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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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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The election campaign for Sri Lanka’s presidency, scheduled for 26 January, has been marred by a high number of incidents, many caused by supporters of incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Campaign for Free and Fair elections (CaFFE) reported. Elections Commission Chairman Dayananda Dissanayake is said to resign because of the violence once the election is over.

The CaFFE report that was released today contains a detailed list of clashes, targeted attacks against political rivals and murders. The first death occurred on 12 January in Hungama (Hambantota district), Rajapaksa’s home area. An armed man opened fire against a bus carrying supporters of General Fonseka, leader of the opposition and the president’s main challenger. One person was killed and ten were wounded in the action, which was blamed on pro-government militias.

The following day, Rajapaksa supporters clashed with Fonseka sympathisers in Polonnaruwa, North-Central province. Thousands of people were involved, with many getting hurt.

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New Zealand has agreed to take 13 Sri Lankan refugees who spent weeks refusing to leave an Australian Customs boat in Indonesia last year.

New Zealand originally did not want to take any of the Tamil refugees who refused to leave the Oceanic Viking, but a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said 13 would be accepted – subject to checks – as part of the country’s regular refugee program.

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On the heels of its successful release of the first episode of No Blood For Panties series, Boycott Sri Lanka released its second episode today. No Blood For Panties is part of a campaign to encourage Americans to boycott products made in Sri Lanka to end Sri Lanka’s violent discrimination against its Tamil population.

(PRWEB) January 14, 2010 — On the heels of its successful release of the first episode of No Blood For Panties series, Boycott Sri Lanka released its second episode today. No Blood For Panties is part of a campaign to encourage Americans to boycott products made in Sri Lanka to end Sri Lanka’s violent discrimination against its Tamil population.

“We are thrilled by the growing success of the No Blood For Panties series,” said Boycott Sri Lanka representative Anjali Manivannan. “The first episode has gone viral, with thousands of views a day, and generating a dialogue about the use of sexuality to promote activism. This is exactly the response we were aiming for: a shocking new way to spread awareness about grave human rights violations,” she continued.

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Sri Lanka’s opposition on Friday accused the government of misleading the UN over the use of heavy weapons during the final stages of fighting against Tamil rebels last year.

Sri Lanka is under pressure from the United Nations and Western nations to submit to a war crimes investigation after a host of allegations about the killing of prisoners and the use of weapons.

A top aide to President Mahinda Rajapakse disclosed on Thursday that Colombo ordered a halt to the use of heavy weapons only in April, two months after a UN envoy was promised that such armaments would not be used.

Former foreign minister and key opposition leader Mangala Samaraweera seized on the disclosure by the aide, Lalith Weeratunga, who said the use of heavy weapons was eventually stopped as part of a political deal with the Indian government.

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The federal government is prepared to release the remaining 25 Tamil migrants held in Vancouver on suspicion of links to terrorism since they arrived in Canada three months ago.

The men were among the 76 passengers and crew of a ship seized off Vancouver Island Oct. 17.

All of the men claimed refugee status, saying they were fleeing the aftermath of the civil war in Sri Lanka. Fifty-one of the men were eventually released after posting bonds and agreeing to appear when summoned for hearings on their refugee claims.

The remaining migrants have remained in detention at the request of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which had said it wanted to submit evidence about the 25 men’s possible connection to the Tamil Tigers.

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In Sri Lanka, as a presidential election approaches, the mood is outwardly gung-ho. Both main candidates claim credit for defeating the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and ending a decades-long conflict. President Mahinda Rajapakse, who with his brothers, Gotabaya (the Defence Secretary) and Basil (a senior presidential advisor) has been running the country, is being challenged by General Sarath Fonseka, a former army commander.

Yet behind the bravado and bold promises is the shadow of past violence. Many are in denial about the effects, but unless the grim legacy is at least acknowledged, future unity and stability may be undermined.

The government, in recent months, has faced disturbing revelations about actions taken during the war (in some of which the ex-commander is implicated). The United Nations recently confirmed that, in its experts’ view, video footage showing soldiers killing Tiger prisoners was authentic, but the Sri Lankan regime continues to insist that it was faked.

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A Sri Lankan Tamil MP who has been detained by the security forces for eight months has been released.

Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, an MP from the Vanni district, chose to stay in areas controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels until the country’s war ended in May.

He was detained and taken to Colombo for interrogation where he has been held ever since.

The government refused to release him in spite of repeated requests by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

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A BBC reporter is in hospital in Sri Lanka after being attacked following clashes between rival political groups.

Thakshila Dilrukshi Jayasena received minor injuries and her recording equipment was stolen. Police say they are investigating who attacked her.

She had been covering clashes between thousands of government and opposition supporters in the town of Polonnaruwa.

Election monitors say the campaign for the 26 January presidential vote has become “disturbingly violent”.

On Tuesday a supporter of the former army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka, the main opposition candidate, was shot dead in the south of the island.

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