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Tamils - a Nation without a State
Canada -
கனடா
- an estimated 300,000 Tamils live in Canada -
Canadian Student Associations Condemn
Sri Lanka Army Attack on Students in Jaffna, Tamil Eelam
1.Academic
Society of Tamil Students (ACTS), Ottawa also
in jpg
2.University of Toronto Tamil
Students Association, Toronto also
in PDF
3.Canadian Federation of
Students, Ontario also
in PDF
[see also Sri
Lanka's Continuing War Against Eelam Tamils
in the Shadow of a Ceasefire ]
21/22 December 2005
1. Academic Society
of Tamil Students (ACTS),
Carleton University & University of Ottawa,
Ottawa, Canada.
[email protected]
Academic Society of Tamil Students (ACTS) strongly condemns
the attack on Tamil students by the Sri Lankan army in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. At
least seven demonstrators including Prof. N. Perinpanathan, a Senior
Lecturer, and a student leader of the medical faculty T. Kandeepan were
wounded when Sri Lankan troopers open fire at the peaceful march. The
students and the faculty members of University of Jaffna were
protesting the rape and the killing of a twenty year old Tamil woman by
Sri Lankan sailors near Jaffna. The sexual assault, killing and the attack
on students took place at the time of
mounting international concern over the stability of the ceasefire
between Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers.
The ACTS consider this attack a major ceasefire violation and calls on the
Canadian government to impress upon Sri Lanka to refrain from actions that
will put the ceasefire in jeopardy. Noting that attack on civilians are on
the rise after the appointment of a hard-line army commander by the Sri
Lankan President, We urge the government of Sri Lanka to ensure the safety
of the civilians.
Jaffna, the heartland of Tamil homeland, is under military occupation for
the last several years. Large area of land belongs to locals were
confiscated and military camps were built. Over 100,000 people were
displaced and languishing in refugee camps due to continued military
occupation.
Mr. Gobiraj Thiruchelvam, President, Carleton Universtity
Mr. Umatharan Gopalasundaram, Vice President, Carleton Universtity
Mr. Jegajeethan Visuvalingam, Vice President, Universtity of Ottawa
The University of Toronto
Tamil Students Association,
7 Hart House Circle, Toronto M5S 3H3, ON ·
Web:
http://stg.utorontotsa.org · Email:
[email protected]
Students Revolted by Brutal Attacks on Tamil Students
December 22, 2005
The University of Toronto Tamil Students Association
strongly condemns the recent attacks of innocent Tamil students by the Sri
Lankan Army in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. These attacks on non-violent protestors
are a demonstration of hatred to the Tamil population and are in major
violation given the current ceasefire agreement between both the government
of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The army personnel who entered the premises of the
University of Jaffna Tuesday afternoon, took open fire, charged tear gas and
wounding atleast seven students and school officals. The students and staff
of the Jaffna University were attacked mercilessly on their way to the Sri
Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to hand over a petition protesting against
the conduct of the military in recent times. Just recently,
20
year old Tharsini Ilyathamby was found brutally raped, strangled to
death and left to rot in a well near a Sri Lankan Navy post in Punguduthivu.
The students were angered and saddened by the ongoing antrocietes by the Sri
Lanlkan army against the Tamil students and wished that these concerns be
raised immediately.
These assaults infringe the students' fundamental right to
learn and express their viewpoints freely without fear of imprisonment or
worse. We believe the government of Sri Lanka should uphold this fundamental
right. It saddens us all to witness these events during a critical stage in
the ceasefire agreement.
We the Tamil Students Association, urge the Canadian
government and fellow student organizations to condemn these brutal and
inhumane activities and further encourage the international community to
take positive steps to contain further violations by the Sri Lankan Army.
Those perpetrators involved in these atrocities should and must be brought
to justice.
Ranjith Mahendranathan President,
Tamil Students' Association University of Toronto (St. George Campus)
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