Posts Categorized: Human Rights

ITJP: Brig. Priyanka Fernando in London

by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka and International Truth & Justice Project, February 5, 2018 On Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day, 4 February 2018, Brigadier Fernando attracted attention by thrice making slitting throat gestures to a crowd of chanting Tamil protestors outside the High Commission in London. The video of him, in full military… Read more »

UNHRC February/March Session & Sri Lanka

by Thambu Kanagasabai  LLM [Lond], Former Lecturer in Law University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 5, 2018 The 37th UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to commence on 26th February 2018 and concludes on 23rd March. During this session, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is expected to present his written interim report on… Read more »

War, Denial and Nation-Building in Sri Lanka

After the End by Rachel Seoighe, Palgrave Studies in Compromise After Conflict, Palgrave MacMillan, Dec. 5, 2017 Abstract This book begins from a critical account of the final months of the Sri Lankan civil war, tracing themes of nationalism, discourse and conflict memory through this period of immense violence and into its aftermath. Using these… Read more »

Diaspora Joint Letter on Independence Day

Tamil Diaspora Joint Letter on Sri Lanka Independence Day 2018 February 3, 2018  Honorable Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein High Commissioner for Human Rights Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland  Dear High Commissioner,  Tamil Diaspora Organizations call for action on the eve of Sri Lanka’s… Read more »

Nationalistic Authorship and Resistance in Northeastern Sri Lanka

by Rachel Seoighe, ‘Society and Culture in South Asia’ 2(1) 1–30, 2016 Nationalist Authorship Resistance in NE Sri Lanka 2016 Abstract Post-war Sri Lanka is defined by the logic of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism, glorification and expansion of the military, and the exponential growth of state-corporate economic projects. This article examines the performative politics of the state in mass… Read more »

Navy Officer in Charge of Dumping Dead Bodies at Sea Arrested

by Ramanan Weerasingham, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, Europe, January  31, 2018 Probing the abduction of Tamil youth in the capital city of Colombo and its suburbs during the height of the war, Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested yet another Navy intelligence officer charging him of being in-charge of dumping dead… Read more »

HRW: Repeal Draconian Security Law

Failure to Meet Pledges on Accountability, Counterterrorism Reforms by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 29, 2018 HRW PTA report Jan 2018 The Sri Lankan government has failed to fulfill its pledges to abolish the abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). For decades, the PTA has been used to arbitrarily detain suspects for months and… Read more »

HRW: One Step Forward, Two Back

Government Delays Implementing Rights Pledges to UN by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 18, 2018 (New York) – The Sri Lankan government stalled on its key pledges to provide justice for conflict-related violations and strengthen human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2018. The government took some steps in 2017 to reduce… Read more »

More on Yan Oya

Genocidal ‘development’ abetted by global partners seeks to wedge North-East by TamilNet, May 4, 2017 The occupying Colombo is trying to seize lands in the Tamil-speaking Kuchchave’li division of Trincomalee district in the Eastern Province to construct housing schemes for Sinhala settlers who have been moved out of their lands that were taken over by… Read more »

2007: A Proposal to Make Toppigala Victory Sustainable

Development of water resources in the Eastern province by G.T. Dharmasena, ‘The Island,’ Colombo, July 19, 2007 Former Director General of Irrigation and presently the Consultant to the United Nation’s Office for Project Services(UNOPS) At a moment the focus of all peace loving people of the country, irrespective of political divisions ,religions and races is… Read more »

Discrimination in 2018

by Sanjana Hattotuwa on his blog, January 14, 2018 It’s the little things that matter the most. Google in Sri Lanka now defaults to Sinhala. Whenever you access a Google Form, the interface by default is in Sinhala. Whenever you use Google Maps, road, place and now even names of famous buildings, are rendered in… Read more »

Future of the displaced in Musali South

Territorializing the environment: The political question of land and the future of the displaced in Musali South by Sivamohan Sumathy, ‘The Island,’ Colombo, July 2, 2015 I have in the past few weeks attended two of Shahul Hasbullah’s excellently laid out map of the displaced in the Musali South area and the entanglement of that… Read more »

UNWG: Sri Lanka Must End Arbitrary Detention

Sri Lanka must urgently implement reforms to end arbitrary detention, UN rights experts say COLOMBO / GENEVA (15 December 2017) – The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has identified significant challenges to the enjoyment of the right to personal liberty in Sri Lanka, resulting in arbitrary detention across the country. The experts recognize positive… Read more »

Tamil Refugee Still Says Nandri

Tortured by police, separated from his family for years, but Tamil refugee still says nandri – thank you Rescued after 22 hours in freezing water, Para Paheer applied for asylum in Australia. An extraordinary friendship with a Victorian woman helped ease the pain of waiting eight years to see his wife and son by Ben… Read more »

Amnesty: UPR Pledges Must Be Fully Implemented

SRI LANKA: UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW PLEDGES MUST BE FULLY IMPLEMENTED by Amnesty International, 20 December 2017, Index number: ASA 37/7630/2017 Eight years after the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, the island nation’s human rights record was scrutinized again at the recently held Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland on 15th November… Read more »

Amnesty: Petition on SL Disappeared

Provide Accountability for the Disappeared in Sri Lanka by Amnesty International, December 15, 2017 https://act.amnestyusa.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1839&ea.campaign.id=75621 Up to 100,000 people have been made to “disappear” in Sri Lanka over the past 35 years. The Sri Lankan government must implement its promises to provide truth and justice to the relatives of the disappeared. Text of Petition: Message… Read more »

Sri Lanka Must Urgently End Arbitrary Detention

Sri Lanka must urgently implement reforms to end arbitrary detention, UN rights experts sayCOLOMBO / GENEVA (15 December 2017) – The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has identified significant challenges to the enjoyment of the right to personal liberty in Sri Lanka, resulting in arbitrary detention across the country. The experts recognize positive initiatives, including… Read more »

British Police Are Training Riot-Cops Linked to War Crimes

Undercover Footage Shows British Police Are Training Riot-Cops Linked to War Crimes in Sri Lanka Foreign aid money is being spent on a paramilitary style unit notorious for its brutality and linked to extra-judicial killings. by Phil Miller, ‘Vice UK,’  December 7, 2017 A still from the footage provided by Yardstick films shows the STF… Read more »