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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Rajapaksa’s Dictatorial Allies Foretell His Future
Rajapaksa’s Dictatorial Allies Foretell His Future
By Mangala Samaraweera, M.P.
Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gaddafi and Namal and Gaddafi
By Mangala Samaraweera, M.P.
Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gaddafi and Namal and Gaddafi
For the last 42 years Gaddafi has ruled Libya with an iron fist, destroying all forms of opposition, stifling dissent, silencing free speech and paving the way for his sons to take over once he is no more. During this time he and his family amassed billions of dollars and siphoned the country’s oil wealth. Oil rich Libya with its population of just six million is run by a handful of family members and cronies loyal to the first family. Gaddafi’s sons Saif, Mutassim and Hannibal hold key positions in government and the military running the country as if it were their personal fiefdom. Feb 27 2011 | Posted in Politics | Read More »
Prabhakaran’s Mother’s Ashes Desecrated
By Dinouk Colombage Following the cremation of Parvathi Amma on Tuesday, February 22, the ashes were awaiting the ritual collection the next day. During the night an unidentified group had desecrated the ashes by shooting three dogs on the cremation spot. The murdered dogs were then laid on the ashes which had been scattered on [...]
Feb 27 2011 | Posted in News | Read More »
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Northern Homes Will Not be Returned At Cost Of National Security
81,000 lost their homes, most still waiting
By Maryam AzwerClaims made by people whose homes remain in the hands of security forces in the North will be considered, but properties will be returned only if doing so will not hinder national security, said Defence Spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella.
“Primarily, national security will have to be considered. It is the case in any country,” he said.
In parliament last week, the TNA raised the issue of many private properties in the North being held by the security forces. Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena in response to this stated that while a total of 1,205 properties were indeed being used by the forces, these could not be returned yet as they were within High Security Zones (HSZs). Meanwhile, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran told The Sunday Leader that during the war, “81,000 people were ousted from their houses because they fall within the area that is loosely known as the Palaly High Security Zone.”
He said that there had been several efforts made by the people themselves to reclaim these properties, and while some had been reclaimed, others are still unaware as to when they would get their homes back. “They (the government) say that these properties are inside the High Security Zones, but legally there is no High Security Zone,” said Sumanthiran, who had brought up this point in parliament last week too. Responding to questions on whether people who had lost their homes had been compensated, Defence Spokesperson Rambukwella said, “They are living somewhere, so it obviously means that alternative arrangements have been made. We are mindful of this,” he added. Feb 27 2011 | Posted in News | Read More »
Dual citizenship gone - to avoid war crime charges?
Dual citizenship gone - to avoid war crime charges? By Ranga Jayasuriya
Some key positions of this government have been filled by dual citizens. Gotabaya Rajapaksa - the powerful Defence Secretary is a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the USA. Basil Rajapaksa - Investment Development Minister has a US Green Card in addition to his Sri Lankan citizenship. Sarath Fonseka, the now incarcerated former army commander is also a Green Card holder. Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations also holds his Australian citizenship in addition to his Sri Lankan citizenship.
The government directive stopping dual citizenship is not retrospective - hence it would not affect the citizenship status of those who have already obtained dual citizenship. But it effectively deprives thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of expatriate Sri Lankans of their Sri Lankan citizenship.
And, there are other explanations, as advanced by diaspora Tamils on the discontinuance of the applications for dual citizenship.
A reader commented on a popular website - Transcurrents
“The news coming out of Sri Lanka says that the Sri Lankan government has stopped considering applications for dual citizenship. Will it retroactively cancel the dual citizenship; in which event Palitha Kohona will be only a Sri Lankan citizen and then he will be beyond the jurisdiction of International Criminal Court. Sri Lanka has not recognized the ICC.”
“What a smart ostrich style move to protect its own.”Expatriate Sri Lankans obtain citizenship of their host countries for practical reasons. With the citizenship of the host country, come other opportunities which are exclusive to the citizens such as educational opportunities, better career prospects, security clearance and voting rights, etc.
