Stop the Slaughter of Tamils

Campaign to end the war and fight for democracy in Sri Lanka

"Silence is inexcusable" --- Arundhati Roy, Booker prize-winning writer

The horrific situation faced by the Tamil people in the north of Sri Lanka gets worse by the day. For months hundreds of thousands have been trapped with no food or health facilities. The shelling by the Sri Lankan military has led Human Rights Watch to describe the so-called safety zone as one of the most dangerous places in the world. Beyond the war the horror looks set to continue as The Guardian reports of the building of detention camps to hold up to 400,000 people.

Internationally this slaughter has been met with a massive outcry of anger by the Tamil diaspora. Hundreds of thousands have taken part in demonstrations. In Tamil Nadu there have been important strikes such as that of the advocates' union and protests and university occupations by students. In London thousands have occupied Parliament Square.

It is urgent that this movement is supported by the labour and trade union movement. SST was launched in Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India as a broad and democratic campaign to help build this solidarity on an international basis. The campaign has the support of well-known writers and human rights activists. Arundhathi Roy sent a statement of support to the meeting which has been carried in The Guardian and elsewhere. John McDonnell MP has given his support to the campaign.

An international day of action was held on 8 April against the Indian government's support for the Sri Lankan government with protests in Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Tel Aviv, New York, Belgium, Sweden, Dublin and Ireland.

Please see http://www.stoptheslaughteroftamils.org/ for more information.

This resolution aims to:

-Support the Stop the Slaughter of Tamils campaign and add our name to the list of sponsors.
-Affiliate to the campaign.
-Invite a SST campaign speaker to a meeting.
-Raise awareness of the situation facing the Tamil people in the north of Sri Lanka.
-Support future protests and campaigning activity of SST and other protests of the Tamil community against the slaughter of Tamils.