by Sumit Bisarya, Lawyers for Justice in Libya, December 24, 2015 Sumit Bisarya International IDEA www.idea.int/ Constitutions cannot build roads or bridges. They cannot cure disease, educate children or put food on the table (at least directly). A few countries, such as the United Kingdom, seem to get by perfectly well without a written Constitution… Read more »
Yearly Archives: 2015
Repealing the PTA
by Raisa Wickrematunge, October 22, 2015 Last Monday (12) a desperate situation raged across Colombo, Anuradhapura, Jaffna and Kandy as hundreds of prisoners who had been detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) began a death fast, demanding that their cases be expedited. Their actions revived a long-running debate on the PTA and its… Read more »
ICES: Impact of Displacement on Dowries
ICES Impact-of-Displacement-on-Dowries-in-Sri-Lanka-Feb-2015-1-FINAL-POSTED Four Case Studies The below four small case studies conducted for this desk research corroborate the literature and illustrate some of the issues women recurrently face due to conflict-induced displacement. Their stories provide evidence that marriage, dowries, loss of guardians and assets have major implications on leading a normal life. Trincomalee Case… Read more »
ICES: Political Economy of Post-War Sri Lanka
ICES Political Economy of Post-War Sri Lanka There are three main conceptual flaws in this discourse. First, it wants to forget the war as a historical event. It wants to forget the war, how it ended and the implications of these events especially on the nature of the state in Sri Lanka. It ignores the… Read more »
From Sachi’s Files – Chapter 4
Front Note by Sachi In this chapter, I provide the complete word text of a cover-story essay (~ 5,700 words) authored by Deanna Hodgin, which appeared 25 years ago, in the Insight on the News magazine (Oct.22, 1990). According to a Wikipedia entry about this magazine, this print magazine, founded in 1989 (as a sister… Read more »
Tamil Political Prisoners Must be Released Immediately
Photo credit: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images Tamil political prisoners must be released immediately (WASHINGTON, DC; October 23, 2015): Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of the Bindanuwewa massacre, in which over 27 Tamil political detainees were killed by a Sinhala mob in a premeditated attack. Sinhalese villagers stormed the Bindanuwewa detention center in the south of Sri… Read more »
Rep. Engel Statement on Latest UNHRC Sri Lanka Resolution
Oct 2, 2015 Press Release WASHINGTON, DC—Representative Eliot L. Engel, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement welcoming the adoption of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka: “The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation… Read more »
BBC: Sri Lanka Judge Says War Crimes Claims are ‘Credible’
Sri Lanka judge says war crimes claims are ‘credible’ 21 October 2015 A government-appointed Sri Lankan judge says allegations the army committed war crimes during the long conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels are “credible”. He was leading the first government inquiry into the atrocities, one month after the UN released its own findings. President… Read more »
Veteran Eezham Tamil Academic, Diaspora Leader Theva Rajan Passes Away
Mr. Arumugam Thevarajan, who was contributing to the language, history, culture, rights, media and social welfare of Eezham Tamils in the island and in the diaspora for nearly six decades, passed away in New Zealand on Wednesday at the age of 81. Joining the Ceylon government clerical service in the 1950s, and posted in the… Read more »
The Geneva Resolution & Politics
by Niran Anketell, ‘Groundviews,’ Colombo, October 10, 2015 The recent Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka is a remarkable document. Crafted in the immediate aftermath of the devastating OISL Report on Sri Lanka whose central recommendation was that a ‘special hybrid court’ be established in Sri Lanka, and despite some hiccups during negotiations, a… Read more »
Inescapable Truth
The adoption of a UNHRC consensus resolution on the UN report into Sri Lanka’s atrocities (OISL) has been welcomed by many as the first step in a long process to move Sri Lanka towards an era of justice and reconciliation through genuine accountability, together with the Sri Lankan foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera’sopening address to the… Read more »
A More Robust Democracy will Safeguard Peace in Sri Lanka
by Richard Armitage & Karen Bue, ‘South China Morning Post,’ Hong Kong, October 9, 2015 The horrors of the conflict in Sri Lanka were laid bare in a report issued last month by the UN Human Rights Council. Unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and the use of child soldiers were among the parade of… Read more »
The Passing of Veteran Tamil Activist David Iya
We are deeply saddened by the death of our founder, colleague and mentor Solomon Arulanandan David, who was known to the Tamil people as “David Iya” or “Gandhiyam David”. He suffered from illness in the last few years and was 92 years of age at the time of death. A qualified architect and town planner,… Read more »
On David Iyaar’s Passing
Solomon Arulanandam “Gandhiyam” David [1924-2015] Men involved in our defeated movement always spoke about a man who was there at the beginning. A man who guided the first generation of the Iyakkam. A peaceful man who experienced the massacres at Welikade prison in 1983. A man who the movement never abandoned – freeing him was… Read more »
Pressuring Sri Lanka for Peace
By Taylor Dibbert, ‘The Wall Street Journal’ Opinion page, New York, October 7, 2015 Last Thursday, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution that seemed, once again, to promote postwar reconciliation and express a broad international consensus for ensuring those who committed serious human-rights violations during the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war… Read more »
Fact Sheets on OISL Report
OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka Fact Sheet 1: Overview of the Report Fact Sheet 2: Torture Fact Sheet 3: Deprivation of Liberty Fact Sheet 4: Unlawful Killings Fact Sheet 5: Abduction Fact Sheet 6: Control of Movement Fact Sheet 7: Last Phase of War
Pressuring Sri Lanka for Peace
Last Thursday, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution that seemed, once again, to promote postwar reconciliation and express a broad international consensus for ensuring those who committed serious human-rights violations during the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war are held accountable. The problem is the resolution’s overly diplomatic and, at times, vague… Read more »
Sen. Cardin Speech on the Importance of Accountability in Sri Lanka
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 6, 2015 CONTACTS: Adam Sharon 202-224-4651 Sue Walitsky 202-224-4524 Cardin Speech on the Importance of Accountability in Sri Lanka WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, submitted the following remarksfor the congressional record regarding the importance of accountability in… Read more »
Reaction to UNHRC Resolution in Colombo
PM upbeat on Sri Lankan solution by ‘Daily Mirror,’ Colombo, September 29, 2015 Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that the resolution co-sponsored by the US and Sri Lanka placed before the UNHRC would pave the way to bring about a Sri Lankan solution to the question of reconciliation and accountability during the last stages… Read more »
He was a U.S. Ally in Africa. Now He’s on Trial for Crimes against Humanity
HRW Q & A re Habre’s trial He was our man in Africa. Hissene Habre, who ruled Chad in the 1980s, was a U.S. ally in good standing even as his government killed tens of thousands of people and filled prisons with enemies who were starved, beaten and tortured. Last week he finally had to… Read more »