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Displaced Tamils Still Can’t Resume Normal Life January 21st, 2011

This article was taken from the e-news digest, CathNews Asia.

More than 320,000 citizens suffer from being displaced, while 190,000 former refugees, returned home after stays in refugees camps – in the latest phases of civil conflict, which ended in May 2009 – urgently require protection and assistance: Jesuits from the Jesuit Refuges Service (JRS) tell Fides, working in the north and east of Sri Lanka, monitoring the situation on a daily basis, which “today is very stressful, given that it has already lasted more than two years,” they state.

The Jesuits explain to Fides that, despite the apparent peace, “in the north and the east of the Country there are still Zones of High Security in place and the citizens of those places continue to live precariously, not knowing when the emergency and the military presence will end and when they may return to a peaceful way of life.”

The JRS state that even today, after peace was reached, “the Government is investing a considerable amount of the national budget for military spending and allocating little funds to the assistance and systemisation of the refugees in the conflict. At the same time humanitarian aid agencies who should be providing aid to the displaced persons, experience serious limitations and restrictions on their operations”.

One of the outstanding problems is the clearance of whole area, which, during the war was strewn with deadly explosives. Currently these areas constitute a serious danger to the people: aid agencies are asking the government to urgently allow the refugees to return to their homes, giving highest priority to remediation. But given the situation of stalemate, access to food, social services, education, and transportation in many provinces remains blocked, the resumption of normal civilian life is prevented. Even in refugee camps set up by the government, NGOs in the field note, the general living conditions “are unacceptable”, marked by poverty, lacking the basic necessities and health services.”

SOURCE:

Support urged for refugees and former Tamil refugees (Fides)

Archbishop Miller Issues Plea on Behalf of Tamil Refugees in Canada August 30th, 2010

Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver Diocese issued a statement on August 25, 2010 on the situation of the 492 Tamil refugees that arrived in Vancouver in early August seeking asylum.

The arrival of the refugees-laden ship has generated controversy within Canada. Canadian Tamils, the largest Tamil community outside Sri Lanka and India, have urged authorities to accept the asylum seekers, saying that the minority group faces continued discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s high commissioner to Canada has asked the country to reject their refugee status due to alleged links to the Tamil Tiger separatist movement. The Tamil Tigers or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) as the military wing of the separatist Tamil movement and was brutally wiped out in the spring of 2009. Tens of thousands of Tamils are believed to have died in the final months of the conflict, trapped as they were between the two warring armies. War crimes are reported to have been committed by both sides.

“Keep the dignity of Tamil refugees in mind during immigration debate”

Statement by Archbishop J. Michael Miller who served on the Vatican Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.

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Elders Speak Out on Sri Lanka August 17th, 2010

The Elders, an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity have recently issued a statement of concern about Sri Lanka.

They are alarmed that since the brutal end to the twenty-five year civil war in May of 2009, Sri Lanka has made no real progress on reconciliation and that the government’s “persecution of critics is ‘terrifying’.” Additionally, the group feels that “Sri Lanka’s disturbing actions [have been] met by ‘deafening global silence’. According to Kofi Annan, a member of the 12-person group, “The international community cannot be selective in its approach to upholding the rule of law and respect for human rights. Impunity anywhere is a threat to international peace and security everywhere.”

Read the Elders’ full statement on Sri Lanka here…

Sri Lankan Journalist Freed at Last July 19th, 2010

J.S. Tissainayagam, the Tamil Sri Lankan journalist who was sentenced unjustly to 20 years hard labor in 2009 on charges of inciting violence, was freed two months ago and recently granted a Presidential pardon. The pardon came after months of international pressure from human rights advocates and the US government.

Journalists in Sri Lanka have been threatened, murdered and disappeared. Most continue to operate under self-censorship.

Human Rights Groups Urge Investigation of Sri Lanka War Crimes May 21st, 2010

Human Rights groups, from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to the International Crisis Group, are calling for an independent investigation into war crimes by both sides during the traumatic end of the war between the LTTE and government forces one year ago.

In a report released on May 17th, a year after the war’s end, the International Crisis Group cited “reasonable grounds to believe the Sri Lankan security forces committed war crimes” by intentionally shelling civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations in a final push to destroy the separatist Tigers. In turn, the Tigers reportedly shot civilians who tried to flee rebel areas and held others captive in a bid to raise international pressure for a ceasefire.

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Spring 2010 Issue of JPIC Report Available March 18th, 2010

The Spring 2010 issue of JPIC Report, the newsletter of the US Justice, Peace/Integrity of Creation Office of the Missionary Oblates is now available on line.

This issue features updates on Sri Lanka, Haiti, logging in Bangladesh, immigration, financial regulatory reform, an Eco-Tips page and more.

Read the Spring 2010 Issue (Download PDF)

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