by Meenaksha Ganguly, Washington Post, July 22, 2022 (also available at Sri Lanka’s former president must be investigated for war crimes | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org) COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — There was satisfaction, and even glee, among many Sri Lankans when Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the widely unpopular president, fled the country by military jet in the dead… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Military
Amnesty: Authorities Must Refrain from Use of Military to Police Protests
by Amnesty International, London, July 14, 2022 “The recent escalation of the authorities’ response to protests by calling in the armed forces, firing at protestors and excessive use of tear gas which resulted in the death of one person yesterday is deeply worrying,” said Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s South Asia Regional Director. The Sri Lankan… Read more »
Economic Crisis and Unregulated Alcohol Collide
by Vetrichelvi Chandrakala, Global Press Journal, Washington, DC, May 25, 2022 Civil war veterans, also grappling with the country’s imploding economy, fight to break their dependency on dangerous, illegal liquor. READ THIS STORY IN English தமிழ் MANNAR, SRI LANKA — Vijayakumar Velayutham fought for more than a decade in the Sri Lankan civil war. He… Read more »
Military & Poverty
A Critical Study in Sri Lanka by Selvarathinam Santhirasegaram, Developing Country Studies, Vol.3, No.8, August 2013 Abstract Main objective of this study is to show that how military expansion in Sri Lanka contributed to achieve this macroeconomic goal, reduction of unemployment and poverty. Statistical evidences show that percentage of people, living under poverty level negatively… Read more »
Sri Lanka in Crisis
Why the Past Lives on in its Collective Future by Ambika Satkunananthan, 9Dashline, Europe, June 16, 2022 Sri Lanka is in the throes of an economic and political crisis not hitherto witnessed. The crisis has created instability and resulted in protests that began in March 2022. Citizens’ protests that are not organised by political parties… Read more »
To Solve Its Economic Crisis, Sri Lanka Must Demilitarize
by Ben Andak, Jacobin, New York, May 12, 2022 Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has produced an explosion of violence on the island. That violence won’t end until the country ends its war on Tamils and Muslims and drastically scales back its military budget. Soldiers check documents of a driver at a road checkpoint in Colombo,… Read more »
TMVP Informant Spills the Beans
by Easwaran Rutnam, Daily Mirror, Colombo, June 24, 2022 Flees Sri Lanka fearing for his safety Reveals information on murders to UN Writes to key diplomatic missions Shares details on Easter Sunday attacks UN officials had recorded statements from the informant over a period of approximately 5 days An informant of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai… Read more »
All Talk & No Action on Repealing the PTA
by Kumarathasan Rasingam, Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org. June 23, 2022 [Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister GL Pieris told the UNHRC on June 13 that the PTA has been amended & there is a moratorium on arrests.1 There is no evidence of either action being taken. — Editor] The Prevention of Terrorism Act… Read more »
13 Years Ago Today – A Massacre in Mullivaikkal
by Tamil Guardian, London, May 18, 2022 Photograph: A scene of devastation in Mullivaikkal pictured days after the Sri Lankan military had overrun the area. Marking 13 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18th of May 2009 – a date remembered… Read more »
A Perpetrator State Demands Non-violence
In Sri Lanka By Vindhya Buthpitiya, Urban Violence, UK, May 3, 2022 Weeks of citizen-led protests in Sri Lanka have demanded that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ‘go home’. These protests began in early March, in response to the worst economic crisis the country has seen in decades. In this blog, Vindhya Buthpitiya (Associate Lecturer, University of St Andrews) reflects… Read more »
Sri Lanka is in an Economic Freefall
by Mark Leon Goldberg, UN Dispatch podcast, April 28, 2022 https://undispatch.com/category/podcast APPLE PODCASTS | GOOGLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | PODCAST ADDICT | STITCHER | RADIO PUBLIC Transcript lightly edited for clarity How Has Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis Affected Its Citizens? J.S. Tissainayagam [00:02:59] Sri Lanka’s problem today stems basically from a failure of accountability when wrong decisions are made. This has led to both… Read more »
Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka
by UN Secretary-General, New York, March 31, 2011 POE_Report 2011 Executive Summary On 22 June 2010, the Secretary-General announced the appointment of a Panel of Experts to advise him on the implementation of the joint commitment included in the statement issued by the President of Sri Lanka and the Secretary-General at the conclusion of the… Read more »
What are Thermobaric and Cluster Bombs?
A look at their use by the Sri Lankan army by Tamil Guardian, London, March 2, 2022 Russian manufactured cluster bombs used by the Sri Lankan military, photographed in Vanni, 2008. As Russia continues its offensive in Ukraine, it has been accused of launching deadly types of weaponry during its assault – thermobaric and cluster… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Post-War Defence Budget
Overspending and Underprotection by Daniel Alphonsus, ISAS South Asia Scan, National University of Singapore, November 18, 2021 Sri Lanka’s Post-War Defence Budget Sri Lanka’s internal and external security environments have changed considerably in the last decade. Internally, a three-decade long civil war ended, but the country experienced the first wounds of Islamic terrorism – the… Read more »
Verité: Res. 30/1 Implementation Monitor
by Verité Research, Colombo, February 2021 Implementation Status UNHRC Res.30.1 Feb 2021 Verite This brief contains an updated analysis of progress since UNHRC’s Resolution 30/1 passed in September 2015.
How the Tigers Got Their Stripes
A Case Study of the LTTE’s Rise to Power by Kate Cronin-Furman & Mario Arulthas, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (Special Issue on Consolidation of Nonstate Armed Actors in Fragmented Conflicts), Washington, DC, December 27, 2021 Abstract Over the course of six months in 1986, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) eliminated their rival… Read more »
Myanmar Coup: Military Regime Seeks to Weaponize Religion
In a propaganda blitz, the military portrays itself as the guardian of Buddhism and stokes fear of a Muslim takeover. by Billy Ford, Zarchi Oo, US Institute of Peace, Washington, DC, December 16, 2021 Ten months have passed since Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s elected government, and by now it’s apparent that arrests, executions, torture… Read more »
TG: Getting Serious on Sri Lanka
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, December 15, 2021 Last week, the United States announced long-overdue travel restrictions on two more accused Sri Lankan war criminals. The move is a step in the right direction and will be welcomed across the globe by those who seek justice on the island. It serves as a reminder to the Sri Lankan… Read more »
PEARL: Renewed U.S. Focus on Sri Lanka
Culminates in Targeted Sanctions for Human Rights Violations by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, December 15, 2021 Washington D.C.; December 15, 2021 — PEARL welcomes the sanctions of Chandana Hettiarachchi and Sunil Ratnayake by the United States under section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for their… Read more »
Interview by an IDP in 2009
Interview of an IDP by MANISATNEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM (originally on YouTube) in Tamil in 2009 Figurative translation into English by Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam, Ph.D. (Cornell) in November 2021 The host warned the young people who are not strong enough to see tragic scenes not to watch. She said that what you are about to see is what the… Read more »