I didn’t know what was happening on the war front – Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan, ‘Ceylon Today,’ September 3, 2017 Tall and well-built, retired Army General, Jagath Jayasuriya, who was posted in Brazil as the Sri Lankan Ambassador, is back in town with mounted allegations against him related to his posts as… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
Gen. Jayasuriya Involved in Misdeeds:Field Marshal Fonseka
by ‘Daily News,’ Colombo, September 2, 2017 Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka yesterday, said that he was aware that former Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya was allegedly involved in wrongdoings. “I was determined to take action against him after the war on terrorism was over,” Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka added. Fonseka added that he received many complaints… Read more »
Why a Sri Lankan Leader Might Be Tried for War Crimes in Brazil
By Kate Cronin-Furman, ‘The Washington Post,’ August 30, 2017 One of the mothers of the disappeared stands beside photographs of the missing in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, in July. (Kate Cronin-Furman) Early Tuesday morning, news broke that Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Brazil had fled the country. Sri Lanka’s government later announced that his departure was planned, and it… Read more »
Sri Lankan Ambassador, Accused of War Crimes, Leaves Brazil
by The Associated Press in ”The New York Times,’ August 29, 207 RIO DE JANEIRO — A former Sri Lankan general accused of war crimes by human rights groups has left Brazil, where until recently he was his country’s ambassador to six nations in South America, an embassy official said Tuesday. Jagath Jayasuriya left Brazil… Read more »
For the Rohingyas and Us
by Cheran Rudhramoorthy, on Facebook, August 31, 2017 (Also in Tamil) I abandoned my child, My God I cannot ask you anymore For forgiveness. Just three minutes Before killing the child you chopped off my hands. Amid pain, grief and wailing you will not have grace. When the spear was inserted softly into my child’s stomach, thinking… Read more »
HRW: Recurring Nightmare State Responsibility for “Disappearances” and Abductions in Sri Lanka
by Human Rights Watch, March 5, 2008 2008 statement on report and at https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/03/06/sri-lanka-disappearances-security-forces-national-crisis Summary (see below) Who Is Responsible? Who Is Being Targeted? Unpunished Crimes The Government’s Response International Response Key Recommendations Note on Methodology II. Background The armed conflict History of “disappearances” in Sri Lanka III. Legal Framework Sri Lanka’s obligations under international law Sri Lankan… Read more »
Amnesty: “Disappearances & Political Killings: Human Rights Crisis of the 1990s’
A MANUAL FOR ACTION by Amnesty International, London, September, 1993 Amnesty 1993 disappearance murder as techniques of counterinsurgency asa370131993en Sri Lanka: “Disappearance” and murder as techniques of counter-insurgency EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: ASA 37/13/93 Distr: SC/CO/CC No. of words: 4700 ————————- Amnesty International International Secretariat 1 Easton Street London WC1X 8DJ United Kingdom… Read more »
Amnesty: Sri Lanka Must Deliver on its Commitments SET OUT BY HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL RESOLUTION 30/1
Set Out by Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 by Amnesty International, London, August 22, 2017 Index number: IOR 40/6975/2017 WRITTEN STATEMENT UN Human Rights Council Thirty-sixth session 11 – 29 September 2017 Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 sets out concrete steps to ensuring truth, justice, reparation and non-recurrence for human rights violations and abuses. Council resolution… Read more »
Case Involving Navy in Abductions Takes Dramatic Turn
Secret Navy Team Behind White Van Ransom Abductions (see below) All websites accessed 8/28/17 […] the abductors had wanted one of the students- Rajiv Naganathan’s parents to cough up a Rs. 10 million ransom which had been negotiated down to one million rupees. The abductors had told the Naganathan family that the money is required… Read more »
Mahaweli & Demographic Change
1. Sri Lankan president to issue 10,000 deeds to Mahaweli settlers by ‘TamilGuardian,’ London, August 10, 2017 Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena is to issue 10,000 deeds to settlers this week under the Mahaweli development project, a controversial scheme that Tamils have criticised as Sinhala colonisation. According to the official President’s Media Division, deeds are to… Read more »
