Sri Lanka’s controversial truth and reconciliation mechanism, the Interim Secretariat for the Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism (ISTRM), which has been roundly criticised by international experts and Tamil civil society, was presented before high-ranking Sri Lankan military officials, Sri Lanka’s police officials, and members of the Sinhala Buddhist clergy. The President Media Division (PMD) described the meeting as “successful” adding that the mechanism aims to gather public opinion to prepare its recommendation to establish a “sustainable framework for fostering national unity and harmony...
File photograph: Ravikaran joined protesters to block the illegal installation of a Buddha statue at Kurunthurmalai, Mullaitivu, in June 2022. Sri Lanka's government bodies, primarily its forestry, wildlife and archaeology departments, are appropriating Tamil owned land for the the settlement of Sinhala people in Mullaitivu, former Northern Provincial Council member Thurairasa Ravikaran told Virakesari last week. Speaking to reporters, Ravikaran stated that in the Mullaitivu district, 74.24% of the total land area of nearly 590,000 acres is under the responsibility of Sri Lanka's Forestry...
A senior Australian military official boasted that not a single boat of asylum seekers looking to leave from Sri Lanka to Australia had been intercepted in over a year, despite Tamils continuing to flee the island in the wake of ongoing rights abuses. Deputy Commander of Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders of Australia, Commander Mark Whitechurch, told an audience in Colombo last month that his military “must remain vigilant”, as it continued to enact policies to deter asylum seekers. He made these comments during the launch of a joint maritime security operation entitled ‘...
The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) has been accused of corruption and favouring trade union members when selecting beneficiaries for houses constructed through an Indian grant. A report in the Daily Mirror quoted several sources as telling the newspaper that they faced interference and “tremendous pressure” when allocating beneficiaries for the homes. “Those who have left the estates, those who already have houses and reside in the estates, but work for other private entities are not eligible for these houses,” said one source. “But we have come under tremendous pressure from the CWC to give...
Today marks the 42nd birthday of Isaipriya, a famed Tamil newsreader that was executed by the Sri Lankan military in 2009. Shoba, better known by her nom de plume Isaipriya, was just 27 years old when she was killed. A regular figure as a newsreader and telecaster, she was a well known and much loved across the Tamil homeland and the large Tamil diaspora. She presented the news on TTN and featured in the LTTE’s Oliveechchu videos that were distributed around the world. Reportedly born in Neduntheevu, Isaipriya studied at the Vembadi Girls’ High School in Jaffna until 1996. Her family were...
The Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santhosh Jha told reporters in Batticaloa that the ferry service between Kankesanthurai and Nagapattinam which was revived after 40 years and suddenly halted again, will resume later this month. The High Commissioner made these statements when he was on an official visit to Batticaloa to pay tribute to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Park in Batticaloa. Jha was accompanied by a member of parliament for Batticaloa Govinthan Karunakaran and Engineer N Sivalingam from the Batticaloa Municipal Council. When asked of connectivity between the North-East...
Excavation work commenced at a mass grave in Pungudutivu this week after construction workers found several human skeletal remains during the construction of a warehouse. Sri Lankan police officers and the local magistrate watched as forensic officers began their excavation, unearthing several human skeletal remains. The construction workers are said to have suspended their work when realizing they had dug out a grave and informed the Sri Lankan police, who cordoned off the area. The excavation of the grave began after permission was granted from the magistrates courts. The grave is also...
Tamils in Mullaitivu thwarted the fourth attempt by Sri Lanka's land survey department to forcibly seize land belonging to Alampil Thuyilum Illam (LTTE cemetery), reportedly to extend the 10th Sinha Regiment’s military camp. Families of fallen LTTE cadres, residents and former Northern Provincial Council member Thurairasa Ravikaran were alarmed to see the presence of officials from the survey department and expressed their opposition over their attempt to survey the land where the LTTE cemetery is located. The land survey officials were forced to abandon their work after residents in the area...
The following account is written by a second-generation Tamil from London who was involved in organising the prolonged protest on Parliament Square in Westminster during April and May 2009, the peak of Sri Lanka's genocide of Tamils. Theeban (not his real name), then in his early twenties, was studying at a London university.
Vavuniya The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) held a march in Vavuniya today reiterating the party’s stance in calling for justice, accountability, and an international mechanism to investigate allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by Sri Lanka. The rally was led by members of the TNPF including Selvarajah Kajendren, Kanagaratnam Sugash and several others. The public participated in the rally by holding placards calling on the Sri Lankan government to return lands presently occupied by various Sri Lankan government institutions and an international mechanism for truth and...