HUMAN RIGHTS DAY FORUM - SRI LANKA: THE WORLD MUST ACT
SUNDAY 13 December 5pm-7pm
Toowong Seniors Hall
9 Maryvale St, Toowong
NB: No longer at Parliament House Annexe

The Human Rights Day event at the Parliament House QLD,
on the 13th of December is postpone to February 2010.

Hindu Ahlaya Sangam, Queensland presents
A Grand Carnatic music concert by  Maharajapuram Santhanam Ramachandran
with 
Shri B U Ganesh Prasad (Violin)  & Shri Arthavan Selvanathan (Mridangam)
Date & Time: 6:30pm, Saturday , 13 February 2010 
Venue:  Schonell Theatre
Union Road, University of Queensland, St Lucia

THIS is Suvanthili Esvaran, the 10-month-old Tamil girl from the Oceanic Viking, whom Kevin Rudd promised not to put in an Indonesian detention centre. Suvanthili's father died in the final days of fighting, early this year, when the Sri Lankan government finally put down the decades-old Tamil Tiger rebellion killing many civilians in the process. Suvanthili's five-year-old sister, Sudar Esvaran, is also in the Tanjung Pinang detention centre, along with their mother, who refused to give her name. So, too, are Atpudha Rahavan, 5, and her brother Abi Rahavan, 2, as well as Denuvan Srikanthan, a three-year-old boy.Yesterday, with their mothers, they stared and called from behind bars at Tanjung Pinang's detention centre, which was built with Australian funds.

Public forum: What solution for Tamil refugees? Fortress Australia or human rights and justice?

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has brushed off emotional appeals from Tamils aboard the boat he had the Indonesians intercept, and whose fate is at the centre of a political row over asylum seekers.The 253 asylum seekers, who have refused to leave the boat for five days, last night started a hunger strike and erected a banner in a bid for ''international community support''.This followed a plea from nine-year-old girl, Brindha, who wept before the Australian media. ''Please help us and save our lives. We are your children. Please think of us, please, please,'' she said, recounting a month in a Malaysian jungle waiting for people smugglers to collect them.''Please sir, please take us to a country. It's OK if it is not Australia. It's better if any other country takes us. We can't live in Sri Lanka.''
- The Age

The Asian Human Rights Commission is saddened, disappointed and shocked but not surprised at the judgment of the High Court of Colombo in sentencing J.S. Tisssainayagam to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for a simple piece of writing which he had done and which was interpreted as aiding and abetting terrorism. The AHRC is not surprised by this judgment because at the very inception of this case the AHRC pointed out that this is purely a political case, the first of its kind in which the accused, Mr. Tisssainayagam’s guilt or innocence was not an issue but an opportunity to send a message to society on the changed circumstances of the country where freedom of expression does not matter at all. That was the real aim of this case. It is the sort of prosecution that could have happened under the regime of Joseph Stalin through the prosecutor, Andrei Vyshinsky.

BRISBANE archdiocese's Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) has launched a petition calling on the Federal Government to pressure the Sri Lankan Government over its treatment of almost 300,000 Tamil civilians in internment camps.The petition urges the Australian Govern-ment to call on the Sri Lankan Government to allow aid agencies, journalists, diplomats and human rights organisations better access to the camps.It also calls for action to speed up the release of Tamils from the camps, to initiate an independent investigation of possible human rights violations during the military battle between Government forces and Tamil Tigers earlier this year, and to establish a process which promotes reconciliation by addressing the grievances of Tamils.

The Australian Tamil Congress, a national body representing Australian Tamils, wishes to bring to your attention the disturbing video evidence of members of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces executing Tamil men. The footage shows nine young men, stripped naked, hands bound and eyes blindfolded being shot execution style by members of the Sri Lankan military. The executioners speak in Sinhala, the language of the island’s majority and ruling government. One army officer compares the taking of turns at shooting the Tamil men to buru, the Sinhala name for a card game.  

Our Crusade for Peace and Justice will officially begin today ( 15th August 2009 ) with the national launch in 5 major states in Australia said an official close to Australian Tamil Congress. Australian Tamil Congress, the unified voice of Australian tamils will be launched in New South Wales , Queensland, South Australia , Victoria and South Australia by Australian Tamil Intellectuals. Sen. Mark Furner will be the Chief Guest for the launch in Queensland, organisers said.  On behalf of the Australian Tamil Congress, we invite you to join us and work with us to bring lasting justice and peace to our people in Sri Lanka. This work must start today; it cannot wait until tomorrow. Please join with us and make a difference and we shall rise from the ashes like the phoenix, a statement from ATC said.

AUSTRALIAN TAMIL CONGRESS INAUGURAL MEETING
THE NEXT STEP FORWARD
TIME: SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2009 5.00PM
VENUE:  Toowong Seniors  Association of Queensland Hall
9 Maryvale St, Toowong QLD 4066.

Two young Australian Tamils (Vishna & Seran) are walking 300km from Sydney to Canberra to raise awareness about the plight of the 300,000 Tamils locked up in concentration camps in the island of Sri Lanka. They will begin their walk from Martin Place, Sydney at 11AM and leave by 12 noon on Monday 10 August. All details are on the flyer attached. They will be sleeping over at Liverpool on Monday, Campbelltown on Tuesday and Bowral on Wednesday. They will reach Canberra on the Tuesday 18 August at Parliament House 12 noon to 2pm so if you can make it please head down to Canberra to show them your support.