British government ministers reiterated their backing of a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka and the importance of its implementation for truth telling and accountability on the island. Speaking at an event organized on the fringes of the Conservative Party conference earlier this month, Leader of the House of Commons Chris Grayling voiced his support for the resolution, whilst Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Robert Halfon said what had happened to the Tamil people was genocide.
The director of the No Fire Zone documentary into Sri Lanka’s atrocities called on Sri Lankan national television to screen the Emmy-nominated film to support findings from a recently released domestic report in Sri Lanka that found the documentary credibly documented that “ armed forces committed acts during the final phase of the war that amounted to war crimes giving rise to individual criminal responsibility. In a press release, Callum Macrae said, “Now that our findings and our evidence have been so clearly vindicated, not just by the recent report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, but also by this report ordered by the Sri Lankan government itself, there can be no excuse to delay transmission any longer.”
Updated: 2100 GMT Photographs: Tamil Guardian Thousands of Tamils in Jaffna attended the funeral of the former head of the Women’s political wing division in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Subramaniam Sivakamy. Her funeral was attended by Tamil politicians from across the North-East, including from the TNA, TNPF and TULF.
Tamil politicians across the North-East have paid tribute to Col. Thamilini, the former head of the Women’s political division in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who died on Sunday at the age of 43. Thousands of Tamils attended her funeral in Jaffna on Tuesday. “The grief and affection shown by our people at the loss of Thamilini, even six years after the end of the war, is a testament to the life that she lived and the spirit of leadership she demonstrated during the struggle,” the Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C. V. Wigneswaran said in a tributary statement. “With an unrelenting thirst for her ideals, the courageous Thamilini's thoughts were all about the liberation of the Tamil people and the advancement of Tamil women.”
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says the government's inquiry into abductions has found that the principle blame for the loss of civilian life during the last phase of the armed conflict laid with the LTTE. The commission's report rejects the findings of the UN Panel of Expert's report, which said that 'a number of credible sources' have estimated that there could have been as many as 40,000 civilian deaths. Mr Wickremesinghe tabled the Maxwell Paranagama Commission report and the Udalagama Commission report along with the UNHRC report on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka, in parliament on Tuesday. Sections of the “Missing Person's Commission”, also known as the Paranagama Commission, seen by Channel 4 , seemed to accept that crimes were perpetrated by the army. Excerpts published by the British broadcaster appeared refreshingly honest about the allegations against the military, conceding that evidence of executions, previously contested by the government, were unlikely to be faked.
Staff at Jaffna Hospital held a memorial ceremony to mark the 28th anniversary of the massacre of over 60 doctors, staff and patients by the Indian Peacekeeping Forces (IPKF) in 1987.
Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed there is no media freedom in Sri Lanka, under the current government. Speaking to reporters following a hearing at a Presidential Commission of Inquiry examining corruption Mr Rajapaksa said “the media freedom that was there during my tenure is not there today”. “I never ordered them to publish this or that,” said Mr Rajapaksa. “You should ask about the media censorship under this government from your bosses.” The former president said he would refrain from making more comments regarding the state of media freedom on the island, as he was...
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena pledged to defend the armed forces and that the government is “committed in honouring the War Heroes”. Speaking at the 25th General Convocation of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), Mr Sirisena praised the armed forces for its “victory” in 2009. The Ministry of Defence reported the president as saying, “We were able to defeat terrorism by the resolute effort of all people and the government is committed in honouring the War Heroes”. The president went on to say “he would not allow anyone to disgrace this victory”.
Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told courts today that 11 people abducted by unidentified groups in Colombo during 2008-2009 had been detained at the Sri Lanka’s Trincomalee Navy camp under the knowledge of the former navy commander, reports Colombo Telegraph . Families of the mainly Tamil abducted youth, who were yet to know the fate of their loved ones, listened as the CID told the court that abducted youth had been detained in underground cells in Trincomalee and Colombo. The court urged the CID to hasten investigations and bring closure to the case as soon as possible...
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) appointed Dr Deepika Udahama as its new chairperson, reports adaderana.lk. The body appointed a further 4 people as commissioners, including Lionel Fernando, Saliya Pieris, Gazali Hussain and Ambika Satkunathan. The commission was initially set up in 1996 with the aim of fostering a culture of human rights in Sri Lanka. In 2009 the commission failed to report the number of Tamil civilians left in IDP camps despite several credible figures produced by international organisations.