Detention centre like a prison, say Tamils
April 21, 2010 – ABC News
Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were removed from an Indonesian port earlier this week say they are now being kept in cramped conditions in a detention centre which is like a prison.
About 150 Tamil boat people were put on buses on Monday and transported from the Port of Merak to Jakarta’s main airport.
They were then flown to the Indonesian city of Tanjung Pinang where they are now in a detention centre.
Two of the asylum seekers, who do not want to be identified, have contacted the ABC.
One likened the detention centre to a prison and says the accommodation is not what was promised by the Indonesian government.
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In conversation with Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives. I begin this interview with a pointed question, asking Dr. Saravanamuttu to flag anything the government has done well since it assumed power in 2005, in the domains of governance and human rights. I go on to ask Dr. Saravanamuttu why it is that what he sees as enduring challenges to human rights, peace, development and governance are not issues the majority of voters agree with, or are able to discern.
We also talked about the nature of economic activity and development in the North and the East, where Dr. Saravanamuttu noted that “economic development by itself cannot be the sole instrument of national unit, reconciliation, integration”. Sri Lanka’s political culture and the growing intra-party violence within the UPFA, the future of Tamil politics, reconciliation, the role of the international community, prospects for dissent and democratic debate post-war and modes of progressive engagement between the Tamil diaspora are also issues broached in this interview.
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SLA blocks Hindus performing rituals in Keerimalai
April 20 2010 – Tamilnet
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna have obstructed Hindus performing religious rituals to their ancestors in the temple pond as well as dissolving the ashes of their cremated relatives in Keerimalai seas around the historically famous Nakuleasvaram temple claiming that Keerimalai has been declared as a tourist spot and no one should pollute the springs and sea therein, sources in Jaffna said. This infringement on religious rights which had been observed by the Hindus for ages has angered the Hindu organizations in the peninsula, the sources added. Keerimalai is one of the major tourist attractions in Jaffna peninsula and SLA has imposed this restriction in order to please the Sinhalese tourists who continue to pour in their thousands after the opening of A9 road, representatives of the organizations said.
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Sri Lanka migrant stand-off in Indonesia port ends
April 19, 2010 – BBC News, Jakarta
Sri Lankan migrants who have been stuck on a boat off the coast of Indonesia have finally left the port of Merak.
After a six-month-long stand-off, they are now in buses on their way to a detention centre in Indonesia.
The Sri Lankans had been refusing to get off their boat until they were guaranteed safe passage to Australia to live there.
The resolution brings an end to a crisis that has plagued both the Indonesian and Australian governments.
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman told the BBC that the majority of the 200 Tamil Sri Lankan refugees were now in buses headed for Jakarta’s airport, to be relocated to other parts of the country.
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JNU convention condemns Sri Lanka war crimes
April 18, 2010 – Tamilnet
“[C]onditions in Sri Lanka cannot improve unless the Tamils are given a respectful place in society as equal citizens. Unfortunately, that is not happening,” said Rajinder Sachar former Chief Justice on Delhi High Court in a conference on Sri Lanka’s war crimes held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Thursday, a summary report of the convention issued by the organizers said. The convention concluded with passing a resolution condemning “the genocidal war crimes perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government on the Tamils,” and demanding that the war criminals in the Sri Lankan government be brought to justice, Tamils who have been forcefully detained in camps be released and settled in their native homes, an immediate end to colonization, and suspension of military aid by India.
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