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Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Friday, August 30, 2013
Letter To Pillay: Sri Lanka’s NGO Media Rights Groups Take Revenge From Colombo Telegraph
August 30, 2013 
The Alliance of Media Organisations yesterday delivered a special memorandum to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay,
appealed to her office in the face of severe threats to the freedom of
expression in Sri Lanka. The special memo drafted by seven media
organisations including the Free Media Movement, cited the killing and
abduction and assault of journalists, attacks on media institutions,
attempts to control the private media by threat, concessions or buy outs
and web censorship among other issues faced by media professionals in
the country. The Memo said a number of websites publishing material
critical of the government, such as “Sri Lanka Guardian”, “Lanka E
News”, “Lanka newsweb”, “Jaffna Muslims” and “Tamilnet” have been
blocked at various times. However, the memo fails to raise concern
about Sri Lanka’s block on the Colombo Telegraph website over the past six days.
The alliance calls on High Commissioner Pillay to make explicit
reference to these concerns during her final press conference in
Colombo, and her oral and written updates to the UN Human Rights Council
and all other forums. It also calls for more attention by the UN on
freedom of expression issues in Sri Lanka.
Read the full text of the memorandum here
When asked why they failed to mention about Colombo Telegraph; “It’s
because you have exposed corruption related to these organisations which
made most of them angry with CT” , highly placed source within the
drafting committee of the memorandum told Colombo Telegraph. The
memorandum was drafted by a group of people who are not members of these
organisations.
These media organisations maintain a culture that they do not support
critics even when they were being threatened and intimidated for their
work as journalists.
In July 14, 2012 Colombo Telegraph reported; “The Colombo Telegraph learnt that in a conversation withUvindu Kurukulasuriya,
a former Convenor of the Free Media Movement, South Asia Project
Manager for IFJ, Sukumar Muralidharan said his organization would not be
issuing a statement condemning the Defence Secretary’s recent tirade against Sunday Leader Editor Fredrica Jansz until
the journalist patched up her relationship with the FMM and certain
media activist groups in Colombo. ‘They (Sunday Leader) need to patch up
their relationship and we cannot get involved in something that could
alienate us from the affiliates,’ he said.”
Three days after Colombo Telegraph was blocked,on August 26, Sri Lanka’s
Consul General to Sydney and former Presidential Media Director Bandula Jayasekara, referring to Colombo Telegraph tweeted; ”They have gone far beyond that I have heard from many. Is your free media free to insult? Just cowards hiding elsewhere”
Freedom House, US based watchdog in its report on Freedom on the Net 2012 said;
“In November 2011, five popular news websites known for their reporting
on human rights, governance issues, and corruption were arbitrarily
blocked. Prior to this incident, the government and the TRCSL had never
admitted to blocking websites but did so in this case on the premise of
concerns about defamation and the violation of privacy. In December 2011
and intermittently in November 2011, Colombotelegraph.com,
a news and commentary website run by exiled Sri Lankan journalists, was
also blocked with absolutely no justification provided by
authorities,but is accessible as of early 2012. The authorities have
occasionally blocked website domains hosted on the servers of blogging
platforms rather than specific blogs themselves,although only a few of
the most popular blogs publish political content and dissenting
narratives.” Read More
Sri Lanka’s authorities must #TellTheTruth
Feels like paradise? This is the Sri Lanka the authorities don’t want you to see.
In June, we launched our Tell the Truth campaign,
calling on Sri Lanka to come clean about its appalling record of
torture, killings and other human rights abuses – and stop them.
Last week, we brought you Dr Manoharan’s account of
his son’s killing by Sri Lanka’s security forces. After challenging the
government’s version of events in his son’s case, Dr Manoharan received
death threats and fled the country with his family.
He and his son are not the only ones to have suffered at the hands of
the authorities. Across the country, journalists, lawyers, grassroots
activists – anyone who dares to criticize the authorities – risks jail,
torture and disappearance every time they speak out. A climate of
intolerance and fear has swept the island as the government’s
stranglehold on the population grows ever tighter.
Sri Lanka can’t dodge the truth much longer. Its authorities have put a
lot of effort into covering up killings, crushing dissent and
whitewashing its post-war image to present a fresh new version of
itself.
But these cosmetic applications are just that. The truth will out.
Act now
Help us get Sri Lanka’s authorities to tell the truth about past and present abuses, and stop them, by signing our petition – Dr Manoharan will present it to the UN in September.
