Sri Lanka is poised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence on 4 February. The Tamil people are distressed that half a century of independence has failed to secure the advancement of all the people in the island. Instead, independence has consistently marginalised the Tamil community resulting in an armed struggle and the quest for autonomy for the Tamil people.
The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) is dismayed over the Sri Lankan Government’s decision to ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) which has emerged as the main symbol and spokesman of Tamil grievances and aspirations. The Government’s decision to ban the little came after the attack on the Buddhist shrine Dalada Maligawa reportedly carried out by the LTTE inKandy on 25 January
The Tamil Information Centre expresses its solidarity with the Hill country plantation workers in their struggle for increase in wages. Throughout the history of the plantations in Sri Lanka, the estate population has been subjected to severe hardship and exploitation, not only through suppression of wages below subsistence levels, but also through discrimination in the provision of shelter, education health facilities and nutrition.
The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) is deeply disturbed by reports that the oldest and holiest Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka, the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, which enshrines lord Buddha’s tooth has been attacked and damaged.
The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) welcomes the Colombo High Court judgement in the well-publicised human rights case of the 18-year old school girl, Krishanthy Kumarasamy, which has shown greater sensitivity and assertiveness. The High court has found the six security force members guilty of rape, murder and "disappearance" of Krishanthy Kumarasamy, her mother, 16-year-old brother and a neighbour on 7 September 1996 and sentenced them to death.
The International Crime of Genocide-The Case of the Tamil People in Sri Lanka
Uploaded Date: 21/04/2013
Genocide is the ultimate crime under international law, a crime against humanity. Bringing forward charges of genocide is a grave accusation. In the case of Sri Lanka, which ratified the Genocide Convention in 1950, these charges have been brought forward by Tamils against members of the Sinhalese majority, in particular members of successive governments. This study will not set out to determine individual guilt since this would require a thorough judicial investigation. Rather, based on the legal definition of genocide and on sociological approaches on the genocidal process and the so-called genocidal society, it will focus on two interrelated issues.
Tamil Information Centre (TIC) is alarmed at the massacre of Tamil detainees at the government prison in Kalutara located south of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, on Friday 12 December 1997.
The international community has recognised that in the modern world human rights are the foundation for freedom, justice, and peace. One has to be aware that human rights are rights of ordinary people and not exclusive preserves of governments or other institutions. Only knowledge of human rights will enable ordinary people to seek avenues to confidently assert and enjoy them. The fundamental aspect of human rights work is therefore is to inform people and acquire adequate knowledge of what their rights and responsibilities are, how rights are protected, and what can be done when rights are violated.
Enquiry into mental health needs of Tamil patients in the Alexandra Surgery
Uploaded Date: 21/04/2013
In 1992 the Government identified mental health as one of the five key areas of its health strategy. In order to adequately focus on the ethnic aspect of these key areas, the Alexandra Surgery, which is a single-handed GP practice, planned to carry out a short-term study focusing on the needs of Tamil patients suffering from anxiety and depression. This report sets out the results of the survey in which 57 respondents interviewed.
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Sri Lanka - Devolution Proposals - August 1995 and January 1996
Uploaded Date: 21/04/2013
The Sri Lankan Tamil community in its long attempt at self-rule since independence has seen only broken promises, shelving of pacts and the abrogation of written agreements. The United National Party in its 17-year rule since 1977, sought only to buy time through an All Party Conference, a Political Parties Conference and a Parliamentary Select Committee, to strengthen Sri Lankan military capability.
