TIC has issued a number of news releases, memos, appreciation of human rights, social and cultural activists and published a number of documents on human rights and humanitarian issues to help create awareness on the situation in Sri Lanka, all of which are available for download here free.
It is with profound sadness that we record the death of Anton Stanislaus Balasingham, the political advisor and chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who passed away in London this afternoon. He suffered from diabetes for many years and was recently diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and terminal cancer.
The attack on a bus in Anuradhapura District on 15 June 2006, killing and wounding innocent civilians is a reprehensible crime. In this attack near the town of Kebitigollewa, 64 people are reported killed and over 50 injured. Similar claymore mine attacks have killed civilians in the past in the Kebetigollawe area.
The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) is distressed by the accounts of ‘disappearances’ it continues to receive. The public security situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated considerably in recent times with increasing death threats, sinister abductions and disappearances in many parts of the island. Such intimidation by state agencies in the Jaffna peninsula and other areas has led to a heightened sense of fear, frustration and anger.
Several Sri Lankan community and human rights organisations met at the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) in Colombo on 12 June 2006 and held discussions on the massacre of civilians at Allaipiddi on Kayts Island on 13 May 2006 and the other killings that are continuing unabated.
We are greatly saddened by the death today of Saverimuthu Stanislaus, the Chair of the South London Tamil Welfare Group. The passing away of Mr Stanislaus has deprived the Tamils of a person dedicated to the cause of the refugees and the welfare of the Tamil community in Britain.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse issued directives on 5 July 2006, for the protection of people detained under Emergency Regulations (ERs) of August 2005 or the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
A spirit of traditional tolerance and harmonious coexistence of different ethnic and religious groups existed in the northeast region of Sri Lanka for a very long time. The multicultural, multiethnic heritage has been subjected to severe strain in recent times resulting in breakdown of trust, friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding.
The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) is shocked and concerned over the gruesome massacre and other killings of civilians on Kayts Island, west of the Jaffna peninsula, on 13 May 2006. Information from TIC sources indicates that the Sri Lankan navy from the naval base on Mandaitivu Island was responsible for the murders.
The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) welcomes the peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) scheduled to take place in Geneva on 28 and 29 October 2006. The TIC urges the two parties to discuss issues that matter most to the people in the north-east. We believe that without resolving these urgent issues, it would be difficult for both parties to have extensive discussions on the political solution, as these issues would remain as obstacles to fruitful negotiations as experience has shown.
