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Tamil activists protest at Kerry's office
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Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor
December 21, 2009 05:35 PM
By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff
Ethnic Tamils in Boston protested today in front of Senator John F. Kerry's office against a report that Kerry's Senate Foreign Relations Committee released earlier this month that calls for friendlier relations between the United States and Sri Lanka.
Six months after the Sri Lankan army defeated a Tamil rebel army that had controlled the northern part of the island for decades, many Boston-area Tamils complain that the Sri Lankan government is still keeping more than 100,000 Tamils in camps for internally displaced people and not allowing them to leave. (The Sri Lankan government has pledged to close the camps next month.)
The Boston Tamil group has been encouraging Kerry and other US officials to open a war crimes investigation, charging that the Sri Lankan army shelled hospitals and killed civilians in their effort to defeat the rebels.
But two Senate Foreign Relations staffers who traveled to Sri Lanka in November say that the United States must improve its relations with the tiny island nation which is crucial to protecting shipping lanes in the region.
The report recommends resuming military training for Sri Lankan officials, reinstating the Peace Corps, and giving humanitarian assistance to all areas of the country, not just to Tamil areas in the north.
"The United States cannot afford to 'lose' Sri Lanka," the staffers wrote in their report, which noted that Sri Lanka is beginning to cultivate closer ties with non-democratic countries, including China, Iran, and Libya. (Read the report here.)
Today, members of the Boston Tamil group gathered outside Kerry's office in Bowdoin Square and handed over about 45 letters of complaint to one of Kerry's aides. The protesters claimed that the report was biased towards the Sinhalese ethnic majority that rules Sri Lanka, and against the Tamil minority that has been fighting for a separate homeland for decades.
"The report falls short on presenting the Tamil's grievances," said Siva Sivalogan, the association's secretary, who noted that one of the staffers who co-authored the report is of Sinhalese descent.
But Frederick Jones, Kerry's spokesman, said: "To question the objectivity and expertise of a Foreign Relations Committee staffer based on her ethnicity is deeply troubling."
The bipartisan report "does not take sides between the different ethnic groups," Jones said, noting that it also calls for the Sri Lankan government to begin efforts at political reconciliation with Tamils and to respect the basic rights of all citizens.
"The bipartisan Senate Foreign Relations report presents a balanced and pragmatic view of the steps all sides need to take to help the country transition to a real peace," he said.
Ethnic Tamils in Boston protested today in front of Senator John F. Kerry's office against a report that Kerry's Senate Foreign Relations Committee released earlier this month that calls for friendlier relations between the United States and Sri Lanka.
Six months after the Sri Lankan army defeated a Tamil rebel army that had controlled the northern part of the island for decades, many Boston-area Tamils complain that the Sri Lankan government is still keeping more than 100,000 Tamils in camps for internally displaced people and not allowing them to leave. (The Sri Lankan government has pledged to close the camps next month.)
The Boston Tamil group has been encouraging Kerry and other US officials to open a war crimes investigation, charging that the Sri Lankan army shelled hospitals and killed civilians in their effort to defeat the rebels.
But two Senate Foreign Relations staffers who traveled to Sri Lanka in November say that the United States must improve its relations with the tiny island nation which is crucial to protecting shipping lanes in the region.
The report recommends resuming military training for Sri Lankan officials, reinstating the Peace Corps, and giving humanitarian assistance to all areas of the country, not just to Tamil areas in the north.
"The United States cannot afford to 'lose' Sri Lanka," the staffers wrote in their report, which noted that Sri Lanka is beginning to cultivate closer ties with non-democratic countries, including China, Iran, and Libya. (Read the report here.)
Today, members of the Boston Tamil group gathered outside Kerry's office in Bowdoin Square and handed over about 45 letters of complaint to one of Kerry's aides. The protesters claimed that the report was biased towards the Sinhalese ethnic majority that rules Sri Lanka, and against the Tamil minority that has been fighting for a separate homeland for decades.
"The report falls short on presenting the Tamil's grievances," said Siva Sivalogan, the association's secretary, who noted that one of the staffers who co-authored the report is of Sinhalese descent.
But Frederick Jones, Kerry's spokesman, said: "To question the objectivity and expertise of a Foreign Relations Committee staffer based on her ethnicity is deeply troubling."
The bipartisan report "does not take sides between the different ethnic groups," Jones said, noting that it also calls for the Sri Lankan government to begin efforts at political reconciliation with Tamils and to respect the basic rights of all citizens.
"The bipartisan Senate Foreign Relations report presents a balanced and pragmatic view of the steps all sides need to take to help the country transition to a real peace," he said.
tags John Kerry, Sri Lanka, Tamils
About Political Intelligence
Glen Johnson is Politics Editor at boston.com and lead blogger for "Political Intelligence." He moved to Massachusetts in the fourth grade, and has covered local, state, and national politics for over 25 years. E-mail him at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen. |