Find out more
Media Organisations’ Memo to Navi Pillay
Memorandum to H.E. Navaneetham Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
29th August 2013
Freedom of Expression is a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right
in Sri Lanka, while it’s also guaranteed by virtue of Sri Lanka being a
party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, the last few years had seen this right under severe threat, and
below is a summary of some of our key concerns and appeals to Your
Excellency.
1. Killing, abduction, assaults and threats to journalists and media workers
FOUR UPFA CANDIDATES THREATEN TO QUIT
By Ananth Palakidnar-2013-08-30
Four United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates in the North have warned they would withdraw from contesting under the UPFA at the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) polls and resign from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), unless the Party hierarchy takes legal action against the supporters of the Jaffna SLFP Organizer, Angajan Ramanathan and his father, who had fired gunshots in the Chavakachcheri area at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The four UPFA candidates, Mudiyappu Remedius, A. Sarvananthan, Akiladas and Ponnambalam, held a special press conference at the Jaffna Press Club on Wednesday (28), on the Chavakachcheri shooting incident. Mudiyappu Remedius, who had crossed over to the UPFA from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had said, it was ridiculous that the supporters of candidates of the same Party are clashing with each other.
"We have complained to the Commissioner of Elections, Mahinda Deshapriya, and to the UPFA General Secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha, over the incident. If the UPFA does not take any action against the shooting and against the people who were involved in it, we will withdraw from the election and even resign from the SLFP," Remedius warned.
Sarvananthan, another candidate said, he narrowly escaped from the gunshots fired at him, allegedly by the supporters of Ramanathan and his father. "I ducked when he fired the gun. But, one of my supporters, who was standing next to me was injured and is currently receiving treatment at the Chavakachcheri Hospital," he said.
Other two candidates, Akiladas and Ponnambalam, demanded legal action against the gun-toting fellow UPFA supporters and warned that they would also resign from their candidature and from the SLFP.
By Ananth Palakidnar-2013-08-30Four United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates in the North have warned they would withdraw from contesting under the UPFA at the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) polls and resign from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), unless the Party hierarchy takes legal action against the supporters of the Jaffna SLFP Organizer, Angajan Ramanathan and his father, who had fired gunshots in the Chavakachcheri area at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The four UPFA candidates, Mudiyappu Remedius, A. Sarvananthan, Akiladas and Ponnambalam, held a special press conference at the Jaffna Press Club on Wednesday (28), on the Chavakachcheri shooting incident. Mudiyappu Remedius, who had crossed over to the UPFA from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had said, it was ridiculous that the supporters of candidates of the same Party are clashing with each other.
"We have complained to the Commissioner of Elections, Mahinda Deshapriya, and to the UPFA General Secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha, over the incident. If the UPFA does not take any action against the shooting and against the people who were involved in it, we will withdraw from the election and even resign from the SLFP," Remedius warned.
Sarvananthan, another candidate said, he narrowly escaped from the gunshots fired at him, allegedly by the supporters of Ramanathan and his father. "I ducked when he fired the gun. But, one of my supporters, who was standing next to me was injured and is currently receiving treatment at the Chavakachcheri Hospital," he said.
Other two candidates, Akiladas and Ponnambalam, demanded legal action against the gun-toting fellow UPFA supporters and warned that they would also resign from their candidature and from the SLFP.
http://www.ceylontoday.lk/16-41349-news-detail-four-upfa-candidates-threaten-to-quit.html
Sri Lanka Upset By U.N. Treatment
By Will Davies-August 30, 2013,
The
Sri Lankan government said it has received unfair treatment from the
United Nations Human Rights Council as the head of the group neared the
end of a weeklong official visit to the country.
“There is a perception in the country about the lack of objectivity and
fairness in the treatment meted out to Sri Lanka,” Minister of External
Affairs G.L. Peiris told Navanethem Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner
for Human Rights, according to a statement on the MEA’s website.
“The minister added that Sri Lanka accepts constructive and justified
criticism but resents vicious and baseless positions which are
incessantly repeated,” the statement said.
In March, the Human Rights Council passed a resolution calling
for Sri Lanka to conduct an investigation into allegations of human
rights violations by government forces during its civil war. The U.S.
and India were among the 25 countries to vote in favor of the
resolution, while 13 countries, including Pakistan, voted against it.
There were eight abstentions.
A U.N. panel in 2011 said that more than 40,000 people, mainly civilians
from the island nation’s ethnic Tamil minority, were killed in the
final stages of the near three-decade war, which ended in 2009 after Sri
Lankan troops defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a
separatist group also known as the Tamil Tigers.