Yet, many have opted to keep their Sri Lankan citizenship, more so for their emotional attachment with their motherland. Now that the process for dual Dual citizenship gone - to avoid war crime charges?FullStory>>>
"An Australian citizen and senior Sri Lankan diplomat
Kohona could face court over Tamil Tiger deaths - Sydney paper
Kohona could face court over Tamil Tiger deaths - Sydney paper
[Mon, 21 Feb 2011, 13:33 GMT]
"An Australian citizen and senior Sri Lankan diplomat has been accused of complicity in the murders of three surrendering Tamil Tigers in an application to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands," Sydney Morning Herald said in its Monday edition, referring to Dr Palitha Kohona, who is currently attached to the United Nations Sri Lanka Mission in New York. "...two international Tamil organisations have made a series of war crimes allegations to the International Criminal Court involving Dr Kohona and his role in the negotiated surrender of three Tamil Tigers who are believed to have been killed," the paper said.Full story >>
Sri Lanka: The need to address persistent impunity for violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law
Date Published: 24 February 2011
Categories: Sri Lanka
In this written statement to the sixteenth session of the Human Rights Council Amnesty International expresses its concern that Sri Lanka’s human rights record has not improved since the organization last addressed this Council in May 2010. Impunity persists for past violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law, and new and serious violations of human rights continue to be reported.
This document is also available in:
Tamil:
Sinhala:
Full Story...
Friday, February 25, 2011
War Crimes in Sri Lanka: Time for UN to Act
Delivering the petition to the UN
War Crimes in Sri Lanka: Time for UN to Act
Asia, International Justice | Posted by: , February 24, 2011 at 11:07 PM
Last May, Amnesty International launched a global action calling on the UN to establish an international investigation into war crimes and other abuses committed during the war in Sri Lanka.Both the Sri Lankan government and the opposition Tamil Tigers were responsible for massive human rights abuses and violations of the laws of war during the 26-year conflict.
In response to Amnesty’s call for action, over 52,000 people signed our petition to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanding an international investigation as a first step toward accountability for these crimes.
This past Tuesday, Feb. 22, I had the privilege of accompanying Yolanda Foster, the Amnesty researcher on Sri Lanka, and Dr. Kasipillai Manoharan, the father of one of the “Trinco 5” students killed by the security forces in 2006, to the UN offices in New York as we delivered the signed petitions to the UN. We pressed the UN to act on our petition without delay and let them know we would be following up to make sure an international investigation is promptly established.
The U.S. government has not yet joined Amnesty in our call for an international investigation. We could use their support. Please write to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ask that the U.S. government encourage the establishment by the UN of an international investigation into war crimes and other abuses in Sri Lanka. For Dr. Manoharan’s sake and that of all the other families of the victims, we cannot stop campaigning until they receive justice.Full Story...
egistering Jaffna residents 'illegal'
Registering Jaffna residents 'illegal'
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| MP says selectively taking photos of a community is against the law |
A Tamil political party in Sri Lanka has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court against forcibly registering Tamil residents in Jaffna allegedly by the security forces.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian MA Sumandiran told BBC Sandeshaya that the measure is a violation of a previous Supreme Court order.
“This is completely illegal. You cannot selectively register a community,” he said.
The MP who is a prominent human rights lawyer further said that it is an illegal act under international law.
'Apartheid'
There was a similar system during the height of the war, he said, but that was done by the police and that provision has recently been removed from emergency regulations.
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| Sri Lanka military denies MP's accusations |
He compared the situation to that of South Africa during the apartheid era.
“This was practised during apartheid era in South Africa and Sri Lanka protested to the South African regime those days,” he said.
But Sri Lanka military denies they are only targeting residents in Jaffna.
Maj Gen Ubhaya Medawala, the spokesman of Sri Lanka army said the police are registering residents of other areas in Sri Lanka.
But he did not name the other areas where residents are required to register with the security forces.
“I can say it is happening all over Sri Lanka,” he told BBC Sinhala service.
Maj Gen Madawala added that the registration is done the police not by the security forces.
EU team meets military governor, finds no time for civil groups in Jaffna
The parents and relatives of abducted and ‘missing’ youth in Jaffna were thoroughly disappointed, as the visiting European Union team could not find time to meet their representatives or receive petitions from them. They were further frustrated by the act of the team choosing to meet on Thursday the SL colonial governor in Jaffna Maj. Gen. Chandrasri, who is accused of many abductions and disappearances when he was commanding the SL military in Jaffna. The EU team that showed much keenness in its ‘aid’ related investments and in knowing the ways the SL colonial administration functions in Jaffna, by its gesture, signals assent to the SL military rule of Eezham Tamils, civil groups said. Conceding synthesis of occupying military and civil service, a high official in Jaffna told the team that the military are also ‘government servants’. 
