SUPPRESSION OF PEACEFUL TAMIL
RESISTANCE - 1972 TO 1975
"..at the time of the Amnesty International Mission (January 1975), 42 young
members of the Tamil community, (were prisoners) arrested and detained since the end of
1972. They were arrested for their agitation, (generally peaceful, so Amnesty
International understands) for a greater autonomy for the Tamils who feel that the
provisions in the 1972 constitution regarding language and religion discriminate against
them..." - Report of Amnesty International Mission to Sri Lanka, January 1975
"If Sri Lanka is not to experience communal violence or terrorism and counter
terror on a scale which would invite comparison with Northern Ireland or Cyprus, there
will have to be more readiness for compromise and moderation than has yet been shown... Is
it too late for an attempt to evolve an inter communal approach to the language question
and the related matters of education and employment? It would 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 they have a place in the future of the
island." - Walter Schwarz: Minority Rights Group Report on Tamils of Sri
Lanka, 1975