In a report published in December 2011, the Sri Lankan government
largely exonerated its forces from blame for atrocities, including
allegations the army shelled schools and hospitals. In February, New
York-based Human Rights Watch issued a report that said there was widespread rape of men and women in custody during the war. It added that politically motivated sexual violence by the military and police continues.
In its statement Thursday, the MEA said allegations against the
government, including claims that it starved people in the north during
the conflict, were “without basis.”
“With regard to High Commissioner Pillay’s reference to the last days of
the armed conflict, Prof. Peiris stated that the Sri Lanka military was
involved in the largest hostage rescue operation in contemporary
history,” the statement said.
“It is factually known that the LTTE ruthlessly annihilated people trying to escape from their clutches,” it added.
The MEA said Mr. Peiris spoke with Ms. Pillay about post-conflict
development, including steps taken to channel resources to the north of
the country where the government claims the growth rate is 27%, compared
with the national growth of 7%. It didn’t provide a timeframe for these
growth statistics.
He also said all “High Security Zones,” apart from one in the northern
town of Palaly, have been dismantled and troops relocated to military
cantonments and bases, while a program has been launched on private land
disputes with the aim of resolving them within two years.
Ms. Pillay is due to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on
Friday and will hold a conference in Colombo on Saturday. She arrived in
Sri Lanka on Aug. 25 and earlier this week visited the scene of the
final battle between government troops and the Tamil Tigers. There, she reportedly told survivors and relatives of people who disappeared that she will raise their complaints with government officials in Colombo.
CMC on fire over ‘cremated’ documents
By Chaminda Silva-August 29, 2013
Members
of the Colombo Municipal Council in a heated argument during the
monthly meeting yesterday on the recent burning of thousands of CMC
files at the Borella Cemetery. Pic by Sajith Jayasekera.
Pandemonium reigned at the Colombo Municipal Council’s monthly meeting
yesterday as councilors resorted to profane language and disturbances in
a debate on the recent burning of thousands of CMC files at the Borella
cemetery.
Tension prevailed as the councilors, both UPFA and UNP, hurled verbal
abuse at one another, demanding explanations on the findings of the
probe into the burning of around 6,000 municipal files.
The uproar started with Opposition members accusing the Municipal
Commissioner of acting against a motion passed in the council to remove
Administrative Officer of the CMC Secretariat, Shelton Perera from his
post.
The motion was passed on July 20 as Perera was found guilty of
malpractices. Yet he was still working in his position, the Opposition
claimed
Some members of the ruling party even spoke in support of their
Opposition counterparts. They said that Perera continued to hold that
post despite the removal order and it was he who had wanted to destroy
some files containing details about some questionable deals. Members
shouted that Perera should be removed immediately.
The members who had visited the place where documents were set on fire
said they had found partially burnt documents pertaining to recruitment
during the period 2010-2011 as well as the Council’s assets.
Some members were seen trying to hit each other and the arguments continued even after the house had adjourned at 4.30 p.m.
Lanka rejects impunity charge
August 29, 2013
The
government says there is no culture of impunity in the country and in
instances where evidence is available action to conduct legal
proceedings have been instituted irrespective of the status of those
accused, which include politicians, public officials and officers of the
law enforcement agencies.
External Affairs Minister, Prof. G.L. Peiris said this when he met
visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay at the
Ministry of External Affairs today.
He said it is important to have an objective approach and extend equal
treatment to all countries when fulfilling the assigned mandate.
Minister Peiris reiterated to High Commissioner Pillay Sri Lanka’s firm
resolve to work with the United Nations system. However he said that
there is a perception in the country about the lack of objectivity and
fairness in the treatment meted out to Sri Lanka. The Minister added
that Sri Lanka accepts constructive and justified criticism but resents
vicious and baseless positions which are incessantly repeated.
On the aspect of accountability, the Minister highlighted the action
taken by the law enforcement authorities and cited the instances of some
members of the Special Task Force having been indicted in relation to
the killing of five students in Trincomalee and status of
investigations with regard to the Muttur incident involving the ACF
workers. He further explained the difficulties encountered in
identifying the perpetrators due to the conditions prevailing at the
time of incidence, with regard to the ACF case. The Minister informed
however that mobile phone evidence is being pursued in this regard, and
therefore the case remains open. He drew a parallel with the case of the
assassination of the former Foreign Minister late Lakshman Kadirgamar,
where conviction has not been possible due to the lack of evidence.
