Washington is once again trying to put pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to commission a credible independent investigation of crimes and human rights abuses committed during the end of that country’s bloody civil war in 2009. It was a good move to send a senior American diplomat to the island nation last weekend… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
US Asst Secretary Press Conference in Colombo
U.S. Department of State Nisha Desai Biswal Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Colombo, Sri Lanka February 2, 2014 Press Conference With Assistant Secretary Nisha Biswal in Colombo, Sri Lanka AMBASSADOR SISON: I am so pleased to be with you all this evening in order to introduce you to our new Assistant… Read more »
London Conference Explores Nature of Land Grabs in Tamil Homeland
Academics, legal experts, activists, journalists, and Eezham Tamil politicians gathered in London to discuss Sri Lankan state facilitated land grabs in the Eezham Tamils homeland, its nature, its effects, and possible solutions, at a conference on Saturday. While all of the presenters were in consensus that land grabs in the Tamil homeland was a phenomena… Read more »
“Tamil People Are Gravely Harmed”
by TNAPolitics.org, January 30, 2014 The Central Committee meeting of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi was held on January 26, 2014 at the Town Hall, Trincomalee. The meeting was attended by representatives from all districts in the Northern and Eastern provinces. The meeting which commenced at 10.30 a.m. under the chairmanship of R. Sampanthan M.P…. Read more »
U.S. Envoy to Visit Sri Lanka as Pressure Builds for War Crimes Inquiry
“There is no way he can allow an investigation because an international probe that asks chain-of-command type of questions will lead directly to the Rajapaksas themselves,” Mr. Saravanamuttu said in an interview. “Literally and figuratively, President Rajapaksa must live and die in power.”
Whether the country’s restive north will remain peaceful without further reconciliation efforts is a crucial question. The army continues to occupy thousands of homes and administer its own farms, factories and resorts on appropriated land, for which the government has paid little or no compensation.
Text of NPC Resolution
Deliberation of the Northern Provincial Council – https://soundcloud.com/tamilnet/tamil-deliberations-in-npc-on *** The following resolution was proposed by the Council Member Hon Mahalingam Kanagalingam Shivajilingam and adopted by the Northern Provincial Council on January 27, 2014: 1. We bring to the notice of the International Community that the Tamil Nation has been, and continued to be subjected to ethnic cleansing… Read more »
Tamil Leaders Vow to Prove ‘Genocide’ in Civil War
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamil-run provincial administration said Monday it wants to prove that the central government carried out an operation “akin to genocide” to win a long civil war against Tamil rebels. The Northern Provincial Council wants to conduct its own internationally supervised count of the dead and missing civilians to… Read more »
Verdict of Permanent People’s Tribunal
PPT judgement upholds Eelam Tamil identity and nomenclature The full report of the judgement of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Sri Lanka (Bremen Session), released on Wednesday, came out with a discussion on the choice of nomenclature to identify the victims of genocide and has decided on the use of the term “Eelam Tamils as… Read more »
Why International Pressure Has Become Necessary
There is a belief that a presidential or general election will be held later this year or early next year, following on the provincial elections. The government’s reluctance to accommodate a political solution to minority ethnic grievances at this time would seem to come from its calculation that it cannot afford to lose its hold over the Sinhalese majority electorate in the context of impending elections. This is an electorate that can give the government a permanent majority and the prospect of long term rule so long as it does not fracture. The issue on which the Sinhalese electorate is most likely to get divided on is that of a political solution to the ethnic conflict. Therefore the government is unwilling to change its policy with regard to the ethnic minorities or implement the devolution of powers to the North.
