The video footage depicting the Sri Lankan Army committing summary executions will be raised to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during his impending visit to Oslo, Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim has vowed. On August 26 at a regular press briefing before Ban left New York, Inner City Press asked his Spokesperson Michele Montas if he or she had seen the footage, and for a UN Secretariat comment. There was no response to the video, and so the the link to the video was provided. In the four days since there has been no UN Secretariat
news:http://www.innercitypress.com/untrip7may2srilanka083009.html
Showing posts with label SL War Crimes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SL War Crimes. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tamils for Obama: Keep the Sri Lankan War Criminals Out of the U.S.
A video recently emerged showing Sri Lankan soldiers executing bound and naked Tamil civilian prisoners. The video was broadcast by the U.K.'s Channel 4 news. Tamils for Obama wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder, and U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Patricia Butenis requesting them to block the entry of Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa's delegation to the U.N. General Assembly session this fall where he plans to present SL military men to the assembly for the world's approval. Tamils for Obama suggests that these soldiers will be revealed as war criminals and will eventually embarrass the U.N. and the U.S.
New York (PRWEB) August 28, 2009 -- Britain's Channel 4 news aired a video showing Sri Lankan soldiers executing bound and naked Tamil civilian prisoners.
(To see the Channel 4 news report go to:http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=35256686001
Tamils for Obama, citing the Channel 4 video as further evidence of war crimes by the Sri Lankan military, requested that the U.S. refuse to allow President Rajapaksa's delegation to enter the U.S. for the U.N. General Assembly session this fall. President Rajapaksa plans to include a number of Sri Lankan soldiers in this diplomatic delegation. Tamils for Obama maintains that most of them are guilty of war crimes like those shown in the video.
The video was made by a Sri Lankan soldier on his mobile phone and then passed along to an independent journalists' group, which supplied it to Channel 4. The video seems to give clear evidence of this Sri Lankan war crime.
"We are pleased that this video emerged," said a spokesman for Tamils for Obama. "It came from independent sources--a Sri Lankan soldier and a European journalists' group--who cannot be called propagandists for Tamils. This is plainly genuine."
Tamils for Obama also mentioned in a letter the Tamil group sent to Secretary of State Clinton, Attorney General Holder and Ambassador Butenis that "according to the U.N., the number of Tamil civilians killed by the Sri Lankan government is over 30,000 between January and May of this year."
The same Tamils for Obama spokesman said that "Stories of Sri Lankan atrocities still horrify us, but they are no surprise. As we wrote to Secretary Clinton and Attorney General Holder 'We have heard stories like this for years. We have heard that thousands of crippled Tamil civilians were buried alive by the Sri Lankan armed forces on May 18, 2009, a story which we expect will eventually be proven and become part of the world's consciousness.'"
The Tamils for Obama spokesman said that independent proof of the mass burials has not yet emerged, but that they are confident that the truth of the matter would eventually be proven.
The Tamils for Obama letter concludes "We consider that these bloody-handed killers are appropriately regarded as war criminals and should be barred from entering the U.S. We urge the U.S. state and justice departments to prevent them from entering the U.S. and exploiting American credulity."
To read the letter, go to:http://www.tamilsforobama.com/Letters/SL_UN_Delegation.html
Tamils are an ethnic group living mainly in the northeast of Sri Lanka and southern India. During the final weeks of the recent civil war, the Sri Lankan government killed about 1,000 Tamil civilians per day, according to the United Nations, and about 30,000 in 2009. Tamils are a minority population in Sri Lanka, and have borne the brunt of a civil war they regard as genocide. One-third of the Tamil population has fled the island and formed a substantial diaspora overseas. Tamils for Obama is comprised of Tamils who have settled in the U.S. or who were born in the U.S.
To contact the group, call at (617) 765- 4394 and speak to, or leave a message for, the Communication Director, Tamils for Obama.
New York (PRWEB) August 28, 2009 -- Britain's Channel 4 news aired a video showing Sri Lankan soldiers executing bound and naked Tamil civilian prisoners.
(To see the Channel 4 news report go to:http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=35256686001
Tamils for Obama, citing the Channel 4 video as further evidence of war crimes by the Sri Lankan military, requested that the U.S. refuse to allow President Rajapaksa's delegation to enter the U.S. for the U.N. General Assembly session this fall. President Rajapaksa plans to include a number of Sri Lankan soldiers in this diplomatic delegation. Tamils for Obama maintains that most of them are guilty of war crimes like those shown in the video.
The video was made by a Sri Lankan soldier on his mobile phone and then passed along to an independent journalists' group, which supplied it to Channel 4. The video seems to give clear evidence of this Sri Lankan war crime.
