"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The plight of the silenced can only be alleviated when enough are listening. Those suffering in Sri Lanka are stifled from speaking. Please lend them your voice.
This section contains addresses of key policy makers and news agencies along with sample letters and useful guides.
This section contains a timeline depicting the historical background of the Sri Lankan conflict. Spanning from the pre-colonial era to present day events, the timeline allows the user to gain valuable insight into the causes of this conflict. (Launch Flash Timeline...)
Short documentary on Black July and links to other related videos. (view feature video...)
| Related Videos: |
| Tamil Abductions: An SBS Dateline production on the recent abductions of Tamils in Sri Lanka. |
| Sivaram: Violence against Journalists (Part 2, Part 3): Film about the silencing of free speech through death and intimidation. |
| Shadow War: The emergence of 'paramilitaries' and their impact on the cease fire. |
| Still Photographs |
Articles on the recent acts of persecution against the Tamil minority. (complete list of articles...)
| Related Links: |
| Touched by Tragedy: An Australian medical doctor teaching in the North East puts forth his first-hand view of the situation. pdf |
| I am not a Terrorist: The high price Tamils are forced to pay for basic human rights. |
| No Middle Way for Militant Monks: The role played by the Buddhist clergy in this conflict. |
A flash animation containing a series of observations depicting the events of July 1983 and its implications. Many of the quotes in this section are sourced from independent journalists and international witnesses.
There are several accounts of Tamils attributing their escape from death to their Sinhalese and Muslim neighbours. We are grateful to those who risked their own lives to allow Tamils to hide in their homes.
The 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom produced an exodus of Tamils who fled to all parts of the world. Our appreciation extends to countries, such as Australia, for welcoming them, and providing a safe home to live in.
We appreciate your thoughts, suggestions and queries. Please send us your feedback.
Stories from witnesses and victims from around the Globe (TBA).
Did you or someone you know get affected by Black July or any other incident? Tell us your story.
.
1948 - months after gaining independence, the Government
of
Sri
Lanka disenfranchises 33% of Tamils, removing their right to vote
...60 years on, the discrimination continues...
1958 - hundreds of Tamils are murdered in the first of many vicious racial attacks
...50 years on, the violence continues...
1983 - over 3000 Tamils are murdered and 150,000 made homeless in Sri Lankan State sponsored anti-Tamil riots
...25 years on, the genocide continues...
Today - the Government of Sri Lanka has withdrawn from a peace-agreement and entered into war, thousands of Tamils have 'disappeared' and Tamil journalists, aid workers, human rights activists and politicians have been assassinated
...as the world watches on, the eradication of a people continues...
Don’t turn a blind eye! Lend your voice
"Tourists fleeing Sri Lanka tell of Sinhalese boasting of how many Tamils they have killed. One tourist was reported as saying that her hotel room attendant boasted of killing a couple of Tamils."
[Sydney Morning Herald, 30 July 1983]
“Some 6000 Tamils have been killed altogether in the last few years…These events are not accidental [but a] result of a deliberate policy on the part of the Sri Lankan government…Democracy in Sri Lanka does not exist in any real sense."
[Australian Parliamentary Group of Amnesty International, March 1986]
"I am not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna people... now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion...Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy."
[J.R.Jayawardene, President of Sri Lanka, Daily Telegraph, July 1983]
"I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese but there are minority communities...They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue things."
[Sri Lankan Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, National Post - Canada, Sept 2008]
23/12/08
Articles:
BBC World Service and Sunday Leader newspaper censored
"We are worried by the increase in direct and indirect censorship in Sri Lanka," Reporters Without Borders said. "Coming after a broadcast media bill reintroducing news censorship, the selective blocking of BBC and Sunday Leader reports is disturbing. The authorities must accept the free flow of news even when it contradicts what officials are saying and irritates certain politicians."
UN must focus on genocide prevention, group says
On the group's "red alert" watch list of the countries of most concern for genocide are Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
S Lanka's 'Somalia conditions'
A UN official in a rebel-held area of northern Sri Lanka has said that conditions for displaced people there are "as basic as in Somalia".
Plight of Sri Lanka's war widows
Women's rights activists argue that widows are still suffering despite the government recapturing the east from the Tamil Tigers more than a year ago...Although the government has identified the problem, activists say it lacks the commitment to help these women to rebuild their lives.
09/12/08:
Timeline Updated