by Dr. Nirmala Chandrahasan, ‘Daily Mirror,’ Colombo, January 30, 2017 In a recent article in the Daily mirror of January 5, 2017, titled “Let’s make Sampanthan’s New Year wish come true, the writer refers to the fact that the Opposition Leader has pinned his hopes for a peaceful and prosperous country in 2017 on a… Read more »
Yearly Archives: 2017
Even Fish Have an Ethnicity
by Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), Colombo, January 31, 2017 Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) cordially invites you to a CEPA Cafe event presenting Even fish have an ethnicity… : a study on how ethnic identities mediate livelihoods in a fishing community in post-war Sri Lanka While discussions on ethnicity and tensions based on ethnic… Read more »
Desalination or a River for Jaffna
by Thiru Arumugam, ‘The Island,’ Colombo, January 28, 2017 Proposed Desalination Plant in Jaffna In 2010 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a total loan facility of 130 million US dollars for the “Jaffna and Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project”. The local costs of 26 million dollars were to be met by… Read more »
Demographic Genocide at Entrance to Jaffna
by TamilNet, 30 January 2017 Colombo proves State recognition for demographic genocide at entrance to Jaffna The Colombo regime of Maithiripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickramasinghe has officially donated 50 houses on Monday through ‘National’ Housing Development Authority (NHDA) to the Sinhala colony, that has been created by the occupying Sinhala military and Sinhala-Buddhist extremist ‘Sinhala… Read more »
Demographic Genocide Against Ancient Tamil Villages in Trincomalee
by TamilNet, 27 January 2017 Sirisena wages demographic genocide against ancient Tamil villages in Trincomalee The unitary State of genocidal Sri Lanka, particularly its president who hails from the North Central Province, is slowly and silently annexing lands of the ancient Tamil village Thamapalakaamam, an agricultural village, which is also a suburb of Trincomalee city… Read more »
Report of SR on Transitional Justice on Victim Participation
by UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Geneva, December 27, 2016 SR Transitional Justice Victim Participation Conclusions 84. The present report and the report to the General Assembly focusing on national consultation processes emphasize the importance of broad participation in transitional justice measures, including by victims. They… Read more »
Report of Special Rapporteur on Torture
by UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Geneva, December 22, 2016 SR Torture report on visit to Sri Lanka Conclusions 109. The issue of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is part of the legacy of the country’s armed conflict, and one of the reasons why the citizens of Sri Lanka continue… Read more »
ITJPSL Welcomes Juan Mendez Report
by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, January 26, 2017 ITJP Juan-Mendez-Report-Welcomed PRESS RELEASE: Johannesburg (26 January 2017): A UN report describing a “culture of torture” in Sri Lanka reinforced by decades of impunity is a wake up call to President Sirisena’s Government to comply with its obligations under international law and… Read more »
Hunger Strikers in Sri Lanka Demand Answers
‘Give us our children back’ by Dharisha Bastians & Geeta Anand, ‘The New York Times,’ January 26, 2017 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Seated on a platform outside a regional post office in Sri Lanka’s former war zone, about 150 miles north of the capital, Colombo, a mother whose son has been missing for seven years… Read more »
Sri Lankans Demand Justice as Journalists Attacked
by Al-Jazeera, January 24, 2017 Sri Lanka should form a presidential commission to investigate the targeting of journalists by the previous government, media groups said. The current government, they claim, has failed to keep its campaign promise to punish those responsible. Video at http://video.aljazeera.com/channels/eng/videos/sri-lankans-demand-justice-as-journalists-attacked/5295274508001 Also see Tamils Against Genocide 2013 report ‘Silencing the Press: An… Read more »
Foreign Judges: Sri Lanka’s Dilemma
by M.S.M Ayub, ‘The Daily Mirror,’ Colombo, January 13, 2017 The question remains as to how Sri Lanka is going to justify its rejection of foreign participation in the accountability process after co-sponsoring the UNHRC resolution The question about the involvement of foreign judges in the mechanism to investigate the allegations of Human Rights violations… Read more »
ICJ: Implement Task Force Recommendations to Deliver Justice
by International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, January 19, 2017 The Sri Lankan government must deliver on the clear demand for justice from Sri Lankans nationwide by implementing the Consultation Task Force recommendations without further delay, the ICJ said today. Among these recommendations, the calls for a special court with international judges and a bar against… Read more »
GTF Calls on the SLG to Implement Recommendations of the CTF
by Global Tamil Forum, January 11, 2017 PRESS STATEMENT 11 January 2017, London Global Tamil Forum calls on the Sri Lankan Government to faithfully implement the recommendations of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) welcomes the recommendations of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) released on January… Read more »
Amnesty: Refusing to Disappear
Tens of thousands missing, families demand answers by Amnesty International, London, January 23, 2017 Index number: ASA 37/5497/2017 As any family member searching for a missing loved one can tell you, enforced disappearance is a crime without end. Until parents, wives, siblings, and children know the truth about the fate of a missing family member,… Read more »
GSP+ forSri Lanka – Testing the EU’s Commitments
by Thambu Kanagasabai, Toronto, Canada, January 21, 2017 Under this scheme EU [European Union] grants additional tariff reductions to developing countries for imports eligible to qualify for these duty concessions. This scheme which was enjoyed by Sri Lanka until 2010 was suspended due to the ‘failure of Mahinda’s Government to address reported human rights violations… Read more »
Art Buchwald Humor Awards for 2016
by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 15, 2017 This year marks the tenth death anniversary of humorist Art Buchwald (1925-2007), which falls on January 17th. And for this occasion, I also release the list of news-making individuals in South Asia for the year 2016. Ten awards have been chosen. Unfortunately, I could choose only ten humor… Read more »
The Enlightened Theology of a Tamil Saivite
by Karthick Ram Manoharan, ‘The Wire,’ India, December 22, 2016 In Religion, Caste and Nation in South India, V. Ravi Vaithees focuses on the works of the Tamil Saivite saint Maraimalai Adigal and explores the religious roots of the Dravidian movement and its impact on the political discourse. This year has been a calamitous one… Read more »
Thai Pongal
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HRW: Adopt Task Force’s Justice Proposals
Consultations Highlight Broad Accountability Concerns by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 11, 2016 Sri Lanka’s government should promptly implement recommendations on transitional justice proposed by the Consultation Task Force (CTF) in a report released on January 3, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. The report reflects the first broad survey of Sri Lankan citizens… Read more »
UN System Owes Sri Lankan Tamils Remedial Justice
For its failures in delivering justice and to protect them during the genocidal war from 2004 to 2009 by Kumarathasan Rasingam, January 10, 2017 “In the end, it comes down to values, as was said so many times today. We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the… Read more »