Does Diplomacy Stand a Chance in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, but the cessation of war has not resulted in the peace that many had hoped for. Notwithstanding some notable progress when it comes to reconstruction and development, authoritarianism, ethnic tension, and majoritarian triumphalism are on the rise. These trends will come under increased scrutiny at the 25th session… Read more »
NPC Chief Minister Wigneswaran on Good Governance
by ‘Colombo Telegraph,’ January 20, 2014 New Year 2014 is starting well for us. The War had got us into a cocoon in which we managed howsoever we could, not really appreciating the changes taking place locally and globally all around us. We failed to appreciate the nuances of political or administrative terminology too. We… Read more »
The Irrelevancy of the 13th Amendment
by Kumaravadivel Guruparan, ‘Junior Bar Law Review,’ October, 2013 Article_on_13A_for_Junior_Bar_Law_Review_(Oct_2013) 4. Conclusion I have tried to demonstrate in this article that given the structural deficiencies of the 13th!Amendment that it fails to even perform the role of a reference point to a discourse on a political solution. This article calls for and tries to provide the… Read more »
Colonization Schemes
by Hon.R.Sampanthan-MP, TNAPolitics.org, December 15, 2013 I am happy to follow the Minister, the Hon. Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, who, I think, in the course of his statement referred to the multifarious problems that exist in the North and the East pertaining to State land. I will be dealing with some of these issues in the course… Read more »
The Military, The Minorities, And Neo-Fascism
So, President MR could go down in history for enabling the defeat of the LTTE and also for preventing the military coming to power, but the second achievement – as I pointed out in my first paragraph above – is of an ambiguous and provisional order. …
Perhaps all this is a consequence of the dilemma facing the Government: what peacetime role should be assigned to a conquering army?
An Open Letter to DBS Jeyaraj
Re your article ‘Tussle in North between Governor and Chief Minister’ In your 10 page essay you have given copious criticisms of the elected Tamil Justice Wigneswaran, but none for the ex military Singhalese governor. Don’t you think Chandrasri and Rajapakse also need your wisdom? You seem to presume that Chandrsri and Rajapakse are infallible and can do no wrong,… Read more »
Tamil Tragedy
by Bhekuzulu Khumalo, ‘Washington Times’ Communities blog, December 12, 2013 WASHINGTON, December 12, 2013 — Congress recently created the Congressional Caucus on Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka. The Caucus was initiated by efforts of Congressmen Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Danny Davis (D-IL). The objective of the Caucus is to bring the attention of the… Read more »
“Constructing a Development Based Strategy for Durable Solutions
Key issues to address include protection of the physical integrity and bodily autonomy of women and girls and their reproductive rights, of children, feasible access to land, and a proportionate balance between justifiable military concerns of national security and freedom of movement and choice of place for IDPs seeking to return to their original places of residence. Transparent information on plans to release land currently under military control and withdrawal of the military from all civilian functions would help to find durable solutions for people in conflict-affected areas. While significant numbers of IDPs secured their residential plots of land, some still need access to their original farmland or fishing areas to sustain their livelihood. Displaced and resettled communities seem to remain vulnerable to recurrent shocks. Their situation is exacerbated by growing food-insecurity and indebtedness in the Northern Province, partly due to the lack of sustainable livelihood opportunities. “The situation of single female headed households and of orphan girls is particularly preoccupying. While some received assistance to rebuild their houses, others live in extreme poverty, without adequate access to services and livelihood,” added Mr Beyani.
“Another critical element is creating conditions for IDPs and returnees to get back to normalcy after 30 years of conflict. Peace- building alongside post conflict reconstruction, national reconciliation and healing, making available information on missing relatives, empowering local elected authorities, and ensuring that law enforcement activities are carried out by specially trained police services, are particularly vital to anchoring durable solutions in the long term,” said Mr. Beyani. “Similarly, civil society should be allowed to operate in accordance with international norms, namely without undue restrictions and interference from the authorities including in terms of monitoring and reporting.
Sampanthan Speech on Land Issues
I am happy to follow the Minister, the Hon. Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, who, I think, in the course of his statement referred to the multifarious problems that exist in the North and the East pertaining to State land. I will be dealing with some of these issues in the course of my speech. Lands, Sir,… Read more »
CPA: Land Acquisition in NE
CPA Land Acquisition North and East Nov 2013 [PDF] The Centre for Policy Brief (CPA) in its most recent policy brief titled ‘Politics, Policies and Practices with Land Acquisitions and Related Issues in the North and East of Sri Lanka’ issued today draws attention to several disturbing trends of land acquisition and related issues in the… Read more »
Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal’s 2nd Session on Sri Lanka
The Peoples’ Tribunal on Sri Lanka ‐ Session II 7th ‐ 10th December 2013 Bremen, Germany Panel of Judges presents verdict finding Sri Lanka guilty of the crime of genocide against the Eelam Tamil people; the UK and USA were found to be guilty of complicity, while the Judges withheld their decision on India’s complicity… Read more »