by Berkley Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, August 1, 2013 This case study addresses the underlying ethnic and religious tensions behind the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009), a conflict led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) on behalf of the Hindu Tamil minority against the Sri Lankan government and the Buddhist Sinhalese majority…. Read more »
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
A Belated Recognition of Genocide by the House
For too long, Turkey bullied America into silence. Not anymore. by Samantha Power, The New York Times, October 29, 2019 On Tuesday, by a vote of 405 to 11, the House of Representatives defied the Turkish government’s intimidation and, for the first time in 35 years, passed a resolution that recognized the Armenian genocide. In acknowledging… Read more »
Sinhalization of the North-East: Kokkilai
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), October 16, 2019 Sinhalization of the North-East: Kokkilai The south-east of the Mullaithivu District has been a target for state-sponsored Sinhala settlements for decades. As with Pulmoaddai, the Kokkilai region of Mullaithivu lies on the strategically important border between the traditional Tamil homeland’s northern and eastern… Read more »
Sinhalization of the North-East: Pulmoaddai
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), September, 2019 Pulmoaddai is a majority Tamil-speaking, Muslim town in the Trincomalee District. The town, part of the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretariat, is located on the border to the Mullaithivu District, occupying the strategically important region which links the traditional Tamil homeland’s northern and eastern regions. The… Read more »
Sri Lanka Presidential Hopeful Says Won’t Honor Deal with UN
by Krishan Francis | AP in The Washington Post, October 15, 2019 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A former Sri Lankan defense chief who is a front-runner in next month’s presidential election said Tuesday that if he wins, he won’t recognize an agreement the government made with the U.N. human rights council to investigate alleged war crimes during… Read more »
Ignorance and Populism Puts Sri Lankan Muslims in the Crosshairs
by Farzana Haniffa, East Asia Forum, Australia, October 4, 2019 There is no locally-relevant social or communal cause that could explain the Easter Sunday 2019 attacks in Sri Lanka. Christian–Muslim relations are largely cordial. Mobilisation of Buddhists through anti-Muslim rhetoric after the war’s end in 2009 led to several incidents of anti-Muslim violence with large-scale… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Implementation of UNHRC Res. 40/1
Sri Lanka’s Defiance & Delaying Tactics in Implementing UNHRC Resolution 40/1 by Kumarathasan Rasingam, Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org. Tamils in Sri Lanka have undergone grave injustice: Pogroms, Torture, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Forced Disappearances and Genocide. Tamil mothers in Sri Lanka fight daily to learn what happened to their missing… Read more »
Follow-up on the visits of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
to Peru and Sri Lanka https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/42/40/Add.1 Summary This document contains information supplied by Governments, authorities, civil society and other stakeholders, relating to the follow-up measures to the recommendations made by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, following its visits to Peru and Sri Lanka in 2015 (A/HRC/33/51/Add.3 and A/HRC/33/51/Add.2. II. Sri Lanka Follow-up… Read more »
UK Delivers Core Group Statement on Sri Lanka
UK’s International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French outlined that the UK remains steadfast in its commitment to help Sri Lanka deliver peace, reconciliation and prosperity for all communities. Published 10 September 2019 From: UK Mission to the United Nations Geneva The Human Rights Council takes place in Geneva. This statement is on behalf of… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Tamils Need Genocide Recognition
And Innovative Justice Mechanisms by Anji Manivannan, ‘Opinion Juris’ Emerging Voices, New York, August 15, 2019 [Anji Manivannan is the Legal Director at People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) and a Senior Programs Officer at the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP).] Introduction May 18th marked the tenth anniversary of the end… Read more »
Identity Conflict in Sri Lanka
A Case of Tamil Tigers by Sehar Mushtaq, International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, August 2012 Abstract Identity has been basic source of resentment during various ethnic conflicts. Political and economic discrimination based on Identity is a key factor underlying these conflicts. Sri Lanka being religiously and ethnically heterogeneous country faced an identity conflict… Read more »
JDS & ITJP: Time for Sri Lanka to Come Clean on Cluster Munitions
Time for Sri Lanka to come clean regarding cluster munitions ITJP_JDS_cluster_munitions_report 28 August 2019 Johannesburg: As members of the Convention on Cluster Munitions meet 2- 4 September 2019 in Geneva , the President of the organisation needs to come clean on its own record with these devastating weapons. For the last year Sri Lanka has led… Read more »
ATC, CTC, BTF & USTAG: Sri Lanka’s Disappeared Must Have Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2019 Sri Lanka’s Disappeared Must Have Justice FINAL Sri Lanka’s Disappeared Must Have Justice Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), British Tamils Forum (BTF), Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) and US Tamil Action Group (USTAG) once again on the International Day of the Disappeared draw attention to the large number of enforced disappearances… Read more »
PEARL: International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances
by People for Relief and Equality in Lanka, August 30, 2019 International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances (Washington, D.C.; August 30, 2019) – Today we mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. We stand with Tamil relatives of the disappeared who today marked Day 922 of their years-long protest for answers… Read more »
Investigating Truth re Enforced Disappearances
Investigating The Truth Of What Happened To Enforced Disappeared Tamils In Sri Lanka International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, August 30, 2019 – TGTE’s Call for International Action The necessity for international action, to investigate what happened to enforced disappeared Tamils in Sri Lanka, has become that much greater and more urgent now…. Read more »
The True Cost of Your Trip to Sri Lanka
by 47Roots, London?, August 12, 2019 Here’s what you should consider before you plan your next trip to Sri Lanka. Places to avoid: Sri Lanka Campaign: https://www.srilankacampaign.org/ethi… Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) – Interactive Map https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie… Sources: Tamil Guardian: www.tamilguardian.com @tamilguardian People for Equality and Relief in Lanka https://pearlaction.org/ @PEARLAlert ‘Our land Our Life’… Read more »
Remembering Black July, 36 Years On
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, August 12, 2019 This year marked 36 years since the 1983 riots or Black July pogroms. Armed with voter registration lists, government-sponsored anti-Tamil pogroms killed at least 3,000 Tamil civilians, destroyed 5,000 shops, 8,000 homes, and displaced 150,000 Tamils. It also prompted the first large exodus of… Read more »
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 »
TIC: 900 Days of Protests by Families of Disappeared
by Tamil Information Centre, London, August 10, 2019
Amnesty: Justice for the Trinco 5
by Amnesty International, London, August 9, 2019 AI Justice for Trinco 5 ASA3708622019ENGLISH Amnesty International welcomes the decision of the Attorney General of Sri Lanka to recommence investigations into the killing of five Tamil students – known as the ‘Trinco 5’ – allegedly by the Sri Lankan security forces in Trincomalee on 2 January 2006…. Read more »