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HISTORY OF TAMIL STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM IN SRI LANKA
A PHOTO ALBUM

BIRTH OF THE TAMIL ARMED RESISTANCE

'... it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppresssion, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law...'

- Universal Declartion of Human Rights
It was only after Twenty Five years of -
bulletDiscriminatory and oppressive policies of the Sinhala dominated Sri Lanka governments
bulletBroken promises
bulletRecurrent and state sanctioned mob-violence
bulletUse of state armed forces against non-violent protests

- The Tamil Armed Resistance Movement started.

 

In 1975, (before the birth of the armed resistance movement) the Minority Rights Group warned -

"If Sri Lanka is not to experience communal violence or terrorism and counter terror on a scale which would invite comparison to Northern Ireland or Cyprus, there will have to be more readiness for compromise and moderation than has yet been seen... It would be a pity if Sri Lanka's leadership waited for bombs to explode, and for the prisons to fill up again before conceding that the Tamils need reassurance that have a place in the future of the island."
- Walter Schwarz; Minority Rights Group Report on Tamils of Sri Lanka (1975)

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