Posts Categorized: Human Rights

U.S. Bars Sri Lankan Army Chief Accused of War Crimes

The sanctions are the first international action against Sri Lanka stemming from its brutal civil war. Several members of the new government are also accused of wartime abuses. by Maria Abi-Habib and Dharisha Bastians, The New York Times, February 15, 2020 NEW DELHI — The United States has imposed an entry bar on Sri Lanka’s army chief,… Read more »

Public Designation, Due to Gross Violations of Human Rights, of Shavendra Silva

of Sri Lanka Under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act by Michael R. Pompeo, US Secretary of State, Washington, DC, February 14, 2020 Press Statement https://www.state.gov/public-designation-due-to-gross-violations-of-human-rights-of-shavendra-silva-of-sri-lanka-under-section-7031c-of-the-department-of-state-foreign-operations-and-related-programs-appropriations-a/ The Department of State has designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Acting Chief of… Read more »

High Time UNHRC acts Decisively and Effectively on Sri Lanka

by Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 8, 2020 In the UN Human Rights Council’s March 2020 Sessions, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be presenting an update on Sri Lanka’s progress on Sri Lanka’s progress in implementing its 30-01-2015 Resolution which had more than… Read more »

Amnesty 2019 Report on Sri Lanka

by Amnesty International, London, January 29, 2020 Index number: ASA 01/1354/2020 https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa01/1354/2020/en/ ASA0113542020ENGLISH Sri Lanka

HRW 2019 Report on Sri Lanka

by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 2020 https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/sri-lanka On April 21, Easter Sunday, Islamist suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels in Colombo and two other cities, killing over 250 women, men, and children and injuring hundreds more. For the following four months, the government imposed a state of emergency. Hundreds were detained without charge under the… Read more »

HRW: Repeal Abusive Counterterrorism Law

Uphold Pledges to United Nations, European Union by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 10, 2020 (New York) – The Sri Lankan government should abide by its commitments to replace the abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with legislation that respects its international human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said today. The cabinet of President Gotabaya… Read more »

Question of Genocide in Sri Lanka

Justifying a Referral to International Court of Justice by Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 27, 2020 The International Court of Justice [ICJ] is the principal organ of the United Nations and was established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations. This Court is located… Read more »

Atrocity and Proto-Genocide in Sri Lanka

by Christopher Powell and Amarnath Amarasingam,  article in ‘Understanding Atrocities: Remembering, Representing, and Teaching Genocide’ eidted by Scott W. Murray, February 2017 Introduction This paper discusses the concept of “proto-genocide.” This concept adds clarity to studies of cultural genocide by helping to distinguish between situations where a collective identity is under violent attack and situations… Read more »

PEARL Applauds World Court Decision Order to Prevent Rohingya Genocide

by People for Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka (PEARL) (Washington, D.C., January 23, 2020) Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered  Myanmar to enact measures to halt the ongoing genocide against the Rohingya in a case filed by The Gambia pursuant to the Genocide Convention. PEARL welcomes this legally binding ruling, which is… Read more »

What Lessons Are We Talking About?

Reconciliation and Memory in Post-Civil War Sri Lankan Cinema by Dinidu Karunanayake and Thiyagaraja Waradas, ICES Research Papers, Colombo, September 2013 What_Lessons_Are_We_Talking_About_Reconc The official end of the war coincides with the beginning of a markedly changed Sri Lankan cinematic aesthetic. The post-2009 period has seen a boom in ‘patriotic‘ film productions. Shedding light on Jean-Luc… Read more »

Shouldering of Responsibility to Save Desperate Tamils in Sri Lanka

by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 11, 2020 There is no denying of the fact that Tamils in Sri Lanka  have been at the receiving end since 1949, when power was transferred to the majority Sinhala Government. Successive Sinhala Governments continued and still continue the marginalisation… Read more »

Media under Fire

Tamil Guardian editorial, London, January 6, 2020 Several weeks into Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency, journalists on the island are coming under increasing threat. Whilst the island has always been a dangerous place for the press, and for Tamil journalists in particular, over the last month there has been a worrying rise in intimidation, harassment and even… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Tamils Need Genocide Recognition and Innovative Justice Mechanisms

Emerging Voices by Anjali Manivannan, OpinioJuris, Geneva, 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 of the 26-year-long armed conflict between… Read more »

The Fate of Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Anthem

What the past (and future) of the Tamil version of the national anthem tells us about minority rights in Sri Lanka. by Dishani Senaratne, ‘The Diplomat,’ Washington, DC,  November 22, 2019 Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former defense secretary and brother of ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, emerged victorious in Sri Lanka’s presidential election last Sunday. Gotabaya was largely backed… Read more »

What’s Behind a Flurry of Legal Bids to Prosecute Myanmar for Genocide?

‘The net is tightening around the Myanmar military and civilian leadership.’ by Emmanuel Stoakes, The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News), UN, November 21, 2019 CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand A burst of legal action across the globe this month has provided fresh impetus for efforts to examine atrocity crimes allegedly committed by Myanmar against its Rohingya minority…. Read more »

Victory of Rajapaksa- What It Means to Tamil Polity?

Paper No. 6515                   by Prof. Ramu Manivannan, South Asia Analysis Group, Delhi, November 24, 2019 http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/node/2540 The victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa was much anticipated in the recently held 16th November presidential elections in Sri Lanka given the course of national politics after the evaporation of false euphoria over… Read more »

Sri Lankan Critics Fear a Crackdown Is Underway, and Some Flee

A Swiss Embassy employee was abducted and asked about asylum applications and investigators were banned from leaving just days after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected. by Maria Abi-Habib & Sameer Yasir, The New York Times, November 27, 2019 Fears of a potential crackdown on critics of the newly returned Rajapaksa political dynasty in Sri Lanka are… Read more »