GTF Calls for Concerted Attempts to Address Accountability Issues in Sri Lanka
12 August 2017, London Global Tamil Forum calls for concerted attempts by all concerned to address accountability issues in Sri Lanka GTF calls for concerted attempts by all concerned to address accountability issues in Sri Lanka The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is dismayed that more than eight years after the end of war, Sri Lanka… Read more »
Adayaalam: Understanding ‘Dealing with the Past’ and ‘Transitional Justice’
by Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Jaffna, June 30, 2017 ACPR designed a short 10-page introductory booklet on ‘Dealing with the Past and Transitional Justice’ building off of ACPR’s previous ‘Introduction to Transitional Justice’ booklet. The booklet was commissioned by activists in the North-East working on running introduction to transitional justice workshops for grassroots communities…. Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Latest Counter-terrorism Proposals
Old wine in new bottles by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, Jul7 21, 2017 https://www.srilankacampaign.org/old-wine-new-bottles-sri-lankas-latest-counter-terrorism-proposals/ http://fhr.org.za/files/3914/9760/6825/FHR_ICLA_-_Review_of_the_PLFCTA_13_June_2017_FINAL.pdf Last Friday, the UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on Human Rights and Counter Terrorism, Ben Emmerson QC, issued a statement of findings upon the conclusion of his visit to Sri Lanka. You can read it in full here…. Read more »
Voluntary, Safe and Sustainable Return
Support Needed for Sri Lankan Refugees by Mayuran Jeevarathnina, ‘Groundviews,’ Colombo, August 9, 2017 Editor’s Note: A version of this speech was delivered by the author at the UNHCR Annual Consultations with NGOs, held from June 14-16 at the International Conference Centre in Geneva “O our motherland, bid us a farewell We buried our smiles in… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s War Widows Trafficked
as slaves to Gulf “People who have not gone through a conflict will not understand how difficult it is to take care of young children on your own. We suffered during the war and we are suffering now” – by Amantha Perera, Thomson Reuters Foundation, August 9, 2017 Tamil தமிழ் JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Aug 9 (Thomson… Read more »
Holding Sri Lanka to Account
A dream or a reality? By: Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond], Former Lecturer in Law University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s political and economic history from the day of independence in 1948 until 1956 was considered a role model for developing countries, even envied by the late Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew. Communal harmony… Read more »
TGTE: Remedial Justice for 1983 Massacre of Tamils
Would have averted 2009 Mullivaaikaal Genocide by Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, July 23, 2017 Today Tamils across the globe are remembering 34th anniversary of massacre of Tamils – Black July 83. COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, July 24, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ — During the final days of July 1983, Sinhala racism unleashed a pogrom towards the Tamils… Read more »
Looking at Systemic Torture in Sri Lanka
by Taylor Dibbert, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, July 21, 2017 The Diplomat’s Taylor Dibbert speaks with Frances Harrison of the International Truth and Justice Project. Frances Harrison is the program coordinator of the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and author of a book on the final phase of the Sri Lankan civil war. She… Read more »
ITJP: Unstopped – 2016/17 Torture in Sri Lanka
by International Truth & Justice Project, South Africa, July 2017 Full report at http://www.itjpsl.com/assets/ITJP_unstopped_report_final.pdf or ITJP_unstopped_report_final The ITJP is administered by the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa under the guidance of its director, transitional justice expert, Yasmin Sooka. The ITJP team includes former prosecutors and investigators from the Ad Hoc Tribunal for the… Read more »
US May Deny Resettlement of Hundreds of Tamils on Nauru
Manus amid anti-terror laws by James Bennett & Stephen Dziedzic, Australian Broadcasting Corp., July 19, 2017 Australia will need to find an alternative home for a large number of Tamil asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus expected to be denied entry to the United States under sweeping anti-terror laws. Key points: 9-11 anti-terror legislation, the… Read more »