Over several years, parents and family members live with untold anxiety.
The Sri Lankan state is of no use in delivering justice. Its occupying military in Jaffna refuses to meet parents and relatives of the disappeared.
Representatives of parents and relatives look upon international justice and they wanted to use the opportunity of the visit of the EU team to present their case.
Several hundreds were abducted by the occupying military and disappeared when Maj. Gen. Chandrasri was commanding the military in Jaffna. He was directing the Army intelligence unit operating from the Palaali base that was engaged in the crimes. Chandrasri is now the colonial governor, but he is a war criminal, civil groups in Jaffna said.
Certain symbolic acts of some establishments of the so-called international community, signalling ‘subjugation to the end’ angers Eezham Tamils beyond limits, the civil groups further said.
Nambiar facing calls for ICC investigation
By JOSEPH ALLCHINPublished: 25 February 2011
The charges were submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the US-based Tamil’s Against Genocide (TAG) and the Swiss Council of Eelam Tamils (SCET). They refer to Nambiar’s time as the UN’s Chief of Staff when he was sent to Colombo to aid negotiations towards an end to the country’s lengthy civil war.Nambiar facing calls for ICC investigation. Full Story>>>
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Bahrain releases dozens of political prisoners
Published On Wed Feb 23 2011
Fifteen-year-old Muhammed Ramadhan is tossed in the air inside Pearl Roundabout Tuesday after the Bahraini government began releasing political prisoners.
A stream of freed prisoners — many of them young, gaunt and unshaven — arrived directly from jail at Pearl Square shortly after midnight, where several were hoisted by the jubilant crowd.
“I was so scared I would not get out,” said Ali Ahmed Radhi.
The 21-year-old has been in jail since Sept. 12, when police raided his family’s home at 2 a.m. and accused him of helping others set fires in the streets.
He is thin and his face is buried beneath an unmanaged beard, but he remained defiant in his anti-government stances.Full Story>>>
Bahrain releases dozens of political prisoners
At UN, Ban to Meet with Sri Lanka AG, His Panel Undercut, No Nambiar Comment
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, February 22 -- Two months after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon claimed that his Panel on Sri Lanka could visit the country due to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's “flexibility,” on February 23 Ban is set to meet in New York with Sri Lankan Attorney General Mohan Peiris and Secretary for External Affairs C.R. Jayasinghe, Inner City Press learned late on February 22.Full Story>>>.
At UN, Ban to Meet with Sri Lanka AG, His Panel Undercut, No Nambiar Comment
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Gene Sharp: Author of the nonviolent revolution rulebook
21 February 2011 Last updated at 05:42 ET
In an old townhouse in East Boston an elderly stooped man is tending rare orchids in his shabby office. His Labrador Sally lies on the floor between stacks of academic papers watching him as he shuffles past.
This is Dr Gene Sharp the man now credited with the strategy behind the toppling of the Egyptian government.Gene Sharp is the world's foremost expert on non-violent revolution. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages, his books slipped across borders and hidden from secret policemen all over the world.
The American who wrote the rules for toppling dictators worldwide
Peaceful revolutionary Full Story>>>
Push to investigate Australian citizen for war crimes
ABC Radio
Sarah Dingle reported this story on Monday, February 21, 2011 18:25:00
Alternate WMA version | MP3 download
The brief claims that during the last days of Sri Lanka's civil war the dual Sri Lankan-Australian citizen Dr Palitha Kohona was involved in the murder of three Tamil Tiger leaders who had already surrendered.
The US-based group Tamils Against Genocide has brought the case. They say there's no way to bring any potential Sri Lankan war criminals to justice in the International Criminal Court. Instead they're hoping Dr Kohona's Australian passport will allow a case to proceed.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) contains an audio interview with the different parties involved in the case.
