I smiled and asked that arrangements be made for me to get to Singapore. They said "tour ticket os from Penang. You cannot get to Penang because you cannot enter Malaysia, so you will have to buy yourself a ticket (which I did). I was then escorted to the plane by 6 police officers and an Immigration fellow.

While waiting for the flight (for 3 hours) I gave the bunch a lengthy talk on Human Rights abuse in Sri Lanka"!!!

At the end, when the flight was called, I went round to shake each one's hand. One of them, a policeman, grabbed my hand and would not let it go. Struggling to suppress tears which were welling up, he said "Doctor, all of us are deeply concerned at what we have been asked to do. Please don't hold it against us or Malaysia."

I gave him a big hug and said "Of course I will not"

Not prepared to run the risk of a repeat performance in Singapore (where I knew Bogollagam was - having got there to persuade Malaysian Tamils to come to Sri Lanka to invest there!!), I decided to cancel the Singapore meeting and returned to Australia, where the harassment continued at Immigration here in my native Brisbane airport.

This will be raised in the Australian Parliament.

Regards and thanks for you effort which is much appreciated

Brian.

Sydney rally against the genocide of the Tamils in Sri Lanka

From Sydney Tamil Youth

Dear All,

Sydney Tamil Youth have organised a demonstration in Sydney on Saturday the 28th of March. The demonstration will begin at MARTIN PLACE. We urge all Australian Tamil's to attend MARCH FOR FREEDOM as we unite as one to have our voices heard.

As the blood of thousands continues to lubricate the gears of state-sponsored genocide, the fate of the Tamil people tethers on the brink of extermination at the hands of Sri Lankan armed forces.

In these darkest of hours, we call upon the people of Australia to join us on Saturday 28th March as we protest the carnage of ethnic cleansing & voice our aspirations for self-determination.

Please take the time to attend this event and to pass this on to every person you know, urging them to take part as well.

DATE: Saturday 28th March

TIME: 11 am to 1 pm

STARTING PLACE: Martin Place

Through the power of our voice, let us open the eyes of the world, break the shackles of our oppression, and forge the foundations of liberty and equality.

CANADA: Over 150,000 Tamils attended...

SWITZERLAND: Over 50,000 Tamils attended...

BELGIUM: Over 40,000 Tamils attended...

Our time is now.

Sri Lankan Crisis Statement

Via http://fastuntoaction.wordpress.com:
[A PDF copy of the statement can be downloaded here, and the Socialist Alliance has set up a page of solidarity resources here.]
**************************************

Despite international calls for a cease-fire, the conflict in Sri Lanka continues to escalate.

The district health official in the conflict zone has stated that 40-50 Tamil civilians are dying each day. Most recently the Sri Lankan government issued orders to doctors and other health staff to leave the conflict area immediately.

In an attempt to put an urgent stop to the humanitarian catastrophe, a group of young Tamil Australians have written a ‘Sri Lankan Crisis Statement’ for the wider Australian community to sign.

From 2 March 2009 we will take it to the media and the Australian government to raise our concern for this largely unreported war.

If you want to sign this statement, please leave a comment on this page or email fastuntoaction@hotmail.com as soon as possible with your name and title.

Please forward it to other contacts who maybe interested in signing this statement.

****** STATEMENT ******

We are Australian citizens who share a deep concern about the escalating civilian crisis in Sri Lanka.

We call on the Australian government to demand the Sri Lankan authorities and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam declare an immediate ceasefire.

We are deeply concerned about the lack of medical staff and aid agencies serving the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped in the conflict zone. In September 2008, the Sri Lankan government evicted United Nations and international aid agencies from these areas.

While the local Red Cross is still operating within the conflict area, their presence is threatened by the ongoing conflict. The departure of international witnesses within the conflict area will remove accountability for all parties to the conflict.

The Sri Lankan government has also issued orders to doctors and other health staff to leave the conflict area immediately.

We demand the Sri Lankan government allow international monitoring and medical and aid agencies unrestricted access to the conflict zones immediately.

