Tim Martin Ending Strike In Response To Offers Of Help
Act Now Campaign Group | 08.06.2009 17:12
Act Now Campaign Director Tim Martin has released a press release after being given assurances of help in his campaign to stop human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
DAY 21 OF FORMER BRITISH AID WORKERS HUNGER STRIKE
TIM MARTIN ENDING STRIKE IN RESPONSE TO OFFERS OF HELP
Press Release (Contact: +44(0)7817 504 227; +44(0)7970 455 445):
Over 500 people gathered in London outside Parliament, for a ceremony to mark the end of a hunger strike carried out by a British former aid worker. Tim Martin, Director of the human rights group Act Now, had responded to assurances of help if he ended his hunger strike outside the Houses of Parliament in London, England, after enduring 21 days without food.
Tim's protest has been to raise awareness of the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, centred on an urgent appeal to President Obama, the UK Government and the UN to press for action to protect the devastated Tamil civilian population and uncover the true scale of the humanitarian disaster in Sri Lanka. During these 21 days, news of further atrocities and abuses in Sri Lanka have come to light - some obtained from Tim's own contact network.
News of increasing opposition, amongst US politicians and lawmakers, to the request by the Sri Lankan Government for an IMF loan is reassuring to those, like Tim Martin, who believed Obama would not repeat the mistakes of old (such as Clinton on Rwanda) and that Obama's ultimate stance on Sri Lanka will be a benchmark of his presidency, in terms of human rights issues.
Tim's four-point request to the US President:
1. International monitors on the ground and satellite imaging effective immediately to verify the true number of casualties and the mop up process.
2. Immediate free access to international media and international organisations throughout Sri Lanka.
3. Emergency medical treatment for tens of thousands of civilians and POWs that are currently not in hospitals and are being held at checkpoints, schools and IDP camps.
4. Public Investigation into Vijay Nambiar, the Special Envoy for the UN Secretary General, as his brother Satish Nambiar is a paid consultant for the Sri Lankan government which suggests a conflict of interest.
Over the course of Tim's protest, these requests have begun to be addressed. Three days into the hunger strike, initially based outside the US Embassy in London, the US Government released satellite pictures highlighting the scale of the devastation in the so-called 'Safety Zone'. The press also began to report on Tim's fourth request: the need for an investigation into Indian diplomat and UN Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, whose brother is a paid consultant of the Sri Lankan government. There are now calls for this matter to be taken up by the UN.
Assurances of help have been given to Tim on condition he ended his strike:
1. Tim has been invited to raise awareness and high profile support from a number of top celebrities at a special celebrity event this month, with guests including Bob Geldof and Brian May.
2. Tim has been invited to speak to UN representatives of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, in particular, addressing those countries that voted for the Sri Lankan Government's self-congratulatory resolution supporting its own version of events concerning the recent conflict.
3. A Parliamentary meeting has been organised for next Wednesday, 10th June - the latest reports from Sri Lanka will be presented to MPs by Tim Martin and news journalists recently returned from the camps.
4. Tim's requests to Obama have been filmed and given to the President's 'Spiritual advisor' with the promise of being viewed by the President.
5. He had received numerous requests to end his strike from the Tamil community and from the doctors who were extremely worried as his health has been deteriorating. He also received a special request from the Tamil community organisation the British Tamil Forum, pleading that, since Tim is the only non-Tamil NGO worker that has lived in Tamil Eelam in the good times of peace and the bad times of war that has come forward and fighting for the freedom of the Tamil people, fighting publicly on injustices and atrocities which continue to take place, he is irreplaceable to the Tamil community.
Tim has more than proved his ability to gain support after the large number of celebrities and MPs that he managed to get behind the Mercy Mission. Including 'Trip-hop' band Massive Attack, Joanna Lumley, Sian Evans (singer/songwriter of the band Kosheen), Brian May of the mega-rock group Queen, Jade Parfitt and Jasmine Guinness (British fashion models), Deborah Leng, Dr Chris Steele (of This Morning TV).
