[Reader-list] Protest against Human rights violations in Sri Lanka and the violent curbing of the freedom of press

[Asit asitreds]

 i endorse the appeal
asit

On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 11:38 AM, Saheli Women <saheliwomen at gmail.com>wrote:

> Please endorse the statement below by Saturday, 31st January (noon) and
> also
> join us for the protest at Jantar Mantar on 31st January at 5.30 pm.
>
> Please forward this information to others who may be interested.
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: ponni arasu <mailponni at gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 2:42 PM
> Subject: [VA377] Protest against Human rights violations in Sri Lanka and
> the violent curbing of the freedom of press
> To: ponni arasu <mailponni at gmail.com>
>
>
> *Protest against Human rights violations in Sri Lanka and the violent
> curbing of the freedom of press*
>
> Following the brutal attacks and murders of  media persons in Sri Lanka in
> the past fortnight alone, there have been a number of protests in Sri Lanka
> and around the world.
>
> This protest is to come together in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka
> to raise our voices against the violation of Human Rights in Sri Lanka and
> the brutal curbing of the freedom of press. This is to protest the violence
> meted out by state and non-state actors on the people of Sri Lanka. It is
> an
> attempt to assert that we stand for the dignity, respect and rights of all
> people, at all times, across the world.
>
> *Please endorse the statement below and join us for the protest with
> placards, slogans, songs and candles. *
> *
> **Time:* 5:30 PM
> *Venue: *Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
> *Date:* Saturday, 31st January, 2009.
>
> Please come and spread the word.
>
>
> *Sri Lanka - War next door. Violations of human rights. Curbing of all
> freedoms including that of expression.** *
>
> Next door to the world's largest democracy is a small island of a
> population
> of 20 million with people of different religions, ethnicities and castes.
> This little island; Sri Lanka has been torn apart by war for the past 25
> years and more.
>
> A group of rebels representing the minority Tamil population of the country
> began fighting for the rights of this community in 1983. These rebels went
> on to set up state-like mechanisms in certain parts of the country- namely
> the north and the east. They antagonised many persons including progressive
> thinkers among the Tamils who argued for civil methods of asserting the
> rights of the community as well as the Tamil speaking Muslims, who have now
> come to be understood as a different 'ethnic' community in the country.
>
> Their representation of the Tamil people has come into question over the
> years while Sri Lanka saw a series of regressive governments. The present
> government epitomises the fascist tendencies among some parts of the
> majority Sinhala community. The government did not take forward the peace
> processes, however abysmal they may be, initiated by the earlier
> governments. Instead they have been on a complete and unabashed military
> offensive. This offensive is being launched in the name of protecting the
> country and the interests of the people. The number of civilian deaths in
> the process are unaccounted for and the interests being protected seems to
> include only regressive Sinhala fascist values which seeks to quell the
> diversity and vibrance of Sri Lankan society. This government has spent all
> its energy (and money) on this war leaving all else in the fray. The
> economy
> has suffered as have the everyday lives of people in a way not seen before.
>
> To continue and justify a war, we know from history, that many facts and
> truths have to be covered up. The present government has categorically
> doused out many voices of dissent both Sinhala and Tamil and continues to
> do
> so. Attacks on freedom of press and expression have a long history in Sri
> Lanka. The recent deaths of journalists, who had the courage to expose the
> truths about this war, are only another moment in that unfortunate history.
>
> The Indian government's reaction to this war has been harmful at worst or
> meaningless at best. There are a number of other political reactions in
> India which are sectarian in nature which take the side of the Liberation
> Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or the Sri Lankan Government, entirely
> forgetting that the interests of the people of this small island are not
> being met by either parties.
>
> As progressive individuals who believe in the values of freedom, dignity,
> respect and rights, it is imperative that we raise our voice against the
> complete disregard for the lives of innocent citizens and the brutal
> curbing
> of the freedom of expression. If we do not raise our voices now, we will be
> next door to ruthless fascist dictatorship that we would have to tolerate
> at
> best or contend at worst. Let us come together to say no to the violation
> of
> human rights of the people of Sri lanka and the brutal killing of those who
> seek to tell the truth. * *
>
> *Let us raise our voices in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka.*
>  Hiren Gandhi
> Dr. Saroop Dhruv
> Shalini Krishnan
> Vineeta Bal
> Anja Kovacs
> Priya Thangarajah
> Sophie Murphy
> Lesley Esteves
> Akshara Ravishankar
> Anusha Chandrasekhar
> Gautam Bhan
> Deepti Sharma
> Ponni Arasu
> Janaki Abraham
> Siddharth Singh
> Hannah Jayapriya
> Anne Philpott
> Jagori
> Tanuja
> Yalini Marian Thambinayagam
> Saheli
> Sunil Gupta
> Ratna Appnender
> Pramada Menon
> Bhavani Fonseka
> Dunu Roy
> Pratiksha Baxi
> Other Media
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