While the world hails “the new Sri Lanka” for committing to deliver accountability for the past, the same torturers and rapists are in place doing what they’ve always done writes author of Still Counting the Dead and former BBC correspondent Frances Harrison. Full article reproduced below. “These are not things you can tell your wife,” said the Tamil man from Sri Lanka, “you do not talk about these things in my culture”. He’s so ashamed about what the soldiers did to him - and there were many of them - that this is the first time he’s told anyone, even his immigration lawyer. Sinhalese soldiers in camouflage uniform forced him at gunpoint to undress and then one by one raped him. It happened again and again. He knows which camp but he also knows it’s dangerous to say. He left his family behind in Sri Lanka and the security forces are watching them closely. “This evil needs to be stopped,” he says.
The Norwegian government pledged to support to improve access to justice and livelihood opportunities of those newly resettled in Jaffna, the LBO reported. The support is to be delivered in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP). A partnership was signed between the UNDP's country director, Joern Soerensen and the Norwegian ambassador Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther. See more here .
Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday announced that the country’s constitution needed to be changed to suit the present era for the development of the country. Addressing a special session of parliament, Mr Sirisena said the draft constitution must fulfill the needs to eliminate poverty and achieve prosperity through economic development and strengthen unity among all ethnic religious groups. Sirisena called for a constitution that was flexible to evolve with society and public stressing that the constitution “must be flexible and it must evolve to reflect the timely needs...
The perpetrators of the killing of journalists in Sri Lanka “need to be brought to justice” said the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, adding that the United Nations is aware of an ITJP report on-going torture and sexual violence by Sri Lanka’s security forces. Responding to a question from Inner City Press , Stéphane Dujarric told a press briefing, “You know, obviously, unsolved cases of harassment and killings of journalists need to be solved and the perpetrators need to be brought to justice”. Mr Dujarric also confirmed that “I know our human rights colleagues are aware of the reports put forward by the NGOs that you'd mentioned,” referring to a recently released report by the International Truth and Justice Project , detailing ongoing torture in Sri Lanka.
The massacre of nine civilians by Sri Lankan police at the fourth World Tamil Research Conference in 1974 was remembered in Jaffna on Sunday.
The Sri Lankan government cancelled a deal to buy Pakistani fighter jets after a “diplomatic missive” from India, reports The Indian Express. New Delhi reportedly told Sri Lanka that its current defence requirements meant it did not need the JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft from Pakistan, whilst also sending a negative technical assessment of the aircraft. The message was reportedly delivered via a non-paper - a white sheet of paper without a letterhead or signature —“at the highest levels” says The Indian Express.
The Sri Lankan Buddhist clergy and key Buddhist organisations urged the Sri Lankan president and prime minister to ensure that the new constitution gave Buddhism the foremost place, reported the Daily Mirror . They also called for the constitution to ensure the duty of the state to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana. "Article 9 of the present Constitution, which ensures that Buddhism be given the foremost place and also guarantees that it is the duty of the state to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, should be included in the Constitution of Sri Lanka without any amendments," the organisations said in a letter outlining their proposals to the Sri Lankan leaders.
The commander of the Sri Lankan army Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva sought blessings from Buddhists monks for the year ahead on Saturday, as he presented offerings at the Temple of the Tooth on Saturday.
The Sri Lankan military ceremoniously declared opened a new accommodation block for troops in Jaffna on New Year’s Day. The new construction at the Sri Lankan Headquarters Security Force Jaffna (SF-J) was declared open by Major General Nandana Udawatta and will be able to house 80 soldiers in the block.
Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena vowed to protect the foremost place of Buddhism in Sri Lanka’s new constitution and said who would not govern the country without seeking advice from the Buddhist Maha Sanga, reports Colombo Page. Photograph: Colombo Page Speaking at a Buddhist temple in Colombo, Sirisena said, “I am bound to protect the Buddha Sasana according to my pledge given to the people when I undertook the leadership of this country on January 08 2015. I am also bound to protect it as a real Buddhist who was born and brought with the influence of the temple in the village. I...