My fellow Tamil women What have you done for peace in the isle? Take off your clothes and open up your vagina For the Sinhala warriors of the land of Buddha – Poem by an Angry Tamil Woman On February 26th 2013, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on sexual violence perpetrated on Tamil… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Human Rights
Genocide as Counterinsurgency
by Karthick RM, ‘Sanhati,’ West Bengal, India, October 10, 2012 Countering insurgencies is as old as states and empires. As a concept, however, study in Counterinsurgency (COIN) gained momentum in the colonial period so as to deal with frequently occurring rebellions in colonies as well as to counter the “communist menace”. COIN grew as a… Read more »
China Calls on Sri Lanka to ‘Protect and Promote Human Rights’
China has called on Sri Lanka to “make efforts to protect and promote human rights”, amid continuing debate over the island nation’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). While calling on other countries to “provide constructive assistance”, the Chinese government, which has in the past been among Sri Lanka’s strongest supporters against… Read more »
World Must Not Abandon Sri Lanka’s Victims after CHOGM
The international community must keep up pressure on the Sri Lankan government to address its human rights crisis, Amnesty International said as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo draws to a close. Amnesty: Human Rights in Sri Lanka Summary 5 Nov 2013 “Sri Lanka may well regret having hosted the Commonwealth summit… Read more »
Cameron Sets March Deadline for Sri Lanka Rights Investigation
CNN news video of PM David Cameron in Jaffna at http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/16/world/asia/sri-lanka-commonwealth-cameron-march/index.html British Prime Minister David Cameron has given Sri Lanka a March 2014 deadline to hold an independent international inquiry into alleged war crimes during the country’s 26-year civil war. Cameron held talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa while in the capital of Colombo for… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Climate of Fear
Since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009, the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has had a record of serious human rights violations and failed to provide accountability for wartime abuses. In August, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, issued scathing observations on the state of human rights in Sri Lanka after her… Read more »
What Cameron Must Salvage from CHOGM
First and foremost, he must seek accountability for egregious rights abuses Cameron’s sense of outrage is too little and far too late. But it perhaps create an opportunity to salvage something from an otherwise thoroughly discredited Commonwealth meeting, that he is clearly so determined to attend. Just this week, David Cameron described as “truly shocking”… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Potemkin Peace
by International Crisis Group, Belgium, November 13, 2013 Full report at http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka/253-sri-lankas-potemkin-peace-democracy-under-fire.pdf EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Sri Lanka’s ethnically-exclusive regime continues to close political space and consolidate its power. Recent moves that create a perception of progress have not weakened the power of the president, his family or the military or brought reconciliation, ended human rights… Read more »
Channel 4’s ‘No Fire Zone’
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/no-fire-zone/4od ABOUT THE PROGRAMME The team behind the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields tell the story of the 138-day-long final offensive in Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war Available for a limited time only at Channel 4 site. —————— Channel 4 Nov. 9 blog on interview with Isaipriya’s mother and sisters http://blogs.channel4.com/miller-on-foreign-affairs/sri-lanka-tamil-familys-distress-footage-daughter/430
Sri Lanka’s Unfinished War
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
New Delhi Experiments Eezham Model ‘Counterinsurgency’ on Its Own People
Indian State now consolidates a policy that extraordinary political movements of mass basis, coming from peoples long exposed to social oppression, material deprivation, un-freedom and stark poverty in India, have to be eliminated with the deployment of an increasing number of armed forces. The more the forces are special and armed-to-the-teeth with impunity, the more… Read more »
Women and Children in the North
by Watchdog, ‘Groundviews.org,’ Colombo, October 31, 2013 In September 2013, Watchdog travelled to the Vanni[1] and met with survivors of sexual violence, women’s rights activists and representatives of women’s groups. This report is based on information provided during interviews conducted with them, Human Rights organisations based in the North and Colombo and Government sources. During our… Read more »
‘Cover-up’ over Phosphorus Attack Haunts Sri Lanka Talks
A Sri Lankan army photograph taken after the last battle of the civil war in 2009 Sri Lankan Government/Reuters When Kannaki was hit by a phosphorus shell, she was six months pregnant, lying huddled in a bunker with 15 other Tamils while an artillery bombardment raged around them for hour after hour. As… Read more »
Credible Sri Lankan War Crimes Investigation on the Horizon
At the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) 68th session in late September, a major stipulation was laid out by UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in reference to the shocking slaughtering of tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians in the spring of 2009. Given strong evidence that Tamil civilians were killed primarily by… Read more »
Tamils: Need for Change
The prime consideration of the Tamils is security, which determines their very existence. Now that the conflict is ended by the war, there will be an extended period to recast relationships between the state and Tamils, the Sinhalese and Tamils, to overcome past iniquities and focus on the future.
The Tamils must have the assurance that their security won’t be compromised again on any account. While the international community is there to afford relief, it takes time to assemble and implement their directives. It needs an effective local mechanism to prevent such a development.
One clear and unambiguous way of ensuring this would be to embed a self-determination clause in the Sri Lanka constitution as a clear safeguard against any excesses or discriminatory action by the state. At the same time, there must also be safeguards to prevent it being invoked frivolously.
External Development cannot Substitute the Settling of the Basic Unresolved Issues
by the Commission of Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna, October 18, 2013, courtesy TamilNet.com, October 21, 2013 Fr_Mangalam_JPC_131018 To: His Excellency Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Spiteri, Apostolic Nuncio Apostolic Nunciature 220 Bauddhaloka Mawatha Colombo 7 Your Excellency, Greetings to your Excellency from the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic… Read more »
Why Ethnicity Matters in Sri Lanka
bu Sinthujan Varatharajah, ‘Colombo Telegraph,’ October 16, 2013 Following our Sinhala privilege piece published on our Tumblr, ‘Check your Des(h)i Privilege’, we received a number of responses from Sinhalese and Tamils alike. As one of the co-authors of the piece, I’ve observed some of the conversations that were incited by the piece on social media… Read more »
London Conference on Accountability for Genocide
The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) organised a conference on accountability for genocide against the Tamils on 28 & 29 September in London. During the conference, many speeches were delivered. Four of those speeches on YouTube are below. The speakers presented their views on whether Sri Lanka can be held accountable for committing genocide. Geoffrey Robertson… Read more »
2013 Economic & Social Statistics of Sri Lanka
http://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/statistics/other/econ_&_ss_2013_e.pdf
Oral Update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Delivered in Geneva by Deputy High Commissioner Flavia Pansieri, September 25, 2013 1. On behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I am pleased to provide this oral update on implementation of Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.1 on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. This draws on input from relevant Special Procedures mandate holders and the High… Read more »