AI INDEX: ASA 37/05/98
6 MARCH 1998
PUBLIC STATEMENT
In a message to representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) abroad, Amnesty International today expressed concern about
yesterday's bomb explosion in which at least 34 civilians were killed near
Maradana junction, Colombo.
Amnesty International learned that an otherwise empty bus believed to
be driven by a member of the LTTE exploded around midday while being chased
by police. Among those killed are drivers and passengers of vehicles in the
traffic surrounding the bus, shop keepers, stall owners on the pavement
nearby, and pedestrians and commuters on their way to an adjacent railway
station.
While the intended target of the bomb was not known, Amnesty
International said it was concerned that the killings, as others attributed
to the LTTE over the last few years, appears to be in contravention of
basic standards of international humanitarian law. It also sought
assurances from the leadership of the LTTE that deliberate or
indiscriminate attacks on civilians by forces under LTTE control will not
be authorized or tolerated.
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