Attorney At Law by C.V. Wigneswaran, Colombo Telegraph, April 10, 2021 – C.V. Wigneswaran The arrest of Mayor Viswalingam Manivannan gives food for thought. Few days ago a “B” Report is said to have been filed in the Chief Magistrate’s Court against me. I still do not know what the contents of the B report are. An arrest… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
Mayor of Jaffna Released on Bail
After arrest by Sri Lanka’s TID by TamilGuardian, London, April 9, 2021 UPDATED 1730 GMT The Mayor of Jaffna, Viswalingam Manivannan, who was arrested by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) at around 2.30am on Friday morning, was released on bail. Manivannan, was issued bail at the Jaffna Magistrates Court on Friday evening after paying a Rs. 2… Read more »
Arrest of TubeTamil Journalists
by TubeTamil, Jaffna, early April, 2021 Two TubeTamil journalists arrested March 29 2021 “Following the decision against Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council, the Sri Lankan government has started intimidating and arresting innocent Tamil journalists with fabricated false cases.”
USTAG: Celebrating Bishop Rayappu
by US Tamil Action Group, April 3, 2021 Press release Bishop Rayappu Joseph FINAL For immediate release USTAG and Tamil Americans Commemorate Life of Bishop Rayappu Joseph While Tamils all over the world mourn the passing of the former Catholic Bishop of Mannar, Sri Lanka, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, Tamils in the homeland… Read more »
US State Dept. 2020 Human Rights Report on Sri Lanka
by US Department of State, Washington, DC, March 30, 2021 SRI-LANKA-2020-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ANNOUNCEMENT: The Department of State will release an addendum to this report in mid 2021 that expands the subsection on Women in Section 6 to include a broader range of issues related to reproductive rights. Sri Lanka is a constitutional, multiparty democratic republic… Read more »
TIC: UNHRC Resolution
TIC PRESS RELEASE 25 March 2021 Resolution of the UN Human Rights Council – March 2021 The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) welcomes the Resolution on Sri Lanka adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 23 March 2021 at its 46th Session, titled “Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka” (A/HRC46/L.1/Rev.1)…. Read more »
Discrimination against Muslims and Tamils is Getting Worse
Sri Lanka by Mario Arulthas, Middle East Eye, March 30, 2021 Under the cover of measures to deal with Covid-19, the state has introduced draconian measures against marginalised minorities Protesters denounce Sri Lanka’s policy of forced cremations for Muslims who die of Covid-19 in Colombo on 23 December 2020 (AFP) Sri Lanka recently passed regulations allowing detention… Read more »
UNHRC Resolution 46/1
A welcome move for the United Nations, Security Council and International Community to uphold accountability and rein in Sri Lanka. by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law; University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 31, 2021 At the 46th Session of UNHRC, the final Resolution on Sri Lanka was passed with 22 members voting… Read more »
UNHRC Outlines Sri Lanka Abuses, But Demurs on Action
by Kate Cronin-Furman, JustSecurity.org, New York, March 26, 2021 (Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series on the spotlight placed on allegations of war crimes and other abuses in Sri Lanka during the February 22 to March 23, 2021, session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The series includes voices from former… Read more »
UNHRC Resolution 46/1
March 23, 2021 webcast of vote A/HRC/46/L.1/Rev.1 Tabled March 16, 2021 Human Rights Council Forty-sixth session 22 February–23 March 2021 Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Albania,* Australia,* Austria, Belgium,* Bulgaria, Canada,* Croatia,* Cyprus,*… Read more »
The Uyghur Genocide
An Examination of China’s Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention by Dr. Azeem Ibrahim, Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, Washington, DC, March 2021 Executive Summary 1. This report concludes that the People’s Republic of China (China) bears State responsibility for committing genocide against the Uyghurs in breach of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention… Read more »
When War Criminals Run the Government
Not Too Late for the International Community to Vet Sri Lankan Officials by Sondra Anton & Tyler Giannini, JustSecurity, March 16, 2021 (Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series on the spotlight placed on allegations of war crimes and other abuses in Sri Lanka during the February 22 to March 23, 2021, session… Read more »
UNHRC Resolution – Improved, but Insufficient
for Accountability & Justice by Thambu Kanagasabai – LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 14, 2021 Sri Lanka’s contemptuous stand regarding UNHRC Resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1 as rejected by it has come under discussion in the current 46th Session of the UNHRC which is expected to pass a… Read more »
Accountability in Transition to Nowhere
by Ambika Satkunanathan, Daily FT, Colombo, March 15, 2021 In Sri Lanka, historical acts of commission and omission by successive governments have led the Tamil population to believe there is little possibility they will be treated as equal citizens and included as full members of a multi-ethnic polity. Here, a poverty-stricken young mother in Jaffna… Read more »
ITJP: Death Toll in Sri Lanka’s 2009 War
by International Truth & Justice Project, South Africa, February, 2021 ITJP Death Toll in Sri Lanka‘s 2009 War NOT INCLUDING THE REPORTED DEATHS OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS, LTTE CADRES AND CIVILIANS BEFORE 2009 Tamil https://itjpsl.com/assets/press/Tamil-translation-of-ITJP_death_toll-Amended.pdf Sinhala https://itjpsl.com/assets/press/Sinhala_translation_of_ITJP_death_toll.pdf
ITJP: Geneva Briefing Notes
by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, February 2021 TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE WORK GENEVA BRIEFING NOTES With Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, the ITJP has jointly authored 6 BRIEFING NOTES to frame the discsussion on Sri Lanka for the March 2021 session of the UN Human Rights Council. They are in English and… Read more »
Endless War
by Anuradha Mittal, Oakland Institute, California, March 2021 Endless War Oakland Institute March 2021 *** The Destroyed Land, Life, and Identity of the Tamil People in Sri Lanka —FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— March 7, 2021; 10:00PM PT Media Contact: Anuradha Mittal, amittal /A_T/ oaklandinstitute /D_O_T/ org” data-extlink=””>amittal /A_T/ oaklandinstitute /D_O_T/ org(link sends e-mail); +1 510-530-5126 As the 46th… Read more »
Keep the Promise
by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, March 2021 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’ was clear in… Read more »
A Bloodied Accord
After 16 days of bloody battle, IPKF finally captures LTTE stronghold Jaffna After 16 days of bloody battle, the Indians finally captured Jaffna, the stronghold of the Tigers. But the losses have been heavy and could mount further. A report on the conflict and its implications plus exclusive eyewitness account and action pictures from Jaffna…. Read more »
In the Tiger’s Den
‘Any one of our Tiger cubs can take on the IPKF in man-to-man combat and defeat them’ India Today’s Shyam Tekwani was the only photographer present in the combat zone at the height of the battle for Jaffna. Having been taken into Jaffna, skirting the advancing IPKF columns, by the LTTE, Tekwani was witness to… Read more »