The sanctions are the first international action against Sri Lanka stemming from its brutal civil war. Several members of the new government are also accused of wartime abuses. by Maria Abi-Habib and Dharisha Bastians, The New York Times, February 15, 2020 NEW DELHI — The United States has imposed an entry bar on Sri Lanka’s army chief,… Read more »
Posts Categorized: International
Public Designation, Due to Gross Violations of Human Rights, of Shavendra Silva
of Sri Lanka Under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act by Michael R. Pompeo, US Secretary of State, Washington, DC, February 14, 2020 Press Statement https://www.state.gov/public-designation-due-to-gross-violations-of-human-rights-of-shavendra-silva-of-sri-lanka-under-section-7031c-of-the-department-of-state-foreign-operations-and-related-programs-appropriations-a/ The Department of State has designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Acting Chief of… Read more »
High Time UNHRC acts Decisively and Effectively on Sri Lanka
by Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 8, 2020 In the UN Human Rights Council’s March 2020 Sessions, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be presenting an update on Sri Lanka’s progress on Sri Lanka’s progress in implementing its 30-01-2015 Resolution which had more than… Read more »
The LTTE and the 2002-2006 Peace Process in Sri Lanka
The Politics of Transformation by Suthaharan Nadarajah & Luxshi Vimalarajah, Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, Switzerland, 2008 The_Politics_of_Transformation_the_LTTE Introduction The conflict in Sri Lanka is one of the world’s most protracted and multi-faceted. It has been aptly described as a conflict “where economic, political and cultural deprivation and grievances of a minority have… Read more »
Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away with War Crimes
Book Review by Joe Glenton, ForcesWatch.net, January 29, 2020 That Britain outsources aspects of her habitually violent foreign policy is no revelation. The wars in Afghanistan and Libya, but perhaps most especially Iraq, saw a veritable mercenary gold rush as the unregulated hard men of disaster capitalism, mostly ex-soldiers, flooded into the lawless zones created… Read more »
From SAS to Merciless Mercenaries
A new book tells the story of an elite band of ex-special forces who wreaked havoc around the world. Their calling card? A live grenade in a wine glass by Neil Tweedie, Daily Mail, UK, February 1, 2020 Private military company KMS operated behind the scenes in the 1970s and 80s It did jobs that would… Read more »
HRW: Repeal Abusive Counterterrorism Law
Uphold Pledges to United Nations, European Union by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 10, 2020 (New York) – The Sri Lankan government should abide by its commitments to replace the abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with legislation that respects its international human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said today. The cabinet of President Gotabaya… Read more »
Shouldering of Responsibility to Save Desperate Tamils in Sri Lanka
by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 11, 2020 There is no denying of the fact that Tamils in Sri Lanka have been at the receiving end since 1949, when power was transferred to the majority Sinhala Government. Successive Sinhala Governments continued and still continue the marginalisation… Read more »
13A Just a Cudgel in India’s Hand
by MSM Ayub, Daily Mirror, Colombo, December 13, 2019 It was India that first sent its External Affairs Minister to Sri Lanka within 24 hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s President on November 18. It was also India that became the first diplomatic destination for President Rajapaksa. Indian External Affairs… Read more »
High Time to Act on Sri Lanka
By United Nations & international community by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond]. Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has been in the limelight of UN and International Community for the last thirty years and more intensively during and after the genocidal war launched against the Tamil civilians and Liberation Tigers of… Read more »
Speech by Nadesan Satyendra at Thimpu Talks 1985
posted by Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), February 12, 2012 Satyendra was the TELO representative at the Thimbu Talks We recognise that the Tamil national struggle is not taking place in some Himalayan stratosphere… At the outset, we would like to emphasise something which all of us amongst the Tamil delegation present here today, recognise… Read more »
US Press Statements on Sri Lanka Elections
On Sri Lanka’s Elections: Press Statement by Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State November 18, 2019 The United States congratulates the people of Sri Lanka on their democratic election and stands ready to work with Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the new President of Sri Lanka. We call on President Rajapaksa to uphold Sri Lanka’s commitments to… Read more »
What’s Behind a Flurry of Legal Bids to Prosecute Myanmar for Genocide?
‘The net is tightening around the Myanmar military and civilian leadership.’ by Emmanuel Stoakes, The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News), UN, November 21, 2019 CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand A burst of legal action across the globe this month has provided fresh impetus for efforts to examine atrocity crimes allegedly committed by Myanmar against its Rohingya minority…. Read more »
Sri Lankan Critics Fear a Crackdown Is Underway, and Some Flee
A Swiss Embassy employee was abducted and asked about asylum applications and investigators were banned from leaving just days after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected. by Maria Abi-Habib & Sameer Yasir, The New York Times, November 27, 2019 Fears of a potential crackdown on critics of the newly returned Rajapaksa political dynasty in Sri Lanka are… Read more »
Sri Lankan Clan With Close China Ties Plots Political Comeback
The Rajapaksa family’s prior rule was stained by allegations of human-rights violations and corruption, sparking worries in Western capitals by Saeed Shah, The Wall Street Journal, New York, November 7, 2019 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—A controversial political dynasty that made Sri Lanka a centerpiece of China’s efforts to expand its influence in Asia and defeated an… Read more »
A Belated Recognition of Genocide by the House
For too long, Turkey bullied America into silence. Not anymore. by Samantha Power, The New York Times, October 29, 2019 On Tuesday, by a vote of 405 to 11, the House of Representatives defied the Turkish government’s intimidation and, for the first time in 35 years, passed a resolution that recognized the Armenian genocide. In acknowledging… Read more »
Sri Lanka Presidential Hopeful Says Won’t Honor Deal with UN
by Krishan Francis | AP in The Washington Post, October 15, 2019 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A former Sri Lankan defense chief who is a front-runner in next month’s presidential election said Tuesday that if he wins, he won’t recognize an agreement the government made with the U.N. human rights council to investigate alleged war crimes during… Read more »
The Role of Emerging Technologies in Military Conflicts
by Izumi Nakamitsu, Inter-Press Service (IPS) Izumi Nakamitsu is UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs* STOCKHOLM, Oct 10 2019 (IPS) – Throughout history, technology has transformed armed conflict. The carnage of First World War battlefields is a stark example of what happens when advances in weaponry outpace the normative frameworks around its use. Today, we are experiencing… Read more »
ITJP: The Sri Lankan Navy
A Collective Blind Eye by International Truth and Justice Project, South Africa, October 20192019 http://www.itjpsl.com/reports/thenavy-a-collective-blind-eye ITJP_navy_reportfinal-2-SINGLES This report on the Sri Lankan Navy’s alleged involvement in torture and enforced disappearances compares documents from a decade-long police investigation inside Sri Lanka into the disappearance of 11 men in the Trincomalee naval base, with eyewitness testimony from survivors and… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Implementation of UNHRC Res. 40/1
Sri Lanka’s Defiance & Delaying Tactics in Implementing UNHRC Resolution 40/1 by Kumarathasan Rasingam, Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org. Tamils in Sri Lanka have undergone grave injustice: Pogroms, Torture, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Forced Disappearances and Genocide. Tamil mothers in Sri Lanka fight daily to learn what happened to their missing… Read more »