Addressing allegations of disappearances, Prof Peiris explained that the
Ministry of Justice has formulated a draft amendment to the Penal Code
to criminalize enforced disappearances, also formulated amendments to
the Criminal Procedure Code and the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
Act in order to give effect to recommendations in the National Human
Rights Action Plan. He outlined the difficulties in identifying the
missing due to instances involving persons having migrated to other
countries holding multiple identities, and those host governments not
divulging their details. This fact aggravates the difficulty in
compiling correct statistics. It was indicated that the repeated use of
baseless and arbitrary figures in respect of disappearances, eventually
acquire authenticity in the face of the massive propaganda that is being
carried out against the Government of Sri Lanka.
With regard to High Commissioner Pillay’s reference to the last days of
the armed conflict, Prof. Peiris stated that the Sri Lanka military was
involved in the largest hostage rescue operation in contemporary
history. It is factually known that the LTTE ruthlessly annihilated
people trying to escape from their clutches. While noting that Ms.
Pillay too had called on Sri Lanka to end military operations, the
Minister stated that if Sri Lanka had acceded to that call the present
ground realities would have been different as a responsible government
steps had to be undertaken to safeguard the Sri Lankan people not
heeding to calls of some external elements.
The Minister also referred to the High Commissioner’s concern over the
inclusion of the police under the newly created Ministry of Law and
Order, instead of the Ministry of Justice. He indicated that her stated
position is fundamentally unacceptable and does not move in accordance
with the established procedures of Sri Lanka. The Minister pointed out
that the Police Department has consistently been under the Ministry of
Defence and only briefly, 2002-2004, under an Interior Ministry. It has
to be noted that most countries too have Police under Ministries other
than Justice, and further, he indicated that the creation of the new
Ministry of Law and Order under which the Police Department is now
placed is in line with a LLRC recommendation. (Colombo Gazette)
August 29, 2013, 12:00 pm
The identity of the mastermind of Saturday’s break-in, at The Sunday
Leader Associate Editor, Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema’s residence in
Bambalapitiya, had been revealed by one of the suspects in custody and
action had been taken to track him down, Western Province Senior DIG
Anura Senanayake told The Island yesterday.
There was absolutely no doubt that the intruders had broken into her house to rob valuables, Snr. DIG Senanayake said
Meanwhile, Abeywickrema and her mother met Senanayake at his office
yesterday morning and told him that the gold jewellery recovered
following the abortive robbery belonged to them.
The journalist and her mother, contacted for comment, confirmed that all
the jewellery recovered by the police, soon after the killing of one
intruder and the arrest of four others, were theirs.
However, Abeywickrema told this newspaper on Wednesday that the valuables did not belong to her.
Journalists’ associations and civil right groups have called for a high level probe into the incident.
The police said investigations were continuing and the suspects were being interrogated.
Pillay told people threatened
August 30, 2013
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has told the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights Navi Pillay that several people who spoke to her during her
visit to the North have been threatened.
TNA Chief Ministerial candidate for the Northern elections C.V.
Wigneswaran said that the TNA communicated this to her when they had a
meeting at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel today.
Pillay had visited the North this week and met several civilians
including relatives of those reported missing during and soon after the
war.
The TNA had briefed Pillay on the current situation in the north and
expressed confidence that she will issue a balanced report at the end of
her visit.
Wigneswaran also said that Pillay was told that the government had
failed to abide by the agreement reached between President Mahinda
Rajapaksa and UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon.
Pillay had told the TNA delegation during their 45 minute meeting that
she had received a lot of information during her Sri Lanka visit. (Colombo Gazette)
PC candidate’s firecrackers injure two women
By Suranga Dilhan-August 29, 2013
Two
women passengers were injured when firecrackers, thrown by supporters
of a provincial council candidate, fell into a moving bus at
Nawalapitiya yesterday.
The victims were admitted to the Nawalapitiya and Gampola hospitals.
Party supporters had been lighting fire crackers to welcome the candidate campaigning in the town when the accident happened.
The victims suffered burn injuries on the face and shoulders. They were first admitted to the Nawalapitiya Hospital
Nawalapitiya police are conducting investigations.
By Suranga Dilhan-August 29, 2013
Two
women passengers were injured when firecrackers, thrown by supporters
of a provincial council candidate, fell into a moving bus at
Nawalapitiya yesterday.