Sarah Dingle reports. Full Story>>>
Kohona could face court over Tamil Tiger deaths - Sydney paper
Kohona could face court over Tamil Tiger deaths - Sydney paper
[Mon, 21 Feb 2011, 13:33 GMT]
"An Australian citizen and senior Sri Lankan diplomat has been accused of complicity in the murders of three surrendering Tamil Tigers in an application to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands," Sydney Morning Herald said in its Monday edition, referring to Dr Palitha Kohona, who is currently attached to the United Nations Sri Lanka Mission in New York. "...two international Tamil organisations have made a series of war crimes allegations to the International Criminal Court involving Dr Kohona and his role in the negotiated surrender of three Tamil Tigers who are believed to have been killed," the paper said.Full story >>
Monday, February 21, 2011
SRI LANKA: Universities responsible if graduates not 'employable'
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Sri Lanka's Ministry of Higher Education has brought in new measures from this year to make public universities responsible for ensuring their graduates can be 'guaranteed' to get jobs anywhere in the world.Higher education minister SB Dissanayake (pictured) this month convened a meeting of vice-chancellors, deans and heads of departments of all universities to tell them they would be held responsible if their graduates were not employable.
"Under this new scheme the university administration will have to rethink and reengineer how they run campuses and teach undergraduates," Dissanayake said. Full story >>
Sunday, February 20, 2011
British MPs urge UK to seek ‘robust and independent’ probe into Sri Lanka war crimes
British MPs urge the Prime Minister to support an independent, international war crimes investigation in Sri Lanka Today, 41 British MPs drawn from the three major parties at Westminster, have written to the British Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to add Britain’s support to calls for an independent, international inquiry into allegations of war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s 25 year civil conflict (letter is attached). The MPs are all Members or Supporters of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils.Full story >>
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Commemorative lecture on second death anniversary of Lasantha Wickrematunge
groundview journalism For citizens 
Lasantha Wickrematunge
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” ~ Martin Luther King Jr, (15 January 1929 ~ 4 April 1968), (Activist, Clergyman, and prominent leader in African ~ American Civil rights movement)
A commemorative lecture to mark the second death anniversary of Sunday leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge was held today. This is the first commemorative lecture to pay tribute to Late Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was killed on 8th of January 2009 in Ratmalana, suburb of Colombo.
Christopher Warren, former President of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) delivered the key note address titled ~ “Role of Media in Post-War Democratization”. Candles were lit around the cement monument of pen with a human hollow to pay tribute to the journalists who sacrificed their lives. The monument stands on a barrel painted in white. The monument was created by the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA).
A large number of human rights activists, diplomats, foreign and local journalists, politicians, artistes and members of the civil society attended today’s commemorative lecture. The event was organized by the Free Media Movement.
Above text and all photos by DushiYanthini Kanagasabapathipillai, a regular contributor to Groundviews.
Continue reading »
The Tamil Diaspora and the Future of the Tamil Struggle
groundview journalism For citizens |
Nirmanusan Balasundaram 18 Feb, 2011Today, the 18th of February, finds us three months away from the second anniversary of the “Mullivaikal Massacre”. At this juncture it is important to ask the question: What constructive action can be taken by the Tamil Diaspora to build a better future for the Tamil nation?In Tamil culture, at a funeral, all the people of the village are expected to attend. It’s tradition. But if the whole village was a funeral house, who will go and to whose house? Also, who will heal the existing souls?
This is not just a philosophical question, but an unavoidable reflection on the May 2009 humanitarian catastrophe, where 40,000 Tamils were massacred and nearly 60,000 were wounded. Nearly one in four Tamil people became direct victims of the Sri Lankan government’s offensive military operation. And today the survivors still suffer lingering effects of structural and cultural violence.
The disastrous events of May 2009, which were sold to the International Community as a “humanitarian rescue operation” by the Rajapakse regime, led to nearly 300,000 Tamil people being detained against their will in military run internment camps for almost a year.
Continue reading ».
Friday, February 18, 2011
upport war crimes inquiry-British MPs
A group of 41 British MPs- members or Supporters of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils- in a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron urged to support an independent, international war crimes investigation in Sri Lanka.
These MPs drawn from the three major parties at Westminster said that “This is a major issue of concern for British parliamentarians, and follows credible evidence provided by the US State Department, the European Commission and International Crisis Group, as well as the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, that war crimes could have taken place in Sri Lanka.”
The MPs believe it is important for the future prospects of peace and reconciliation on the island that these allegations are investigated in a robust and impartial fashion.
