Svensson

Regeringen på Sri Lanka har under en längre tid bedrivit en hård offensiv mot de tamilska tigrarna (LTTE). Under denna offensiv har LTTE tvingats till reträtt och de är nu omringade på ett mindre område i nordöstra Sri Lanka. Under offensiven har regeringen inte tagit någon hänsyn till civila utan ett stort antal har dödats och ännu fler tvingats på flykt. Många (100 000-tals) flyktingar lever nu under extremt dåliga förhållanden på väldigt små områden med krigföring pågående i närområdet.

När jag för en kort tid sedan träffade representanter för tamilerna på Sri Lanka framstod det mycket klart att regeringen begår klara övergrepp mot den tamilska civilbefolkningen under förevändning att det handlar om åtgärder och krigföring mot LTTE. Det är också klart att LTTE är mycket hårt trängda och att slutet på deras tid som en självständig makt i en del av Sri Lanka nu kan skönjas. Men detta har skett till priset av ett stort civilt lidande och med tusentals oskyldiga civila som offer:

The Tamil people is right to be angry that the Western governments have turned a blind eye to the crimes of the government. But you should know that you have friends all over the world in the socialist and working class movement, friends who want to help you take the struggle to the governments of the west and to the government in Sri Lanka.

All across the world, the hypocracy of the Western governments is becoming clear. In Britain, the government can’t even send its envoy to Sri Lanka. Over 100,000 Tamils demonstrated on the streets of London. But Britain keeps on arming and training the Sri Lankan army, navy and airforce.

What are the results of Britain’s support, and the international support, for the Sri Lankan government? Sri Lanka is now internationally recognized one of the the most horrific sites of genocide in human history. The army is intentionally killing civilians by targeting schools and hospitals. No medical supplies have been allowed in for three months. The lack of antibiotics and oxygen has led to hundreds of deaths. We even see the scandal of India using medical aid as a tool for ethnic cleansing: by sending medical aid to the outside of the war zone, it forces people to choose between their homeland and medical care, between land or life.

The international regimes are not helping. We demand that the west stops military aid to Sri Lanka. We demand that the European Union here in Brussels lifts the ban on the Tamil Tigers. And we also need to build international solidarity from the grass roots. That’s why it’s so important to hear that the Tamil community is Britain is organising a ship to take medical aid directly to the war zone. If the Western governments won’t help, then the Tamil people can start to help themselves.

Let’s share something from our experience in Britain, our party – the Respect Party – has just celebrated sending a convoy of aid from Britain to Gaza. We worked with the Muslim community in Britain to demand that the British government helps the people of Gaza. When the Bitish government refused to help, we helped organise this convoy to show to the people of Gaza that people in the rest of the world oppose genocide and war against civilians. The convoy mobilised support, placed pressure on governments and made a real change.

Fjärde Internationalens Internationella Komitté, vilken jag är svensk representant och flertalet av de organisationer som var närvarande har tagit ett kort uttalande i frågan:

The parties that gathered at the recent international committee meeting of the Fourth International called for autonomy for the Tamil people.

”We, the undersigned leaders of workers’ parties, demand that the Government of Sri Lanka stop attacks that can destroy thousands of Tamils and agree to a ceasefire with the LTTE to start discussions in order to install an interim government for the Tamil homeland.”

The workers’ parties signing the appeal are are from Mexico, Japan, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, the U.S.A., South Africa, Canada, The Philippines, Brazil, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Algeria, Sweden and Denmark.

Det handlar om att Sri Lankas regring måste ta hänsyn til mänskliga rättigheter, att omvärlden ska sluta ge stöd till den brutala lankesiska krigsförbrytarregeringen och att tamilerna garanteras sina rättigheter:

1. – That food, medicines and the media would be allowed freely into the war zone
2. - That the Sri Lanka military must leave the Tamil homeland
3. - That the ban must be lifted on the Tamil Tigers, which represents the Tamil people. The legalisation of the LTTE has to be the first step towards Tamil peace, freedom and self-determination.

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