Chennai:
Small Headline: Arundhati lends support to Lankan Tamils
City: Chennai
ByLine: Sam Daniel
As the Sri Lankan army is on the verge of eliminating the LTTE there is a fear of mass civilian casualties in the weeks ahead.
So human rights groups are now mobilising the support of well known activists around the world to stop the war. And lending her voice for the Tamils cause from India was Booker prize winner and activist Arundhati Roy.
She could not make it to the protest venue but sent a strong message saying, ",It is a colossal humanitarian tragedy. Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka the silence is inexcusable. The world must step in before its too late.",
Over a lakh civilians are caught in the crossfire in the Lankan government's battle against the LTTE . But the Lankan army blames the Tigers for using civilians as human shields.
This ethnic war for a separate Tamil homeland has already claimed over 70,000 lives.
The Lankan government promises devolution of powers to Tamils after eliminating the LTTE, but many say innocent Tamil civilians are being targetted in the name of fighting the Tigers.
With the conflict zone out of bounds for the international media, observers say truth has become a casualty and the safety of over a lakh civilians is raising concerns.
It is election time and in Tamil Nadu the Lankan Tamils' cause has now been reduced to political manifestos. Now, many hope that this international campaign by renowned activists would mount more pressure on the Lankan government to stop the war.
City: Chennai
ByLine: Sam Daniel
As the Sri Lankan army is on the verge of eliminating the LTTE there is a fear of mass civilian casualties in the weeks ahead.
So human rights groups are now mobilising the support of well known activists around the world to stop the war. And lending her voice for the Tamils cause from India was Booker prize winner and activist Arundhati Roy.
She could not make it to the protest venue but sent a strong message saying, ",It is a colossal humanitarian tragedy. Given the scale of what is happening in Sri Lanka the silence is inexcusable. The world must step in before its too late.",
Over a lakh civilians are caught in the crossfire in the Lankan government's battle against the LTTE . But the Lankan army blames the Tigers for using civilians as human shields.
This ethnic war for a separate Tamil homeland has already claimed over 70,000 lives.
The Lankan government promises devolution of powers to Tamils after eliminating the LTTE, but many say innocent Tamil civilians are being targetted in the name of fighting the Tigers.
With the conflict zone out of bounds for the international media, observers say truth has become a casualty and the safety of over a lakh civilians is raising concerns.
It is election time and in Tamil Nadu the Lankan Tamils' cause has now been reduced to political manifestos. Now, many hope that this international campaign by renowned activists would mount more pressure on the Lankan government to stop the war.
