Amnesty International : Shocking violence in Sri Lanka

New powerful satellite monitoring technologies can make the difference when lives hang in the balance and world leaders aren't moving quickly or decisively enough to stem bloody violence. Help us keep our eyes on the ground to uncover new, undeniable evidence of the tremendous human toll in Sri Lanka. Dear Farhad, Amnesty International, along with Human Rights Watch, brought to light a startling set of satellite images last Tuesday that provided proof positive of the shocking, previously unknown extent of the violence committed by both parties in the conflict in Sri Lanka. This could not have come at a more critical time. The Sri Lankan government has demonstrated that it will go to any length to stop news of the conflict from leaving the country. It has continually deported foreign reporters – including one as recently as yesterday. It's even gone so far as to kill and imprison Sri Lankan journalists in order to stifle the truth about the violence in the country. This poses a major barrier to getting accurate information and corroborating reports from those on the conflict's front lines. But as long as we and our allies in the struggle to uphold human rights are bearing witness to these atrocities, neither side of the conflict can stop us from showing the whole world the truth about the appalling scene that's playing out in the country. Your critical gift today will help us keep our eyes on the ground to continually monitor and report on the volatile situation in Sri Lanka. With your support, Amnesty can leverage satellite imaging and other cutting-edge technologies to continue to shine the light on the world's darkest corners of human rights abuses, just like we have for nearly 50 years. Hours after we released never before seen satellite imagery of the war zone and called on President Obama to show leadership on the crisis, he urged both parties of the conflict to stop the bloodshed. Developments on the ground unfolded rapidly over the weekend, culminating in an acknowledgment by the Tamil Tigers that the conflict had "reached its bitter end." But with the Sri Lankan government still denying access to aid agencies, human rights monitors and journalists, we cannot confirm how many civilians are still trapped or whether fighting is still going on. Help us continue to monitor this explosive situation and extend a lifeline to innocent civilians by making a tax-deductible gift today. Sincerely, Jim McDonald Country Specialist for Sri Lanka Amnesty International USA DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Messages sent to this email address are not read. If you have a question or comment, please use our interactive online help system. Subscribe to our RSS feeds. © Copyright 2009 | Amnesty International USA | 5 Penn Plaza | New York, NY 10001 | 212.807.8400