The former president Chandrika Kumaratunge this week acknowledged that Tamil war widows continued to face sexual exploitation from those in power, including by army officers and local government servants. “There is a lot of sexual abuse still going on by officials, even Tamil officials and even at lower levels, the grama sevakas,” Ms Kumaratunge told Sri Lanka’s Foreign Correspondents’ Association. “Even to sign a document, they abuse the women and of course some people in the (armed) forces” continue to commit sexual abuse," she added. Despite the lack of adequate psychological support for...
Tamils in Australia this week rejected a statement made by the Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Canberra that it was now safe for Tamil asylum seekers to return to the country, saying instead that Sri Lanka was far from reaching such a point. "The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) would like to categorically state that Sri Lanka has not reached a point where every Tamil asylum seeker can just return without worrying about the consequences; indeed Sri Lanka is far from it," the ATC said in a statement. Acknowledging areas of reforms ATC said however that "the advances on issues...
A Sri Lankan soldier that was detained for a over a year as a suspect in the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickramathunga, has been awarded compensation after the Supreme Court found his rights had been infringed. The soldier, K. Priyawansa, was attached to the Intelligence Unit, and challenged the legality of his arrest, decision to detain him and his prolonged detention. Priyawansa argued that his detention, which came as a result of being added as a suspect in the Lasanatha murder case, had violated his fundamental right to equality and to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. The...
Tamil business owners in Kilinochchi held a protest on Thursday in solidarity with the people of Pilavu that are protesting for the return of their lands.
A group of civil society organizations released a statement today calling on the Sri Lankan government to meet the demands of Keppapilavu protestors and release their land from military occupation. The primarily North-East based civil society organizations noted that, "[t]he situation in Keppapilavu is indicative of the Sri Lankan Government’s misleading campaign and slow progress on releasing lands from military occupation across the North-East," and that "[w]ith the Government’s moves towards reforms stalling, there is serious concern that land returns and demilitarization – core demands of...
Families of Pilakudiyirippu continued their protest demanding the return of their lands on Thursday for the seventeenth day. Protestors reported that they were frequently being photographed by troops from within the nearby air force camp. Those at the protest site also said they experienced continued surveillance from the camp, noting that air force personnel often watched them through binoculars.
Sri Lanka’s former president Chandrika Kumaratunge blamed the Tamil diaspora for “singling out war crimes” and said accountability for violations of international humanitarian law must be looked at after constitution reform has taken place. Speaking to The Hindu, Ms Kumaratunge said that she has experience of “working with the Tamil community closely” and has visited the Tamil North-East. “The people are not singling out war crimes,” she told reporters in Colombo. “That is the Tamil diaspora.” Ms Kumaratunge, who now heads Sri Lanka’s Office for National Unity & Reconciliation, also...
Students from the Eastern University held a demonstration on Monday to show solidarity for the Pilavu protestors. In a demonstration organised by students of the Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Eastern University students gathered outside the institute in Kallady, Batticaloa and called for the Sri Lankan government to release the Pilakudiyirippu lands.
Protesters at Pilavu have vowed to remain at their site, despite a reported pledge by the Sri Lankan president to release their lands. The families of Pilakudiyirippu said that while they welcomed President Sirisena’s pledge, they would not cease their protests until their lands are actually returned. “We have been betrayed enough times,” one protester told Tamil Guardian on Wednesday. The protesters have been occupying their space outside a Sri Lankan Air Force camp for 16 days. A new structure for Pilavu children to have classes A plane thought to be from the Air Force base has been...
According to the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL) research has been initiated to examine the security implications of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and the presence of foreign workers on the island. The INSSSL stated that during an interagency meeting on guidelines for FDI approval, there was a consensus that the government should encourage FDI with caution. A statement released by the INSSSL stated that as a consequence of increased FDI, there is “a major debate between the “freedom of investment” and concerns of national security.” INSSSL analyst, Ranuk...