Defying repeated calls for demilitarisation of the North-East, dozens of uniformed Sri Lankan soldiers entered a Hindu temple in Vavuniya last month to take part in a religious ceremony.
Sri Lanka's former foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera sought to allay criticism of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) as a mechanism that targets the Sinhala community, stating that the OMP did not aim to benefit any one community and nor did it aim to target another. "The OMP does not aim to benefit only one community and does not threaten another. It is merely a truth-seeking mechanism. It aims to investigate and find out the truth about those identified as “missing” or who have disappeared during conflict. According to the international Committee of the Red Cross, over 16,000...
The UN Special Envoy for anti-personnel mines ban arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday. Prince Mired Al Hussein is expected to travel to Muhamalai in Jaffna this week, where he will meet with landmine victims and hold meetings with agencies doing mine clearing work. He is also scheduled to meet with the president, prime minister and foreign minister during his visit.
The Canadian government this week called on Sri Lanka to set a clear timetable for implementation of commitments outlined in the cosponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution. “Frustrations persist among those seeking to heal the wounds of all those who suffered and wish to achieve real reconciliation. Canada is disappointed by the slow progress in implementing commitments to advance peace and reconciliation, political stability, human rights and government accountability," Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland told the Council in Geneva. She stressed that Canada urged the...
Families of the disappeared who marked one year since their protest began in Trincomalee have denounced the Office for Missing Persons as a delusion introduced by the Sri Lankan government to pacify the international community while the UN Human Rights Council session takes place.
Tamil Hindu groups protested against the ongoing attacks against Hindu temples in the North on Sunday.
The international community must use all its leverage to ensure accountability and reconciliation has not reached a dead-end in Sri Lanka, the Global Tamil Forum said in a statement on Saturday. "Almost nine years after the end of the war and two and a half years after co-sponsoring a UNHRC resolution calling for comprehensive transitional justice measures, the Government of Sri Lanka has not taken meaningful steps to inspire confidence of its commitments and intentions," the GTF added. "The stakes are high for the people of Sri Lanka, and indeed for the region, to be conflict-free and remain...
New Northern Provincial Council member, Sabaratnam Kugathas, recounted his first-hand experiences of the end of the war and the atrocities committed by Sri Lankan state forces, in his maiden speech at the council’s 117th sitting this week. “I lived within the conflict zone until the end of the war itself,” Mr Kugathas said. “I directly witnessed the heinous bombings which the Sri Lankan governmental forces conducted against civilians - especially against the wounded who were admitted in hospitals, which resulted in the massacre of innocent civilians and children.” “With the escalation of the...
Despite ongoing opposition to military interference in schools, the Sri Lankan Army held a prize-giving event for high achieving A Level students, at the security forces' highly-criticised Palali headquarters.
The chief monk of a Batticaloa vihara protested the Sri Lankan president’s decision to visit a Tamil Hindu temple during his trip to the city, while neglecting the other faiths.