Link to this page: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/588/7567
From The Socialist newspaper, 22 July 2009
Sri Lanka
Build the Tamil Solidarity campaign
"THERE ARE no minorities in this country," Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse declared on 19 March, after his army killed over 20,000 Tamil people and imprisoned 300,000 in World War Two-style camps.
There are daily reports of deaths and disappearances of people from the camps. Independent journalists and humanitarian agencies are still banned from going anywhere near them.
Rajapakse's Sinhala chauvinist government has been so engaged in triumphalism that it has done nothing so far to improve the conditions of the poor minorities. And the cost of this year's war, of killing poor Tamils, will be forced onto the heads of the poor Sinhala masses by the government - their living standards are already under attack.
In order to defend the rights of minority Tamils and all workers in Sri Lanka, an international campaign was launched this March. Tamil Solidarity (TS) is fighting for the rights of workers and all oppressed people in Sri Lanka. TS organised protests, meetings and discussions worldwide to oppose the brutal war and also organised protests against aid being given by the west to the Sri Lankan government.
TS calls for aid instead to be given to a committee of genuinely elected representatives of displaced people and trade unions. It also calls for the setting up of a constituent assembly in Sri Lanka, to be based on democratically elected representatives through a genuine election.
We aim to build support and solidarity in every community, trade union and in other areas. Please join our campaign and help to build Tamil Solidarity.
Please consider making a regular donation to tamilsolidarity.org by standing order to ensure we have the resources to produce leaflets and to organise protests and meetings. This is essential to keep the plight of the Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka on the radar, and to make it clear that, while the UK government and other western governments have turned a blind eye, workers and young people stand in solidarity and demand rights for the oppressed people.
Senan
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In The Socialist 22 July 2009:
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