Tamils held in prisonlike SLA detention centres - CJPCD

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 2009, 16:23 GMT]
“Considering the plight of the 2000 Tamils who had fled war and are detained in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) detention centres, a justifiable fear arises as to what would happen to those who come to these detention centres which are like prisons; youths detained in these centres are said to have gone missing,” Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna (CJPCD) said in its appeal sent on its third day of the protest fast observed in Jaffna, against the killing of Tamils in the Vanni, sources in Jaffna said.

The appeal, copies of which were dispatched to the Foreign Ambassadors, UN resident representative, in Colombo and organizations like ICRC and other International Humanitarian Organizations, made special mention about Sri Lanka President’s announcement of a 48 hour respite in the attacks on the Tamils in Vanni, allowing them to come into government controlled areas.

“The president’s announcement did not detail the modus operandi and no mutual agreement has been reached on the proposed plan until now,” the appeal pointed out.

Maavai Senathirajah, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Jaffna, took part in the third day fast protest led by the Bishop of Jaffna, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, along with more than a hundred persons from various religious and social organizations.

“It is the government armed forces that are directly responsible for the human disaster in Vanni,” Maavai Senathirajah said, addressing the gathering.

“The government has failed to take sincere and constructive steps to free the people and the indifference of the government is the cause for the people’s sufferings in Vanni,” he added.

“We have rallied again on the third day of the protest fast and we wish to reiterate our urgent requests,” the appeal said.

• We beseech the concerned parties to take immediate action to stop the human disaster in Vanni. • The ICRC and UN organizations should ensure the safety of the people coming from Vanni to the SLA detention centres. • An immediate ceasefire to be brought in force. • A just and peaceful solution should be reached through negotiations.