The victims were admitted to the Nawalapitiya and Gampola hospitals.
Party supporters had been lighting fire crackers to welcome the candidate campaigning in the town when the accident happened.
The victims suffered burn injuries on the face and shoulders. They were first admitted to the Nawalapitiya Hospital
Nawalapitiya police are conducting investigations.
Sri Lanka: The Brothers’ Grip
Eric Ellis
In
Sri Lanka, power is concentrated – around President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Meet his brothers, sons, other relations and even his
astrologer-turned-banker.
Meet Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena. He’s every saver’s dream come true – a bank director who can predict the future.
Rajapaksa Family Ties
Abeygunawardena
is the ‘working director’ of one of Sri Lanka’s biggest banks, the
state-owned National Savings Bank (NSB) – that is, when he’s not being a
celebrity soothsayer.
Abeygunawardena’s main claim to fame in Sri Lanka is as an astrologer.
With his columns in government-friendly newspapers, a regular
star-gazing spot on national television and a lucrative personal
horoscope service delivered via SMS with the state telco, he’s one of
the country’s most visible faces.
Read more in the The Globalmail
*Eric Ellis is
an award-winning journalist who writes about the politics, economics
and societies of South and South-East Asia. He has written for a range
of international journals; Fortune Magazine, Forbes, the Financial
Times, Time Magazine, The Times, The Bulletin/Newsweek, The
Spectator,Institutional Investor, Euromoney, The Sydney Morning
Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review and the International
Herald Tribune.
Other stories;
Norwegian ambassador in Colombo bares agenda in Oslo
[TamilNet, Friday, 30 August 2013, 00:58 GMT]
Norway,
once hoodwinked the nation of Eezham Tamils with an ‘internal
self-determination’ formula in the Oslo Declaration, now bares its
deceptive face by talking about ‘development’ of Tamils with diaspora
‘partnership’ within a ‘Sri Lankan minority’ formula and the PC model.
While the Norwegian ambassador in Colombo Ms Grete Løchen was baring the
agenda in Oslo on Monday, the Tamil participants looped in were not
only confirmed revisionists, habitual upholders of the Sri Lankan State
and tangent-polity activists, but were also the representatives of the
NCET, Tamil Women Organisation, a TCC outfit and the TECH-Norway. If the
agenda can’t be perceived with its nuances and rejected outright at the
face of Norway, the diaspora will prove only its impotence, commented
Tamils for alternative politics in the island.
Grete Løchen [Library Photo]
After Navi: Troops Are Back In The North
August 30, 2013
Security
forces personnel who were confined to barracks in the northern province
have returned to their outposts and are back on the streets after
visiting UN Envoy Navi Pillay left the area, according to eyewitness reports from the region.
The Elephant Pass checkpoint that was dismantled ahead of the UN High
Commissioner’s visit has also been restored, sources told the Colombo Telegraph. “Troops are out on the roads again in Jaffna,” the sources said.
Reports are also emerging about military intelligence officials
threatening Tamil civilians who demonstrated for their disappeared loved
ones and held discussions with the UN Envoy. These claims cannot be
independently verified at this time.
Militarisation of
the north has been a hot button issue on the international agenda
against Sri Lanka, because the heavy presence of soldiers in the former
battlezones are seen as being an impediment to the resumption of normal
civilian life in the region. The Government has repeatedly pledged to
downscale the military in the north prior to the Northern Provincial
Council elections but residents claim no such move has been made so far.
சென்றார் நவி பிள்ளை, மீண்டும் வந்தது இலங்கை இராணுவம்
28 ஆகஸ்ட், 2013
சென்றார் நவிப்பிள்ளை, வந்தது இராணுவம்(பழைய படம்)
ஐநா மனித உரிமைகளுக்கான ஆணையர் நவிப்பிள்ளை அவர்கள் வடபகுதிக்கு
மேற்கொண்டிருந்த விஜயத்தையடுத்து, முகாம்களுக்குள் முடக்கப்பட்டிருந்ததாகக்
கூறப்பட்ட இலங்கை இராணுவத்தினர் புதனன்று மீண்டும் வீதிகளில் தமது
கடமைகளில் ஈடுபட்டிருப்பதாகத் தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.
