by ‘Tamil Guardian,’ London, July 27, 2016 Six former Sri Lankan army corporals were acquitted by a Sri Lankan court today over the rape and massacre of 24 Tamil civilians in Kumarapuram in 1996. The Sri Lankan soldiers were standing on trial over the involvement in the killings, which took place in the village in southern… Read more »
Monthly Archives: July 2016
On Rights and Justice
As it is, despite the best efforts of the CTF and subsidiary bodies, politically, the popular consultations appear to be an eyewash, designed to placate foreign governments and UN officials, and tick the box. by Taylor Dibbert, ‘The World Post,’ Los Angeles, July 28, 2016 Ruki Fernando is a human rights activist based in Colombo,… Read more »
Interview with CM Wigneswaran
by ‘Daily News,’ Colombo, July 28, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lfPZQ7iAKY https://youtu.be/4lfPZQ7iAKY
ICRC: Report on the Needs of Families of the Missing Released
by International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, July 26, 2016 https://www.icrc.org/en/document/sri-lanka-families-missing-persons Years that have passed since the armed conflict in Sri Lanka ended in 2009, did not bring solace to the families of over 16,000 persons who, according to the ICRC’s records, remain missing. Between October 2014 and November 2015, conducting an island-wide assessment,… Read more »
July 1983: Betrayal Of The Absolute Right To Justice
by Basil Fernando, ‘Groundviews,’ Colombo, July 25, 2016 It has been 33 years since Black July, 1983. These 33 years have been part of our lifetime. We have witnessed not only the horrendously criminal acts of July 1983, but also what happened by way of justice after those serious crimes. I would like to illustrate… Read more »
NPC: Press Release re University Incident
A Full-Fledged Commission to determine the frustrations of University Students must be appointed NPC press release incident re university students The recent fisticuffs among Jaffna University Students was an unfortunate incident. V/e welcome the appointment of a Committee of Inquiry in this regard by the University Authorities. But such incidents should not be viewed from… Read more »
Remembering Black July
More than 3000 Tamils were killed within just 10 days, then 150,000 were rendered homeless and began a refugee flight that leaves more than 800,000 Tamils scattered all around the world today.
A Reality Check
by Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, published in ‘Groundviews,’ Colombo, July 15, 2016 Text of the presentation at the seminar on “Peace and Reconciliation & Nation-Building”, organized by the Association for Social Development and held at Organization of professional Associations Auditorium, Colombo, on July 10, 2016. I share the basic premise on which the theme of this… Read more »
MGR Remembered – Part 36
Part 35 by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 18, 2016 Front Note by Sachi Uploading of the complete text of the first 32 chapters of series in the Research Gate site (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sachi_Sri_Kantha) last February, under the title ‘Minimum Guarantee Ramachandran: A Life in Cinema and Politics’ has garnered 452 reads up to now. I appreciate the… Read more »
What Options For Jaffna Economic Revival?
by Kumar David, ‘Colombo Telegraph,’ July 17, 2016 Industrial and agricultural development prospects seem bleak: What options for Jaffna economic revival? Sometimes countries rise phoenix like from the ashes of devastation and war; the best known are Germany and Japan after WW2. Others like post-crisis Central African basket-cases remain depressed basket-cases. The Northern Province, unlike the… Read more »
SL Military Strengthens Genocidal Grip on North
See ‘Tamil Guardian’ article on same subject by TamilNet, July 15, 2016 The occupying Sinhala military of genocidal Sri Lanka has put up new fences to consolidate the military-seized lands of Eezham Tamils in Valikaamam North in Jaffna within the last three days while the visiting US State Secretary for South Asia Ms Nisha Biswal… Read more »
Most Commonly Spoken South Asian Languages in North America
from Reddit, [no other attribution], July 14, 2016 By Ali Zifan – Own work; Map is based on here., CC… Read more »
US Asst Secretaries of State Biswal & Malinowski Visit
US Officials Insist Sustainable Peace Must Include Peace Dividend by Dharsha Bastians, ‘Daily Financial Times,’ Colombo, July 15, 2016 Visiting State Department officials insisted that accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka continues to be a key focus for the US Government, but defended their apparent focus on economic growth and investment on a two-day visit… Read more »
Engaging Sinhalese Buddhist Majoritarianism
by Neil DeVotta, ‘The Review of Faith & International Affairs,’ Summer 2016 Engaging Sinhalese Buddhist Majoritarianism and Countering Religious Animus in Sri Lanka Recommendations for the Incoming U S Administration This essay, consequently, discusses the Sinhalese Buddhist-Muslim dynamic in the country as part of its focus on religion and public life in Sri Lanka. The… Read more »
Xavier was my Saviour
by M.K. Eelaventhan, July 12, 2016 J.R. Jeyawardena brought this draconian legislation in 1979 to wipeout the so-called terrorism. In his declaration he said wipeout terrorism on or before 31st December 1979. I was kept in the Jaffna military camp housed at the old kachcheri premises and later I was transferred to the Jaffna Prisons housed… Read more »
Ample Space for Sri Lanka Testing its Commitments & Credibilities
By Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.], FCII, July 13, 2016 In the much expected 32nd session of Human Rights Council, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner delivered his oral statement evaluating the progress made by Sri Lanka regarding the implementation of various matters outlined in the Sri Lanka-US sponsored resolution passed on October 01, 2015. Nine… Read more »
Bipartisan Group of 24 Lawmakers Calls on Secretary Kerry
2010 letter to Sec. Clinton on Sri Lanka FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 27, 2016 CONTACT: Abraham White 202-308-8430 Bipartisan Group of 24 Lawmakers Calls on Secretary Kerry to Strengthen Peace and Human Rights in Sri Lanka for War Victims WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Bill Johnson (R-OH) led… Read more »
Book Review: ‘Ruins’
by Jane Sullivan, ‘Sydney Morning Herald, July 9, 2016 Rajith Savanadasa had written a few drafts of his first novel, and it wasn’t working. It was supposed to be a big novel about a Sri Lankan family that also commented on the country, culture and politics and the civil war that had raged for 25 years… Read more »
Watchdog: Amendments to the OMP Bill
by Watchdog Collective, July 5, 2016 Memo to CTF – OMP Bill – 5 July 2016 Further to our memorandum to the Consultation Task Force (“CTF”), dated 1 May 2016, and our follow-up letter to the Foreign Minister, dated 16 May 2016, we write a further follow-up memorandum relating to the Office of Missing Persons (“OMP”). This memorandum… Read more »
CHRD: Oral Submission to Consultation Task Force
by K.S. Ratnavale, Centre for Human Rights & Development, Kotte, Sri Lanka, July 5, 2016 There has been a country –wide discussion about Transitional Justice. The government of Sri Lanka has appointed a Task Force who in turn appointed Zonal Task Force for consultations. There has been an avalanche of activities in the districts and… Read more »