by Immigration & Refugee Board of Canada, March 17, 2017 https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1047356/download 3. The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) Political Handbook of the World 2015 (PHW) states that Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) is a “Tamil-based” party (PHW 2015, 1373). The same source indicates it is a government party and that it “was formed in the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Military
Sri Lanka’s Strategic Use of Sexual Violence Against Tamils
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, June 19, 2019 International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka’s Strategic Use of Sexual Violence Against Tamils (Washington, D.C.; June 19, 2019) – On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, PEARL condemns Sri Lanka’s ongoing conflict-related sexual… Read more »
Canadian House of Commons Passes Motion re Genocide of Tamils
by Canadian Parliament, June 19, 2019 https://openparliament.ca/debates/2019/6/19/cheryl-hardcastle-1/ (halfway down page) Sri Lanka Oral Questions June 19th, 2019 / 3:15 p.m. Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and I am hopeful that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move: That the House, (a) extend its… Read more »
Lessons from Sri Lanka’s War
by VK Shashikumar, Indian Defence Review, Issue Vol 24.3 Jul-Sep 2009 | Date : 19 Nov , 2014 http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/lessons-from-the-war-in-sri-lanka/, accessed June 19, 2019 Conduct of Operations This is how the Sri Lankan government described (through a Ministry of Defence Press Release) the war strategy of its defence forces on May 18, 2009 after the annihilation of the… Read more »
Sergei De Silva-Ranasinghe’s Review Of Eelam War IV
Reflections by Michael Roberts, Colombo Telegraph, Sept. 17, 2016 DeSilva-Ranasinghe’s article – how-sri-lanka-won-the-unwinnable-war Asia Pacific Defence Reporter Sept 2009 This article – https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sergei-de-silva-ranasinghes-review-of-eelam-war-iv-reflections/ ADDENDUM, 14 September 2009 In analyzing historical issues over the years, I came to the conclusion that a multiplicity of factors generates the events that are understood to be major transformations – so… Read more »
Nine Decisions that Helped Lanka Beat LTTE
by V K Shashikumar, Indian Defence Review, October 2009 Not available in 2019 on Indian Defence Review website, but copied at http://www.sify.com/news/nine-decisions-that-helped-lanka-beat-ltte-imagegallery-0-international-kexv2Lbdede.html , accessed June 19, 2019 What we don’t see Will a good number of soldiers, tanks and artillery ensure victory in a war? These are outward aspects of a war which alone are… Read more »
Lessons from the War in Sri Lanka
by VK Sashikumar, Indian Defence Review – July – Sept 2009 – Vol 24(3) Lessons from Sri Lanka’s War – Indian Defence Review 2014 version, PDF http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/lessons-from-the-war-in-sri-lanka/0/ “The news about the killing of Prabhakaran sparked mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo, dancing and singing. Looking back at the… Read more »
Sri Lanka, MSF Amidst All-Out War
by Fabrice Weissman, Academia.edu, accessed June 2019 In Claire Magone et al. (ed.), Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed. The MSF Experience, London, Hurst & Co, 2011. Sri_Lanka_MSF_Amid_All-Out_War 2011 On 18 May 2009, the Sri Lankan government’s crushing victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) put an end to twenty-six years of civil war. Described by… Read more »
Island of Racial & Religious Extremism
With culture of impunity by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond. Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka], May 28, 2019 April 21st attacks on three Churches and three star Hotels by radicalized Muslims surprised Sri Lanka’s Government, its citizens and the world. They were well pre-planned and co-ordinated to unleash the killings on worshippers… Read more »
U.S. Should Not Repeat its Post 9/11 Counter-terrorism Mistakes in Sri Lanka
by Ronnate Asirwatham, ‘Medium,’ May 28, 2019 The U.S. government’s hurried moves to expand military-to-military cooperation with Sri Lanka to fight terrorism after Easter Sunday’s bomb blasts is ill-advised because, Colombo’s counter-terrorism policies are shambles. Sri Lanka targets ethnic communities for acts of terrorist groups, and its military, enjoying impunity, uses torture as the main… Read more »
The Men Now Patrolling Sri Lanka
by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, Europe & International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, May 2019 http://www.jdslanka.org/images/documents/2019_may_the_men_%20now_patrolling_sri_lanka_itjp__jds.pdf On Easter Sunday 2019, a series of coordinated bomb blasts struck hotels and churches in Sri Lanka killing more than 250 people, including many tourists. The targets were churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa… Read more »
A State of Disorientation
Dispatch from Sri Lanka after the Easter Bombings by Anuk Arukpragasam, TIME, May 22, 2019 Anuk Arudpragasam is a novelist from Colombo and is the author of The Story of a Brief Marriage. In Colombo, as though there is war once more, the ominous presence of heavily armed soldiers is everywhere. Ever since the Easter Sunday bombings,… Read more »
Deep Fractures in Sri Lanka’s Leadership
The fallout of the Easter Sunday bombings has exposed deep fractures in Sri Lanka’s leadership by Thusiyan Nandakumar, The National, UAE, April 28, 2019 Politicians are playing the blame game and there are fears a security crackdown will create an environment of impunity once again Sri Lanka is in crisis. A week on from the horrific bomb… Read more »
Unholy Tension in Lanka’s Muslim East
Different interpretations of Islam by Thawheed and traditional school divide the community by Chris Kamalendran, Asif Fuard and cameraman Saman Kariyawasam in Kattankudy, The Sunday Times, Colombo, August 9, 2009 The tiny coastal village of Kattankudy, a ten minutes drive from the eastern capital of Batticaloa, lies in a picturesque setting. Its boundaries hug the… Read more »
What Sri Lanka Needs Now
by Kitana Ananda and Mythri Jegathesan, CNN, USA, April 28, 2019 Since multiple blasts killed at least 253 people and injured hundreds more in Sri Lanka last Sunday, the government has declared a state of emergency, bringing back draconian anti-terrorism laws that will curtail civil liberties and increase militarization. Officials have begun to investigate, and though… Read more »
Cases Against Gotabaya Rajapakshe
Fighting for delayed accountability and justice by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Gotabaya Rajapakshe, who is a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and USA, flew back to Sri Lanka after the victory of Mahinda Rajapakshe as the President in 2005. He was appointed as the Defence Secretary… Read more »
What Happened in Sri Lanka? Here’s What You Need to Know
These attacks come at a precarious political moment. by Kate Cronin-Furman, The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage, April 23, 2019 Bombs ripped through three churches and four hotels in a series of attacks in Sri Lanka on Sunday morning. The casualty count currently stands at more than 300 dead and more than 500 injured. What do we know about the… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Bloody Easter Puts Spotlight on a New Terror Threat
by Ishan Tharoor, Washington Post, April 22, 2019 A shocking, coordinated series of bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka marked one of the world’s bloodiest terrorist attacks over the past half-decade. At least 290 people were killed and more than 450 others injured after suicide bombers exploded devices in three churches in the cities… Read more »
Sri Lankans Accuse Him of Wartime Atrocities
California May Decide. by Mike Ives and Dharisha Bastians, The New York Times, April 19, 2019 In the decade since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended, a former wartime defense chief has successfully dodged accusations of crimes against humanity. He may soon run for president. But the accusations, which are supported by United Nations inquiries, recently caught up… Read more »
Channel 4: Sri Lanka – the Search for Justice 10 Years On
Dear Friend, We are pleased to share with you a powerful new short film, from the makers of the award-winning ‘No Fire Zone’ documentary, which re-visits the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war and considers the ongoing need for justice a decade on. The film, which the Sri Lanka Campaign helped to screen at a recent meeting… Read more »