"We are pleased that this video emerged," said a spokesman for Tamils for Obama. "It came from independent sources--a Sri Lankan soldier and a European journalists' group--who cannot be called propagandists for Tamils. This is plainly genuine."
Tamils for Obama also mentioned in a letter the Tamil group sent to Secretary of State Clinton, Attorney General Holder and Ambassador Butenis that "according to the U.N., the number of Tamil civilians killed by the Sri Lankan government is over 30,000 between January and May of this year."
The same Tamils for Obama spokesman said that "Stories of Sri Lankan atrocities still horrify us, but they are no surprise. As we wrote to Secretary Clinton and Attorney General Holder 'We have heard stories like this for years. We have heard that thousands of crippled Tamil civilians were buried alive by the Sri Lankan armed forces on May 18, 2009, a story which we expect will eventually be proven and become part of the world's consciousness.'"
The Tamils for Obama spokesman said that independent proof of the mass burials has not yet emerged, but that they are confident that the truth of the matter would eventually be proven.
The Tamils for Obama letter concludes "We consider that these bloody-handed killers are appropriately regarded as war criminals and should be barred from entering the U.S. We urge the U.S. state and justice departments to prevent them from entering the U.S. and exploiting American credulity."
To read the letter, go to:http://www.tamilsforobama.com/Letters/SL_UN_Delegation.html
Tamils are an ethnic group living mainly in the northeast of Sri Lanka and southern India. During the final weeks of the recent civil war, the Sri Lankan government killed about 1,000 Tamil civilians per day, according to the United Nations, and about 30,000 in 2009. Tamils are a minority population in Sri Lanka, and have borne the brunt of a civil war they regard as genocide. One-third of the Tamil population has fled the island and formed a substantial diaspora overseas. Tamils for Obama is comprised of Tamils who have settled in the U.S. or who were born in the U.S.
To contact the group, call at (617) 765- 4394 and speak to, or leave a message for, the Communication Director, Tamils for Obama.
UN expert urges Sri Lanka to probe execution video
Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said Colombo had categorically denied the allegations, but stressed the need for an investigation.
"If the government?s position is validated as a result of an inquiry, the international community can rest easy and the government will have been vindicated," he said.
"There is no justification for not moving ahead with such an investigation in view of the government?s confidence that such atrocities were never perpetrated by its armed forces," he added.
The images, which he described as "horrendous," indicate a serious violation of international law if found to be authentic, he said.
Alston also pointed out that he had asked permission to visit Sri Lanka on several occasions in recent years, but Colombo had not given him the green light.
The video footage, aired Tuesday by Channel 4 in Britain, was allegedly shot during the final stages of the army's defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists.
The rebels were finally vanquished in May after nearly four decades of ethnic bloodshed.
Sri Lanka's military had said the video was a fabrication designed to "discredit" its armed forces.
Widespread international concern was voiced over the number of civilians killed during the last leg of the fighting, while aid groups now fear for the welfare of 300,000 Tamils held in the state-run camps.
Erik Solheim Suggests Investigation On SL War Crimes
Based on the video footage lived by the British broadcast channel 4 that depicted the cruel killings of people during the Ezham war in Sri Lanka, International peacemaker and Norwegian external affairs minister Erik Solheim suggested the global community to investigate the war crimes committed by Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Erik Solheim led the peace keeping time on behalf of UN to settle the dispute between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ezham and the Sri Lankan government which turned futile. He is now about to met the UN envoy Ban Ki Moon and has promised he would urge the international community to commence an investigation. The Channel 4 video is more than solid evidence to accuse the government and those who committed the crime is punishable under law. 'Thousands of Tamils went missing during the bloody war and no one has questioned the government regarding this violation of Human Rights. The ruling government has willfully ignored human rights and laid rules of their own. Without evidences, the UN was unable to proceed but now we have the necessary docs to bring them under custody. Moreover, they have committed the punishable crime of kidnapping international journalists with their white van and I will urge the envoy to put an end to this atrocity,' said Solheim.
Earlier, Erik Solheim led the peace keeping time on behalf of UN to settle the dispute between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ezham and the Sri Lankan government which turned futile. He is now about to met the UN envoy Ban Ki Moon and has promised he would urge the international community to commence an investigation. The Channel 4 video is more than solid evidence to accuse the government and those who committed the crime is punishable under law. 'Thousands of Tamils went missing during the bloody war and no one has questioned the government regarding this violation of Human Rights. The ruling government has willfully ignored human rights and laid rules of their own. Without evidences, the UN was unable to proceed but now we have the necessary docs to bring them under custody. Moreover, they have committed the punishable crime of kidnapping international journalists with their white van and I will urge the envoy to put an end to this atrocity,' said Solheim.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