In direct violation of the Geneva Convention, civilian hospitals in the conflict zones have repeatedly come under aerial bombing and shelling. Furthermore, on 2 February 2009 the Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse stated that everything outside a government declared safety-zone is a military target and no exception will be given to medical facilities.

We urge the Australian government to demand the Sri Lankan government stop the aerial bombing of hospitals and both parties cease placing civilians in direct cross fire in all areas. Foreign and domestic media have been banned from entering the conflict zones since January 2008, when the government unilaterally withdrew from a cease-fire and commenced its military offensive. Without independent reporting, it is impossible to separate fact from propaganda mitigated by all parties to the conflict.

We call on the Australian government to pressure Sri Lankan officials to permit independent journalists unrestricted access to the conflict zones.

Furthermore, we recognise that the Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka have been subject to ethnic discrimination by successive Sri Lankan governments since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948.

We acknowledge that all people, including the Tamils, have the right to self-determination and must freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

We acknowledge that a military solution to this conflict will not bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka.

With the intention of ensuring long-term peace, we call on the Australian government to lead political negotiations that recognise the legitimate aspirations and protects the human rights of all Sri Lankans.

Signatories:

• Wendy Bacon, Professor of Journalism, University of Technology, Sydney
• Chris Nash, Professor of Journalism, Monash University
• Antony Loewenstein, Independent journalist and author
• Damien Kingsbury, Associate Professor, Deakin University
• Charles David, NSW Public Service retiree
• Jude Prakash, Chartered accountant
• Jeff Loewenstein, Barrister

If you want to sign this statement, please leave a comment on this page or email fastuntoaction@hotmail.com as soon as possible with your name and title.

Hunger Strike enters day two – Protest continues against Sri Lankan Genocide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on 29 January 2009 (Via http://fastuntoaction.wordpress.com/)

A hunger strike calling upon the Australian government to support calls for a unilateral cease-fire in war torn Sri Lanka, enters its second day in Sydney’s CBD.

Organised by the Australian Tamil Students (ATS), a national coalition of tertiary students, the protest aims to bring light to the intolerable silence and lack of international condemnation to the unfolding genocide in Sri Lanka.

Backed by hundreds of supporters, members of the Sri Lankan community continue to maintain their “Fast Until Action” campaign in Martin Place, in an attempt to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka amidst intensified bombing by Government forces on territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

The protestors, who have unequivocally stated that they will continue to fast until the Australian Government responds to its demands, remain optimistic and determined, despite sweltering heat, with temperatures reaching above 30 degrees.

“Our determination remains as strong as ever. The response from the public has been amazing, now we ask Kevin Rudd to share the sentiments of concern and anger as expressed the public and support our demand for a ceasefire”. - Sriharan Manoharan, ATS member and co-organiser.

The campaign comes only days after the Sri Lankan military is said to have killed 300 Tamil civilians in an agreed “safety zone”, where government ministers had earlier instructed people to take shelter, promising safe refuge.

The participants are calling on the Australian government to condemn the attacks on civilian populations and support calls for a ceasefire, as aid organisations and some other governments have.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) describes the ground situation as a humanitarian crisis, with over 250,000 civilians trapped in area’s under military bombardment, without adequate food, shelter and medical supplies: “People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling…When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation”. ICRC’s Jacques de Maio,

Organisers anticipate widespread media interest throughout the day, and have ensured doctors are on standby amidst warnings of a searing heat wave expected to hit this afternoon.

Weblog of Protests - http://fastuntoaction.wordpress.com/

Media Contacts:

Mr Myuran Elango - 0411 290 413

Dr Sam Pari - 0433 428 967

Community's Silence is Aiding Genocide of Tamils In Sri Lanka - AFTA

Thursday, 08 January 2009

Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the peak body representing the Tamil Australians of Sri Lankan descent, is shocked and dismayed by the absolute silence maintained by the International Community, about the Genocidal military onslaught carried out by the Sri Lankan security forces against the Tamil people living in the Wanni region, in the north of the country.

