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
