The Sri Lankan government has blocked access to renowned Tamil news website Sankathi24.com, as the state continued with its tightening of the Tamil press.
The website – www.sankathi24.com – became inaccessible for those on the island on May 28th last month, with no warning or explanation given by the Sri Lankan state.
The latest incident sparked fears for the website’s correspondents who remain in the Tamil homeland. “We fear for the lives of our reporters in Tamil Eelam," said Seraman, a columnist, for Sankathi24.com. “We fear that they may be tracked down.”
Tamil News
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Sri Lanka has launched an investigation into a racially motivated police assault of 14-year-old Muslim autistic boy, Thariq Ahamed, who was stopped at the southern town of Aluthgama and beaten for breaking curfew.
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The Centre of Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned with the appointment of two Presidential Task Forces by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Earlier this week, the president established a Task Force consisting of entirely military and police personnel to build a "virtuous, disciplined and lawful society" in Sri Lanka which raises "extremely serious implications that require urgent attention" says the CPA.
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The Sri Lankan navy has arrested at least six people in Mannar this morning, after a 33-year-old man and his 8-year-old daughter arrived by boat from India this week.
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Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister, and leader of the UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has called for an embrace of market economics as Sri Lanka continues to struggle with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sri Lanka’s debt problem
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The Sri Lankan government and several other organisations have come out in support of China, as Beijing cracked down on protesters who opposed a new national security law which threatens dissidents and Hong Kong independence activists.
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People for Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka (PEARL) have strongly condemned the formation of the two presidential task forces in Sri Lanka this week, stating that it is a “serious escalation (by the president) to militarise the activities of the state in the name of national security and as a response to the pandemic”, in a statement released today.
PEARL highlighted the task forces “appear exclusively Sinhala and include suspected war criminals” while emphasising this move further...
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UK Minister said that the British government continues "to underline the importance of accountability, justice and reconciliation in its engagement with the government of Sri Lanka."
FCO Minister of State Nigel Adams answered a written question posed by Jim Shannon, Shadow DUP Spokesperson for Human Rights.
When asked "what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure accountability for victims of (a) war crimes and (b) crimes against humanity (i) in Sri Lanka and (ii) overseas...
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Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapakasa, has announced an all Sinhala task force, which includes Buddhist monks and the head of the Derana media network, to “preserve the historical heritage of Sri Lanka” in the island’s Eastern province.
The announcement, made through a gazette release this morning, comes after the president met with the Buddhist Maha Sanga last...
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Sellaiah Rashanayagam has "been the sole resident of his village since Sri Lanka's civil war ended in 2009- and he doesn't plan to leave anytime soon," writes Vijayatharsiny Vijayakumar for Global Press Journal.
"When the Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009, the nearly 200 residents who called this village home chose to leave. They relocated to cities and towns where they would have better access to hospitals, shopping centres and jobs. But Sellaiah Rashanayagam, 67, chose to stay."...
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Former Prime Minister and leader of the UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe has urged Sri Lanka to enter into a free trade agreement with India, stating that there was “no option” and that it was necessary to recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus.
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Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced a Presidential Task Force consisting entirely of military and police personnel to build a “secure country and a disciplined, virtuous, and lawful society,” as the state continued with its militarisation of the island.
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An elderly disabled man was falsely accused and arrested by police officers and tortured in custody. A complaint regarding the incident has been lodged at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, in Jaffna.In his complaint, he stated that he was brutally tortured on the night of the incident by the police officers and arrested under a false accusation...
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Sri Lanka plans to reopen its tourism industry on August 1 by allowing small groups of tourists to visit the island.
Speaking to Reuters, Kimali Fernando, chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau said that visitors will be able to visit from August and “stay in approved five-star hotels that have put strict safety measures in place.”
Tourists will be required to carry a “COVID-19 free” certificate issued by their governments and will also need to wait on arrival at...
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Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has vowed to overhaul the prison systems in Sri Lanka to eradicate the criminal underworld however the appointment of war criminals to head these reforms is a reason for concern.
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The United National Party (UNP) has cancelled the membership of 99 members who joined the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), which includes the membership of deputy leader Sajith Premadasa.
The SJB is a breakaway political fraction which seeks to contest the 2020 Sri Lankan elections which have been postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
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Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan refused to answer several questions on Sri Lanka’s flag and the armed Tamil struggle in a hot-headed interview with Sooriyan FM last week, where he distanced himself from spokesperson M A Sumanthiran as the party’s senior leadership continued to come under criticism.
Speaking to Sooriyan FM, Sampanthan...
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Commemoration events to mark 39 years since the burning down of the Jaffna Public Library, were observed yesterday in Jaffna.
The library, which housed over 95,000 unique Tamil literature, was targeted and set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs on the midnight of May 31, 1981.
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Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed a petition challenging the president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to reconvene parliament.
Rajapaksa had dissolved parliament, with hopes of holding a general election to build on his party’s popularity after his electoral victory in presidential polls last year. However, the coronavirus...
