This week, the number of skeletal remains uncovered at Chemmani reached a stark record of 387. With that figure, a patch of earth on the edge of Jaffna town became the largest mass grave ever uncovered on the island, surpassing the 376 remains recovered at Mannar. Recent days alone have seen the bodies of several children exhumed, alongside beads and bangles. These are the contents of the…
Sri Lanka’s prime minister told parliament that the country’s economy has “completely collapsed” and admitted that “no country or organisation in the world is willing to provide fuel to us,” as the financial crisis on the island worsens.
Tamils in the North-East have reiterated their demand for justice, as families of the disappeared and local politicians spoke to The Guardian this week.
In a piece by Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Rubatheesan Sandran in Mullaitivu published earlier today, former councillor Ravikaran Thurairajah said “if we staged a protest here like they are doing in Galle Face, they would shoot us dead”.
Reporting in the Sunday Times LK has indicated that four Tamil diaspora organisations and 318 individuals are to be delisted by the Sri Lankan government in a move to ward off a strong resolution in September when the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council will be held.
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has judged that the majority of clauses in the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB), Sri Lanka’s main opposition party, proposed 21st Amendment are unconstitutional and will require a two-thirds majority in parliament to be passed as well as approval via a public referendum.
The bill sought to abolish the executive Presidency that is in existence at present and transfer power to Parliament.
Malayaha Tamils rallied through Hatton today demanding equal land rights and declaring 21 June as Sri Lanka's "National Day of the Landless".
Demonstrators held placards and chanted slogans asking for "20 perches of land to build a house" and "agricultural land with a house" as Malayaha Tamil community continue to be denied land rights.
Today the United States announced the latest installment of $5.7 million in humanitarian assistance "to address the immediate needs of people hardest hit by the economic crisis in Sri Lanka."
In a statement, the US said the funding will "provide cash assistance, short-term jobs, and agriculture supplies such as seeds directly to crisis-affected people to meet their basic needs" as the island faces its worst economic crises in decades.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil met with senior Sri Lankan military officials today, including those accused of war crimes and genocide, as she continued her visit of Colombo today.
O'Neil was photographed shaking hands with Sri Lanka’s defence secretary Kamal Gunaratne, a man who has been named in several United Nations reports and accused of war crimes.
The Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha in Jaffna has passed a resolution welcoming the Canandian parliament motion recognising May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day - a landmark move that made it the first parliament in the world to recognise the Tamil genocide.
A Madhusudhan, a member of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), moved a resolution that welcomed the Canadian parliament move and condemned Sri Lanka’s genocide of Tamils.
Sri Lanka has been added to a “human rights watch list” by CIVICUS, a global alliance of over 10,000 civil society organisations, which highlighted the violent crackdown on anti-government protests and attacks on journalists.
Stating that there has been a “rapid decline in civic freedoms”, CIVICUS said there had been a “lack of accountability for the attack on protesters peacefully demonstrating”.