Posts Categorized: Politics

Justice for Sri Lanka’s Genocide Against Tamils

by [unclear, although some analysis is provided by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) and the document is supported by the Ottawa Tamil Association. the Tamil Genocide Memorial, Tamil American United PAC, the Federation of Global Tamil Organizations, the Ilankai Tamil Sangam, and the  Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA)], 2024 Justice… Read more »

Data from Presidential Truth Commission Report on Black July 1983

by Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence 1981-1984, September 2002 Evidence provided to the 2002 Commission by victims who requested compensation for primarily property damage during the violence of the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983’s Black July. truth-commission-list_from presidential_commission_report on ethnic violence 1981-1984 [Excel file] Data is from the report of the Presidential Commission and is… Read more »

Chemmani, Batalanda and Beyond

by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardene, Sunday Times, Colombo, July 6, 2025 In a global arena where the United Nations is desperately struggling to cope with a pronounced irrelevance as the world’s ‘superpowers’ continue to pound the Gaza Strip with all its might and main, of what use are symbolic visits and symbolic messages by the champions of… Read more »

Facing the Truth of July 1983

by Kumar Rupesinghe, Sunday Observer, Colombo, July 17, 2003 See: Report of the Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence 1981-1984 – Ilankai Tamil Sangam Before I begin an assessment of the final report of the Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence from 1981-1984, I would like to recollect some encounters I had with former President… Read more »

The Story of Chemmani and the Graves That Refuse to Stay Buried

by Roy Fernando (SJ), Groundviews, Colombo, June 30, 2025 Some truths are not uncovered by force. They rise slowly, persistently, from the ground because the dead cannot remain forgotten forever. In the quiet village of Chemmani, nestled within the war scarred terrain of the Jaffna peninsula, a patch of soil became the unlikely custodian of… Read more »

TG Explainer – Krishanthi Kumaraswamy and the Chemmani Mass Graves

by Tamil Guardian, London, July 2, 2025 Krishanthi Kumaraswamy was an 18-year-old Tamil schoolgirl from Jaffna whose brutal rape and murder in 1996, along with the killing of her mother, younger brother, and a neighbour, became one of the most notorious atrocities of Sri Lanka’s genocide of Tamils. Her case exposed a grisly network of… Read more »

TG Explainer – What are the Chemmani Mass Graves?

by Tamil Guardian, London, June 25, 2025 Chemmani, a village on the outskirts of Jaffna, is a serene and beautiful town that has come to take on a notorious reputation. It is the site of mass graves, where potentially, hundreds of Tamils who were murdered by the Sri Lankan military lie buried. These graves date… Read more »

Türk: ‘The Haunting Past Becomes Visible’

UN human rights chief reflects on Chemmani visit by Tamil Guardian, London, June 25, 2025 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reflected on his visit to the Chemmani mass grave site near Jaffna on Wednesday, reiterating the importance of ensuring “independent experts with forensic expertise” are allowed to be used to excavate… Read more »

From Chemmani To Geneva

Will Sri Lanka Face Its Truth? by Wimal Navaratnam, Brampton, Canada, June 30, 2025 From Chemmani to Geneva Contents Background and Context of the High Commissioner’s Visit …………………………………………………… 4 Context: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 Volker Türk’s Engagement and Key Messages During the Visit ………………………………………………… 4 Transitional Justice and Accountability: …………………………………………………………………………. 5 Repeal of Draconian Security Laws: ………………………………………………………………………………… Read more »

Adayaalam: A Phantom that is Real

Persisting culture of surveillance and intimidation in the North-East by Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Jaffna, February 2025 Adayaalam A-Phantom-that-is-Real_-Persisting-Culture-or-Surveilance-and-Intimidation-in-the-NorthEast This report sheds light on the prevailing patterns of surveillance, intimidation, and arrests that activists, civil society members, and journalists face in the North-East of Sri Lanka, and is one of the recent studies exploring… Read more »

Sri Lanka Core Group Statement June 2025

Sri Lanka Core Group statement for the Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s Annual Report. Delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders. From: UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Eleanor Sanders Published 17 June 2025 Delivered on: 17 June 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) Thank you Mr… Read more »

Amnesty: HRC59 Statement on HCHR’s Report

IOR 40/9564/2025 17 June 2025 ITEM 2: INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE ON THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER HUMAN RIGHTS MUST POINT THE WAY OUT OF OUR CURRENT PERIL UN Human Rights Council Fifty-ninth regular session 16 June – 9 July 2025 High Commissioner, We thank you for your report and update raising alarm across a… Read more »

Oral statement of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

United Nations Human Rights Council 59th Regular Session Agenda Item 2 Oral statement of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in the Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s Annual Report 17 June 2025 High Commissioner, The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) thanks you for your report and address today. We particularly share your concerns regarding… Read more »

New Sri Lanka Mass Grave Discovery Reopens Old Wounds for Tamils

by Jeevan Ravindran, AlJazeera, Doha June 16, 2025 So far, 19 bodies have been found. Thousands of Tamils were disappeared during the civil war that ended in 2009. A rusted gate behind which Sri Lankan excavators are digging the latest mass grave they have found from the country’s 26-year-long civil war, in Chemmani, Sri Lanka… Read more »

Letter re Repeal of PTA from Civil Society

Letter re PTA May 2025 English Letter re PTA May 2025 Tamil Letter re PTA May 2025 Sinhalese 29th May, 2025 Secretary, Ministry of Justice and National Integration, Colombo 10 Re: The Repeal of the PTA – Do not replace with a new terror law We, as concerned peoples of Sri Lanka, respond to the… Read more »

TG: Sri Lanka’s Genocide Blueprint

Tamil Guardian editorial, June 2, 2025 There was a marked shift in global politics last week as states around the world, including staunch allies of Israel, began to criticise its ongoing military offensive in Gaza. It comes as a senior United Nations humanitarian official repeatedly issued a stark reminder of the international community’s failure to… Read more »

TG: A Global Reckoning

Tamil Guardian editorial, May 27, 2025 Last week, thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal, on the very beaches where tens of thousands were massacred by the Sri Lankan state in 2009, to mark the 16th anniversary of the genocide. The turnout was remarkable, the largest since the end of the armed conflict, and a powerful testament… Read more »

TG: There Can Be No More Denial

Tamil Guardian editorial, May 19, 2025 Today, Tamils around the world are commemorating 16 years since the massacres at Mullivaikkal. Though more than a decade-and-half has passed, the situation on the island for Eelam Tamils seems as precarious as ever. There has been no accountability for the atrocities that took place. The seizure of historic… Read more »

Mullivaikkal Declaration 2025

by Tamil Guardian, London, May 21, 2025 See in original Tamil at TamilWin தமிழீழ வரலாற்றின் சாட்சியாக முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் பிரகடனம் 2025 – தமிழ்வின் Marking sixteen years since the Mullivaikkal genocide, the Mullivaikkal Remembrance Public Forum released a statement on 18 May 2025, reaffirming the Tamil nation’s unwavering commitment to justice, self-determination, and resistance against continued structural oppression… Read more »