On this Day: May 10, 2009

1200 bodies counted, hundreds seriously injured, aerial bombing continues: Rescue workers within the Mullaiththeevu Safety Zone have counted more than 1200 bodies after the large scale slaughter Saturday night and Sunday morning by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) with the use of cluster ammunition, multi-barrel rocket launchers and cannons, sources from Vanni said. The workers fear that there may be additional bodies yet to be uncovered, and the numbers killed will likely rise. Rescue workers also said several hundreds were very seriously injured, and the critical shortage of medicine at the makeshift hospital in Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal will lead to many more deaths. Meanwhile, Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal Hospital staff said, until 3:00 p.m. the number of bodies brought to the hospital was 378, injured totaled 1122. The staffers added that 106 of the dead, and 251 of the injured were children. Full Article

[Recap]

Just to recap for new visitors, this month, we will be looking at the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which outlines 30 basic human rights, and see how each and every one of these rights have and are continuously violated by the Sri-Lankan Government during the Tamil Genocide. Every day, we will be looking at a new right and/or freedom, and see how that has been violated.

On this Day: May 9, 2009

Colombo committing war crimes attacking hospitals – HRW: Sri Lankan armed forces “have repeatedly struck hospitals in the northern Vanni region in indiscriminate artillery and aerial attacks”, Human Rights Watch said Saturday, warning that commanders responsible for such attacks may be prosecuted for war crimes. “While doctors and nurses struggle to save lives in overcrowded and underequipped facilities, Sri Lankan army attacks have hit one hospital after another,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW. HRW again called for the situation in Sri Lanka to be urgently taken up by a formal meeting of the UN Security Council and by a special session of the UN Human Rights Council. Full Article

Article 9: No Unfair Detainment

Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

If you were stopped on your way to school for being of your gender, and arrested for that, or wee thrown into a concentration camp, would you accept it? Would it be fair if the police arrested you, for no wrongdoing of yours, and forced you to live in an unsanitary camp? No, it would not be fair, and if this was done to you, it’s a violation of YOUR rights. You have a right from arbitrary arrest, detention and exile.

On this Day: May 8, 2009

On this Day: May 8, 2009: SLA steps up carnage on civilians: Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has continued heavy shelling with cluster-munitions on civilian targets in Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal within the so-called safety zone throughout Thursday and Friday. Several civilians have been killed and many sustained injuries as Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) surveillance aircraft was providing coordinates of densely populated places for the SLA to target civilians. At least 242 civilians were registered as wounded on Friday alone. Medical sources reported that 45 of the wounded, including 15 children, had succumbed to injuries adding that scores were killed and that those killed on the spot were not brought to hospital. Full Article

On this Day: May 7, 2009

On this Day: May 7, 2009: Green light to rid Tigers while 50,000 lives at risk, Boyle faults US, UK: “US. UK, France and India appear to have given green light to Sri Lanka to get rid of the Tigers no matter what the cost is to the 50,000 lives of innocent Tamils at risk now.

Article 6: You Have Rights No Matter Where You Go

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. Wherever you go, you carry this with you, the right to recognition as a person. It doesn’t matter wherever you, but you have a right to be recognized as a person; and this means beings treated as such also. However, during the genocidal onslaught last year in Sri-Lanka, the Tamils that were forcibility displaced to camps all over Sri-Lanka were not given their basic rights no matter which camp they were sent to. Also, while it was the Tamils living in Vanni who were victims of the massacres, Tamil living all around Sri-Lanka were subjected to discrimination, and had many of their freedoms and rights compromised.

Article 5: No Torture [Viewer Discretion Advised]

Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.