Posts Categorized: Human Rights

Tamil Lawyers Forum Statement

Yet another Presidential Commission was appointed in August 2013 to look into the allegations of disappearances in Sri Lanka due to the incessant demands of the families of the disappeared and the international community.  The Commission began its sittings in January this year starting with public sittings in Killinochchi. The Commission is mandated to look into… Read more »

Amnesty: UNHRC Must Help Victims

The Human Rights Council must help Sri Lankan victims of human rights violations; the Government is protecting the perpetrators: Amnesty International’s written statement to the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council (3 – 28 March 2014) Amnesty UNHRC asa370022014en …The Government of Sri Lanka has not initiated a credible investigative process and has not made demonstrable… Read more »

Mannar Mass Grave Number Rises to 61

The number of skeletons found in a mass grave in Mannar has risen to 61, with two more found on Wednesday. More excavations are due to be held on Thursday, reported the Uthayan. The mass grave was first discovered when construction workers found two human skeletons on December 20thwhen digging in Thirukketheeswaram.  The following week, a further four skulls… Read more »

USTPAC – International Probe a Must in Sri Lanka

by US Tamil Political Action Council, PR Newswire, February 11, 2014 WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2014 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) welcomes recent high level visits to Sri Lanka by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Biswal and Ambassador-At-Large for Global Criminal Justice, Stephen Rapp, and their steadfast… Read more »

Briefing by UNSG Spokesman

Noon Briefing Acting Deputy Spokesperson:  We’ve made it clear that there needs to be more done to get at the heart of what happened in Sri Lanka.  You’ve seen what the Secretary-General’s reports on the situation have said and it’s clear that there continues to be a need for all the facts to be learned… Read more »

Break in Siege Is Little Relief to Syrian City

The agreement, announced by the Syrian government last week, called for a three-day cease-fire to allow women, children and older men to leave a rebel-held part of the city while food was distributed to those who remained inside.

But the cease-fire was shaky from the start. Some residents refused to leave, fearing their departure would prompt the killing of the remaining rebels. Pro-government Facebook pages also criticized the deal and began a campaign called “No to feeding the gunmen.”

Speeches at London Conference

In English Prof. Guruparan Speaks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXjY2c3a6bA Indian activist Mrs Medha Patkar Pravin Speakshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ehSCkdgro In Tamil  MP Ariannendran Speaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld3CjBvnjEM EPC Councillor Thadayuthapani Speaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_3RjeXarrI MP Mavi Senathirajah Speaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8_0qweETQ8 MP Sritharan Speaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a28d07mA_t4 Prof. P.Ramasamy Speaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK70gcjNsAs http://sangam.org/london-conference-explores-nature-land-grabs-tamil-homeland/ http://sangam.org/conference-state-grabs-tamil-land/  

New Inquiry on Sri Lanka Points to Possible War Crimes

William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in London who is an authority on war crimes and was among the experts enlisted to examine the Australian inquiry’s evidence, said it was the first to focus on issues that are relevant to a criminal prosecution.

“What it demonstrates is there is clear evidence that a prosecutor can go on,” he said in an interview.

Holding Sri Lanka to Account

Washington is once again trying to put pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to commission a credible independent investigation of crimes and human rights abuses committed during the end of that country’s bloody civil war in 2009. It was a good move to send a senior American diplomat to the island nation last weekend… Read more »

US Asst Secretary Press Conference in Colombo

U.S. Department of State Nisha Desai Biswal Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Colombo, Sri Lanka February 2, 2014 Press Conference With Assistant Secretary Nisha Biswal in Colombo, Sri Lanka AMBASSADOR SISON: I am so pleased to be with you all this evening in order to introduce you to our new Assistant… Read more »

London Conference Explores Nature of Land Grabs in Tamil Homeland

Academics, legal experts, activists, journalists, and Eezham Tamil politicians gathered in London to discuss Sri Lankan state facilitated land grabs in the Eezham Tamils homeland, its nature, its effects, and possible solutions, at a conference on Saturday. While all of the presenters were in consensus that land grabs in the Tamil homeland was a phenomena… Read more »

Conference on State Grabs of Tamil Land

by ‘Tamil Guardian,’ London, January 31 and February 1, 2014 (Conference held January 31 and February 1 at British House of Commons and University College London) Pictures at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.675928429136367&type=3&l=0d6e7c22a2 DAY 1 The first day of an international conference on the Sri  Lankan state’s forcible and militarised procurement of Tamil land, saw a number of speakers calling… Read more »

“Tamil People Are Gravely Harmed”

by TNAPolitics.org, January 30, 2014 The Central Committee meeting of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi was held on January 26, 2014 at the Town Hall, Trincomalee. The meeting was attended by representatives from all districts in the Northern and Eastern provinces.  The meeting which commenced at 10.30 a.m. under the chairmanship of R. Sampanthan M.P…. Read more »

Is Assad’s Use of Torture Paying Off?

This is a guest post by Lionel Beehner, who is a PhD Candidate at Yale University and was formerly a senior writer at the Council on Foreign Relations. He also regularly blogs at the excellent Political Violence at a Glance. A new trove of photographs provides evidence of alleged torture of some 11,000 people in Syrian prison cells. Other… Read more »

U.S. Envoy to Visit Sri Lanka as Pressure Builds for War Crimes Inquiry

“There is no way he can allow an investigation because an international probe that asks chain-of-command type of questions will lead directly to the Rajapaksas themselves,” Mr. Saravanamuttu said in an interview. “Literally and figuratively, President Rajapaksa must live and die in power.”

Whether the country’s restive north will remain peaceful without further reconciliation efforts is a crucial question. The army continues to occupy thousands of homes and administer its own farms, factories and resorts on appropriated land, for which the government has paid little or no compensation.

Text of NPC Resolution

Deliberation of the Northern Provincial Council – https://soundcloud.com/tamilnet/tamil-deliberations-in-npc-on *** The following resolution was proposed by the Council Member Hon Mahalingam Kanagalingam Shivajilingam and adopted by the Northern Provincial Council on January 27, 2014:   1.      We bring to the notice of the International Community that the Tamil Nation has been, and continued to be subjected to ethnic cleansing… Read more »

Tamil Leaders Vow to Prove ‘Genocide’ in Civil War

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamil-run provincial administration said Monday it wants to prove that the central government carried out an operation “akin to genocide” to win a long civil war against Tamil rebels. The Northern Provincial Council wants to conduct its own internationally supervised count of the dead and missing civilians to… Read more »

Verdict of Permanent People’s Tribunal

PPT judgement upholds Eelam Tamil identity and nomenclature The full report of the judgement of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Sri Lanka (Bremen Session), released on Wednesday, came out with a discussion on the choice of nomenclature to identify the victims of genocide and has decided on the use of the term “Eelam Tamils as… Read more »

HRW Annual Report: Sri Lanka

“The Sri Lankan government makes a lot of claims about pursuing accountability for wartime abuses, but the world is still waiting to see some results,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It’s clearer than ever that an independent international investigation is needed to make genuine progress in providing justice for victims.”

Does Diplomacy Stand a Chance in Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, but the cessation of war has not resulted in the peace that many had hoped for. Notwithstanding some notable progress when it comes to reconstruction and development, authoritarianism, ethnic tension, and majoritarian triumphalism are on the rise. These trends will come under increased scrutiny at the 25th session… Read more »