AFTA has been continuously expressing its concerns about the unilateral decision taken in early 2008 by the Sri Lankan government to abrogate the ceasefire agreement it signed in 2002 with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the liberation movement fighting to re-establish the lost sovereignty of the Tamil People in Sri Lanka. AFTA also has been highlighting the Genocidal intent of the Sri Lankan administration to the International Community from the time the present Rajapaksa regime began its military operations to occupy the Tamil Homeland.

After occupying by force, first the Jaffna Peninsula and later the eastern parts of the Tamil Homeland inflicting heavy Tamil civilian casualties, property damage and creating hundreds of thousands of Internally Displaced People (IDPs), the Sri Lankan security forces began their occupation of the northern parts of the Tamil Homeland in late 2007. Because of the indiscriminate artillery and multi barrel shelling and aerial bombardment, more than 300,000 people were forced to flee the advancing army of occupation and become IDPs in their own homeland while thousands fled across the sea to nearby India. Some of the IDPs have been on the move for nearly a year now and have been living without permanent shelters, exposed to the heavy monsoon rains.

For the past 5 months, the Sri Lankan Security forces have been locked up in fierce battle with the LTTE forces to occupy the LTTE’s administrative nerve centre, the town of Kilinochchi, where diplomats have been meeting the leadership of the LTTE during the peace negotiations. After causing substantial damage to the infrastructure and after the civilians and LTTE forces had vacated the town, the Sri Lankan security forces have now occupied a ghost town. In the month of December alone, 9 civilians (including one child) were killed and 71 civilians (including 10 children) were injured due to aerial bombing (mainly with Russian made cluster bombs) and artillery shelling.

At the moment the whole population of the Wanni region affected by the current battles are confined to adjoining Mullaitheevu district and the security forces are claiming to be moving swiftly to occupy that district too. Aerial bombing is continuing and the Sri Lankan State has also imposed stringent economic, food and medical embargos on the war affected areas in the Wanni region where around 500,000 Tamils live now.

While the Sri Lankan government is keen on occupying the Tamil Homeland, it has not even suggested a political solution to satisfy the longstanding aspirations of the Tamils. The current Rajapaksa administration has been hoodwinking the International Community citing that an All Party Committee convened by the President would come up with a political solution. Tamil people have no faith in such committees which do not have any representation from the Tamil National Alliance or the LTTE. Latest reports suggest that this committee no longer meets.

AFTA, while appreciating the efforts of the International Community to bring about a ceasefire between the Israeli security forces and the Hamas fighters of the Gaza strip, including the attempt to pass a resolution at the UN Security Council, is disappointedand dismayed by the continued silence observed for months now by the International community regarding what is happening in the Tamil Homeland of Sri Lanka. AFTA
is particularly concerned by the silence maintained by the so called Co-Chairs to the Sri Lankan peace process, namely the US, EU, Norway and Japan.

AFTA is also shocked by the intransigent attitude shown by the Indian government even after the southern Tamil State of Tamil Nadu requested the Central government to enforce a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. AFTA is also concerned by the military assistance provided by some of these countries to the Sri Lankan security forces.

AFTA would like to point out that the Sri Lankan government which barred journalists and Non Governmental Organisations, including UN agencies from entering Wanni all this time to hide the human tragedy happening there from the International Community, citing security reasons, has taken journalists to Kilinochchi to announce to the world about their recent successful occupation of the place.

AFTA does not believe that this Rajapaksa administration, under these circumstances will be in a position to offer a reasonable political solution to satisfy the Tamil people’s aspirations. Therefore AFTA appeals to the International Community including the Co-chair countries, Australia and India to bring about a ceasefire immediately in Sri Lanka to prevent the human catastrophe waiting to happen in Wanni and to restore normalcy and persuade the Sri Lankan government to enter into peace negotiations with the LTTE to find a political solution that recognises the right to self-determination of the Tamil people.