"இராணுவத்துக்கு சொந்தமான இடம்
நவிப்பிள்ளை
யாழ்ப்பாணத்திலிருந்து கிளிநொச்சிக்கும், அங்கிருந்து முல்லைத்தீவு
மாவட்டம் புதுமாத்தளன், முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் மற்றும் கேப்பாப்பிலவு மாதிரி
கிராமம் ஆகிய இடங்களுக்கும் பயணம் செய்த வீதிகளில் அமைக்கப்பட்டிருந்த
இராணுவ காவலரண்கள் உரு மறைப்பு செய்யப்பட்டும் சில காவலரண்கள் முற்றாக
அகற்றப்பட்டிருந்தன.
எனினும், புதனன்று, இந்த காவலரண்கள் மீண்டும் செயல்படத் தொடங்கியிருந்ததாக அந்தப் பகுதியைச் சேர்ந்தவர்கள் கூறுகிறார்கள்.
யாழ்ப்பாணத்திலிருந்து ஏ9 வீதியூடாக நவிப்பிள்ளை பிரயாணம் செய்ததையடுத்து,
மூடப்பட்டிருந்த ஆனையிறவு வீதிச் சோதனை முகாமும் புதனன்று மீண்டும்
திறக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
ஆனையிறவின் வழியாகச் செல்கின்ற வாகனங்களைப் பதிவு செய்யும் நடவடிக்கைககளில்
இராணுவத்தினர் ஈடுபடுத்தப்பட்டிருந்ததாக பயணிகளும் வாகன ஓட்டுநர்களும்
தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் கிராமத்திற்குச் சென்றிருந்த நவிப்பிள்ளையிடம்
மீள்குடியேற்றப்பட்டுள்ள தங்களுக்கு இன்னும் வீட்டு வசதிகள், வாழ்வாதாரம்
உள்ளிட்ட அடிப்படை வசதிகள் செய்து கொடுக்கப்படவில்லை என்றும், சில
இடங்களில் தமது வயல் மற்றும் தோட்டக்காணிகள் படையினரால் அடைத்து
வைக்கப்பட்டிருப்பதாகவும் தெரிவித்து, அவற்றைத் தங்களுக்கு பெற்றுத்
தருமாறும் அந்த மக்கள் கேட்டுக்கொண்டனர்.
தென்னிலங்கையில் இருந்து தமது பகுதிக்குள் வந்து தொழில் செய்கின்ற
வெளிமாவட்ட மீனவர்களினால், மீன்பிடி தொழிலில் தாங்கள் பல பிரச்சினைகளை
எதிர்நோக்கியிருப்பதாகவும் அவர்கள் நவிப்பிள்ளையிடம் தெரிவித்தனர்.
இறுதி யுத்தத்தின் முடிவில் இராணுவத்தினரிடம் சரணடைந்து காணாமல்
போயிருப்பவர்கள் தொடர்பான பிரச்சினைகளையும் அங்குள்ள மக்கள் அவரிடம்
எடுத்துக் கூறினார்கள்.
முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் பகுதியில் நவி பிள்ளையை சந்தித்த பொதுமக்கள்.
நவிப்பிள்ளையைச் சந்தித்த மக்கள் புதனன்று அச்சுறுத்தப்பட்டிருப்பதாகவும் அங்கிருந்து வரும் தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.
Welcome! Our new friend Belarus
Last Sunday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa left the shores of the isle on
an official visit, as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Navanethem Pillay, who had finally accepted an invitation extended two
years ago by the Rajapaksa Administration, arrived in the country. Sri
Lankans, who have a fascination for conspiracy theories would call it a
snub and was a belittling of the UN Envoy.
AI calls on Rajapaksa government to investigate enforced disappearances
- On Friday, 30 August 2013
The
London based human rights group Amnesty International (AI) has called
on the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to investigate thousands of cases of
enforced disappearances reported in Sri Lanka.
According
to AI, in Sri Lanka, some 12,000 complaints of enforced disappearances
have been submitted to the UN since the 1980s – making it second only to
Iraq. But it says the actual number of disappeared is much higher, with
at least 30,000 cases alleged up to 1994 and many thousands reported
after that.
“The
number of disappeared people in Sri Lanka is astounding. The government
has to stop making empty promises and once and for all seriously
investigate the tens of thousands of cases of enforced disappearances,”
said Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s Sri Lanka expert.
This year’s Day of the Disappeared coincides with the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, to Sri Lanka.
Pillay has met the family members of some of the disappeared.
The
Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in the country has given the security
forces wide powers to arrest suspected opponents of the government and
detain them incommunicado and without charge or trial for long periods –
conditions which provide a ready context for deaths in
custody, enforced disappearances and torture.
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