File photograph: Karaitivu Beach (Gowshan Nandakumar)
It was a quiet morning on 12 April 1985 when Karaitivu, a small coastal Tamil village in the Amparai district of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, was plunged into terror. As villagers prepared to celebrate the Tamil New Year, armed mobs - composed largely of Muslim men and backed by Sri Lankan security forces - descended upon the village and…
"Barack Obama's administration has said it is committed to the principals of international law and humanitarian protection. Sri Lanka is the perfect opportunity for the new U.S. president to show that this is not empty rhetoric," according to an influential think tank which played a key role in the formation of Kosovo.
Sri Lanka, the once self-trumpeted "island of paradise," turned into the island of bloodshed more than a quarter-century ago. But even by its long, gory record, the bloodletting since last year is unprecedented.
The United Nations Agreement on Human Rights states, amongst other things, that individuals have the “right to life”, “the right to equality before the law” and “the freedom of assembly and association”.
Lasantha Wickrematunghe, editor-in-chief of The Sunday Leader, who was gunned down in an execution-style shooting on Thursday, January 8, writing from his grave pointed the finger at his killers. Three days after the killing, Wickrematunge's newspaper published a haunting, self-written obituary in which he says he was targeted for his writings and adds: "When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me."
The capture of Kilinochchi was celebrated with the bursting of crackers here in the Sri Lankan capital. There were also reports that the Sinhala diaspora celebrated it with the bursting of Champagne bottles. No wonder such things happen in a culture nurtured by cricket and football matches.