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Murdered Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan was remembered by journalists in Vavuniya, to mark 16 years since his assassination.
Mr Nadesan was shot dead in Batticaloa on his way to work on May 31 2004. He was a profile journalist and a columnist who...
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Sri Lankan Supreme Court lawyer faces continuous death threats on social media from Sinhala extremist groups.
Attorney at Law, Achala Shanika Seneviratne, is targeted by extremist groups as she represents victims in several cases of human rights violations committed by Sri Lanka’s security forces, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) reported.
She has filed two complaints with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the last year, yet no action has been taken.
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Writing in The Wire India, Harini Amarasuriya, highlights how Sri Lanka’s response to the coronavirus demonises minority communities and imposes a demand to submit to “the benevolent control of the majority community”.
Rising Islamophobia
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May 31, 1981 marked not only the burning of the Jaffna Public Library, but the beginning of a week-long rampage of violence by Sri Lankan security forces and Sinhala mobs which devastated the peninsula.
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Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya marked a milestone 1,200 days of protest today, as they continue their demands for information regarding their forcibly disappeared loved ones.
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The Sri Lankan president has promoted a former military intelligence director to the rank of Major General, despite his role in a number of abuses including the reported forced confession and denial of medical treatment of a Tamil doctor who served during the massacres at Mullivaikkal in 2009.
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Following the death of Ceylon Workers’ Congress leader Arumugan Thondaman, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, and war criminal, Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as the Social Empowerment and Estate Infrastructure Development Cabinet Minister.
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Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched investigations into Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) which were reportedly registered without due procedure under the previous government.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Raja Gunaratne, Director of the National NGO Secretariat, said that NGOs had been registered without checking their...
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Even before they returned to power in Sri Lanka last year, the Rajapaksas never sought to cloak their brash espousal of Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism. As defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa ran a ruthless offensive that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, which his brother Mahinda oversaw as president, with what he called “a...
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At midnight on May 31, 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. The burning has since been marked by Eelam Tamils as an act of genocide.
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Aiyathurai Nadesan was remembered by journalists and media workers at a memorial event in Batticaloa, marking 16 years since his assassination.
World News
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Responding to criticism from China over the police unlawful killing George Floyd, US Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo has lashed out describing the Chinese Communist Party’s criticism as “obscene” and “laughable propaganda”.
Pompeo’s statement stressed that the contrast between the US and China “could not be more stark” and goes on to list a litany of human rights abuses...
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(Photo Credit: Lorie Shaull)
A group of UN rights experts have condemned America’s systemic racism and racial bias following what they term as the “lynching” of George Floyd and the outbreak of protests throughout America and across the world.
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UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has vowed to enable 3 million Hong Kong residents to settle in the UK as the Chinese government introduce a draconian national security act which threatens pro-independence activists.
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UK Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Emily Thornberry, has called for a suspension of sales of riot control equipment to the US following police crackdowns on Black Lives Matters protesters.
In a letter addressed to the Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, Thornberry stressed...
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Around 20,000 people joined protests in France yesterday over the death of a black man in police custody in 2016, that has been likened to the killing of George Floyd in the USA.
Despite police orders not to demonstrate due to coronavirus restrictions, protestors assembled to demand justice for Adama Traore...
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US President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military to in response to ongoing protests across the country, which he has termed “acts of domestic terror”.
Trump warned that if cities or states failed to "defend their residents" he would deploy the army and "quickly solve the problem for them,” adding that police and law...
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Following the murder of George Floyd, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, headed calls from several politicians and organisations condemning the killing of a black man by police officials.
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With thousands taking to the streets across cities of the USA to protest against police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, state police forces are responding to protestors with violence and “military-style” tactics, during which a 20-year-old women was thrown forcefully to the ground and hospitalised . -
In the wake of growing tensions between police and protestors following the murder of George Floyd, bus drivers in Minneapolis and New York have shown their support for arrested protestors, by refusing to drive them to jail.
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US President, Donald Trump, has announced that he will cut funding for the World Health Organisation and redirect these funds into other organisations.
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Former Rwandan mayor and politician, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of over 25,000 people in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, yesterday.
58-year-old Ntaganzwa, who served as the mayor of Nyakizu in southern Rwanda, was today “sentenced to life imprisonment over genocide crimes committed during the genocide against Tutsi in 1994,” according to court spokesman, Harrison Mutabazi.
The ruling was made via a video conference and Ntaganzwa...
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Myanmar has been accused of genocide against the Rohingya people by the humanitarian organisation Refugees International which has called on UN Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
This follows an order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Myanmar to take “all measures...
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Hong Kong Security forces cracked down on protesters who opposed a new draconian national security law which threatens dissidents and Hong Kong independence activists.
During the protests, police fired tear gas and pepper spray on thousands who had taken to the streets, despite the lockdown measures intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Over 180 people were arrested during protests on Sunday.
Responses from state officials
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The president of Somaliland has called on the international community to recognise the independence of the region and warned that unless Somalia “accepts the reality of two independent nations,” his government will explore international legal avenues.
