TNA Response to the Draft Resolution_March 2014 TNA Response to the Draft Resolution_March 2014 The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has given careful consideration to the draft resolution on Sri Lanka proposed at the 25th sessions of the Human Rights Council by the United States of America, the UnitedKingdom, Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
Primacy of Accountability
Last week’s opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s 25th session gave rise to strong and welcome calls from key member states for an international inquiry into Sri Lanka’s mass atrocities. That Sri Lanka is not going to investigate the horrific crimes for which its leaders are responsible and that accountability depends entirely on an… Read more »
Interactive Dialogue with SASG on Prevention of Genocide
http://webtv.un.org/watch/id-special-advisor-on-the-prevention-of-genocide-15th-meeting-25th-regular-session-of-human-rights/3316281947001 [See also Chapter 15 by France Libertes: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand ] 25th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council Geneva March 7, 2014 Item 3 – Interactive Dialogue with SASG on Prevention of Genocide Organization: Pasumai Thaayagam Thank you Madam Vice President. On the 65th anniversary of the “Convention on the prevention of Genocide” we are… Read more »
Bring Up the Bodies
by ‘The Economist,’ London, March 8, 2014 DELHI | From the print edition EVIDENCE of past atrocities keeps turning up in Sri Lanka. Last year 154 bodies were unearthed from a mass grave behind a hospital in Matale, in the centre of the island—victims, in all likelihood, of an uprising by Marxist rebels in the 1980s. In… Read more »
Crimes Against Humanity in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province
by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, March 4, 2014 Crimes-against-humanity-in-sri-lanka-s-northern-province EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Report is the first of its kind to map the facts of well-documented, post-war human rights violations in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province to the legal elements of crimes against humanity. Amidst growing calls that the UNHRC mandate an international… Read more »
Let the U.N. Unmask the Criminals of Sri Lanka’s War
BRUSSELS — IN early 2009, as many as 40,000 civilians were killed in the final days of Sri Lanka’s civil war, having been herded into an area about the size of Central Park and subjected to relentless shelling. No one has been held accountable for these crimes, and even now the government in Colombo remains… Read more »
ICG: UNHRC Action Remains Crucial
by International Crisis Group, Brussels, February 28, 2014 This briefing note draws on Crisis Group’s extensive reporting on post-war political developments in Sri Lanka, as well as recent interviews with a range of Sri Lankan stakeholders. Read all our published reports on Sri Lanka. Overview The government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has failed to comply with two… Read more »
US State: 2013 Report on Human Rights
The government prosecuted a very small number of government and military officials implicated in human rights abuses and had yet to hold anyone accountable for alleged violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law that occurred during the conflict that ended in 2009.
Sri Lanka Briefing Note #8
SriLanka Briefing note No 08 Feb 2014
TNA Welcomes Pillay’s report
TNA welcomes Pillay’s report The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has welcomed the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka to the 25th session of the Human Rights Council. The High Commissioner’s report contains a comprehensive and accurate depiction of the serious human rights issues… Read more »
Amnesty: Suppressing Calls for Justice
Amnesty Suppressing Calls for Justice Feb 2014 asa370032014en Index Number: ASA 37/003/2014 Date Published: 26 February Sri Lanka’s armed conflict has been over for nearly five years and yet healing and justice are still remote goals. To break the cycle of impunity Amnesty International is calling as a priority for an independent international investigation into crimes under… Read more »
Amnesty: UN Report Must be Call to Action on International War Crimes Investigation
“Navi Pillay’s findings echo our own. We are still receiving new eyewitness accounts and other allegations of gruesome violations by both government forces and the Tamil Tigers during the armed conflict.”
Sri Lanka Denounces Push to Open War Inquiry
NEW DELHI — Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday forcefully rejected a call for an international war crimes investigation into the country’s bloody civil war, adding to tensions with the United Nations’ human rights body. In its official response to a highly critical report released on Monday by the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, the government… Read more »
Thamils Should Not Lose Heart, But Fight Back Peacefully
Independence for the Thamils have meant slow liquidation of their identity as a Nation that lived in well defined territory with their own language, arts, culture, customs and heritage. They have been living in the Northeast historically for several centuries…
In 1946 the Thamils (both Ceylon and Thamils of Indian origin) constituted 22.75 (1,514,300) and Sinhalese 69.41 (4,620,500), but in 2011 the Thamil population declined to 15.37 (3,113,247) while the Sinhalese population rose to 74.88 (15,173,820). This decline is reflected in the dilution of their parliamentary representation
Land and Development in the North-East
This week, Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister Wigneswaranlamented the lack of economic development in the North, berating the Sri Lankan state for its “conqueror” mindset and festering militarisation that has come to engulf the Tamil North-East. In particular Wigneswaran highlighted the forcible acquisition of land by the government, a pertinent issue that has gained international attention,… Read more »
Tamil Nadu Government Decides to Release 7 in Rajiv Assassination Case
The Tamil Nadu Government, in a suo motu statement to the State Assembly on Wednesday said it has decided to release the 7 prisoners, now imprisoned to lifetime in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The decision comes as the Indian Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to commute the death sentence on Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan to… Read more »
TAG: Sri Lanka’s ‘Rehabilitation’ of LTTE
TAG Rehabilitation Report January 2014 Figures’ vary,’ but’ approximately’ 12,000′ former’ Liberation’ Tigers’ of’ Tamil’ Eelam’ (LTTE)’ members’have’been’‘rehabilitated’’since’the’end’of’the’war’and’‘reintegrated’’back’into’society.1… Having’ focussed’on’ the’details’of’ the’programme,’on’what’ the’GoSL’claims’it’ to’be,’and’what’ TAG’s’sources’report’of’it,’we’look’beyond’the’programme’itself,’to’wider’government’policies,’ to’historical’events’including’the’conduct’of’the’war’and’to’consideration’of’the’nature’of’the’Sri’ Lankan’state.’In’light’of’this’we’contend’that’rehabilitation’is’one’aspect’of’a’coordinated’plan’of’ different’actions’aimed’at’the’destruction’of’essential’foundations’of’the’life’of’the’Tamil’people’ of’Sri’Lanka. 2” also at
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 »