Sri Lankan civilians die in army offensive

By Bill Van Auken:

11 May 2009

In what constitutes a blatant war crime by the Sri Lankan government, the army’s merciless bombardment of a so-called no-fire zone in the north killed and wounded thousands of Tamil civilians over the weekend.

UN speaks of Sri Lankan ‘bloodbath’: here.

SEVERAL hundred Tamil protesters calling for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka brought roads outside the Houses of Parliament to a standstill on Monday: here.

The death toll from last weekend’s shelling continues to rise as news filters out of the extent of the Sri Lankan military’s criminal assault on the so-called no-fire zone in the North of the island: here.

A mortar shell has struck the only functioning medical facility in Sri Lanka’s northern war zone, killing 49 patients and bystanders: here.

The Sri Lankan army was responsible for a further atrocity yesterday as it intensified its offensive against the remnants of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam: here.

Britain embraces murder in Sri Lanka: here. And here.

N. Vithyatharan, chief editor of the Tamil newspaper Sudar Oli, was released from detention on April 28, four days after police admitted in court that there were no grounds to charge him. His treatment further exposes the lawless character of the Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapakse: here.

Update 26 May 2009: here.

The Sri Lankan government has refused to lift its state of emergency and the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which allows security forces to continue their arbitrary detention without trial of “LTTE suspects”: here.

Just before he retired last week, the Sri Lankan Chief Justice declared that the detention of hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians in internment camps was unlawful: here.

One hundred Tamil and non-Tamil women attended the inaugural Women for Justice event at Balmain Town Hall on July 30. The meeting aimed to create awareness about, and campaign to stop, sexual abuse and human rights violations to which Tamil women have been subjected to for the past 60 years: here.

UN-based estimates put Sri Lankan civilian death toll at 20,000: here.

Colombo court detains Sri Lankan defence chief over civil war crimes: here.

Astrology and the Sri Lankan government: here.