Act Now to Stop the Genocide of Tamils

From a Facebook Invite

Pressure the Government of Sri Lanka:
End immediately the genocidal campaign launched on Tamil civilians in the Northern regions!

On January 26 alone, over 300 Tamils were killed in indiscriminate artillery attacks by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) on a village in the Northern district of Mullaithivu in Sri Lanka. These brutal attacks have left thousands seriously injured; many injured have bled to death on the streets as there are no emergency medical supplies and treatment facilities in these government-declared so-called “Safety Zones”.

New reports indicate that civilians have been left to die as the army continues to engage in artillery attacks, including on hospitals.

“In a scene of carnage of untold proportion on civilian targets hit by hundreds of Sri Lanka Army-fired artillery shells, more than 300 people have died and several hundreds are bleeding to death within the last 24 hours, amidst pouring rain inside the ‘Safety Zone’ declared by the Colombo government. Houses and vehicles burn for a stretch of three kilometers between Va’l'lipunam Kaa’li temple and Moongkilaa’ru towards Paranthan road, reports from Vanni said on Monday. Unattended bodies and injured people unable to move are lying around everywhere, while a remaining doctor fled and helpless ICRC officials virtually cried at the scene from their bunkers.”
- TamilNet.com, January 26, 2009

TAKE ACTION!

Demand that Canadian Members of Parliament, policy-makers, and the media exert pressure on the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately:
1. Halt the war and seek a negotiated political solution to the conflict.
2. Allow local and international NGOs and other humanitarian workers to provide much needed assistance to those displaced.
3. Lift the embargo on food, medicine, and other essential items.
4. Stop the indiscriminate bombings and shellings of civilians.

Demand immediate action by the United Nations to immediately:
1. Adopt a United Nations Human Rights Council Emergency Resolution calling for an end to the massive human rights violations against Tamils.
2. Establish a United Nations monitoring mission in Sri Lanka with a mandate to report on all human rights violations and humanitarian issues.

Stop the genocide of Tamils!

For more information, please contact:

CanadianHART (Canadian Humanitarian Appeal for the Relief of Tamils)
Phone: 416-838-9637
Email: info@canadianhart.org
Web:
http://www.haltgenocide.org

and

http://www.tamilIDPcrisis.org

Toronto rally and vigil are organized by:
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War

Endorsed by:
CanadianHART

To endorse the Stop the Genocide of Tamils campaign, please e-mail info@canadianhart.org.

The Toronto Coalition to Stop the War is Toronto’s city-wide anti-war coalition, comprised of more than 70 labour, faith and community organizations, and a member of the Canadian Peace Alliance.

Join the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=34638997781&ref=ts

“Population Control” at Norman Filkenstein’s Lecture

As Israel continues to pound Gaza, many people continue to protest against this unproportional use of force and mass murder of innocent civilians. There is a lack of voice for Palestine in the political arena. Just a while ago, I watched one of Dr. Norman Filkenstein’s videos on Youtube. I felt extremely curious and seriously wanted to hear him speak in person. Since, I do not know much about the historical context of Palestine- Israel war, I thought listening to Dr. Norman would be an excellent educational opportunity.

Lucky me, Dr. Norman decided to visit my university, University of Toronto at Mississauga. The minute I found out that he was coming, I jotted down the time and location the event was going to take place. “Hmm! 6-9 pm, CCIT building, Room 1080”. I was totally excited about this event. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to attend this educational event and hear Dr. Norman in person?” This thought would ring in my mind every day as I keenly looked forward to this event.

So, as scheduled, I went to hear Dr. Norman Filkenstein’s lecture. I arrived around an hour late since I was coming all the way from Brampton. I thought, I would be able to get in anyways. But, I saw a huge crowd of people outside. So, I thought, to just go and get some coffee for myself as I waited for the crowd to thin out. I came back in around 15 minutes and most of the crowd had dissipated. Perhaps, the Campus Police, who were at the entrance, allowed some people to go inside. I walked towards the entrance only to find out that they weren’t letting anybody go inside anymore because the room was full. “Great!” I thought, “but, it’s worth a wait”. So I patiently waited outside. I mean, I am not going anywhere without listening to him.