Tim is now recuperating from his hunger strike, gathering his energies to report on the atrocities in Sri Lanka to British and UN officials and to raise awareness of his requests to protect Sri Lanka's devastated Tamil population from further suffering. He urges everyone to sign the online appeal to Obama which can be found at
http://www.act-now.info/Site/Online_Appeal.html
Info
Tim had been on hunger strike since Monday 18th May, when he presented a letter to President Obama outlining his four points (see above) to the American Embassy in London. Tim is calling upon US President Obama to pressure the Government of Sri Lanka, using the IMF loan as leverage, to ensure that independent bodies, including UN monitors and media, are allowed to enter the affected area immediately and unimpeded so that civilians are protected and the human scale of the disaster recorded.
Tim has lived and worked as an aid worker in the northern region of Sri Lanka, the area where the conflict has been taking place, and seen the scale of mis-treatment of Tamils firsthand. Tim is now Campaign Director of the human rights group Act Now: Stop human rights abuse in Sri Lanka.
Act Now has been reporting on the ongoing atrocities in Sri Lanka over the past few months, releasing information from aid contacts - these reports have now been verified in recent coverage from Channel 4 and The Times newspaper UK.
Video interviews and footage of Tim can be seen here:
Day 12: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6388344.ece
Day 4: http://www.vakthaa.tv/play.php?vid=4309 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TsxXqbmiOQ)
Day 1: http://www.vakthaa.tv/play.php?vid=4294 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vIWa7YHPl4).
A number of British politicians from across the political divide, including Simon Hughes MP and Tony Benn, as well as many members of the Tamil community, have met with Tim to lend their support for his hunger strike. British celebrities such as Sian Evans, singer of the band Kosheen, and Deborah Leng have also been to offer their support.
Press can contact the numbers provided for more details.
END Monday 06/06/09
Notes for editors
Act Now is a UK based human rights organisation set up by a group of British former humanitarian aid workers. Act Now has set up campaign groups across the UK, which are working to lobby their MPs and to raise public awareness of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. Act Now currently has the support of 55 MPs and a number of Members of the European Parliament.
For further information, please contact:
Tim Martin, Director, Act Now
Tel: +44(0)7817 504 227
Email:
info.actnow@gmail.com
Site: www.act-now.info
Graham Williamson, Director, Act Now
Tel: +44(0)7970 455 445
Email: info.actnow@gmail.com
Site: www.act-now.info
TIM MARTIN ENDING STRIKE IN RESPONSE TO OFFERS OF HELP
Press Release (Contact: +44(0)7817 504 227; +44(0)7970 455 445):
Over 500 people gathered in London outside Parliament, for a ceremony to mark the end of a hunger strike carried out by a British former aid worker. Tim Martin, Director of the human rights group Act Now, had responded to assurances of help if he ended his hunger strike outside the Houses of Parliament in London, England, after enduring 21 days without food.
Tim's protest has been to raise awareness of the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, centred on an urgent appeal to President Obama, the UK Government and the UN to press for action to protect the devastated Tamil civilian population and uncover the true scale of the humanitarian disaster in Sri Lanka. During these 21 days, news of further atrocities and abuses in Sri Lanka have come to light - some obtained from Tim's own contact network.
News of increasing opposition, amongst US politicians and lawmakers, to the request by the Sri Lankan Government for an IMF loan is reassuring to those, like Tim Martin, who believed Obama would not repeat the mistakes of old (such as Clinton on Rwanda) and that Obama's ultimate stance on Sri Lanka will be a benchmark of his presidency, in terms of human rights issues.
Tim's four-point request to the US President:
1. International monitors on the ground and satellite imaging effective immediately to verify the true number of casualties and the mop up process.
2. Immediate free access to international media and international organisations throughout Sri Lanka.
3. Emergency medical treatment for tens of thousands of civilians and POWs that are currently not in hospitals and are being held at checkpoints, schools and IDP camps.
4. Public Investigation into Vijay Nambiar, the Special Envoy for the UN Secretary General, as his brother Satish Nambiar is a paid consultant for the Sri Lankan government which suggests a conflict of interest.
Over the course of Tim's protest, these requests have begun to be addressed. Three days into the hunger strike, initially based outside the US Embassy in London, the US Government released satellite pictures highlighting the scale of the devastation in the so-called 'Safety Zone'. The press also began to report on Tim's fourth request: the need for an investigation into Indian diplomat and UN Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, whose brother is a paid consultant of the Sri Lankan government. There are now calls for this matter to be taken up by the UN.
