There are nearly 300,000 Tamils in several refugee camps. These are kept as prison camps without free access and mobility for the inmates who are kept there mostly against their wish. At the beginning government claimed that there are LTTE contacts that are mixed with the inmates that have to be separated. They claimed to have found nearly 9,000 LTTE contacts that are now separated. The rest are ordinary citizen of this country with full human rights. No lesser person but past Chief Justice Sarath Silva protested about their condition. But the government forcibly keeps them without allowing them to contact anybody including the parliamentarians whom they elected. Of course the government is responsible for giving accommodation, food, healthcare, education etc. to the IDP s. But that does not mean that the government has the right to keep them in prisons violating their fundamental rights.
On the other hand government is appealing to heavens complaining that no body is helping it to look after them. At the same time it kept the ship Captain Ali, full of provisions, in custody without sending provisions to the needy refugees. Clearly the refugees are in misery.
There were nearly 1000 prisoners, including "Sinhala Tigers", under detention when government aggression in Tamil homeland started two years back. Now at the end of it, 10,000 or more are under detention using emergency powers and Ant Terrorist act. Some of them, such as Shanta Fernando- secretary National Christian Council, are absolutely innocent people.
We demand that the government accept refugees as free citizens and allow them to contact outsiders freely. Also, the government should allow elected representatives and well wishers to contact them at any time of the day. We condemn the government, which claims to have rescued these people, for violating their basic human rights.
We demand that all 'Tiger' suspects under detention to be treated as political prisoners and produce before courts without using emergency powers. Allow courts to take immediate action to release the innocent. After court inquiry, rest should be pardoned as they only fought for their national rights.
We demand that the government seeks a solution based on equality, autonomy and the right of self determination, to the Tamil National problem.
Sincerely,
To: the government of Lanka