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…
The difficulty in bringing the Sri Lankan military personnel responsible for rights abuses to justice was highlighted last week when one victim in a high profile rape case disappeared and the other reported receiving death threats.
The scene of the attack was visited by the International Red Cross. Pieces of human flesh were found strewn around the area including the tree branches'
A sweeping investigation into the Sri Lankan government’s use of international tsunami-related aid has found widespread misappropriation of funds and bureaucratic incompetence, an interim report released this week says.
The February 2002 truce has sparked a demand for credit with more people borrowing either to rebuild their homes, set up business or buy goods such as solar-electricity panels.