Sri Lanka's disappeared: Gang demands Tamil exiles pay ransom for kidnapped relatives


	Sri Lanka's disappeared: Gang demands Tamil exiles pay ransom for kidnapped relatives

premjayanthan

4-7-2008 8:14 AM

54 views

tags:

human rights, sri lanka, tamil, war, disappearances, abductions, kidnapping, ransom, violence, intimidation

premjayanthan says:

This happens to people everyday.

Sri Lanka now has the highest rate of "disappearances" in the world, having replaced Iraq.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/4e6192c8-dee6-4568-9b60-56cdde59e3f5/23392E34-3B7A-45BA-BF3D-6600306CE10C/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html" style="font-size: 11px;">www.independent.co.uk</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html">Sri Lanka's disappeared: Gang demands Tamil exiles pay ransom for kidnapped relatives</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html">no one knows this better than Tamils</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html">Six months ago, his brother and cousin were kidnapped in Colombo by "agents" claiming to act on behalf of the island's Karuna Faction militia, now a de-facto extension of Sri Lanka's intelligence services.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html">last month he was approached outside his west London church by two Sri Lankan men claiming to know the whereabouts of his kidnapped relatives. They asked him to hand over his savings or his relatives in Colombo would face further violence and intimidation.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html">In Colombo his family have faced similar blackmail. His terrified aunt, Maria Regina, sold her home, took a loan she could never repay and handed over $25,000. Both the kidnap victims are still missing. They are not alone.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lankas-disappeared-gang-demands-tamil-exiles-pay-ransom-for-kidnapped-relatives-805256.html">"Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, once a rights advocate, has now led his government to become one of the world's worst perpetrators of forced disappearances," said Human Rights Watch</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/23392E34-3B7A-45BA-BF3D-6600306CE10C/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>