Tamils suffer under Sri Lankan army rule

Kotte, July 8 (ANI): Three years have passed since the civil war in Sri Lanka ended, but for North Sri Lanka's Tamil minority community, which suffered heavy casualties during the three-decade conflict, are still living in great anguish under the army's rule.

According to Washington Post, a group of Sri Lankan Tamil women recounted their daily humiliation under the victorious Sri Lankan Army, almost exclusively made up of ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists.

Twice a month, the women said, soldiers enter their homes to photograph everyone.

Permission from the military is required for even the smallest gathering, or just to collect firewood from the nearby forest.

"'I even have to go and ask someone for permission to have a birthday party for my daughter in my own home,'' a 46-year-old mother of six said.

Today, soldiers attend meetings at Hindu temples and functions at primary schools. The military is involved in almost every aspect of economic life in the north.

Tamils feel as if they are living under an army of occupation, Father S.M. Praveen, who runs the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in Jaffna, said.

''It is like an open prison. The military decides everything,'' he added.

Father Praveen said intimidation had increased since March, when the United States sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling on the Sri Lankans to promote postwar reconciliation.

Four of his workers, who were documenting alleged human rights abuses and land grabs by the army, received death threats or were attacked by thugs who threw oil on them, which is the latest method of intimidating those who criticize the government or army, he added.

The UN has called for an investigation of the final stages of the civil war, accusing the Tigers of using civilians as human shields but also accusing the army of indiscriminate shelling and of denying civilians access to humanitarian aid. (ANI)