DATE=9/21/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SRI LANKA - AMNESTY REPORT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254124
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The human rights watchdog group, Amnesty
International, has condemned the killing of more than
50 ethnic Sinhalese villagers last week, by Tamil
Tiger rebels in eastern Sri Lanka. Vandana Chopra
reports from Colombo.
TEXT: The international human rights organization,
Amnesty International, has appealed to the leadership
of the Tiger rebel group to immediately halt all
attacks on civilians and to instruct its members to
comply with international humanitarian laws,
prohibiting such attacks.
Last week the Tiger guerillas massacred more than 50
Sinhalese villagers including 14 children and 17 women
in their villages in eastern Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese
are the majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka
constituting about 70 percent of the population.
The villagers were killed with swords and machetes in
the early hours of Saturday morning.
In the past, hundreds of civilians have been
deliberately killed in these areas by the rebels, but
no such attacks had been reported for the last three
years.
Amnesty International says the killings represent a
return to the large scale deliberate attacks on
civlians belonging to the Sinhalese and Muslim
communities.
The attack last Saturday came soon after Tiger
separatists accused the Sri Lankan Air Force of
killing 22 Tamil refugees in air strikes in
northeastern Sri Lanka.
Local newspapers and military officials say the attack
was in retaliation for the air strikes.
Meanwhile, a peace movement, National Movement Against
Terrorism, has organized a peace march for Wednesday
to protest against the massacre of the innocent
Sinhalese civilians. The movement has called for
defeat of the rebels through war and has appealed for
adequate security for the unarmed villagers living in
rebel threatened zones. The Movement has also called
for no peace talks, ceasefires, foreign mediations or
interventions.
Since 1983, the Tiger guerillas have been fighting for
autonomy for the minority Tamil community in Sri
Lanka's north and east.(signed)
NEB/VC/PLM
21-Sep-1999 05:20 AM EDT (21-Sep-1999 0920 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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