Assurances of help have been given to Tim on condition he ended his strike:
1. Tim has been invited to raise awareness and high profile support from a number of top celebrities at a special celebrity event this month, with guests including Bob Geldof and Brian May.
2. Tim has been invited to speak to UN representatives of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, in particular, addressing those countries that voted for the Sri Lankan Government's self-congratulatory resolution supporting its own version of events concerning the recent conflict.
3. A Parliamentary meeting has been organised for next Wednesday, 10th June - the latest reports from Sri Lanka will be presented to MPs by Tim Martin and news journalists recently returned from the camps.
4. Tim's requests to Obama have been filmed and given to the President's 'Spiritual advisor' with the promise of being viewed by the President.
5. He had received numerous requests to end his strike from the Tamil community and from the doctors who were extremely worried as his health has been deteriorating. He also received a special request from the Tamil community organisation the British Tamil Forum, pleading that, since Tim is the only non-Tamil NGO worker that has lived in Tamil Eelam in the good times of peace and the bad times of war that has come forward and fighting for the freedom of the Tamil people, fighting publicly on injustices and atrocities which continue to take place, he is irreplaceable to the Tamil community.
Tim has more than proved his ability to gain support after the large number of celebrities and MPs that he managed to get behind the Mercy Mission. Including 'Trip-hop' band Massive Attack, Joanna Lumley, Sian Evans (singer/songwriter of the band Kosheen), Brian May of the mega-rock group Queen, Jade Parfitt and Jasmine Guinness (British fashion models), Deborah Leng, Dr Chris Steele (of This Morning TV).
Tim is now recuperating from his hunger strike, gathering his energies to report on the atrocities in Sri Lanka to British and UN officials and to raise awareness of his requests to protect Sri Lanka's devastated Tamil population from further suffering. He urges everyone to sign the online appeal to Obama which can be found at
http://www.act-now.info/Site/Online_Appeal.html Info
Tim had been on hunger strike since Monday 18th May, when he presented a letter to President Obama outlining his four points (see above) to the American Embassy in London. Tim is calling upon US President Obama to pressure the Government of Sri Lanka, using the IMF loan as leverage, to ensure that independent bodies, including UN monitors and media, are allowed to enter the affected area immediately and unimpeded so that civilians are protected and the human scale of the disaster recorded.
Tim has lived and worked as an aid worker in the northern region of Sri Lanka, the area where the conflict has been taking place, and seen the scale of mis-treatment of Tamils firsthand. Tim is now Campaign Director of the human rights group Act Now: Stop human rights abuse in Sri Lanka.
Act Now has been reporting on the ongoing atrocities in Sri Lanka over the past few months, releasing information from aid contacts - these reports have now been verified in recent coverage from Channel 4 and The Times newspaper UK.
Video interviews and footage of Tim can be seen here:
Day 12:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6388344.ece Day 4:
http://www.vakthaa.tv/play.php?vid=4309 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TsxXqbmiOQ) Day 1:
http://www.vakthaa.tv/play.php?vid=4294 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vIWa7YHPl4). A number of British politicians from across the political divide, including Simon Hughes MP and Tony Benn, as well as many members of the Tamil community, have met with Tim to lend their support for his hunger strike. British celebrities such as Sian Evans, singer of the band Kosheen, and Deborah Leng have also been to offer their support.
Press can contact the numbers provided for more details.
END Monday 06/06/09
Notes for editors
Act Now is a UK based human rights organisation set up by a group of British former humanitarian aid workers. Act Now has set up campaign groups across the UK, which are working to lobby their MPs and to raise public awareness of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. Act Now currently has the support of 55 MPs and a number of Members of the European Parliament.
For further information, please contact:
Tim Martin, Director, Act Now
Tel: +44(0)7817 504 227
Email:
info.actnow@gmail.com Site: www.act-now.info
Graham Williamson, Director, Act Now
Tel: +44(0)7970 455 445
Email:
info.actnow@gmail.com Site: www.act-now.info
Act Now Campaign Group
e-mail:
atchu22@hotmail.com
Homepage:
http://www.act-now.info
