Six Plantation Tamils shot dead

Tamils - a Trans State Nation..

"To us all towns are one, all men our kin.
Life's good comes not from others' gift, nor ill
Man's pains and pains' relief are from within.
Thus have we seen in visions of the wise !."
- Tamil Poem in Purananuru, circa 500 B.C

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INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA

Six Plantation Tamils shot dead by Sri Lanka Police and arbitrary arrests of other plantation Tamils continue...

"...Six plantation Tamil workers were shot dead by the police during the violence in late October 2000. According to reports, the bodies were buried without post-mortem. A cover-up is suspected and lawyers say that relatives are afraid to come forward to assert their rights...

... A number youths have been taken into custody in Haputale, Upcot and Badulla. Eighteen Tamil youths from Needwood Estate in Haputale, who were granted bail on 3 November, allege that they were severely beaten up in detention.

In a letter to President Chandrika, MP and Upcountry People�s Front (UPF) leader P Chandrasekaran says that only Tamils are being arrested and no action is being taken against persons who burned Tamil shops in Talawakelle and Ginigathena. Two officers of the UPF have also been detained.

An UPF delegation led by Mr Chandrasekaran told Justice Minister Batty Weerakoon in mid-November that arrests in the Hill Country relating to any violence in October and November should be under normal law. Current arrests under Emergency regulations or the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) make it extremely difficult to obtain release on bail. Emergency regulations introduced in May this year, empower the police to detain a person for 90 days with provisions for extension.

While attempts are being made to form peace committees, trade unions and MPs say that the military presence in the Hill Country is creating tension and have demanded the withdrawal of the Army. But following a directive from Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, government offices in the region have made it clear that the Army will remain until peace is restored and the refugees return to home areas..." (British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor November 2000)