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British MPs urge the Prime Minister to support an independent, international war crimes investigation in Sri Lanka Today, 41 British MPs drawn from the three major parties at Westminster, have written to the British Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to add Britain’s support to calls for an independent, international inquiry into allegations of war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s 25 year civil conflict (letter is attached). The MPs are all Members or Supporters of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils.Full story >>
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women urges prompt investigations into acts of sexual violence in Sri Lanka
10 February 2011 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) urges Sri Lanka to "promptly investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of violence including sexual violence" which arose during the last stages of the conflict and in the post-conflict phase. Prior to this, ECCHR submitted a report during the 48th Session CEDAW Committee on the foreseeability of sexual violence during the Sri Lanka conflict.
The paper demands new legal means to hold perpetrators accountable and calls on the UN to consider the highly frequent occurrence of sexual violence in conflicts when developing their strategy for respecting human (and women's) rights. Sexual violence, both tolerated and directly ordered, is committed during conflict by state and non- state actors. Despite this, it remains a taboo subject and is left broadly unpunished. ECCHR argues that in certain circumstances sexual violence is a foreseeable consequence of conflict. Furthermore, both the existence of sexual violence and the denial that such violence is a crime constitute clear expressions of gender-based discrimination and patriarchal systems that must be overcome.
Based on these arguments, the ECCHR submission requests that the CEDAW Committee take Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1890 (and 1960) on Women Peace and Security into close account when monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Convention). The resolutions oblige all countries to prevent sexual violence by its military staff, and to hold them accountable for these crimes during conflicts. Thus, we argued that Sri Lanka must comply with its obligations to prevent women and girls from being subjected to sexual violence by military personnel and to prosecute those crimes that have been committed pursuant to the Convention's framework.
The paper demands new legal means to hold perpetrators accountable and calls on the UN to consider the highly frequent occurrence of sexual violence in conflicts when developing their strategy for respecting human (and women's) rights. Sexual violence, both tolerated and directly ordered, is committed during conflict by state and non- state actors. Despite this, it remains a taboo subject and is left broadly unpunished. ECCHR argues that in certain circumstances sexual violence is a foreseeable consequence of conflict. Furthermore, both the existence of sexual violence and the denial that such violence is a crime constitute clear expressions of gender-based discrimination and patriarchal systems that must be overcome.
Based on these arguments, the ECCHR submission requests that the CEDAW Committee take Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1890 (and 1960) on Women Peace and Security into close account when monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Convention). The resolutions oblige all countries to prevent sexual violence by its military staff, and to hold them accountable for these crimes during conflicts. Thus, we argued that Sri Lanka must comply with its obligations to prevent women and girls from being subjected to sexual violence by military personnel and to prosecute those crimes that have been committed pursuant to the Convention's framework.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
With Ban Criticized on Press Freedom, UN Again Denies Getting Petition on Disappeared Journalist in Sri Lanka
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 15 -- Two weeks after the UN acknowledged that a petition about a journalist's disappearance was transmitted to New York by its office in Sri Lanka, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky on Tuesday claimed “we here did not receive a petition yet. If there is such a petition.. we haven't seen it yet.” Video here.
UN Again Denies Receiving Petition about Disappeared Journalist in Sri Lanka
Full Story>>>
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sri Lanka and Iran: The 2030 Nuclear Power Plant and Iranian Support
Nuclear - Articles |
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| #3331, 11 February 2011 | |||||||||
Sri Lanka and Iran: The 2030 Nuclear Power Plant and Iranian SupportLydia WalkerResearch Intern, IPCS email: lydia@ipcs.org In September, Sri Lanka announced its plan to build its first nuclear power plant within the next 20 years. The Sri Lankan Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy said that they would get safety approval from the International Atomic Energy Authority. He did not mention what role Iran - a staunch, historic ally and the island nation’s main energy supplier - would play in Sri Lanka’s nuclear ambitions. A 2007 US Department of State cable leaked by WikiLeaks disclosed that the US had warned Sri Lanka to be cautious about its tight economic relationship with Iran and to stop its arms purchases from that nation. Are Sri Lankan nuclear energy ambitions a sign of it seeking a measure of independence from Iranian oil, or is it an expression of increased solidarity with an incipient nuclear Iran? In 2007, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka urged Sri Lanka "to be very scrupulous" in entering into any new trade or investment deals with Iran. Might Sri Lankan-Iranian relations undergo a change if Iran goes nuclear? | |||||||||
Lydia Walker
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