Urgent Action to defend Tamil rights needed
The following is a statement issued by Canadian Academics for Tamil Rights and contains a set of demands on the Canadian Government in face of the current crisis. Please circulate
The armed conflict in Sri Lanka has now been declared concluded by the government of Sri Lanka. However the conditions on the ground continue to require urgent international attention. The fate of 72, 000 civilians still trapped in the tiny “safe zone” remains uncertain, with disturbing reports that the Sri Lankan army is continuing to shell the area. Some 25,000 injured need treatment, but there are no functioning hospitals and the Sri Lankan government continues to bar medical and food aid in the form of personnel and supplies. Over 200, 000 displaced Tamils are languishing in camps, where they have been subject to starvation, brutal harassment and even torture.
After months of inaction as human rights abuses worsened in Sri Lanka and the conflict intensified, the Canadian government has done little more than issue broad statements of concern and send one minister to Colombo on a fruitless mission. In contrast, U.S. President Obama has adopted a firmer stand, most recently calling on the Sri Lankan government to afford United Nations humanitarian teams access to civilians so that they can receive the immediate assistance necessary to save lives. Obama also has called on Sri Lanka to seek a peace that is secure and lasting, and grounded in respect for all of its citizens. The EU, along with member states including Britain and France, are pushing for the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special session on Sri Lanka, while the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an independent inquiry into possible war crimes perpetrated by both parties to the conflict.
We, as a group of Canadian academics, therefore call on the Government of Canada to:
Work at the highest levels to pressure the government of Sri Lanka to afford the UN and other humanitarian agencies access to the civilians so that they can receive the immediate assistance necessary to save lives;
Actively support the May 7, 2009 call by UN Human Rights Experts for a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council to be convened on the Sri Lankan crisis for the purposes of dealing effectively with ongoing harms and with justice for victims of crimes under international law;
Urge the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, or the two Councils working jointly to establish an independent commission of inquiry into crimes under international law committed by any person or entity;
Demand that the government of Sri Lanka remove restrictions imposed on access to the Vanni region for humanitarian workers and media and permit international observers immediate access to the internment camps to provide an impartial assessment of conditions;
Demand that the government of Sri Lanka permit doctors, other medical and health professionals, and ancillary personnel who have been captured by the military of Sri Lanka to continue to render assistance to persons in need of their care, at the very least in the internment camps;
Demand further that the government of Sri Lanka accord humanitarian agencies and United Nations human rights representatives unfettered, constant, and secure access to these medical and healthcare providers in order to ensure that these persons are not the targets for disappearances, executions or other forms of coercion at the hands of the Sri Lankan military, of surviving members of the LTTE forces, or of others who may have an interest in preventing their testimony with respect to the manner warfare has been conducted and the nature and extent of casualties during the hostilities;
Demand that the government of Sri Lanka release people in internment camps and allow them to return to their homes, fields, and fishing beaches;
Initiate internationally mediated efforts aimed at achieving national reconciliation and a durable political solution – one which addresses the legitimate grievances of the Tamil people and recognizes their right to self-determination.
Work with other like-minded countries to achieve broad multilateral consensus through the UN Human Rights Council and/or the UN Security Council that renewal of Sri Lanka’s international loansand other bilateral aid should be contingent on the government of Sri Lanka’s response to the above noted demands.
Sharry Aiken, Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University
Tariq Amin-Khan, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University
Malcolm Blincow, Associate Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, York University
R. Cheran, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Windsor
Glynis George, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Windsor
Shubhra Gururani, Associate Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, York University
Judy Rebick, Professor, Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy, Ryerson University
Craig Scott, Professor of Law, & Director, Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security, Osgoode Hall Law School
Alan Sears, Associate Professor, Dept. of Sociology, Ryerson University
Aparna Sundar, Assistant Professor, Dept of Politics & Public Administration, Ryerson University
For Canadian Academics for Tamil Rights
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