Four human rights groups urge Japan to back UN action on Lanka

(May 11, New York, Sri Lanka Guardian) Japan needs to “play a more active role” in confronting the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka, four international organizations said in a letter today to Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan. Ahead of today’s ministerial-level meeting at the United Nations Security Council, the groups urged Japan, as a council member, to support urgent formal action on the situation.

In the letter, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, Amnesty International, and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, all of which work closely on Sri Lanka, said:

“We believe that Japan, a powerful player on the humanitarian stage and the largest international donor to Sri Lanka, has an important role to play in saving countless civilian lives, as well as to implement aid policies that ensure sustainable peace, human rights and development in Sri Lanka. It is time for Japan to show that it is prepared to shoulder its responsibilities.”

The organizations said that both the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government “have shown wanton disregard for human life in violation of international humanitarian law.” They said that the Security Council’s informal consideration of the situation in Sri Lanka was not sufficient and that “formal meetings of the Security Council must be held urgently so that the Council can take the necessary measures to address the humanitarian and human rights crisis.”

The organizations called on Japan “to take a more robust stance on the continuing suffering of the civilian population in Sri Lanka” and “to support action at the Security Council in New York, and to support prompt consideration of the situation in Sri Lanka by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.”
-Sri Lanka Guardian
Tudor the Canadian said...

This is just the start of the Tamil Tiger Mafia. Just like every country made the mistake of cuddling up to terrorists, Canada is also doing the same thing. It is about time the police practice what it preaches. These people should go back and fight in Sri Lanka. No they will never leave Paradise because we are all suckers for refugees. Did these idiots care for a minute when POL POT VELU killed innocent civilians by sending poor uneducated men and women to blow up buses, buildings, Tamil politicians, markets and any place convenient for them. Oh no it was all right because they were fighting for Tamil rights. So now Sri Lankans are fighting for its rights to protect its own people from this maniac. If the Canadian people have any sympathy for these hooligans then they should wonder why they sacrificed 117 Canadians in Afghanistan for the fight against terrorism. Terrorist is a terrorist does not matter what colour of clothes they wear or the colour of the skin. The Canadian Government should help Sri Lanka to get rid of this maniac and his disease forever and then let them find a way forward in peace and in a civilized manner. Just because you name people by the name of an animal does not mean you have to behave like one. God Bless Canada and Sri Lanka in this joint effort to rid this disease.