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Myanmar has complied with a deadline set by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and submitted a report on steps the government has taken to prevent acts of genocide against the Rohingya people.
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The United Nations confirmed that the remains of a former Rwandan defence minister who was wanted over the country’s 1994 genocide, have been identified in a grave in Congo.
Augustin Bizimana, who was indicted on 13 charges, including genocide, murder and rape, is believed to have died in the Republic of the Congo, in 2000. His remains were identified...
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Clashes between pro-government and separatist forces in the Zinjibar and Abyan province in Yemen, have led to the deaths of 14 including 10 pro-government soldiers.
The conflict has been described by Al Jazeera as the first major confrontation since separatists declared self-rule on 26 April in southern Yemen. According to Al Jazeera, both sides exchanged missile and artillery shelling on these two fronts.
Separatists have claimed that they captured 40 pro-government soldiers...
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Félicien Kabuga, one of the main financiers of the Rwanda genocide, has been arrested in France under charges from the International Criminal Tribunal of genocide and crimes against humanity.
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Yemen’s government vows to continue their fight against the Southern Transitional Council (STC) as both sides clash on the outskirts of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan.
The clash led to the deaths of 2 government soldiers and 2 separatists; 13 government soldiers were also wounded, and 11 separatists were wounded. The conflict was sparked by the offensive military manoeuvre in the region by pro-government troops.
Al Jazeera notes that on 25 April, the STC declared self-rule in...
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In the city of Villavicencio, over 700 inmates and guards, 30% of the prison population, were reported to have contracted the coronavirus.
In April the Colombian government announced that they would release 4,000 low-risk inmates under house arrest to help curb the spread of the virus however three weeks later only 320 were released.
According to Nelson Barrera, a representative of the prison’s staff, little can be done due to limited space and overcrowding. This has made it “...
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There was a brief skirmish between Indian and Chinese forces in Sikkim, a northeastern Indian state bordering China.
The conflict was able to reach resolution with only minor injuries to soldiers as both sides engaged in dialogue. 4 Indian soldiers were said to be injured and 7 Chinese soldiers during the conflict which involved around 150 soldiers.
Both sides have accused each other of intruding on their territory but the major conflict has not arisen since the 1962 war.
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Responding to an enquiry from the Muslim Council of Britain over statements made on Kashmir, Labour leader, Keir Starmer, issued a statement clarifying that a lasting settlement may only be reached “with the people of Kashmir”.
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In India, 16 migrant workers were killed during a train accident as they journeyed home and had fallen asleep on their tracks.
Reuters notes that the driver attempted to stop the train but was unable to. Small bundles of food, footwear and other belongings were seen scattered along the tracks after the accident.
Reuters further notes that under India’s lockdown, all public transport has been suspended making it far more difficult for migrants to travel back home. 47 Roots...
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At least 6 people have been killed by Afghan police during protests in the western Ghor province over the distribution of food.
The protests were over the allegations that food was being distributed in a manner that favoured those with political connections. The police were reported to have opened fire on around 300 protesters who had thrown stones on them. Human Rights organisations such as Amnesty International called for an independent investigation into the Afghan police’s conduct...
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Riyaz Naikoo, a senior commander of the Kashmiri separatist group Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed by Indian troops alongside three others in the Indian-administrated region of Kashmir.
The attack occurred as Indian troops received intelligence confirming that Riyaz Naikoo was hiding in south Kashmiri Pulwama district. Al Jazeera notes that during the attack two civilian homes were also blasted.
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In the western state of Gujarat, India’s police crackdown on migrant workers using tear gas after authorities had relaxed the coronavirus lockdown.
India imposed a nationwide lockdown on the 25 March but will continue till the 17 May. In India, 42,500 have been identified with coronavirus and 1,300 have been identified to have died from the virus.
Officials reported that the approximate 1,000 workers who were stranded in Gujarat threw stones at the police.
47 Roots have...
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47 Roots have released a video detailing how India's 800 million poor will be the hardest hit by the state-imposed lockdown.
India’s lockdown which was originally introduced on 24 March, for a 3 week period, was imposed with only 4 hours notice and has a dramatic impact on workers in the informal sector. 47 Roots notes that the informal sector accounts for 81% of...
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Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has issued a statement welcoming Fatou Bensouda, the ICC Chief Prosecutor, report which recognised Palestinian statehood with respects to transferring criminal jurisdiction over its territory to the Hague.
The territory under its jurisdiction includes East Jerusalem which is currently threatened by annexation with respects to the US Middle East plan.
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Indian police fired tear gas at approximately 500 workers in the western city of Surat after stating that they could not return home despite losing their jobs.
According to Vidhi Chaudhari;
“The police tried to convince them that it is not possible since buses or trains are not available...However, the workers refused to budge, and started pelting stones at police,”
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(Photo Credit: Chatham House)
Newly appointed leader of the UK Labour Party, Kier Starmer, has shifted the Labour Party’s position concerning the Kashmir dispute, describing it as a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan.
This details a shift from his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who maintained that: