Date: Mon, 11 Sep 1995 08:36:14 +0100>
From: jeyaram K <jeyaramk@powertech.no>>
To: Paul Jones <pjones@mento.oit.unc.edu<>>
Subject: Re: INSIDE REPORT from SRI LANKA is on WWW

At 21:29 10/9/95, Paul Jones wrote:
>Interesting to see that you and your publication are appearing on the Net
>from Norway rather than Sri Lanka. What's the story behind that?

Hi Paul Jones,

Thank you for the e-mail.

Here is the story behind my effort to publish Inside Report on the WWW.

Sri Lanka government will not allow to publish it on the net from Sri Lanka because Inside Report carries stuff that the S.L government which has imposed an embargo in North Sri Lanka where Tamils have control over their traditional homeland and have established an local government de facto. A war is going on in the north and east of Sri lanka between the S.L forces and LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).

S.L has imposed an economic blocade of the area, there is no electricity, medicine is not allowed to be transported, journalists and outsiders are not allowed easily inside the area. ICRC is not welcomed by S.L government in the area. Recently a church, St. Peters Church, was bombed by a Puccara bomber of S.L airforce. Nearly 120 innocent civilians who had sought refuge were killed.

ICRC brought the news to the outside world, world leaders, NGOs and many humanitarian organisations had condemned the event. S.L government agent himself and the bishop of the Jaffna have also reported to outside world. S.L government denies that it bombed the area and it doesn't like the reports from ICRC, its own government agent, Citizens Committee and the Bishop reach outside world.

S.L forces arrest people who have publications that are printed in Northern Sri Lanka. A Tamil was arrested because he had a video tape from the area and his body was later found on a lake in the capital of Sri Lanka.

In fact, there is a very limited freedom of press in S.L. Inside Report, which reach me through some dedicated seamen who risk their lives when taking it to a neighbour land, cannot be published from the S.L on the Net.

I am living in exile and I am not going back to S.L until a political solution to the conflict is reached. I left my traditional homeland (northern and eastern S.L: Tamil Eelam) when it faced war. A young brother of mine at his age of 16 has died at the battle front as a freedom fighter.

By publishing the Inside Report on the Net, I can help the reports to come out to the world.

I am living in a country where freedom is much respected and therefore able to publish Inside Report on the WWW. I have got permission from the publishers of Inside Report to freely distribute it through any media.

A Tamil who keeps a 'link' page on the WWW, Thamil Info Links, reported that his system adminstrator got many e-mails from Sinhalese asking the sysadmn. not to allow his page on the WWW. He was just providing some links to pages around the world, he had links to Amnesty International, Human Rights orgnisations, Tamil organisations, Tamil font pages and etc. He didn't publish any political stuff. I am also aware of the same attack may happen to my page. Many S.L embassies and authorities don't like Inside Report to be published on the WWW.

I hope that my sysadmn respect the right to the freedom of press and my intention behind the publication on the WWW. I do also hope that there are people who can keep mirror sites of Inside Report and that many people will provide link to it.

S.L goverment has started its campaign intesively. S.L goverment owned newspapers are being pubished on the WWW since last week.

Any ideas and suggestions in to improve the distribution of Inside Report is warmly welcomed.

thank you

with kind regards Jeyaram. K