Tamils frustrated over the 'reshuffling' of prisoners Special

Over the last few weeks, news outlets, such as BBC, have reported that thousands of Tamils are being released from the internal displacement camps but now it has been revealed that they are just being transferred.

As Digital Journal reported at the beginning of the month, BBC first reported that Tamils were being released per day from the internal displacement camps and were able to go back to their communities and or homes. Some Tamils even received money, according to the report. However, it has now been reported that Tamils are not being released but just transferred to other displacement camps that carry the same conditions as the original one. The Sri Lankan government recently stated that 164,000 Tamils remain in the northern camps and will reduce the number to 50,000 by January, according to Bloomberg News. Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Rajiva Wijesinha, said on Thursday, “We are now moving with incremental swiftness.”

Andrew Moran

Tamils stood for the 205th day in front of the US Consulate on Friday to show their frustration and anger over the internal displacement camps.

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This latest move by the government comes after sharp criticism by the United States government and the European Union, which forced the Sri Lankan government, as Digital Journal reported, to commit an internal investigation of accusation of war crimes, which Senthan Nada, a Toronto spokesperson for the Coalition to Stop the War in Sri Lanka, said, “If someone said that Hitler should investigate his own crimes, it wouldn't work. It should be an independent inquiry. Coming up with these investigations are a joke.” Magesh Ananth, a Toronto-Tamil demonstrator, also called the investigations “ridiculous” on Friday and that there should be other types of investigations by other governments. Ananth consistently apologized for laughing and thinks that it’s bad judgment by the Sri Lankan government because “they’re the criminals.” He concludes, “I don’t like it.” Thanga, a Toronto teacher and also a Toronto-Tamil demonstrator, chuckled when hearing about the decision and stating that “the world has shut its mouth.” The teacher further added that the government is ruining “our land, our homes and everything.”

Andrew Moran

Tamils stood for the 205th day in front of the US Consulate on Friday to show their frustration and anger over the internal displacement camps.

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Nevertheless, a large majority of the Tamils being released are just being reshuffled and detained by the Sri Lankan Navy and transferred to several other camps. One demonstrator in front of the US Consulate in Toronto said on Friday that the other camps are in the exact same condition as the original camp. Tamilnet concludes that the government is merely relocating them instead of resettling them. The Washington Post also notes that after interviewing civilians in Sri Lanka’s north end, the Tamils have just been reshuffled. It further adds that once some of the displacement victims were released and sent home, they were taken away from their homes with no warning.

Andrew Moran

Tamils stood for the 205th day in front of the US Consulate on Friday to show their frustration and anger over the internal displacement camps.

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Thanga concluded by stating that the Sri Lankan government said the camps would only be around for 180 days but now it has been passed that amount and asks the question: where have the 30,000 people disappeared to?