A Bilingual Cameroon Teeters After English Speakers Protest Treatment By Francois Essomba & Dionne Searcey, ‘The New York Times,’ February 9, 2017 BAMENDA, Cameroon — Lawyers have long put up with laws that aren’t translated into their native English. They have endured French-speaking judges whose English is barely passable and who aren’t familiar with their… Read more »
Co-Existence
by Mano Ganesan, via Twitter, February 8, 2017 Tamils demand #Coexistence & not mere #integration and #reconciliation ‘Tamasha'[theatrical show]. I told few DPL & int’l friends @ my ministry today. Minister of National Dialogue President, Democratic Workers’ Congress Convenor, Civil Monitoring Commission on Extra-Judicial Killings and Disappearance
TNA’s Directionless and Docile Leadership
The simple and stark truth is that the issues of Tamils will continue to be dragged on due to political compulsions and necessity of the ruling Government or any Government, exploiting the opposition of monks to their advantage. by M.K. Eelaventhan, February 7, 2017 Tamil National Alliance – composing EPRLF, TELO, Ilankai Thamil Arasu… Read more »
War Crimes Swept Under the Carpet
The Sri Lankan war crimes swept under the carpet by Bruce Haigh, ‘The Age,’ February 6, 2017 According to successive Sri Lankan governments the only war crimes committed during the country’s long civil war, from July 1983 to May 2009, were those perpetrated by the Tamils; aggressive denial has defined their response. The alienation of… Read more »
Review of ‘Nothing Ever Dies’
“All wars are fought twice,” he writes, “the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory.” —————– Nothing Ever Dies Read an excerpt from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s new book about Vietnam and the memory of war By Stephanie Bastek, ‘American Scholar,’ April 12, 2016 The Vietnam War—or, as those on the other side… Read more »
Reconciliation Accomplished
by Sanjana Hattotuwa, ‘The Sunday Island,’ Colombo, February 5, 2017 In 2003, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, the then US President George W. Bush delivered an infamous address proclaiming an end to large scale combat operations in Iraq. “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States… Read more »
Two Years In Government
A review of the pledges made in 2015 through the lens of constitutional reform, governance and transitional justice by Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo, February 2, 2017 The political transition of January 2015 promised ambitious reforms and raised expectations accordingly. Two years on, serious concerns have emerged with regard to the National Unity Government’s reform… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Transition to Nowhere
Time may be running out for meaningful reforms, and transitional justice remains just out of reach. by Alan Keenan, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, February 1, 2017 Sri Lanka’s Transition to Nowhere – Alan Keenan – Diplomat – Feb 2017 The momentum of the early months soon slowed, as deep political dysfunctions reasserted themselves in the face… Read more »
The Travel Ban and an Authoritarian ‘Ladder of Violence’
by Amanda Taub, ‘The New York Times,’ February 2, 2017 WASHINGTON — History is full of examples of leaders using “us versus them” politics to paint a particular minority group as a threat to the majority’s safety, morals or culture. That history has scholars of authoritarianism unnerved by President Trump’s order to halt immigration from… Read more »
National Question and Grievances Faced by a Minority
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 »
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 »