Posts Categorized: Human Rights

Adaptation of Archaeological Techniques in Forensic Mass Grave Exhumation: Chemmani

The experience of ‘Chemmani’ excavation in northern Sri Lanka by PR Ruwanpura, UCP Perera, HTK Wijeyaweera and N Chandrasiri, Ceylon Medical Journal, 2006 Sep;51(3):98-102 1251-1-4695-1-10-20091023 Abstract There have been several mass grave excavations in Sri Lanka during the period of 1995 to 1998. Excavation of mass graves in the Chemmani area of northern peninsula of… Read more »

Letter re Repeal of PTA from Civil Society

Letter re PTA May 2025 English Letter re PTA May 2025 Tamil Letter re PTA May 2025 Sinhalese 29th May, 2025 Secretary, Ministry of Justice and National Integration, Colombo 10 Re: The Repeal of the PTA – Do not replace with a new terror law We, as concerned peoples of Sri Lanka, respond to the… Read more »

TG: Sri Lanka’s Genocide Blueprint

Tamil Guardian editorial, June 2, 2025 There was a marked shift in global politics last week as states around the world, including staunch allies of Israel, began to criticise its ongoing military offensive in Gaza. It comes as a senior United Nations humanitarian official repeatedly issued a stark reminder of the international community’s failure to… Read more »

TG: A Global Reckoning

Tamil Guardian editorial, May 27, 2025 Last week, thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal, on the very beaches where tens of thousands were massacred by the Sri Lankan state in 2009, to mark the 16th anniversary of the genocide. The turnout was remarkable, the largest since the end of the armed conflict, and a powerful testament… Read more »

TG: There Can Be No More Denial

Tamil Guardian editorial, May 19, 2025 Today, Tamils around the world are commemorating 16 years since the massacres at Mullivaikkal. Though more than a decade-and-half has passed, the situation on the island for Eelam Tamils seems as precarious as ever. There has been no accountability for the atrocities that took place. The seizure of historic… Read more »

Mullivaikkal Declaration 2025

by Tamil Guardian, London, May 21, 2025 See in original Tamil at TamilWin தமிழீழ வரலாற்றின் சாட்சியாக முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் பிரகடனம் 2025 – தமிழ்வின் Marking sixteen years since the Mullivaikkal genocide, the Mullivaikkal Remembrance Public Forum released a statement on 18 May 2025, reaffirming the Tamil nation’s unwavering commitment to justice, self-determination, and resistance against continued structural oppression… Read more »

BBC: After Decades of Bloodshed, is India Winning its War against Maoists?

by Suvojit Bagchi, BBC, London, May 28, 2025 Could India’s decades-long jungle insurgency finally be approaching its end? Last week, the country’s most-wanted Maoist, Nambala Keshava Rao – popularly known as Basavaraju – was killed along with 26 others in a major security operation in the central state of Chhattisgarh. Home Minister Amit Shah called… Read more »

FT: India Corners Maoist Rebels after Decades-long Struggle

Death of Naxalite insurgency’s leader a moment of triumph for Narendra Modi’s government by John Reed and Jyotsna Singh in New Delhi, Financial Times, London, May 23, 2025 Indian communist rebel Nambala Keshava Rao was one of the country’s most wanted men, but few images of him are publicly available. A photograph from his college days,… Read more »

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2002

by Sri Lankan government, November 2002 and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, July 2003, Geneva Report by the Sri Lankan government (CRC/C/70/Add.17) covers the period 1994-1999. CRC_C_70_Add-17-EN.pdf Committee on the Rights of the Child in its final report (CRC/C/15/Add.207) responds to contemporary events also. g0342764.pdf

The Hindu: A Sri Lankan Anti-Terror Law That Needs Repeal

The Sri Lankan government must translate its pre-election rhetoric into reality, and end the Prevention of Terrorism Act by The Hindu, Chennai, April 30, 2025 In the many cycles of violence in Sri Lanka’s troubled history, “terror” has been a running theme. While the state — that has repeatedly demonstrated a majoritarian tendency — has… Read more »

ARED: Letter to Sri Lanka Core Group

by Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances, Kilinochchi, May 12, 2025 Letter from Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances to Sri Lanka Core Group May 12 2025 Chairperson and Committee Members Core Group on Sri Lanka United Nations Human Rights Council Geneva Dear Sirs/Madams, We, the relatives of those who were forcibly disappeared… Read more »

SLC: Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day 2025

Memory, Mourning and the Long Struggle for Justice by Sri Lanka Campaign, London, May 16, 2025 Sixteen years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, Tamil survivors and families of the disappeared are still fighting for one of the fundamental human rights: the right to mourn. Every May 18, Mullivaikkal Day serves as both… Read more »

What is India’s Long-Awaited Caste Census?

and why has it sparked outcry from Modi’s followers? by Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, The Independent, London, May 2, 2025 The Indian government will collect caste details in its next population census in a policy U-turn that could have sweeping socioeconomic and political ramifications. Information minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Wednesday that the census would count the populations… Read more »

May 31-June 4 1981: Five Days Of State Terror In Jaffna

by Santasilan Kadirgamar , Colombo Telegraph, February 3, 2013 Santasilan Kadirgamar Two years after the end of the war in Lanka*, without a political solution in sight, it may be appropriate to look back at events that occurred 30 years ago. 31 May to 4 June 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of days of violence… Read more »

Why Are Journalists’ Murder Investigations Being Avoided?

Media Freedom In Sri Lanka by Amirthanayagam Nixon, Colombo Telegraph, May3, 2024 It is an obvious fact that investigations into the killing of journalists and threats to the media are not being conducted against the backdrop of non-resolution of political rights issues of Tamils and cover-up of corruption and abuse of power by political leaders…. Read more »

Open Letter to Sri Lankan President Anura K. Dissanayake

Since 1948 SL Heads of State have ‘relayed’ on the Ethnic conflict! by S. V. Kirubaharan, General Secretary, TCHR – Tamil Centre for Human Rights, France, May 7, 2025  William Shakespeare: “Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends”. Dear Mr President: First of all, our congratulations to you and the NPP – National People’s Power… Read more »