Britain's Channel 4 has aired an investigative documentary about murderous events in the final weeks of the 30-year civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tiger rebels.
sri lanka
Understanding the Tory immigration strategy
The right-wing minority government of Stephen Harper has just introduced Bill C-49.
The "Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act " that, among other things, allows the minister of public safety to declare any group of migrants coming in to Canada, a 'smuggling incident.'
Human smuggling or Tamil Tigers -- A story from the 'Ocean Lady'
After the MV Sun Sea was boarded and escorted into Canadian waters on August 12, speculation has been rampant about whether there are members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, or Tamil Tigers) on board, and whether this is an instance of human smuggling.
Columnists and news anchors have been wondering how these refugees who were "languishing in camps" managed to escape and find a boat to take them across the Pacific. This is the wrong question. The refugees who arrived on the MV Sun Sea and the Ocean Lady, which landed in Canada last October, probably escaped the Sri Lankan Civil War months beforehand.
Seven myths about the Tamil refugees
Surviving a dangerous three-month ocean journey, 492 Tamil refugees -- including around 60 women and 55 children -- arrived in B.C. after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka. When the ship the MV Sun Sea first neared Esquimault on Vancouver Island, the territories of the Songhees First Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Canadian armed forces, border services, and RCMP.
Not Rex: Terrorists, traffickers and Tamil Tigers? Oh my...
Vic Toews is wrong.
Related rabble.ca story:
Tamils continue struggle for self-determination after Sri Lanka's killing fields
The war in Sri Lanka spanned over three decades and reached its bloody conclusion in May 2009. Both the UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka and a U.K. film entitled Sri Lanka's Killing Fields agreed that the Sri Lankan Armed Forces committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Thousands of men, women and children were killed throughout northern Sri Lanka during the last phase of the war.
Sri Lanka's Killing Fields shame exposed in major documentary
The camera pans across a host of hands thrust through a gate and focuses on a young girl. The deep sadness etched in her face shows the despair felt by thousands of Tamil civilians caught up in the tail end of the 30-year war fought between the government of Sri Lanka armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Filmed by United Nations staffer, Benjamin Dix, it showcases the anguish of civilians who congregated outside the UN compound in Northern Sri Lanka as UN officers left the area following a communiqué stating the Sri Lankan government could not guarantee their safety as its forces advanced into LTTE-held land.
