SUPPRESSION OF PEACEFUL TAMIL
RESISTANCE - 1972 TO 1975
"..at the time of the Amnesty International Mission
(January 1975), 42 young members of the Tamil
community, (were prisoners) arrested and detained since
the end of 1972. They were arrested for their
agitation, (generally peaceful, so Amnesty
International understands) for a greater autonomy for
the Tamils who feel that the provisions in the 1972
constitution regarding language and religion
discriminate against them..." - Report of Amnesty
International Mission to Sri Lanka, January
1975
"If Sri Lanka is not to experience communal violence
or terrorism and counter terror on a scale which would
invite comparison with Northern Ireland or Cyprus,
there will have to be more readiness for compromise and
moderation than has yet been shown... Is it too late
for an attempt to evolve an inter communal approach to
the language question and the related matters of
education and employment? It would a pity if Sri
Lanka's leadership waited for bombs to explode, and for
the prisons to fill up again before conceding that the
Tamils need reassurance that they have a place in the
future of the island." - Walter Schwarz:
Minority Rights Group Report on Tamils of Sri Lanka,
1975
