Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Canadian MP condemns Jaffna student arrests

The Canadian NDP MP for Scarborough-Rouge River, Rathika Sitsabaiesan, condemned the arrests and attacks on Jaffna university students by Sri Lankan security forces as a "clear assault on freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and breach of human rights" and asserted it was "completely unacceptable".

In a statement published on Friday in English and Tamil, Sitsabaiesan called on the Canadian government to make clear to Sri Lanka that the international community "will not tolerate these oppressive measures".

"In Canada, our government must work with our partners in the international community to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to improve its treatment of Tamils and bring those responsible for this violation of human rights to justice. Holding individuals without charging them, along with having no clear evidence linking them to any alleged crime is inexcusable."

In a separate statement, Wayne Marston of the NDP urged that the "Sri Lankan Government must ensure an end to attacks by security forces against students and peaceful demonstrators and ensure those responsible are brought to justice."

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.