The visit by senior US officials, Nisha Biswal and Tom Malinowski this week, and the US’ endorsement of a domestic process of accountability into mass atrocities committed against the Tamil people during the end of the armed conflict in 2009 has been met with a sense of relief by the Sri Lankan government and was… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
Sri Lankan Parliament Urged to Repeal Anti-terror Act
The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has called upon newly-elected Members of Parliament to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), dubbed by human rights activists as draconian, in two months. ‘Dangerous laws’ In a statement, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, Executive Director (CaFFE), termed the PTA as more dangerous than emergency laws and said… Read more »
Tamil Women in Post-War Sri Lanka
A white paper by Nimmi Gowrinathan and Kate Cronin-Furman, City University of New York Colin Powell School, August 28, 2015 Tamil Women in Post-War Sri Lanka Nimmi Gowrinathan Kate Cronin-Furman ABSTRACT In this report we document the negative impacts of 6 years of militarization on Tamil women’s lives in Sri Lanka. Based on over fifty… Read more »
A Public Library in Sri Lanka Welcomes New Readers
by Julie McCarthy, National Public Radio, Washington, DC, August 19, 2015 Listen to the Story A Public Library in Sri Lnka Welcomes New Readers Jaffna Library 4:24 Rising two stories and capped by three domes, the Jaffna Public Library looks a bit like a stately wedding cake. Gleaming white under the Sri Lanka sun, the… Read more »
NPC: Resolution on the Need for an International Mechanism
NPC Resolution on Need for International Mechanism RESOLUTION ON THE NEED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL MECHANISM Acknowledging the long standing efforts of United States, India along with the international community in securing justice, rights, peace and security to this troubled Island Recognizing the efforts of the international community through the UNHRC process towards investigating and… Read more »
Finding Peace in Post-war Sri Lanka
Biswal in Colombo
“We fundamentally support efforts to create a credible domestic process for accountability and reconciliation,” Biswal noted…
The Assistant Secretary for Human Rights cautioned however that the Sri Lankan Government would be judged based on actions and not promises.
Both officials who also met with representatives of the Tamil National Alliance last morning acknowledged that the Government would have to build trust and confidence in the domestic process to investigate the alleged violations in war time, since domestic mechanisms had consistently failed or failed to take off.
“The failures of the past are very much on our minds,” Malinowski said, “which is why there is an emphasis on trust-building.”
Sirisena Visits Trincomalee Naval Base Amid Reports of Torture Sites
Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday has visited the Trincomalee naval base, which has been widely and credibly accused to have housed secret torture camps, where hundreds of Tamils have been brutally tortured and raped during and after the war. According to President’s media unit, President Sirisena has made an “inspection tour” to the… Read more »
MP Sampanthan’s Speech in Sampur
MP Sampanthan Speech Questions & Answers Pres. Sirisena Speech
A Still Unfinished War
by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa & UK, July 2015 Full report [PDF] — Stop-Torture-Report Original [PDF] ‘The Diplomat’ commentary by Taylor Dibbert Executive Summary This report paints a disturbing picture of a multifaceted assault of terror still wreaked in 2015 on Tamil families by the security forces in the former conflict… Read more »
Joint Letter to UNHCHR re OISL Recommendations
Joint Letter to HC Zeid_August18 2015 August 18, 2015 Dear Sir, OHCHR INVESTIGATION ON SRI LANKA [OISL] We, the undersigned representatives of the Tamil Diaspora, in exile from the island of Sri Lanka[1] , and Tamils from all around the world, would like to express our gratitude to you and your office on the task… Read more »
Tainted Peace
by Freedom from Torture, UK, August 14, 2015 Full report [PDF] — Freedom from Torture Sri Lanka report All material on report — http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/features/8481 Torture has long been used in Sri Lanka to persecute minorities, crush dissent and stifle civil society. It is deeply entrenched in the fabric of the state and has persisted across the decades regardless… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Missing Persons
by Pichayada Promchertchoo, Channel NewsAsia, Singapore, August 13, 2015 JAFFNA, Sri Lanka: The summer monsoon air was hot and clammy as it swept through a small room inside an old building on the northern tip of Sri Lanka, filling it with the smell of the Indian Ocean. Separating it from a sun-lit garden, a wooden… Read more »
Sri Lanka Massacred Tens of Thousands of Tamils
by Callum MacCrae, VICE, New York, August 5, 2015 Sri Lanka Massacred Tens of Thousands of Tamils While the World Looked Away August 5, 2015 by Callum Macrae This article appears in the August Issue of VICE Magazine To the Tamils of northeast Sri Lanka and to much of their global diaspora, Isaipriya was a… Read more »
NPC Chief Minister Speeches in US & UK
Speech to Federation of Tamil Sangams in North America convention, San Jose, July 4, 2015 Transcript of speech in Tamil — CVWigneswaran-Speech-FeTNA-July042015 Transcript of speech in English — CVWigneswaran-Speech-FeTNA-July042015-TxEng Speech in London hosted by International Association of Tamil Journalists, July 17, 2015
Joint Letter from 15 NE Civil Society Organisations to UNHCHR
TCSF_et_al_Joint_letter_to_OHCHR_on_OISL_(with_covering_letter) Your Excellency, Sri Lanka: 1) Lack of consultation in the design of a domestic mechanism 2) Regarding the UN office in Sri Lanka’s decision to support a domestic mechanism We recall the letter sent by the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) to you on the 12th of February 20151 prior to your decision to… Read more »
Seize This Opportunity for True Reform
Sri Lanka: Seize this opportunity for true reform Come September, the United Nations Human Rights Council will assemble in Geneva for its 30th session. This session marks an important date for Sri Lanka, the United States and the international community: the long-awaited release of the UN report on war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s civil… Read more »
With Just 273 Political Prisoners in Custody, How Many Have Disappeared?
The recent revelation that only 300 prisoners remain in Government custody only confirms that the crimes committed by the Government are even more heinous than previously imagined. As such, no Sri Lanka government is going to facilitate the legal, administrative and political changes that domestic judicial institutions need to meet ‘international standards.’ The only way is for international justice to be dispensed by international courts.
Can Reconciliation Heal Sri Lankan War Wounds?
In the six years since the Sri Lankan army defeated the rebels, a measure of stability has returned…But Tamil leaders are not convinced that these efforts will be enough to unify the Tamil and Hindu north and east with the majority Sinhalese Buddhist south. They say that they are concerned that Sirisena’s moves are symbolic and don’t address issues such as the Tamils’ desire for greater autonomy and the withdrawal of troops.
Colombia: Agreement on Truth Commission
Firstly and for the first time as part of a peace process, the Conversation Table heard directly and received proposals from a group of victims of the conflict. The selection process of these victims was conducted by the UN and the National University, accompanied by the Episcopal Conference, who under the principles of pluralism, balance and common sense, sought to reflect the total universe of human rights violations and breaches of IHL that have taken place in the conflict, taking into account the different social sectors and populations, and the regional approach. The delegations were composed of 12 victims and the Table heard a delegation in each round, during round 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 of talks.
Among the victimizing events that were represented, we heard testimonies on forced displacement, murder, torture, forced disappearance, kidnapping, sexual violence, extrajudicial executions and forced recruitment of minors, among others.