Around 8 pm, I saw around 20-30 people leave room 1080. I approached one of the girls who just left the lecture room and asked her why she is leaving. She said that she didn’t want to attend the Q & A session that just started. “Hmm! My chance”, I thought. Around 30 seats are available inside. I must go inside and participate in the Q & A session.” So, I approached the entrance along with some other students behind me. All of a sudden, the police stopped us. “Sorry, but we are not letting anybody in”. I was surprised at this. “Why wouldn’t they let us in?” I wondered. Then a very courageous guy behind me voiced my inner thoughts. “Why wouldn’t you let us in? Around 30 people just left the room, there should be enough space inside”. And a policewoman commented, “Sorry, but we have to do Population Control”. What does that mean? Population Control is a term I read being used in some online news articles where it comments that the bombarding done by Israel on Palestine is like population control because it mostly harms the general Palestinian population. The guy behind me commented, “This is ridiculous! You should let us in”. And the police stood their ground. I found all this very confusing and intimidating. “Population Control, Population Control”. These words rang in my head, as I, a Muslim woman who wears the headscarf (hijab), left with the other students.

I believe the Campus Police was just being mean towards the students. It was totally unnecessary of them to block students from entering the room when there were around 30 empty seats inside. It wasn’t even the end of the event. There was one full hour of the event left. It’s almost as if they didn’t want us to attend the rest of the event. The implied message that I received was: “Less people hear about this, the better it is”. I believe that the Campus Police owe those students, who were blocked from entering the room, a sincere apology.

As I left UofT, I felt that I was denied an important, perhaps life-changing, educational opportunity. I felt “intimidated”, “discouraged” and “lost”. I utilized my hard-earned money and gas to get to this event, only to come back home “empty minded”. This was very unfair.

I also heard from a (very reliable) student leader that the student organization responsible for holding this event, Ministry of Social Justice, was asked to pay for security in case that a protest by Jewish students may break out. He noted that paying for security is both an over-precaution and a way of discouraging these events from happening. In my opinion, just simple presence of the Campus Police and of course that of the Peel Region Police is enough to discourage students from any sort of protests. There is no need to ask a small student organization to pay for security. It’s absolutely unnecessary.

I believe that it is the responsibility of the Dean of UofT, to request some discipline from those Campus Police members who were at the front entrance of room 1080, around 8 pm. There was no need to intimidate and block students and graduates in such a manner. It was totally ridiculous to block us from entering the lecture room and participate in the Q & A session. And also there was no need to ask for additional payment when the presence of the Police is enough to discourage students/attendees from protesting. There was no need for such measures.

The Nightmare that Never Ended

By: Nada Amara

My name is Nada Amara, and I am the wife of Zakariya Amara, one of the so-called accused of the ”Toronto 18″. I am currently a student at the University of Toronto, doing a double major in Biology and Chemistry. It has been almost two years since my husband’s arrest, which have also been two of the most difficult years of my life. Although it has been atrying experience, I want my fellow Canadians to know what I have gone through. I wish to highlight the injustices that have transpired, right before our very eyes, within the very borders of our nation.

On Friday, the very next evening, at approximately 6:00PM, Zakaria and I were in the basement playing with my daughter when we heard a loud bang, and disturbances from upstairs. All of a sudden, a swarm of men came charging down the stairs.These men wore gas masks on their faces; some with riot gear, wearing thick bullet proof vests with huge black guns pointing in our direction. As they were entering our basement, they were screaming from the top of their lungs: “GET DOWN GET DOWN GET DOWN!” My younger sister, who was present, and husband laid down on the floor, but I couldn’t since I was holding my 8 month old daughter.  I still remember my baby’s terrified face, she was screaming and crying, I just held her tightly and tried my best to calm her down. But as much as I tried, I could not hide the fact that I was also terrified. I started to cry and shake uncontrollably. Each member of my family had a masked man standing over us and pointing a gun to our heads.

