Posts Categorized: International

TGTE Urges UNGA to Create an Int’l Independent Mechanism

to Bolster Sri Lankan Int’l Crimes Investigation RESPONSE TO SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT’S REQUEST TO THE UN TO APPROVE HIS “PLAYBOOK FOR IMPUNITY” UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, USA, September 27, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) released today its response (Link below) to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s September 25th speech before… Read more »

Trial of Guatemala Intelligence Chief for Genocide

Guatemala’s Former Intelligence Chief Acquitted of Human Rights Violations By Reuters, Sept. 27, 2018 GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemala City court ruled on Wednesday that the crime of genocide had been perpetrated during the darkest hours of the country’s long civil war, but acquitted a former military intelligence chief of the killings. The verdict was the latest… Read more »

How Assad Made Truth a Casualty of War

by Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, ‘The New York Review of Books,’ September 7, 2018 Was Colvin’s sacrifice worthwhile? It is tempting to say no—that in an indifferent world, no story is worth dying for. But Colvin’s life is itself a rebuke to such pragmatism: she had risked her life before and saved many other lives as… Read more »

Sri Lanka Core Group Statement

by UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, September 11, 2018 This UK statement was delivered at the 39th session of the Human Rights Council during the Sri Lanka Core Group Statement This statement is delivered on behalf of Germany, Macedonia, Montenegro and the UK as members of the Sri Lanka core group. We welcome further recent… Read more »

In Idlib, Final Offensive in Syrian War May Come at Horrific Cost

by Margaret Coker, Hwaida Saad and Carlotta Gall, ‘The New York Times,’ September 2, 2018 BAGHDAD — On land, Syria’s government is mustering thousands of conscripts to bolster its depleted forces. At sea, a Russian naval flotilla is just offshore, ready to intervene with formidable firepower. In Idlib Province, millions of civilians are dreading what… Read more »

Myanmar Generals Should Face Genocide Charges Over Rohingya, U.N. Says

by Nick Cummings-Bruce, ‘The New York Times,’ August 27, 2019 GENEVA — Myanmar’s army commander and other top generals should face trial in an international court for genocide against Rohingya Muslims and for crimes against humanity targeting other ethnic minorities, United Nations experts said on Monday after a yearlong investigation. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing,… Read more »

Grassroots Leaders Provide the Best Hope to a Troubled World

Amid cruelty and suffering, there are heroes, says Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who steps down on September 1st The apparent powerlessness of those who suffer was also brought home to me in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, where Tamil communities dispossessed of their land by the military decades ago still… Read more »

Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on its isit to Sri Lanka

by Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, July 23, 2018 http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/39/45/Add.2 [Statement at end of Working Group visit] VI. Conclusions 73. The Working Group appreciates the willingness of the Government to submit itself to scrutiny through the visit, and considers that the findings in the present report offer an opportunity to support the Government in addressing… Read more »

The Dravidian Sun Sets

by A Kalaiyarasan & Karthick Ram Manoharan, ‘Economic & Political Weekly,’ Mumbai, India, August 8, 2018 When Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief and five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Muthuvel Karunanidhi passed away on 7 August 2018, he had outlived most of his friends and all of his rivals. “Kalaignar,” as he was popularly known among… Read more »

The Man Who was Muthuvel Karunanidhi

DMK patriarch Muthuvel Karunanidhi, a champion of federalism, showed how a regional party leader can become indispensible in the national political sphere by Dharani Thangavelu, ‘LiveMint,’ India, August 7, 2018 Chennai: It was the morning of July 15, 1953. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) members had launched a protest against the renaming of Kallakudi to Dalmiyapuram, near… Read more »

UN SR Ben Emmerson’s Report on Sri Lanka

by UN Special Rapporteur Ben Emmerson, July 24, 2018 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism on his mission to Sri Lanka Sri_LankaReportJuly2018.PDF A. Conclusions 59. In 2015, Sri Lanka seemed to have turned a corner. New elections brought to power a coalition government and with it the… Read more »

Protecting or Facilitating?

A review of the humanitarian response to IDP detention in Sri Lanka, 2009 All too often however, humanitarian organisations were poorly equipped with the time, skills and attitudes to address a situation where the state was not representing the interests of the population. In these cases, supporting the vulnerable means contesting state agendas, even where… Read more »

Sri Lankan ‘War Criminals’ Deployed as UN Peacekeepers

by Mark Townsend, ‘The Guardian,’ Manchester, July 21, 2018 The UN has been sending alleged war criminals to act as peacekeepers in conflict zones, a confidential report claims. The document, seen by the Observer, and sent to the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations last month, claims that senior Sri Lankan officers accused of war crimes have… Read more »

The United States’ Role in Sri Lanka’s Peace Process: 2002-2006

by Jeffrey Lunstead, Asia Foundation, 2007 A Supplementary Study to the Sri Lanka Strategic Conflict Assessment 2005 Lunstead US Role in SL Peace Process 2002-2006 Contents Acknowledgements About the Author Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2. U.S. Interests and Engagement in Sri Lanka 3. Enhanced U.S. Engagement 3.1 Enhanced U.S. Interest 3.2 U.S. Relations with the… Read more »

Amnesty Statement on Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka

by Amnesty International USA, June 20, 2018 On June 20th, 2018, Amnesty International USA submitted a Congressional statement for the record in anticipation of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee Hearing on “Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka.” Please find a link below to the statement for the record: AIUSA-Statement-on-Human-Rights-Concerns-in-Sri-Lanka-Final-1.pdf Date: June 20, 2018 RE: House Foreign… Read more »

MAP Submits Statement for House Hearing

US Congress Considers Human Rights in Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka Monitoring Accountability Panel Submitted a Statement WASHINTON, DC, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, June 20, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — Today, 20 June 2018, the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the US Committee on Foreign Affairs heard evidence on “Human… Read more »

Sri Lanka is an Open Door to the Indian Ocean

by Major Nicholas R. Nappi, US Marines, Proceeding Magazine of US Naval Institute, September 2017 U.S. maritime engagements with India can be best described as a security cooperation courtship that never gets past the first date. On the surface, this budding partnership looks promising. The U.S. and Indian militaries participate in executive steering groups (ESGs),… Read more »

UN & IC Need to Ensure Justice for Tamils

And their existence in Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Tamils have been inhabiting Sri Lanka for more than 2500 years with ‘Saivaism’ [Hinduism] also existing ‘Centuries before the arrival of Vijaya in BC 547” as stated by Paul Peiris in his book [Nagadipa and Buddhist… Read more »