Sri Lanka’s announcement of a special court to handle alleged wartime abuses should still be met with scepticism.

Several weeks ago, Chandrika Kumaratunga announced that Sri Lanka would set up a special court to deal with alleged wartime abuses. Kumaratunga is the chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR); she served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994-2005.

The news about a special court came as a surprise to many people. When the initial announcement was made, Kumaratunga stated that the court was expected to begin its work by late December or early January. Yet it remains unclear if that’s still the case.

The new “Tamil Makkal Peravai” TMP platform must act prove that it will act in a way that avoids mirroring the Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) political naivety to prove itself relevant to furthering Tamil aspirations, writes Colombo based Journalist Kusal Perera.

Highlighting the TNA’s failure to mobilise its electorate into action and pressure the new Sirisena government during the early days of forcing reform, Mr Perera added that the formation of the TMP highlighted doubts regarding the "capability and wisdom of the TNA leadership that seems a failure in advancing the political aspirations of Tamil people for realistic answers."

Full op-ed reproduced below.

Samantha Power, America’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), is in India and Sri Lanka from November 18 – 23. In India, she’s set to meet human rights activists, members of civil society and senior government officials. On November 20, she’ll give a speech about UN peacekeeping.

While far less significant on the geopolitical front, Power’s visit to Sri Lanka could be a tricky balancing act. Regarding the Sri Lanka portion of her trip, the U.S. mission to the UN has stated the following:

In Sri Lanka, Ambassador Power will highlight the United States’ commitment to strengthening the bilateral partnership, and she will underscore U.S. support for the country’s efforts toward reconciliation, accountability, and lasting peace in the aftermath of a devastating civil war. In Colombo, she will meet with senior government officials, community leaders, civil society groups, and youth.

Writing in the Diplomat, Taylor Dibbert said it was time for Sri Lanka’s political leadership to explain the content of the UNHRC resolution clearly to all its citizens and explain the importance of reforms.

Adding that Colombo “has been reluctant to take even small steps to reach out to the Tamil community,” Mr Dibbert questioned whether “worries over a Sinhala-Buddhist backlash would again be used to justify prevarication form those in power.”

Full piece reproduced below.

Sri Lanka’s new government, led by President Maithripala Sirisena, has now made a range of assurances via an extensive reform agenda and is now faced with the trickier task of implementation. Elections in January (when Sirisena defeated the increasingly authoritarian Mahinda Rajapaksa in his quest to win an unprecedented third term) and August parliamentary polls, combined with the recently passed UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution on Sri Lanka, have presented the country with an unanticipated opening.

Speech delivered by Father Elil Rajendran at the BMICH, on October 27, 2015

Members of the families of those forcibly disappeared, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to thank the organising committee for the invitation to deliver this speech on Enforced Disappearance from a Tamil perspective.

I will start with the story of a Tamil mother - Chandra. Her life changed forever just before midnight on 11th of September 2008. Armed men broke into the house where her 24 year old son Jasinthan was sleeping and took him away in white van. There is only one road leading to the area where she lives and there is no way armed men could have taken away her son without the security forces knowing.

But for the last 7 years Chandra’s life has been spent searching for her son. This may sound futile after so many years but she has good reason to believe that his son is still alive. Three years ago she saw a video of him in hospital with his front teeth smashed . In January this year she recognised him among several men in a photograph showing detainees at Welikada Jail. And yet she still cannot locate him. She lives in limbo and says if he had died it would have been easier to accept than this.