Front Note by Sachi: I provide this essay of little over 1,600 words by John Colmey which appeared in the In These Times (Chicago) fortnightly, 25 years ago. The individuals quoted in this essay were, Ranjan Wijeratne (then No. 2 honcho in President Premadasa’s cabinet), Gen. Cyril Ranatunge (then, Secretary to the Ministry of Defense),… Read more »
Yearly Archives: 2015
Clarifying Sri Lanka’s Transitional Justice Commitments
With the recent passage of yet another UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka — dealing broadly with human rights, accountability and reconciliation — now is an opportune time to clarify and explain how Sri Lanka’s new government has said it will approach transitional justice. The interpretation of the resolution remains a source of… Read more »
What’s the Deal With Sri Lanka’s Tamil Political Prisoners?
Due to October, hunger strikes in prisons across the country (with prisoners demanding amnesty), President Maithripala Sirisena had given assurances that he would take a decision on this matter by November 7. Some have suggested that this meant prisoners would be released, but the next steps had always been somewhat unclear. There were subsequent reports… Read more »
CPA: The Long Search for Sri Lanka’s ‘Disappeared’
by Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo, November 13, 2015 13 November, Colombo, Sri Lanka: A new visual story produced by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) looks into the issue of disappearances in Sri Lanka, featuring some haunting personal narratives from families of the disappeared. The Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons (the Commission)… Read more »
Colombia: Agreement on Disappearances Moving Forward
The Commission has stepped up to the plate. It created an inter-agency working group to assist in fulfilling its charge. It will review and compare existing data bases on the disappeared; seek ways to improve procedures for finding, identifying and exhuming remains; and coordinate its work with victims’ groups and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It will also hold four regional forums and one national forum to collect proposals from academics, victims, and human rights organizations that will help inform their recommendations to the negotiators. Such forums have proven invaluable in earlier efforts to engage civil society in developing and sharing their proposals in relation to the particular items of the peace agenda.
Yemen’s Imposed Federal Boundaries
Rather than a rejection of federalism per se, the Houthis’ refusal of the six-region division is as much grounded in the lack of a genuinely inclusive decision-making process as in the specific parameters that undermine their interests. While none of this background serves to justify the Houthis’ recourse to arms, it does highlight the need for a new transition process based on equitable power sharing and sincere ownership across Yemen’s diverse political and geographic landscape as the only way out of the crisis.
Tamil Political Prisoners Resume fast
Tamil political prisoners resumed their fast today in protest over the failure by the Government to keep its promise and release all of them. At least 29 Tamil detainees at the Anuradhapura prison were among those who resumed the fast today. The Government was to release 30 Tamil detainees today and another 32 by next week… Read more »
Sri Lanka Homecoming
“More than others, the Tamils know the trauma of war,” Sri Lanka’s new president, Maithripala Sirisena, told those gathered at a resettlement ceremony in August in Sampur, in the country’s northeast. In 2006 more than 800 ethnic Tamil families here were forced to flee fighting between the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and government forces…. Read more »
1990 Planned Genocidal Attack on Tamils in the East
Contents Planned genocidal attack in the East Carefully planned strategy Sri Lanka ignored ICJ recommendations Concerns of UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group Tamils driven out from Pottuvil to Thenmaravadi Several reports of large scale killings Refugees in Iruthayapuram Camp compelled to act as “human mine detectors” Attack on the Tamils clearly genocidal in intent “..The… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Icon of Colonial Rule rises from the Rubble
As an army of labourers churns out limestone bricks, archeologist Prashantha Mandawala reflects on the ambitious task of restoring Sri Lanka’s centuries-old Jaffna fort, destroyed by ethnic war. The project has so far included the dangerous task of clearing unexploded mines and shells from the seafront site and scouring the northern Jaffna peninsula for scarce… Read more »
Tamil Grassroots Organizations Seek Clarity from Sri Lanka on UN Probe
A collective of Tamil organisations representing the war affected in Sri Lanka’s north has expressed doubts about the governments stance on its understanding and approach to the war crimes probe proposed by the United Nations. In a meeting with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on 29 October in Colombo, the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) has… Read more »
How can Sri Lanka Demonstrate its Commitment to Peace?
As Sri Lanka deals with its violent past, incremental moves taken right now could lay the groundwork for the genuine peace. Recently, senior figures in the Obama administration have championed another ‘democratic success story’; this time we’re talking about Sri Lanka. This small, strategically important island nation is recovering from a brutal civil war that… Read more »
Enforced Disappearance – A Tamil Perspective
Members of the families of those forcibly disappeared, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank the organising committee for the invitation to deliver this speech on Enforced Disappearance from a Tamil perspective. I will start with the story of a Tamil mother – Chandra. Her life changed forever just before midnight on… Read more »
“The Identity of Sri Lanka Must be Redefined”
We need a reconciliation process in the relationship between Tamils and Sinhalese Interview with Professor SJ. Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum Interviewed by Thomas Kaiser of Zeit-Fragen/Current Concerns ( www.zeit-fragen.ch) newspaper from Switzerland ( October 26, 2015, Zurich, Sri Lanka Guardian) When in 1948, in the context of decolonisation, the British left the… Read more »
For Sri Lanka to Break Cycle of Impunity Promises Need to Be Kept
Sri Lanka may be undertaking a change of course towards accountability for atrocities committed during its 26-year civil war. The new government promised to establish a truth commission and co-sponsored a UN resolution calling for international involvement in a domestic tribunal. At the same time, a commission of inquiry initiated by the previous government issued… Read more »
The Insanity of Adding Any More Coal Power Plants
By Eng. Parakrama Jayasinghe, ‘The Island,’ Colombo, October 28, 2015 parajayasinghe /A_T/ gmail /D_O_T/ com (Part I of this article appeared yesterday) The Alternatives available While there are many renewable energy plants by the private developers have been approved and should come on line shortly, the CEB itself is planning to install 100 MW of… Read more »
MGR Remembered – Part 31
by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 29, 2015 MGR Remembered Part 30 Comments and Questions from a Correspondent I was alerted by the sangam web editor about a few questions posted in French text by a correspondent from France. Here were the comment and questions of Ferdinand O. Lacour. The editor had translated the text into… Read more »
AI: Day of the Disappeared
AI_disappearences_invitation Oct 27 2015 October 27 is observed in Sri Lanka as the Day of the Disappeared, when relatives and friends of the disappeared remember their loved ones and call for truth and justice. There have been at least 80,000 cases of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka over the past 30 years. Amnesty International groups… Read more »
HRW: Sri Lanka’s Army Plays by the Old Rules
“Our ancestors lived here,” said the elderly woman. She and a dozen other Muslim inhabitants of the village of Kasankurni spoke to a Sri Lankan activist and me last week from outside makeshift homes where they have struggled to survive for four years. “The army started by taking our maize and other crops. Then… Read more »
Truth, Justice and Non-recurrence Crucial for True Reconciliation
by Daily News**, Colombo, October 24, 2015 The truth, justice, reparation and non-recurrence are the crucial words in the process in achieving true reconciliation, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan said in Parliament yesterday. Participating in the adjournment debate, he welcomed the initiative of the All Party Meeting chaired by the President. “All political party leaders and… Read more »