We are very concerned because this surely should not happen to any citizen in this country, irrespective of whether he is a Sinhalese, a Muslim, a Tamil, a Burgher, a Malay or whatever.
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
In the Land of Mass Graves
Third, power has been decentralized. If Iraq survives, it will probably be as a loose federation, with the national government controlling the foreign policy and the army, but the ethnic regions dominating the parts of government that touch people day to day. Rwanda hasn’t gone that far, but it has made some moves in a federalist direction. Local leaders often follow a tradition of imihigo — in which they publicly vow to meet certain concrete performance goals within, say, three years: building a certain number of schools or staffing a certain number of health centers. If they don’t meet the goals, they are humiliated and presumably replaced. The process emphasizes local accountability.
AI: Act Now to Prevent Further Bloodshed in Anti-Muslim Violence
“There has been a disturbing rise in attacks and harassment of religious minorities in Sri Lanka over the two past years, mostly led by groups with a hard-line Buddhist or nationalist agenda, and these groups are reported to have strong links to high-ranking government officials. Rising violence against religious minorities cannot be treated as an isolated issue – stopping it must be a crucial part of the national reconciliation that is so badly needed since the conflict’s end in 2009,” said David Griffiths.
Red Pottus, Black Burqas
by Nimmi Gowrinathan, “The Washington Post’ Monkey Cage, June 16, 2014 Kim Yi Dionne: This guest post by political scientist Nimmi Gowrinathandraws from her earlier research and ongoing analysis of gender and violence in Sri Lanka. **** Muslim or not, women are hiding indoors in many parts of Sri Lanka today. Rumors that a bus full of members… Read more »
Buddhist-Muslim Unrest Boils Over in Sri Lanka
“They finished the Muslims in this area,” said M. Farina, who added that the police watched impassively Sunday evening as Buddhist mobs attacked Muslim shops and homes…
The Rajapaksas are hoping to consolidate the Sinhalese majority vote, which is about 75 percent of the country, by demonizing minority Muslims and Tamils, said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu,
USTPAC Condemns Violence Against Muslims
USTPAC Press Release Attack on Muslims June172014 USTPAC condemns the violence against the Muslims in Sri Lanka Stronger international oversight urged to ensure accountability and protection of ethnic and religious groups Washington, DC, June 18, 2014: The United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) strongly condemns the attack on the Muslims in the town of… Read more »
Celebrities Join the Fight to Stop Rape as a Weapon of War
Angelina Jolie and British foreign secretary William Hague are hosted the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict Luke MacGregor/Reuters Raj, a 25-year-old Tamil student, is watching a play, “Unlocked,” about three young male victims of rape. One of the actors is playing a character based on him. Even though he is in London, thousands… Read more »
#TimeToAct on Sri Lanka
Why has the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict forgotten the Sri Lankan survivors? Murdered victims of the conflict, including the journalist Isaipriya, who was raped and executedThe Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict begins today, June 10-13, 2014, on the banks of the Thames here in London. The Summit is… Read more »
It’s #Timetoact => William Hague
We think it is fantastic that William Hague is hosting the first ever Global Summit on Sexual Violence in London next week, but we are concerned that he does not seem to be taking sexual violence in Sri Lanka seriously.Hague’s Preventing Sexual Violence initiative consists of two parts. The first part consists of persuading countries…
Letters from Sri Lanka
by Anuk Arudpragasam, ‘The Caravan,’ India, May 1, 2014 SRI LANKAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE / AFP PHOTO This image, released by the Sri Lankan government, claims to show an army soldier carrying a child near Mullivaikal during the final offensive against the Tigers in 2009. DRIVING NORTH along Sri Lanka’s newly relaid A9 highway last August,… Read more »
With the Rohingya in Myanmar
The Rohingya gave us the names of some Buddhists who they said had been leaders in slaughtering Muslims, and we visited one of these men they named. A 53-year-old farmer, he denied any involvement in the violence, but it was an awkward, tense conversation, partly because the Buddhists are angry at aid groups and journalists for (as they see it) siding with Muslims. Their narrative is that Muslim terrorists from Bangladesh are invading the country, overpopulating so as to marginalize the Buddhists, and then being coddled by foreigners.
UN Expert re Sri Lankans Migrating Abroad for Work
COLOMBO / GENEVA (27 May 2014) – “The Government of Sri Lanka must boost the efforts it has made in recent years in order to prevent exploitation and abuse of Sri Lankans migrating abroad for work, during the recruitment stage, while in service in the destination country, and upon return to the country,” the United… Read more »
‘The Scene at First Light Was Devastating’
by Frances Harrison, ‘Huffington Post,’ Los Angeles, May 20, 2014 New photographs have emerged five years after the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka showing the aftermath of government attacks on a United Nations food distribution centre inside the war zone. The pictures, shot by a Tamil working for the media unit of… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Greatest War Criminal (Gotabaya) is a US Citizen
by Ryan Goodman, ‘JustSecurity.org,’ May 19, 2014 Monday, May 19th marks the five-year anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, which claimed the lives of 40,000 to 70,000 civilians in its “catastrophic” final phase. In 2009, Congress asked the State Department to report on the humanitarian law violations during the war, and those reports make for gruesome reading…. Read more »
We Betrayed Rwanda in Its Hour of Desperation
Yet events in Sri Lanka five years ago or in the Central African Republic today show that genocide has not been consigned to history.
The Slow Wheels of Justice and Change
In contrast, a principled yet strategic instrumentalization of international justice processes can offer promising rewards, provided also that this strategy is a part of a cohesive domestic strategy for meaningful political change. The success of the struggle for justice in Sri Lanka hinges on the choice between impulsive emotionalism and carefully calibrated rational politics.
HRW: Comply with Rights Council Investigation
by Human Rights Watch, May 20, 2014 (New York) – The Sri Lankan government should comply with the March 2014 United Nations Human Rights Council resolution creating an international investigation into allegations of serious abuses by both sides during Sri Lanka’s civil war, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution calls on the UN Office of… Read more »
On Anniversary, a Victory Parade and a Crackdown in Sri Lanka
“The Tamil people should have the freedom to mourn collectively the untimely death of a large number of members of their community,” the Jaffna University Science Teachers’ Association said in a statement.
Sri Lanka Blocks Tamil Memorials Amid War Parade
Official victory day celebrations were held in Sri Lanka’s south Sri Lanka has held a victory parade on the fifth anniversary of the end of its civil war, while stopping Tamils from commemorating their war dead. Security forces in the north surrounded party offices and religious sites, blocking memorial ceremonies for Tamils killed in the… Read more »
New Pictures Of Isaipriya Alive Emerge
New pictures of the LTTE media TV newsreader Isaipriya alive have emerged.The Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence claims 53 Division troops killed Isaipriya during the last battle. Her name is in the Ministry of Defence’s published list – “Identified LTTE leaders who were killed on 18 May 2009 by 53 Division troops“ – as “Lieutenant Colonel… Read more »