Posts Categorized: Human Rights

Sri Lanka in Crisis

Why the Past Lives on in its Collective Future by Ambika Satkunananthan, 9Dashline, Europe, June 16, 2022 Sri Lanka is in the throes of an economic and political crisis not hitherto witnessed. The crisis has created instability and resulted in protests that began in March 2022. Citizens’ protests that are not organised by political parties… Read more »

TMVP Informant Spills the Beans

by Easwaran Rutnam, Daily Mirror, Colombo, June 24, 2022 Flees Sri Lanka fearing for his safety Reveals information on murders to UN Writes to key diplomatic missions Shares details on Easter Sunday attacks UN officials had recorded statements from the informant over a period of approximately 5 days An informant of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai… Read more »

All Talk & No Action on Repealing the PTA

by Kumarathasan Rasingam, Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org. June 23, 2022 [Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister GL Pieris told the UNHRC on June 13 that the PTA has been amended & there is a moratorium on arrests.1  There is no evidence of either action being taken. — Editor] The Prevention of Terrorism Act… Read more »

Avanka Lanka: An Apology

[Apologies of this sort are a long time coming.  Pledges to help the marginalized are always welcome.  However, where does this rather capitalist & imperialist statement originate? — “we believe that the Northern province nor the Eastern province cannot develop in isolation but needs to link up with the South and the rest of the… Read more »

‘We Want Justice, Not Fuel’

Sri Lanka’s Tamils on north-south divide by Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Rubatheesan Sandran in Mullaitivu, The Guardian, Manchester, UK, June 21, 2022 In the middle of a crippling economic crisis, demonstrating is a luxury the country’s Tamil minority cannot afford Women hold a protest in Mullaitvu, Sri Lanka, demanding the return of those who were disappeared… Read more »

TGTE: Sri Lanka Hiding Behind Economic Disaster

To Avoid Accountability For Atrocity Crimes Committed Against Tamils by Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, EINPresswire, June 17, 2022 “Different Responses To The Protests In The Northeast And The South Reveal The Entrenched Racism In The Sinhala Polity” UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, June 17, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam… Read more »

U.S. State Dept Letter Leaked by 2009 Hillary Clinton Emails re IMF

IMF Supported War Crimes and Genocide in Sri Lanka by Tamils for Biden, EINPresswire, June 9, 2022 The IMF and World Bank desired that the Tamils be “completely defeated,” regardless of “any collateral damage inflicted” by the Sri Lankan government. EINPresswire.com/ — The IMF and World Bank desired that the Tamils be “completely defeated,” regardless… Read more »

May 31-June 4, 1981: Five Days of State Terror in Jaffna

by Santaseelan Kadirgamar, Transcurrents, June 4, 2011, also posted in Colombo Telegraph, February 3, 2013 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… Read more »

Peoples’ Tribunal on Sri Lanka – Session III

Berlin Session by Permanent People’s Tribunal, Berlin, May 20-22, 2022 Following the Sessions held in Dublin (14-16 January 2010) and Bremen (7-10 December 2013), the third Peoples’ Tribunal on Sri Lanka will take place under the aegis of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on 20-22 May 2022 in Berlin. As was the case with previous sessions, this third session was requested by… Read more »

13 Years Ago Today – A Massacre in Mullivaikkal

by Tamil Guardian, London, May 18, 2022 Photograph: A scene of devastation in Mullivaikkal pictured days after the Sri Lankan military had overrun the area. Marking 13 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18th of May 2009 – a date remembered… Read more »

Amnesty: Trinco Five at GTOB

by Amnesty International USA, Apri, 28, 2022 On April 29, Amnesty International USA held its 2022 virtual “Get on the Bus” event, featuring speakers and actions on Sri Lanka, Tibet/China, Syria and Ukraine.  The speaker for Sri Lanka was Thyagi Ruwanpathirana, Amnesty’s South Asia and Sri Lanka researcher.  She spoke about the case of the… Read more »

An Ignored Genocide

Of Tamils at Mullivaikkal in Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai  LLM London, Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 11, 2022 There cannot be any plausible reasons to deny the fact of a genocidal agenda initiated by the Sri Lankan Governments immediately after the independence in 1948 against the Tamils living in… Read more »

ITJP: Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Role in 1989 Mass Atrocities

by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, May 10, 2022 ITJP_1989_mass_grave_report_v6_WEB This is a joint report from the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS). As Sri Lanka is enveloped in unprecedented anger directed at the Rajapaksa family, a new report reveals that the President,… Read more »

TCHR: ‘Reaching Towards Justice: Reality Revealed’

by Tamil Centre for Human Rights, Paris, February 3, 2022 A book in English and in Tamil has been released by France-based human rights activist cum Freelance research analyst S. V. Kirupaharan – KIRUPA. The book’s title is Reaching towards justice: Reality revealed – a Socio-politico-historical perspective.   Due to the sudden rise of the Covid pandemic in Europe, the book launch supposed… Read more »

Sri Lanka is in an Economic Freefall

by Mark Leon Goldberg, UN Dispatch podcast, April 28, 2022 https://undispatch.com/category/podcast APPLE PODCASTS  | GOOGLE PODCASTS |  SPOTIFY  | PODCAST ADDICT  |  STITCHER  | RADIO PUBLIC  Transcript lightly edited for clarity How Has Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis Affected Its Citizens? J.S. Tissainayagam [00:02:59] Sri Lanka’s problem today stems basically from a failure of accountability when wrong decisions are made. This has led to both… Read more »

My Neighbor the Suspected War Criminal

by Reveal News podcast, California, April 23, 2022 This month, atrocities in Ukraine have triggered new allegations of war crimes. While people around the world call for accountability, we look into why those who are suspected of committing war crimes in the past often walk free. Reporter and host Ike Sriskandarajah spent the past six… Read more »

Annaipoopathy and Mothers Fighting for the Disappeared

by Nillanthan Maha in his blog, March 30, 2022 [translated by Google Translate, with some edits] The mothers of the missing opposed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Jaffna last Sunday. They have been rudely treated by the police. Annai Bhupathi is considered to be the forerunner of Ammuthiya mothers in modern Tamil politics. Thirty-four… Read more »

What are Thermobaric and Cluster Bombs?

A look at their use by the Sri Lankan army by Tamil Guardian, London, March 2, 2022 Russian manufactured cluster bombs used by the Sri Lankan military, photographed in Vanni, 2008. As Russia continues its offensive in Ukraine, it has been accused of launching deadly types of weaponry during its assault – thermobaric and cluster… Read more »

Assoc. Thendral Written Statement re Genocidal Intent

by Association Thendral, France, February 7, 2022 Assoc Thendral written statement UNHRC Feb 2022 A/HRC/49/NGO/195 Genocidal Intent The intent of the Sri Lankan government to destroy, in whole or in part, the Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka, is clear from several categories of evidence: 1) Documentary evidence including court case documents; 2) Legal inference based… Read more »