The bombings will fuel inter-communal tensions in Sri Lanka, which still struggles with the legacy of its civil war. by Mario Arulthas, Al Jazeera, April 22, 2019 OPINION /SRI LANKA The attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday for many brought back memories of the long ethnic war, which came to a bloody conclusion 10 years ago in… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Attacks Evidence Sri Lanka Post-War but Not Post-Conflict Country
Ten years on from civil war, Sri Lanka has failed to reconcile religions and communities by Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan, ‘Irish Times,’ April 21, 2019 Sri Lanka’s past is one that is blood-soaked with violent chapters. On Sunday, another bloody chapter was added to the island’s history. A country of 21 million people, Sri Lanka shares many similarities… Read more »
For Christians in Sri Lanka, Violence is at Once Old and New
by Emily Tamkin, Washington Post, April 22, 2019 No group or individual has asserted responsibility for the attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 290 people and injured more than 450 in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. But the suicide bombings on the holiest day of the Christian calendar, when churches see their highest attendance… 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 »
Sampanthan Insists on Implementing UNHRC Resolution, Adopting New Constitution
As top priorities for Lanka by ‘The Island,’ Colombo, April 8, 2019 Former Opposition Leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan told Parliament, on Budget 2019 voting day, last Friday, that implementing of the UNHRC resolution and the adoption of a new constitution are two issues of utmost importance to the country today. Sampanthan’s statement: Before I commence my… Read more »
State Response to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as an Illicit Power Structure
by Thomas A. Marks and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Tej Pratap Singh Brar, PRISM, National Defense University, Washington, DC, May 24, 2016 CHAP_9 Sri Lanka https://cco.ndu.edu/Publications/Publication-View/Article/780214/chapter-9-sri-lanka-state-response-to-the-liberation-tigers-of-tamil-eelam-as-a/ … Lessons in an Era of Illicit Power Structures It is challenging, after the short breathing space of five years, to draw lessons from this most vexing case of an… Read more »
SLCPJ: Another UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Sri Lanka: An Explainer
by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, March 29, 2019 Been following recent developments on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council but unsure of what it all means? In this explainer, we try to answer some of the key questions. I gather something important happened in Geneva last week. What’s it… Read more »
Extending the Woes of Tamils
And evasion of accountability and justice by Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 1, 2019 At the much awaited 40th Session of the UNHRC, the Commissioner Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet released her Report on March 03 2019 and then made her oral statement on March… Read more »
United Nations Must Recognize Tamils’ Right To Self-Determination
By Kumarathasan Rasingam, March 29, 2019 Tamils demand the Right to Self-Determination as Tamils in Sri Lanka qualify as a People and Nation When the United Nations was created after World War II, one of the main purposes of the United Nations was spelt out in Article 1 [2] of the Charter, which states ‘To… Read more »
India’s Statement at UNHRC
Statement by India at the 40th Session of the Human Rights Council (25 February – 22 March 2019) under Agenda Item 2: Interactive Dialogue with the OHCHR report on Sri Lanka, delivered by Ambassador Rajiv K. Chander, Permanent Representative of India [20 March 2019, Geneva] Mr. President We thank the High Commissioner for the report… Read more »
TNA Demands Inclusion of Foreign Judges in War Crimes Investigation
by AFP in The Hindu, March 22, 2019 ‘The state of Sri Lanka cannot be an independent arbiter’ Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Alliance (TNA) demanded on Friday that foreign judges be included in a special court to investigate war crimes, a day after the UN again granted Colombo more time for a much-delayed probe. With… Read more »
Another Admiral in Abduction Racket
Another Admiral to be docked as CID busts spin-off Navy abduction racket by Maneshka Borham, Sunday Observer, Colombo, March 24, 2019 News Features The now famous CID investigation into the abduction and murder of 11 youth by a Navy extortion gang, helped sleuths to break open a secondary racket involving a separate group of naval… Read more »
Verité: Res. 30/1 Implementation Monitor
by Verité Research, Colombo, March 2019 https://www.veriteresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Verite-Research_UNHRC-Monitor-No4-March-2019.pdf This brief contains an updated analysis of progress since February 2018. Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Resolution 30/1: Implementation Status……………………………………………………………… 1. Transitional Justice and Reconciliation…………………………………………………. 2. Rights and Rule of Law………………………………………………………………………… 3. Security and Demilitarisation……………………………………………………………… 4. Power Sharing………………………………………………………………………………………. 5. International Engagement…………………………………………………………………. Resolution 30/1: Overall Status of Implementation………………………………….. Annex 1: Implementation Status… Read more »
Sri Lanka Tamils Demand Foreign Judges in War Crimes Probe
by AFP in ChannelNewsAsia, March 22, 2019 UN WebTV of FM Tilak Marapana saying Sri Lanka will not have hybrid court. 22 Mar 2019 05:51PMCOLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s main minority Tamil party demanded Friday that foreign judges be included in a special court to investigate war crimes, a day after the UN again granted Colombo more… Read more »
Sri Lanka Refuses to Hand Back Military Occupied Land
By Athula Vithanage, Journalists for a Democratic Sri Lanka, Europe, March 22, 2019 UN WebTV Thousands of acres of land occupied by the military in northern Sri Lanka will not be released to their rightful owners despite ongoing protests. Scores of war displaced Tamil families have been protesting for more than two years by the… Read more »
Six Major Tamil Diaspora Organisations Call for Accelerated Implementation
Six Major Tamil Diaspora Organisations Call for Accelerated Implementation of the UNHRC Resolution on Sri Lanka https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/six-major-tamil-diaspora-organisations-call-for-accelerated-implementation-of-the-unhrc-resolution-on-sri-lanka-300816975.html GENEVA, March 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), the British Tamils Forum (BTF), the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), the Irish Tamils Forum (ITF), the New Zealand Tamil Society (NZTS), and the US Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC)… Read more »
HRDAG: Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Conflict Mortality Study
Reality and risk: A refutation of S. Rendón’s analysis of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s conflict mortality study by Daniel Manrique-Vallier and Patrick Ball, ‘Research and Politics,’ January-March 2019 Abstract We refute S. Rendón’s recent criticism of the 2003 Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) conflict mortality study. We first show that his most… Read more »
Muslims in Post-War Sri Lanka
An Opportunity Lost for Conflict Transformation by A.R.M. Imtiyaz, S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole, Amjad Mohamed Saleem, V. Ameerdeen, Journal of Arts & Humanities, Maryland, USA, 2015 Abstract This paper examines the post-war Sri Lankan conditions among Sri Lanka Muslims, also known as Moors. The article will attempt to argue that state concessions to Muslim political… Read more »
Why has Sri Lanka’s Transitional Justice Process Failed to Deliver?
by Yasmin Sooka & Frances Harrison, London School of Economics Long Read blog, February 6, 2019 After persistent allegations of mass atrocities committed during the long running civil war, a new Sri Lankan Government in 2015 pledged to the international community that it would establish an ambitious reform and transitional justice programme. Four years later,… Read more »
OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka 2019
by Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, February 8, 2019 OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka 8 Feb 2019 Human Rights Council Fortieth session 25 February–22 March 2019 Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General… Read more »