Human rights activists in Toronto marked the International Day of the Disappeared this week, with a seminar highlighting the parallels between the experiences of “disappearances” in Poland and Sri Lanka. August 30 th marks the International Day of the Disappeared – a day focusing on the egregious human rights violations faced by those who have “disappeared” in conflict, migration and other contexts of violence . Originally commemorated following the efforts of several local and regional groups in Latin America that collectively formed the Latin American Federation of Associations for...
There is evidence to implicate Sri Lankan military intelligence officers in the disappearance of the journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, the attorney general told the country's supreme court on Tuesday. The additional solicitor general was quoted by the Colombo Page as stating, "two army intelligence officers posing as two LTTE members had built a personal friendship with the missing cartoonist and they have abducted the journalist and taken away to the Girithale army camp." Mr Ekneligoda, who was a cartoon journalist critical of the former president's regime, disappeared six years ago.
A 26 year old former LTTE cadre was detained and taken into a white van in Kilinochchi on Tuesday, locals reported. The detention has not been confirmed by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), who has been responsible for recent white van abductions and detentions of former LTTE cadres in the North-East. News of the latest detention has sparked fear within families of former LTTE cadres living in Kilinochchi, who continue to be visited by TID officers claiming to be carrying out 'routine investigations'.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called for medical facilities to be established in order to deal with shrapnel injuries. Stating that over 1000 Tamils were living with shrapnel embedded into their bodies as a result of bomb blasts in Vavuniya and Jaffna, the TNA MP Shivasakthi Ananthan called on the government to take action. He added that 113 were students, the Daily Mirror reported.
Sri Lanka’s flagship airline carrier is set to face losses of $50 million with the upcoming closure of Colombo airport’s only runway, reports IANS . SriLankan Airlines will lose 17% of its seat capacity during the closures, set to take place for 8 hours every day from January through to April 2017. The struggling airline is facing a debt of almost $4 billion, with the Sri Lankan government calling the company a “landmine” for the economy, says Xinhua . The airline faced even more controversy recently after a pilot failed an alcohol test moments before he was due to take off with a plane full...
MDMK chief Vaiko called on the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Red Cross to help locate the whereabouts of Tamils who had disappeared during the final stages of the armed conflict. In a statement in India, he highlighted the disappearances of several LTTE leaders, some of whom had been photographed under Sri Lankan military custody. Amongst them are thought to be LTTE leaders Yogi, Baby Subramaniam and political wing leader Ezhilan. “There is no information about them even though seven years have passed since the end of the war,” said Vaiko. “There are reports that the captured...
The Chief Minister of the Northern Province C V Wigneswaran reiterated the call for the demilitarisation of the North-East, amidst rising crime in the region. Justice Wigneswaran was responding to comments by Sri Lanka’s foreign minister that the Tamil people of the North-East should be “grateful” to the Sri Lankan armed forces for vacating lands that had been occupied for years by the military. The foreign minister also said Tamils should praise the armed forces for building houses for displaced persons, during a visit to Jaffna last week. The chief minister disagreed with the comments,...
Over 200 LTTE cadres who have been listed as missing by their relatives are actually hiding abroad, claimed Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera. Mr Samaraweera told journalists that though some Tamils may still be searching for their missing child, husband or brother, those listed as missing had actually smuggled themselves overseas during the final stages of the armed conflict in May 2009. Large sums of money were paid to an unnamed Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence official, he added though did not elaborate any further on the details. An investigation into the matter was underway...
On Tuesday, the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination (IMADR), and Britto Fernando jointly held an event in Colombo welcoming the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) Act and commemorating the International Day for Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Speaking at the event, TNA Spokesperson, M.A. Sumanthiran, called the passage of the OMP Act a first step on the right path though he noted that the harder steps are to follow regarding implementation. He acknowledged that there is distrust in the OMP and that it is valid that people are questioning how it will differ from previous mechanisms, but then called on people not to reject it. Also at the event, Nishantha Warnasinghe of the JHU, welcomed the OMP and spoke about the need for finding answers for families of disappeared across the island.
Families of the disappeared, activists and civil society across the North-East of Sri Lanka participated in demonstrations calling for international justice for the disappearances of their loved ones on the International Day for Victims of Enforced Disappearances. In Jaffna, families of the disappeared marched from the Jaffna Kachcheri to the UN office carrying signs calling for “international justice for enforced disappearances.” The group handed over a memo to the UN office articulating their concerns based on the National Consultation Task Force’s interim report and the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). The OMP Act was signed into law this month after being passed by parliament . The OMP bill has been heavily criticized for the process by which it was formed, particularly regarding the lack of consultations with victims and their representatives. The National Consultation Task Force appointed by the Sri Lankan government released their interim report on the OMP on the same day the bill was put before parliament. The interim report was never considered by parliament as the debate which was expected to last two days was cut short to less than an hour .