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related_results_labels({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$blogger":"http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4564570884155420964"},"updated":{"$t":"2023-06-15T01:41:53.217-07:00"},"category":[{"term":"Sri Lanka"},{"term":"Human Rights"},{"term":"Vanni Massacre"},{"term":"War Crimes"},{"term":"Tamil Eelam"},{"term":"Genocide"},{"term":"UNHRC"},{"term":"Displaced"},{"term":"Human Rights Council"},{"term":"Detention Camps"},{"term":"Barbed Wire"},{"term":"Humanitarian Issue"},{"term":"UN"},{"term":"Sri Lankan President"},{"term":"Disappeared"},{"term":"India"},{"term":"Rajapakse"},{"term":"Vanni Mission"},{"term":"Searching Family"},{"term":"Video"},{"term":"Aljazeera"},{"term":"Channel 4 News"},{"term":"The Guardian"},{"term":"war criminals"},{"term":"wikileaks"},{"term":"BBC"},{"term":"GTF"},{"term":"Report"},{"term":"Tamilnet"},{"term":"telegraph"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Sri Lanka's Genocide on Tamils"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"In 2009:\nEstimated 40,000 to 70,000 Tamils were killed.\n146,679 Tamils have disappeared. \nMore than 350,000 are displaced from their homes and are in temporary shelters. \nUN \u0026quot;panel of experts\u0026quot; found \u0026quot;credible allegations of war crimes \u0026amp; crimes against humanity\u0026quot; committed in Sri Lanka. \nSri Lanka\u0026#39;s criminal justice system have failed to deliver justice.\nInternational laws were blatantly violated.  \nBut Ban Ki moon and the UN security council are silent and inactive."},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/-\/Barbed+Wire?alt=json-in-script\u0026max-results=5"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/search\/label\/Barbed%20Wire"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/-\/Barbed+Wire\/-\/Barbed+Wire?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=6\u0026max-results=5"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"hr Alert"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/15745495003387147010"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"28","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEicPjYmYc9kx_cWeQ1hpAS0N8jnhNUp2sAIO-Qd1DD15RBk8-RMME_FFs9rfmDm9btSkNruwV5paba4oQ05f0DzCd1VD1LOLvV8O8Xgz-DoiE10tBHK3yW_dGs_GCVWRw\/s220\/cry.jpg"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"15"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"5"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4564570884155420964.post-2825380584279680292"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-04T19:21:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-08-14T03:37:59.235-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Barbed Wire"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Detention Camps"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Human Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sri Lanka"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"War Crimes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Tamil refugees forced into sex rackets"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"module-content\" id=\"article\"\u003E         \u003Cp class=\"intro\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONDITIONS for about 300,000 refugees forcibly detained in camps across Sri Lanka remain dire, with reports of a prostitution racket run by officials in a remote camp.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E      \u003Cp\u003EAid workers told The Australian yesterday officials at the internally displaced people's camp in Pulmoddai, a remote northeast region, are running the prostitution ring using women kept in the camp. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThe Australian understands the allegations are the subject of a joint investigation between the Sri Lankan government and an aid organisation. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\"It's been brought to the attention of senior government officials but no one seems to be doing anything about it,\" said an aid worker, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\"It's hard to know whether it's coercive or not, but there is an average of three families living to a tent and it can be extremely difficult trying to get privacy. You can imagine the military coming in and asking for something in return for more space or more favours.\" \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003ESri Lankan Foreign Minister Palitha Kohona described the claims as \"absolute rubbish\", but confirmed the government was investigating the reports. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\"These (the military) are the guys who were winning the war - they could have raped every single woman on the way if they wanted to. Not one single woman was raped,\" he told The Australian last night. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\"I am sure in a mass of people there may be individuals who want to make a quick buck one way or another, but you have to remember the tents are so close together you can't do anything without the entire neighbourhood knowing. If you had a racket going, thousands of people would know about it.\" \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EA UN official said yesterday many families remained separated in the camps and that men and women believed to be Tamil Tiger fighters were being removed with \"no due process or proper documentation, like arrest receipts, given to parents or guardians\". \"These issues are of huge concern for us,\" the official said. \"The lack of freedom of movement is a violation of human rights under Sri Lanka's own constitution.\" \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThe restrictions have heightened tensions in the camps, including a mass protest in the Ramanathan camp in the northern town of Vavuniya on Sunday in which IDPs tried to break down barbed-wire fences separating one camp zone - and many relatives - from another. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003ETamilnet.com claimed two people were killed and at least two were injured when troops opened fire on the refugees. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EBut reports from aid workers in the camp suggested troops fired only into the air, causing no casualties, and that camp officials reached a compromise that allowed the IDPs movement between the two camps. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EUN Sri Lanka co-ordinator Neil Buhne said camp conditions were slowly improving, thanks to better water and sanitation facilities. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\"But the main thing is people are still inside these camps and they can't go anywhere. The government has made public commitments to get 80 per cent of people back to their homes by the end of the year (after separating civilians from the fighters) but that's going to be a difficult target to meet.\" \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThe Sri Lankan military crushed the Tamil Tiger rebel forces in May after a 26-year civil war. President Mahinda Rajapakse has committed to reaching a political settlement with the Tamil leaders that goes some way to addressing their grievances. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThis week he gave the All Parties Committee, established some years ago to find a compromise solution, until next month to submit its report.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Eas reported by: Amanda Hodge | The Australian | \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.theaustralian.news.com.au\/story\/0,25197,25721366-25837,00.html\"\u003Elink to article\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E    \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003ERaise your voice for the Tamils killed in Vanni Massacre! \nAct NOW to liberate the Tamil civilians from the barbed wire camps in Sri Lanka!\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2825380584279680292\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/07\/tamil-refugees-forced-into-sex-rackets.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/2825380584279680292"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/2825380584279680292"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/07\/tamil-refugees-forced-into-sex-rackets.html","title":"Tamil refugees forced into sex rackets"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"hr Alert"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/15745495003387147010"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"28","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEicPjYmYc9kx_cWeQ1hpAS0N8jnhNUp2sAIO-Qd1DD15RBk8-RMME_FFs9rfmDm9btSkNruwV5paba4oQ05f0DzCd1VD1LOLvV8O8Xgz-DoiE10tBHK3yW_dGs_GCVWRw\/s220\/cry.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4564570884155420964.post-2217331921191640665"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-08T06:32:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-08-14T03:37:59.234-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Barbed Wire"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Detention Camps"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Disappeared"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Human Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Humanitarian Issue"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sri Lanka"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tamil Eelam"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vanni Mission"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"War Crimes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Sri Lanka: Inside the Manik Farm detention centre"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.wsws.org\/articles\/2009\/jun2009\/slcm-j08.shtml\"\u003EWorld Socialist Website\u003C\/a\u003E By our correspondent\u003Cbr \/\u003E8 June 2009\u003C\/h5\u003E \u003Cp\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe following report was provided by an elderly person who visited several relatives being held in one of the internment camps set up by Sri Lankan authorities to house nearly 300,000 civilians who fled during the final weeks of fighting between the army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EManik Farm is about 30 kilometres from the northern town of Vavuniya. It is the biggest camp established by the army, housing more than 160,000 Tamil refugees. They fled from the last strip of territory held by the LTTE after facing constant shelling by the military. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EOne reaches Manik Farm only after the harrowing process of passing through several army checkpoints. What one sees is a huge open prison with men, women, children, the elderly and the injured. It is behind barbed and razor wire fences and guarded by heavily armed security personnel. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThere are rows and rows of small tents or rooms made of aluminum seats or wooden planks. Basic facilities like water and sanitation are inadequate. At least two families live in each tent or room. When the wind blows or a vehicle passes by, people are showered with dust.\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThere are four camps at Manik Farm: Ramanathan, Kadirgamar, Arunachalam and Anandakumaswamy. Each houses nearly 40,000 people. Armoured vehicles travel up and down the road near the camps frequently. People are not allowed to walk along the main road from one camp to another. They have to hire a three-wheeler taxi and pay 100 to 150 rupees for one or two kilometres. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EVisitors have to walk through the barbed wire fences to an open space near the camp. Small huts act as waiting rooms. Hundreds of visitors are waiting to see their loved ones and there is not enough room in the huts. Many have to stand outside in the burning sun. There are no toilets. For drinking water there is a plastic water barrel in each hut. Outside there are small shops that serve tea and a few snacks. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThe police officers arrive after 9 a.m. to register your details, including your name and the unit number and block number of the detainee you are going to visit. Mobile phones and cameras are banned. You have to leave them at one of the shops. Some shopkeepers charge 50 rupees just to look after a mobile phone.\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThere are several of my relatives in camps in Manik Farm. I first went to Ramanathan camp hoping to see one of my sisters and her sons. A Tamil-speaking man in civilian clothes arrived and started to collect the details of detainees each of us was going to visit. I gave my details to him. He abruptly said I couldn’t visit that day. They have allocated separate days for each camp. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EAlthough I argued that I had come from Colombo, he told me that nothing could be done. He refused to let me speak to a senior officer to complain. I was compelled to abandon the idea of meeting my relatives there. Then I visited Kadirgamar camp and had to go through the same process. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EThey called my brother but he was on the other side of a barbed wire fence. He was crying. I saw several persons crying after seeing their relatives. Some have been separated from their parents. Some have been separated from their spouses.\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EMeeting a relative is like speaking to a prisoner. You only get 15 to 30 minutes. The police on guard come to tell you when the time is up. No one gets more time. You can give basic gifts such as food and clothing but only after they are thoroughly checked. The police are checking all the time you are talking. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EMy brother explained to me that because of the war he had to move from one place to another from mid-December. Finally they reached Mathala in the Mullaithivu coastal area. There were tens of thousands of people there. They did not have enough food and just had the clothes they arrived in. They kept running from one trench to another under the thunder of shelling. Many died. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EFinally they decided to leave in April. They trekked about 8 kilometres. The army first tried to shoot them. Then they were asked to wait several hours. Thereafter the army took them to Manik Farm. For two weeks they were provided with pre-cooked food parcels. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003ENow they have been given 4 vessels and a few spoons to cook with. Each person receives 3 kilograms of rice, 3 kg of flour and 300 grams of sugar and a little dhal [lentils] for a month. The army has opened a few shops to sell vegetables and other food items. But without any money most people cannot buy anything. They cannot imagine eating vegetables and other food and have to live on what they are given. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EDrinking water is supplied by lorries, but that too is not enough. There is a river running through the camp but with very little water to have a bath. People have no soap. The toilets are built with polythene or aluminum seats. However, there are not enough.\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003ESoldiers or policemen in civilian clothes roam around the camp even checking the toilets. No one is allowed to even stand in the shade outside a hut. They are scolded and told to leave.\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EMost parents with teenagers never sleep at night because they are worried their sons and daughters will be abducted. The names of young people are often called out and they have to go to the office. The officials say they are being investigated. Some of them come back, others do not. Even the parents are not informed where they have been taken and why. \u003C\/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EIt is a terrible situation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003ERaise your voice for the Tamils killed in Vanni Massacre! \nAct NOW to liberate the Tamil civilians from the barbed wire camps in Sri Lanka!\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2217331921191640665\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/sri-lanka-inside-manik-farm-detention.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/2217331921191640665"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/2217331921191640665"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/sri-lanka-inside-manik-farm-detention.html","title":"Sri Lanka: Inside the Manik Farm detention centre"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"hr Alert"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/15745495003387147010"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"28","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEicPjYmYc9kx_cWeQ1hpAS0N8jnhNUp2sAIO-Qd1DD15RBk8-RMME_FFs9rfmDm9btSkNruwV5paba4oQ05f0DzCd1VD1LOLvV8O8Xgz-DoiE10tBHK3yW_dGs_GCVWRw\/s220\/cry.