of the island of Sri Lanka by Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, December 29, 2004 Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation Media Release Press Conference at Swiss TRO Headquarters, Geneva “Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation has grave concerns that our ability to respond in a timely manner is being hindered by excessive administrative, bureaucratic and control requirements ” Contact: Director, Disaster Management… Read more »
The Politics of Sinhala Nationalism
by David Rampton, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 2011, 49:2, 245-273 Deeper_hegemony_the_politics_of_Sinhala nationalism Rampton Abstract Through a case study of Sinhala nationalism and its impact on ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, this article explores the idea that the study of ethno-national conflict management as well as the wider field of nationalism studies tend to render nationalism… Read more »
Banning of Silva is a Small Victory for Tamils
by Visvajit Sriramranjan, The Hofstra Chronicle, NY, February 25, 2020 Last week, Shavendra Silva, the chief of the Sri Lankan Army, was banned from entering the United States. Silva is a known war criminal who spearheaded the genocide of the Tamil people, an ethnic minority group native to southern India as well as northern and… Read more »
In Sri Lanka, Yet Another Chance at Post-war Recovery
by Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu, Chennai, February 29, 2020 More than a decade after the civil war ended in Sri Lanka, the Tamil people in the Northern Province continue to emphasise the need for jobs, livelihoods, and a reliable market. The new government’s promise of development, they say, must come with meaningful reconciliation. Meera Srinivasan… Read more »
Lessons Learnt from Kirk Douglas, the Writer
by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 4, 2020 Kirk Douglas, aka Issur Danielovitch (birth name), one of the last heroes of Hollywood’s studio era, bid goodbye to his fans on February 5th, after living for a century and three years. Though his oeuvre as a cine actor extends to nearly 90 movies (including his classics, Lust… Read more »
Report of the SR on Freedom of Religion to Sri Lanka
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session43/Pages/ListReports.aspx A/HRC/43/48/Add.2 Advance Unedited Version Distr.: General 28 February 2020 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-third session 24 February–20 March 2020 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Visit to Sri Lanka Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Evasion of UNHRC Resolutions
and defiling of human rights and accountability by: Thambu Kanagasabai – LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The United Nations Human Rights Council was established in 2006 by the UN to investigate allegations of human rights violations against member states. After investigations, it makes recommendations for implementation by the state… Read more »
HRW: UN Rights Council Should Uphold Sri Lanka Commitments
Weak Response from Country Core Group Ignores Victims’ Plight by John Fisher, Human Rights Watch, March 3, 2020 https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/03/un-rights-council-should-uphold-sri-lanka-commitments During his presidential campaign and after his election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa left little doubt that Sri Lanka would not enforce its commitments on justice and accountability agreed to at the United Nations Human Rights Council. So the foreign minister’s announcement… Read more »
ICJ: Justice & Accountability for Crimes under International Law in Sri Lanka
by International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, February 28, 2020 At the UN Human Rights Council, the ICJ today urged renewed international action to ensure justice and accountability for crimes under international law in Sri Lanka. The statement, delivered during a discussion of updates and reports from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, read as follows:… Read more »
Sangam’s Thai Pongal Festival
by Ilankai Tamil Sangam, New Jersey, USA, January 31, 2020
From Being Tortured in Sri Lanka to the U.S. Supreme Court
by Ashoka Mukpo, American Civil Liberties Union, February 24, 2020 On a frigid day in early February, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam stands under an awning on a street corner in lower Manhattan along with one of his attorneys, Celso Perez of the ACLU. Both are bundled in heavy winter jackets. Perez is holding his phone up and… Read more »
Joint Statement by the Core Group on Sri Lanka
by Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Montenegro & UK, Geneva, February 27, 2020 http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/watch/item2-general-debate-contd-11th-meeting-43rd-regular-session-human-rights-council/6136566318001 https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/un-human-rights-council-43-item-2-joint-statement-by-the-core-group-on-sri-lanka UN Human Rights Council 43: Item 2 Joint Statement by the Core Group on Sri Lanka International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French delivers joint statement by the Core Group on Sri Lanka Thank you Madam President This statement is on… Read more »
UNHCHR: Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka
by Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, February 18, 2020 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session43/Pages/ListReports.aspx Oral updates and introduction to country reports of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner UN Human Rights Council, February 27, 2020 http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/watch/hcsg-country-reports-10th-meeting-43rd-regular-session-human-rights-council-/6136487778001 I move to our update on Sri Lanka, HRC/43/19, assessing the progress made in implementing Human Rights Council resolution… Read more »
SLC: Keep the Promise
by Sri Lanka Campaign, London, February, 2020 The promise Following a landmark international investigation, in September 2015 the United Nations released a major report on serious human rights violations committed during the final stages of the civil war and the surrounding period (2002-2011). The document, known as the ‘OISL Report’[1] was clear in its view that many… Read more »
Elect Young & Committed Leaders to the Tamil Cause
Ripe time for Tamil voters by Kumarathasan Rasingam, Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org., February 18, 2020 It is election year for Sri Lanka. A general election has to be held before August 5th 2020 for a new Government to rule the polarized and divided country of majority Sinhalese and minorities with Tamils… Read more »
AI: Fulfil the Demands of the Families of the Disappeared
by Amnesty International, February 14, 2020 In Sri Lanka, many families of the forcibly disappeared mark 14 February as ‘Missing Lovers Day’ in remembrance of their loved ones and to demand truth and justice The Sri Lankan government must deliver justice, truth and reparation to the families of the forcibly disappeared, Amnesty International said today,… Read more »
More Skeletal Remains Discovered in Sri Lanka’s Former War Zone
by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, Europe, February 12, 2020 A judge has ordered methodical excavations of a site in Sri Lanka’s former war zone after construction workers discovered skeletal remains considered as belonging to humans. The bones were unearthed from the Mankulam hospital site in the Mullaitivu district when land clearance was done… Read more »
From Sachi’s Files – Chapter 13
An American Doctor’s view of colonial Ceylon in 1905 by Sachi Sri Kantha, February 16, 2020 In Chapter 10 of this series [https://sangam.org/from-sachis-files-chapter-10/] I provided the impression of an American nurse Ms. Annette Beals, in 1939. She reported about the medical conditions in Jaffna. In this chapter, I provide impression of an American doctor Nicholas… Read more »
PEARL welcomes US sanctions against Sri Lankan army chief
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, Washington, D.C., February 14, 2020 Today, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo banned Sri Lanka’s army chief Shavendra Silva from entering the US due to “credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of… Read more »
U.S. Bars Sri Lankan Army Chief Accused of War Crimes
The sanctions are the first international action against Sri Lanka stemming from its brutal civil war. Several members of the new government are also accused of wartime abuses. by Maria Abi-Habib and Dharisha Bastians, The New York Times, February 15, 2020 NEW DELHI — The United States has imposed an entry bar on Sri Lanka’s army chief,… Read more »