Posts Categorized: Diaspora

Rethinking Post-War Diaspora Advocacy for Accountability

Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka by Mytili Bala, ‘International Human Rights Law Journal,’ 2015 Transitional_Justice_in_Sri_Lanka_Rethinking 2015 Abstract Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam came to a bloody end in May 2009, amidst allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity on both sides. Since then, Tamils in the diaspora, long accused of funding the war, have become vocal proponents for war crimes… Read more »

Black July

Confirming Sri Lanka’s Agenda to Create a Sinhala-Buddhist State by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM[Lond.]Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 1, 2019, July 1983 is dubbed as BLACK JULY for the Tamils who experienced the island wide wholesale massacres, burning of Tamils, destruction of Temples and properties including lootings. It was not a… Read more »

FeTNA & World Tamil Conference 2019

[2020 FeTNA will take place in Atlanta, GA over Fourth of July.] World Tamil Conference schedule – https://www.icsts10.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ICSTS_Seminar_Schedule_05312019_v002a.pdf FeTNA pictures – https://www.facebook.com/fetnaconvention/ Dance before Parade of Sangams – https://www.facebook.com/bayareatamilmanram/videos/613844709104196/            

Cases Against Gotabaya Rajapakshe

Fighting for delayed accountability and justice by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Gotabaya Rajapakshe, who is a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and USA, flew back to Sri Lanka after the victory of Mahinda Rajapakshe as the President in 2005. He was appointed as the Defence Secretary… Read more »

Sri Lankans Accuse Him of Wartime Atrocities

California May Decide. by Mike Ives and Dharisha Bastians, The New York Times, April 19, 2019 In the decade since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended, a former wartime defense chief has successfully dodged accusations of crimes against humanity. He may soon run for president. But the accusations, which are supported by United Nations inquiries, recently caught up… Read more »

UNHRC Resolution 40/1

And the pathetic plight of the victims of the war in Sri Lanka by Kumarathasan Rasingam, April 16, 2019 The UNHRC Resolution 40/1 was passed without voting giving another two years to Sri Lanka delay the implementation of UNHRC Resolution 30/1. In fact, Tamils are fully aware that Sri Lanka is finding ways and means… Read more »

Alternative Avenues

Tamil Guardian editorial, March 24, 2019 For almost a decade, Tamil victims have looked to the UN Human Rights Council in their pursuit of justice. However, after years of resolutions followed by an extension, alongside lack of any progress on accountability, events at Geneva this week brought another deep disappointment. A day after the Sri Lankan government… Read more »

Extending the Woes of Tamils

And evasion of accountability and justice by Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai,  LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 1, 2019 At the much awaited 40th Session of the UNHRC, the Commissioner Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet released her Report on March 03 2019 and then made her oral statement on March… Read more »

United Nations Must Recognize Tamils’ Right To Self-Determination

By Kumarathasan Rasingam, March 29, 2019 Tamils demand the Right to Self-Determination as Tamils in Sri Lanka qualify as a People and Nation When the United Nations was created after World War II, one of the main purposes of the United Nations was spelt out in Article 1 [2] of the Charter, which states ‘To… Read more »

Remembering V. Varadakumar (1949-2019)

by Virou Srilangarajah, Institute of Race Relations, London, March 21, 2019 The Tamil community has lost a valiant fighter. Just one year after the passing of A. Sivanandan (Siva), the Tamil community suffered another devastating loss with the sudden death of human rights activist and community organiser Vairamuttu Varadakumar. Friends found him at his home… Read more »

Six Major Tamil Diaspora Organisations Call for Accelerated Implementation

Six Major Tamil Diaspora Organisations Call for Accelerated Implementation of the UNHRC Resolution on Sri Lanka https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/six-major-tamil-diaspora-organisations-call-for-accelerated-implementation-of-the-unhrc-resolution-on-sri-lanka-300816975.html GENEVA, March 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), the British Tamils Forum (BTF), the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), the Irish Tamils Forum (ITF), the New Zealand Tamil Society (NZTS), and the US Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC)… Read more »

Structural Genocide Continues in Sri Lanka

by Association Bharathi CCFT – Centre Culturel Franco Tamoul, Maurepas, France, in partnership with  Tamils’ Heritage Forum Sri Lanka, date not given Download PDF Content 1. Background 2. State aided colonization in East 3. Targeting the North 4. Mahaweli Project 4.1Mahaweli Authority 4.2 Mahaweli Authority Act No. 23 of 1979- provisions relating to land 4.3 Mahaweli ‘L’… Read more »

A Plea for Helping Tamil Women in Sri Lanka in Their Search for Justice

On International Women’s Day by Usha Sriskandarajah, March 10, 2019 As the world marks International Women’s Day, my thoughts are with Tamil women back in the homeland. Tamil women and girls in the island of Sri Lanka once known as Ceylon have been fighting against oppression, against marginalization, against violence, against the relentless persecution of… Read more »

Time to Deliver Justice

For War Victims in Sri Lanka UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL’S MARCH 2019 SESSIONS By: Thambu Kanagasabai – LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The 40th Sessions of Human Rights Council is scheduled to be held in Geneva from February 22nd to March 22, 2019.  This Session assumes greater importance… Read more »

Resolution of US Massachusetts House of Representatives

Resolution of US Massachusetts House of Representatives Calling for the Restoration of the Separate Sovereign State of Tamil Eelam 18 June 1981 [see also  Proclamation of Eelam Day by Edward J.King, Governor of Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 16 May 1979  Human Rights for Tamils in Sri Lanka –  US Congress Resolution – Hon. Mario Baggio of… Read more »

Diasporas as a Force in Foreign Affairs

The case of Tamils in Britain and Canada by Matthew Godwin, London School of Economics, August 17, 2018 A number of factors impact whether or not diasporas influence host country foreign policy, writes Matthew Godwin. He looks at two major decisions facing Canada and the UK toward Sri Lanka, and explains how pressure from the Tamil… Read more »

SL Crisis Deepens Uncertainty for Tamil Refugees in TN

by Mayilvaganan ‘Times of India,’ Delhi, November 15, 2018 CHENNAI: It is a political paradox. In the power struggle among three Sinhala leaders, the Sri Lankan Tamils — not just those in the island nation but also on other side of Gulf of Mannar — appear to be victims. Confined to the 100-odd refugee camps,… Read more »

Tamil Women’s Day

Honoring Strength & Resistance in the Face of Oppression by PEARL, Washington, DC, October 10, 2018 PEARL_Press_Release_Women_s_Day_2018 On Tamil Women’s Day, PEARL remembers the women who participated in the Tamil struggle for rights and self-determination, and honors the ongoing fight against oppression. October 10, 1987 marked the death of 2nd Lt. Malathy, the first LTTE… Read more »

The Failed Promise of Reconciliation in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan governments have proven unwilling to acknowledge, let alone address, the root cause of conflict on the island. by Mario Arulthas, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, October 11, 2018 In the run-up to his recent address at the UN General Assembly, Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena struck a defiant note, blatantly rejecting commitments made to the… Read more »