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4564570884155420964.post-610203111666875551"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-05T14:41:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-08-14T03:35:07.649-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Barbed Wire"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Detention Camps"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Genocide"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Human Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sri Lanka"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tamil Eelam"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UN"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UNHRC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vanni Massacre"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"War Crimes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"300,000 Tamils in concentration camps - MIA"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"[\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.tamilnet.com\/art.html?catid=13\u0026amp;artid=29531\"\u003ETamilNet\u003C\/a\u003E, Friday, 05 June 2009, 12:25 GMT]\u003Cbr \/\u003EOscar and Grammy award nominee, Jaffna born music phenom, Maya Arulpragasam (MIA) who used to live in Sri Lanka and experienced the war, told Sky News: \"Three hundred thousand people have been put into concentration camps and they (the authorities) have taken all the rights away from these people. They have no food and access to the media and aid. No freedom of speech or freedom of press,\" and said Britain and international governments should step in and help. MIA was speaking in support of Ms Jananayagam who contested the European Parliament elections held Thursday. The results are expected to be released Sunday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFull text of the article follows:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESinger MIA has called on the EU to help hundreds of thousands of Tamils she says were put in \"concentration camps\" following the defeat by the Sri Lankan army.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe star, who lives in the UK but is of Tamil origin, has given her support on Twitter to Jan Jananayagam, an independent British candidate in the current European elections.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMs Jananayagam has been been lobbying the British government to help stop the war in Sri Lanka.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated last month after a conflict lasting about 30 years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMIA, who used to live in Sri Lanka and experienced the war, told Sky News: \"Three hundred thousand people have been put into concentration camps and they (the authorities) have taken all the rights away from these people.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"They have no food and access to the media and aid. No freedom of speech or freedom of press.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe said the European council has been \"undecided on the issue\" and she said Britain and other international governments should step in and help.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMIA, real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, said Ms Jananayagam was \"the first person that I've seen in politics who can actually raise questions and be about the people\".\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe added: \"Nothing's getting done about the people. In Sri Lanka, we've seen thousands of people getting killed in front of eyes on television and on the internet.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"If it happened anywhere else, we would be so much more active.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMIA went on: \"There's still no genuine representative for the Tamil people that has stepped forward. That's why Ms Jananayagam's really important because it's about getting to hear those stories about the Tamil people which we're not.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"We're still getting stories from the Sri Lankan governent fed to us. We're not celebrating, we're not in the streets setting off firecrackers and having a great time and celebrating the end of a war.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"We still don't have answers about these people that are stuck in the barbed wire fences. They're dying of diseases. Some 60% of the population in these camps are wounded and have no medical attention.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe said Europe was divided and \"we need a representative in there\" to help with the civil rights of the Tamil people.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003ERaise your voice for the Tamils killed in Vanni Massacre! \nAct NOW to liberate the Tamil civilians from the barbed wire camps in Sri Lanka!\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/feeds\/610203111666875551\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/300000-tamils-in-concentration-camps.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/610203111666875551"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/610203111666875551"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/300000-tamils-in-concentration-camps.html","title":"300,000 Tamils in concentration camps - MIA"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"hr Alert"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/15745495003387147010"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"28","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEicPjYmYc9kx_cWeQ1hpAS0N8jnhNUp2sAIO-Qd1DD15RBk8-RMME_FFs9rfmDm9btSkNruwV5paba4oQ05f0DzCd1VD1LOLvV8O8Xgz-DoiE10tBHK3yW_dGs_GCVWRw\/s220\/cry.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4564570884155420964.post-2710804776066469531"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-08-14T03:33:49.344-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Barbed Wire"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Detention Camps"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Disappeared"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Human Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sri Lanka"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tamil Eelam"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UN"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vanni Massacre"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"War Crimes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"China on the rise once more across the East"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EIf any more evidence of China's steady ascent towards Asian regional dominance was needed, the climax of Sri Lanka's war has provided the proof.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy David Blair, Diplomatic Editor\u003Cbr \/\u003EPublished: 7:22PM BST 19 May 2009\u003Cbr \/\u003ESource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/worldnews\/asia\/china\/5350478\/China-on-the-rise-once-more-across-the-East.html\"\u003ETelegraph UK\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAn ally of Beijing has fought a bitterly controversial conflict to a final victory, while shrugging off international protests along the way. India, the other Asian giant, is only 50 miles from Sri Lanka across the waters of the Palk Straits, yet it has been shown to have far less influence on its neighbour than China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThrough a combination of strategic investments in seaports and pipelines, along with direct financial and military support for friendly governments, China is building a web of influence across South Asia. Many of Beijing's immensely ambitious projects are years away from fruition, yet the repercussions of these ventures are already being felt.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn Sri Lanka, Beijing began constructing a port in Hambantota in 2007 and the scheme is scheduled for completion in 2022. This forms the basis of China's alliance with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government and helps explain the diplomatic support Beijing gave Sri Lanka during the war against the Tamil Tigers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe official line is that Hambantota is only a \"commercial\" trading venture and the facility will handle civilian shipping and nothing else. \"Any attempt to distort the facts would be invalid,\" said Ma Zhaoxu, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut the appearance of a new Chinese port on Sri Lanka's southern coast would allow Beijing the option of using the facility as a naval base in the future. Other projects under way at strategic points across the Indian Ocean raise the same possibility.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina is building another port at Gwadar on the Pakistani coast and at Kyauk Phyu on Burma's island of Ramree. Taken together, these and other facilities may allow China to extend its growing naval strength well beyond its traditional coastal waters and into the Indian Ocean. It would mark a crucial stage in the country's rise to become Asia's hegemonic power.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"China is marching towards regional dominance and that brings it into conflict with India on one flank and Japan on the other,\" said Kerry Brown, a senior fellow at the Asian programme of the Chatham House think tank. \"It will at some point become much more active as a military power in the region.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina's ambitions are of deep concern to its Asian rivals, especially India which shares a 2,100-mile disputed border with its neighbour. Countries as far away as Australia have also shown they are worried. Kevin Rudd's government in Canberra is hugely expanding the Australian navy with the unspoken aim of balancing China's growing strength.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThese fears may, however, be exaggerated. China is bidding to become Asia's foremost power, but not a global behemoth to rival the United States. Moreover, all the evidence suggests that its prime aim is securing its economic growth and domestic stability.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"The Chinese are not seeking conflict. They are seeking a stable international environment within which they can continue their economic development,\" said Mr Brown. \"The key imperative is to preserve internal security within China.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere is no sign of China becoming an overtly threatening, expansionist power. Far from having designs on other countries' territory, China has resolved all border disputes with 12 of its 14 neighbours. In the case of Russia, where the People's Liberation Army fought bloody frontier skirmishes in the 1960s, and Vietnam, where Chinese forces waged a full scale border war in 1979, Beijing chose to make big concessions and give away large areas it had previously claimed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf a future Chinese government decides to use the string of new ports as naval bases, this does not necessarily mean Beijing is out to intimidate its neighbours and overawe the region.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstead, China's economy is largely dependent on energy supplies brought from the Middle East and Africa along vital Indian Ocean shipping lanes. Guaranteeing the safety of these arteries is an understandable aim and does not, of itself, show an aggressive intention.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn particular, China imports about 80 per cent of its oil through the Strait of Malacca, where the Indian Ocean joins the Pacific. President Hu Jintao has called this dependence the \"Malacca Dilemma\" and China's naval planning seems geared towards ensuring this passage remains open, while developing alternative routes where possible.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhatever the motives behind the inexorable extension of China's influence in Asia, however, the balance of global power has already changed dramatically.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003ERaise your voice for the Tamils killed in Vanni Massacre! \nAct NOW to liberate the Tamil civilians from the barbed wire camps in Sri Lanka!\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2710804776066469531\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/china-on-rise-once-more-across-east.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/2710804776066469531"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/2710804776066469531"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/china-on-rise-once-more-across-east.html","title":"China on the rise once more across the East"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"hr Alert"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/15745495003387147010"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"28","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEicPjYmYc9kx_cWeQ1hpAS0N8jnhNUp2sAIO-Qd1DD15RBk8-RMME_FFs9rfmDm9btSkNruwV5paba4oQ05f0DzCd1VD1LOLvV8O8Xgz-DoiE10tBHK3yW_dGs_GCVWRw\/s220\/cry.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4564570884155420964.post-8174720309100371941"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-05T14:19:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-08-14T03:37:25.565-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Barbed Wire"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Detention Camps"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Genocide"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Human Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Humanitarian Issue"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sri Lanka"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tamil Eelam"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vanni Massacre"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vanni Mission"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Sri Lanka navy seizes British Tamil aid ship on 'mercy mission'"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThe Sri Lankan navy seized a ship carrying medical and food aid donated by British Tamils on Thursday, claiming the vessel was carrying military equipment to support the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy Barney Henderson in Mumbai\u003Cbr \/\u003EPublished: 3:52PM BST 05 Jun 2009\u003Cbr \/\u003ESource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/worldnews\/asia\/srilanka\/5453350\/Sri-Lanka-navy-seizes-British-Tamil-aid-ship-on-mercy-mission.html\"\u003ETelegrapgh UK\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Syrian-registered ship, the Captain Ali, set sail from Ipswich on April 20, carrying nearly 900 tons of food, medicine and other aid donated by British Tamils, according to Mercy Mission to Vanni, the group that sent the supplies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, the Sri Lankan navy said the ship had set sail \"under the pretext of a mercy mission\" and seized it 150 nautical miles off the coastline before escorting it to Colombo. Among the 13 crew members and two passengers detained in Colombo for questioning was Uthayanan Thavarajasingam, a 51-year-old British charity worker.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"This is a purely humanitarian mission and the longer the aid is delayed, the more people are suffering in the camps,\" said Arjunan Ethirveerasingam a spokesman for Mercy Mission. \"All we want is to distribute the aid.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut a Sri Lankan military spokesman said: \"The ship has arrived here under the pretext of a mercy mission. We had no details of the ship or cargo apart from that it (the cargo) was loaded by LTTE supporters in the UK.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMercy Mission collected aid in March to support 250,000 refugees displaced by the bloody conflict. However, the Sri Lankan government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May and is now clamping down on anyone with suspected links to the rebels.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn Thursday, a group of doctors working in rebel areas during the war were charged with collaborating with the Tigers for giving information to journalists who were banned from the zones.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is not known whether Damilvany Gnanakumar, the Briton who was working in Tamil hospitals and has been held in an internment camp since mid May, will also face charges.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003ERaise your voice for the Tamils killed in Vanni Massacre! \nAct NOW to liberate the Tamil civilians from the barbed wire camps in Sri Lanka!\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/feeds\/8174720309100371941\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/sri-lanka-navy-seizes-british-tamil-aid.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/8174720309100371941"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4564570884155420964\/posts\/default\/8174720309100371941"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/vannimassacre.blogspot.com\/2009\/06\/sri-lanka-navy-seizes-british-tamil-aid.html","title":"Sri Lanka navy seizes British Tamil aid ship on 'mercy mission'"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"hr Alert"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/15745495003387147010"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"28","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEicPjYmYc9kx_cWeQ1hpAS0N8jnhNUp2sAIO-Qd1DD15RBk8-RMME_FFs9rfmDm9btSkNruwV5paba4oQ05f0DzCd1VD1LOLvV8O8Xgz-DoiE10tBHK3yW_dGs_GCVWRw\/s220\/cry.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}}]}});