Rights group wants Tamil students charged or freed
December 21, 2012 - A human rights group on Thursday urged Sri Lanka to formally
charge or release four university students detained on allegations of terrorism for
honoring Tamil Tiger rebels who died during the country's bloody civil war. The Tamil
students in the northern city of Jaffna were arrested by anti-terrorism police for
lighting lamps in honor of Tamil rebels to mark their annual heroes' day on Nov. 27.
This month they were transferred to a rehabilitation center housing former Tamil Tigers.
“Arresting four students without charge and sending them off for `rehabilitation'
sends a dangerous message that any Tamil can be detained arbitrarily and indefinitely,''
said Brad Adams, Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch. “The Sri Lankan
government needs to recognize that engaging in peaceful activities that conflict with
the government's views is an exercise of basic rights, not a criminal offense,'' Adams
said in a statement. Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the students
are being detained because they organized an event in honour of a banned organization. Government
soldiers defeated the rebels in 2009, ending a quarter-century bid to create an independent
state for the country's ethnic minority Tamils. Since then the government has razed
rebels' war burial grounds and prevented memorials including for civilians killed
in the civil war. Tens of thousands of civilians were estimated to have died in just
the final five months of the conflict. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was considered
one of the most ruthless and effective terrorist groups in the world, highlighted
by the use of suicide bombers and child soldiers. Memorials for their fallen cadres
were held every year on Nov. 27, with highlight an annual speech by the rebel leader
Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was killed by government troops in the final days of the
war.