Credibly charge Tamil students or free them: Rights group to SL
21 Dec 2012 2:14 AM GMT
An international rights group on Thursday asked Sri Lanka to credibly charge four detained Tamil students or else set them free, terming their detention as a ‘dangerous message’ to the minorities.
The four students were arrested by Sri Lanka's anti-terror force for honouring dead Tamil Tiger leaders by marking the LTTE's Heroes Day on 27 November. The arrests came after a crackdown in the Tamil-dominated northern city of Jaffna where plans were afoot to honour the Tamil 'martyrs'.
The four Jaffna University students were initially detained in Vavuniya and later sent for a 'rehabilitation' programme to a centre at Welikanda, which holds an estimated 600 alleged former LTTE fighters. Human Rights Watch said the students should either be charged for their 'crime' or be released without delay.
‘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 at Human Rights Watch.
‘The Sri Lankan authorities should realise that such actions generate legitimate grievances, not reconciliation,’ he said.
The four students were arrested by Sri Lanka's anti-terror force for honouring dead Tamil Tiger leaders by marking the LTTE's Heroes Day on 27 November. The arrests came after a crackdown in the Tamil-dominated northern city of Jaffna where plans were afoot to honour the Tamil 'martyrs'.
The four Jaffna University students were initially detained in Vavuniya and later sent for a 'rehabilitation' programme to a centre at Welikanda, which holds an estimated 600 alleged former LTTE fighters. Human Rights Watch said the students should either be charged for their 'crime' or be released without delay.
‘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 at Human Rights Watch.
‘The Sri Lankan authorities should realise that such actions generate legitimate grievances, not reconciliation,’ he said.
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