What the Holocaust can't teach us about modern-day genocide

Sri Lanka’s former Army Commander has claimed that his forces were responsible for the killing of surrendering senior members of the Liberation Tigers in May this year.

The government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has trouble with the truth. Alongside a track record of distortions and outright lies, its mastery of doublespeak of the sort Orwell so brilliantly narrated in his novel 1984 is both well-known and a thing to behold.

The United Nations and its Secretary General are said to be strong advocates for countries to become parties to the Mine-Ban Convention.

As a growing number of Tamils take to rickety boats and risk death to flee Sri Lanka, international observers have raised concerns about the lack of international concern shown for these people and the factors that drive them out of the country.

The Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) attracted enough number of participants in the poll that took place Sunday November 15 in 16 centres of the different regions of Norway, in which 2767 voters turned out to elect 5 members under a national list and 10 under regional lists.

A top United Nations humanitarian official has welcomed the recent releases of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from camps in northern Sri Lanka, and underscored the need to ensure full freedom of movement for those remaining.

Amnesty International has written to the Commonwealth heads of state, drawing attention to the human rights violations in Sri Lanka and urging them to raise their concerns about these with their Sri Lankan counterparts.

The scars in Kumar’s hands are zipped-up wounds. Though the flesh is repaired, the marks are alive. You could almost reach out and open them, see the blood trickle out softly to tell a story.

Factors affecting my retirement from the regular force of the Army

 

General Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), sent his letter of resignation to the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse on November 12. His letter was accompanied by a 17 point Annex setting out the factors that led to his resignation. These factors included his dissatisfaction at being stripped of his position as Army Chief to be appointed CDS with fewer powers and responsibilities, as well the government allegedly putting Indian troops on high alert about the possibility of a coup in Sri Lanka. The body of his letter, as published in the Sri Lankan Guardian, is reproduced below. The annex is reproduced separately on this page.:

A Tamil Canadian protester chokes back tears as she recalls a cellphone conversation she had several days ago with a cousin detained in a Sri Lankan camp holding Tamils displaced during the country's civil war.

General Sarath Fonseka resigned from the Sri Lankan Army on November 12, and in doing so, fuelled speculation that he intends to run for President at the next election.

The scars in Kumar’s hands are zipped-up wounds. Though the flesh is repaired, the marks are alive. You could almost reach out and open them, see the blood trickle out softly to tell a story.