Thomson-Senanayake’s study explores these historical fault-lines through the manner in which disappearances served as an integral part of a system of state power and patronage during 1971-2002, ‘to enable the political elite to immobilise all political opposition.’ This is a reading of history which peels away the skin of ideological preoccupations and exposes the truth for what it is, simply a ruthless appropriation of ancient mistrusts and convenient mythologies to serve the political purposes of governments and oppositions.
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
Compilation of all NESoHR Reports 2005 – 2009
http://nesohr.org/nesohr-reports-2005-2009-january/ In this current climate of investigation by the OHCHR on Sri Lanka, the NESoHR reports issued during the period from 2005 till January 2009 is here republished as a single file for ease of access. These reports were written from the NESoHR office in Kilinochchi during the above mentioned period and later from its… Read more »
Deadly Alliances Against Muslims
On his 79th birthday in July, the Dalai Lama appealed to Buddhist extremist groups in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to stop instigating attacks against Muslim minorities that have killed scores. Instead, in an affront to Buddhism’s core message of compassion, leaders of those groups announced an alliance to make common cause against Muslims. “The time… Read more »
Amnesty: UN Review Highlights Empty Rights Promises
Press releases 7 October 2014 Sri Lanka: UN review highlights empty rights promises Sri Lanka must stop making empty promises to the international community and the Sri Lankan people on improving the country’s still desperate human rights situation, Amnesty International said ahead of a UN review of the country’s rights record. The UN Human Rights… Read more »
Video of Young Reporter at Uthayan
Amnesty Briefing on Sri Lanka for ICCPR Review
Amnesty UN INT_CCPR_CSS_LKA_18252_E Amnesty International has submitted a 40-page briefing on Sri Lanka to the U.N. Human Rights Committee in connection with the Committee’s review during this month of Sri Lanka’s fifth periodic report on its implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The briefing can be found at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/LKA/INT_CCPR_CSS_LKA_18252_E.pdf INTRODUCTION Amnesty… Read more »
Forty New Cases of Post-War Torture Documented in Past 8 Months
http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/news-blogs/8068 In light of its latest evidence, published today, Freedom from Torture is calling on Sri Lanka to allow free and unfettered access to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as a matter of urgency and for the new Commissioner Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein to include ongoing torture in his investigations. Freedom from… Read more »
OHCHR Oral Update to UNHRC
A.HRC.27.CRP.2 OISL #1 oral update Human Rights Council Twenty-seventh session 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 Oral update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka 1. On behalf… Read more »
200 Days Detained Without Charge
Vikalpa @vikalpavoices · 3h 200Days | Detained without Charges #FreeJeyakumary #srilanka #Protest #Tamil @PSaravanamuttu @bfonseka @iromip pic.twitter.com/A30UfiT1Tq
Kannagi-Pattini – a Symbol of Resilience to the Women Left Behind
‘Invoking the Goddess’ Exhibit One heat-stunned afternoon, I climbed onto a bicycle and started pedalling through the streets of Jaffna. That weekend the city blushed with a great sun and I swerved my bicycle over to the shadowy parts of the streets as I pedalled. Women walked alongside the roads, wearing bright coloured saris and… Read more »
Tamil Americans Urge Pres. Rajapaksa to Respect Sri Lanka’s Commitments to the United Nations
Today Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa spoke before the United Nations General Assembly on the status and future of Sri Lanka, yet overtly neglected to address the ongoing human rights abuses and limitation of democratic freedoms. USTPAC joins with others committed to human rights and calls on President Rajapaksa to honor Sri Lanka’s commitments to the United Nations and… Read more »
USTPAC Launches #getthepicture Campaign
www.ustpac.org/getthepicture USTPAC_PressRelease_092314 WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The US Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) today launched a #getthepicture campaign to highlight the frequency and severity of massacres and other serious violence against the Tamil civilian population in Sri Lanka. The campaign follows on the heels of a joint letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in August by Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provincial… Read more »
BBC: Bishop Swamipillai Interview re 1990 Massacre
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p025ynjz Sri Lanka Massacre Duration: 10 minutes On September 9, 1990, 184 Tamil refugees were killed by the Sri Lankan army at Batticaloa in the east of the island during the civil war between the Sinhala majority and the Tamil minority. Farhana Haider has been speaking to the Bishop of Batticaloa, Kingsley Swampillai, who was… Read more »
NPC Resolution on OISL
The following resolution was tabled by the Council Member Hon. M.K. Shivajilingam and adopted by the Northern Provincial Council, Sri Lanka on September 10, 2014 … Read more »
CPA: Implementation Statistics & Disappearances
INFOGRAPHIC: LLRC Implementation Statistics 9 September 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report, along with the National Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the LLRC (Action Plan), are the two key documents produced by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) outlining its process of reconciliation after three decades of war…. Read more »
Don’t Forget Jeyakumari
by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, [date unknown] Five months ago, a mother of the disappeared – Jeyakumari Balendran -was arrested and jailed amid a renewed government crackdown on dissent in the run up to Human Rights Council session in March. You may remember our campaign and our director’s recent report. Since then… Read more »
The Need for a Strong Victim and Witness Assistance and Protection Mechanism
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) welcomes the Bill titled “Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses” (referred to as the Bill) issued on 11thAugust 2014. At the outset, CPA acknowledges that the Bill in its present form is an improvement on previous drafts but reiterates the need for further reform if… Read more »
‘Sinhala Colonisation a Great Worry for Tamils’
The most urgent step necessary in Sri Lanka is to halt the Sinhala colonisation programme being implemented by the government to change the very identity of the traditional Tamil areas, Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sambanthan said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Mr. Sambanthan said the programme was aimed… Read more »
Karen Parker on Self-Determination 2008
Part 1 Part 2
Witness Testimony to OISL
http://www.canadiantamilcongress.ca/article.php?lan=eng&cat=pr&id=144 URGENT Appeal from CTC: Witness Testimony from Tamil Canadians Needed in Support of UN Investigation Our Dear Community, As many of you may know, on August 5th, 2014 the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced it will accept submissions pursuant to the mandate… Read more »