Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:10:33 -0700
Subject: The biggest prison camp in the world
From: Amnesty International USA alerts@takeaction.amnestyusa.org

 
Locked up in filthy, overcrowded camps. Detained against their will. Living in fear of torture, execution, abduction and sexual violence.

Call on the Sri Lankan government to free civilians from the nightmare of civil war.
 
 
Dear ---,

Sri Lanka's bloody civil war ended 3 months ago, yet right now almost 300,000 civilians are being held captive inside military-run internment camps that operate like prisons. Trapped between the Sri Lankan Army and rebel Tamil Tigers during the final months of combat, they've been interned behind barbed wire with no government plan for setting them free or returning them home.(1)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the camps as "by far the most appalling scenes I have seen."

End their suffering. Unlock the camps.

At least 50,000 of the detainees are children. Every day, lives are lost to poor sanitation and lack of food, water and access to medical care. Few independent aid workers or journalists are allowed in. Without independent monitors in the camps, further abuses are continuing.

These innocent civilians have broken no laws but are being treated like criminals. They are essentially prisoners locked up in violation of the Sri Lankan constitution and international law. Lend your voice to those who have suffered.

Sign a petition to the Sri Lankan government demanding freedom of movement for displaced civilians.

It's time to step up the pressure on the Sri Lankan government to unlock the camps. With your help, we can set these Sri Lankan civilians free and give them an opportunity to rebuild their lives. Please take action today.

Sincerely,
The Sri Lanka Crisis Team

P.S. You can also share this action on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/aicrisisapp/sites/us-en



(1) www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/opinion/22iht-edtempler.html?scp=1&sq=War%20without%20end&st=cse

____
Copyright 2009 Amnesty International USA 5 Penn Plaza New York, NY 10001 212.807.8400

+=+=+=+
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.]