On Thursday, June 1st, 2006, the night before the arrest took place, it was a very typical day for my family. I came home from school, fed my daughter, then just an infant, and put her to sleep around 11 pm. At this time I was headed to bed myself. My husband had told me that he felt like praying all night and might not come to bed until much later, and thus asked me not to wait up for him. So I went to bed. But then suddenly I heard a noise; it sounded like the theme song to ‘Lord of the Rings’. I got out of bed to survey the situation, and there I saw Zakaria sitting on the couch in his PJ’s playing ‘Lord of the Rings’ on his XBOX. I screamed, “Zak! I thought you were gonna pray!” Caught red-handed, he responded ”I know I know, but just let me finish this level”. I sat down beside and he convinced me to join him. We played all night, a myriad of games, on and on. I remember laughing and playfully punching him every time he beat me at a game. I would never have imagined that this would be our last night together. They were our last few moments, memories and hours together, until the fateful day that has since then transformed the lives we once knew. Since then, it has been 22 months of a living nightmare. My husband and I have been separated: myself on my own, raising my daughter by myself, and he living in complete solitary confinement.

The Raid:

On Friday, the very next evening, at approximately 6:00PM, Zakaria and I were in the basement playing with my daughter when we heard a loud bang, and disturbances from upstairs. All of a sudden, a swarm of men came charging down the stairs.These men wore gas masks on their faces; some with riot gear, wearing thick bullet proof vests with huge black guns pointing in our direction. As they were entering our basement, they were screaming from the top of their lungs: “GET DOWN GET DOWN GET DOWN!” My younger sister, who was present, and husband laid down on the floor, but I couldn’t since I was holding my 8 month old daughter. I still remember my baby’s terrified face, she was screaming and crying, I just held her tightly and tried my best to calm her down. But as much as I tried, I could not hide the fact that I was also terrified. I started to cry and shake uncontrollably. Each member of my family had a masked man standing over us and pointing a gun to our heads.

Read the full article here.

Afghan Children Raped with “Impunity”

Afghan children are being brutally raped. Events like this has started happening with even more frequency after the invasion and occupation by American forces. Seriously, this world is not such a good place to live in. 

(CNN) – The young Afghan girl sits in the center of the room, weeping. Using her hand and her blue scarf to hide her face, she recounts how she was brutally raped by five gunmen.

 

The 12-year-old girl, gang-raped in Afghanistan, weeps as her family demands justice.

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The girl’s tragic case is one of many in war-torn Afghanistan, activists say.

The 12-year-old girl’s family members say they’ll take their own lives unless justice is served.

“We will all commit suicide; this is not living,” cries the mother of the girl, whose gang-rape occurred in Northern Afghanistan.

The girl’s adolescent voice pleads for help from Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan.

The girl’s elderly and immobilized father trembles and can only raise a quivering hand as he sobs. He is rendered helpless in a country where a man’s dignity and honor is protecting his family.

Her little brother sits in the back, far too young to understand the situation but still traumatized by the devastated cries around him. He wipes away his tears.

The children’s mother sobs. “We’ve been violated. We can’t live our lives. We can’t sit. We can’t sleep at night,” she says.

Read the full article here.

Genocide of Muslims! Holocaust Renewed

This reminds me of the holocaust. Funny! It’s the Israeli government that’s responsible for this war.  They always complain about the injustices done to the Jews during the holocaust while hiding the fact that Muslims and Christians were also targeted during the holocaust. And now they are carrying a similar genocide on innocent people of Palestine? This is sheer hypocrisy.

I wonder why people are afraid of Muslims?  Who is the real terrorist seriously?   And why does the U.S. always back Israel? Why does Obama back Israel?

So, Hammas is terrorist in nature. Really? Tally of casualaties since Dec27: 485 Palestinians, 6 Israelis. Isn’t it clear now who the terrorists are?

Perhaps these governments only want money and resources, even if it means looting it from other individuals and countries. Ha! harrassment by individuals who harp about human rights? Simply ridiculous.

Kindly sign all these petitions and spread them around:

Petition 1

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Petition 3

Petition 4

Petition 5

Petition 6

Petition 7

Petition 8

Petition 9

Petition 10

Petition 11