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
Rains expose callousness of mass imprisonment: Heavy rains earlier this week flooded the internment camp created in the name of Ananda Coomaraswamy in Vavuniyaa where the last influx of captured civilians of Vanni are held in temporary tents. But, as ‘war prisoners’ they didn’t have the freedom to move to dryer places, said an aid worker in Vavuniyaa, condemning the International Community and the UN for insisting on the capture of civilians but not taking adequate responsibility of them and their freedom of movement even in times of such a situation. Full Article
UN violating Charter obligation to promote, encourage human rights – Prof. Boyle: Dithering in the halls of the human rights apex body, the United Nations, culminating in the recent uncharacteristic pronouncement that the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is “too-busy” to visit Sri Lanka, has prompted a legal scholar to point out that “where an individual such as the U.N. Secretary General has an obligation to act to prevent criminal activity and either refuses or fails to do so, that would render him “complicit” with the underlying criminal activity–in this case genocide.” Prof. Francis Boyle said Thursday that “[t]he U.N. Secretary General must immediately travel to Sri Lanka and do all in his power ” to prevent” the Government’s genocide against the Tamils.” Full Article
MIA draws Oprah’s attention to Sri Lanka bombing of safe zone: Oscar and Grammy award nominee, Eezham born music phenom, Maya Arulpragasam (MIA), after meeting the popular talk-show host Oprah Winfrey at a gala at Lincoln Center in celebration of the most influential people list the Time magazine produced, drew Oprah’s attention to Sri Lanka Government’s bombing of civilian camps inside the safe zone in MIA’s face book. Full Article
SLA, Police arrest 75 Tamil civilians in Colombo: Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and Sri Lanka Police arrested seventy five Tamil youths who are residents of Jaffna, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and upcountry areas in cordon and search operations conducted during the last three days from dusk to dawn in Kotahena, Grandpass, Muhathuwaaram, Wellawatte, Bambalapitya and Kollupitty. Similar operation was also conducted in Negombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, media sources in Colombo said. Full Article
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