Activists in New York demand 'Justice for Trinco 5'

by admin
Apr 30, 2012

Over 700 activists attended Amnesty International's annual 'Get on the Bus for Human Rights' event in New York on Friday, calling for justice, accountability, and an end to human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, Burma, Indonesia and Tibet.

Activists called on the Sri Lankan government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the Trinco-5 killings of Ragihar Manoharan and his fellow four students in Trincomalee on 2nd January 2006.

J.S. Tissainayagam, a former Sunday Times journalist imprisoned by the Sri Lankan government in 2008, spoke at this year's event, detailing the Sri Lankan government's failure to deliver justice and his own ordeal during detention.

Tissainayagam's imprisonment under Sri Lanka's notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act had previously been a focus point of Amnesty's 'Get of the Bus' campaign.

Shan Sundaram, a Tamil activist who attended the rally told Tamil Guardian,

“Yesterday was the first time I had seen over 700 American school kids standing in front of Sri Lankan mission and demanding justice be served for Tamils.”

 

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