Tamil women in Sri Lanka continue to face the risk of rape and harassment by Sri Lankan security forces and have been negatively impacted by a surge of violence against women in the North, according to a report released last week. "The Forever Victims? Tamil Women in Post-War Sri Lanka" stated the “situation remains particularly grave for Tamil women”, 6 years since the end of the armed conflict on the island. “Tamil women in Northern Sri Lanka still face the risk of rape and harassment by the security forces present throughout the region, but their lives are even more negatively impacted by the climate of fear and by a worrying uptick in violence against women within the Tamil community,” said the report. “The ever-present threat of violence by the military has led women to lead tightly circumscribed lives, limiting their daily activities in order to minimize their risk of sexual assault.” Authored by Nimmi Gowrinathan, the Director of the Politics of Sexual Violence Initiative and a Visiting Professor at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College New York and Kate Cronin-Furman, a human rights lawyer and political scientist, it is based on a series of interviews across the former conflict zones. It “uncovered a very disturbing dynamic, in which efforts to protect women from sexual violence end up undermining their political and economic agency, making them even more vulnerable to victimization”. For Tamil women “the last six years have brought lives circumscribed by the threat of violence and ever-diminishing economic opportunities”.
The Sri Lankan navy thanked the Australian government for “capacity and capability enhancement” in a speech at the second day of the Defence Seminar, currently underway in Colombo. Rear Admiral D.M.B Wettewa “underlined the importance of maritime security for the sake of national security concerns”, according to an official military website. Addressing the audience, he went on to state : “Thankfully, with the corporation and assistance by the Australian government on capacity and capability enhancement, we have been able to almost stop the Human Trafficking operations to Australia”. Last month the Australian Federal Police (AFP) was accused of providing equipment and other assistance to the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to torture Tamil civilians.
The Northern Provincial Council passed a resolution calling for the formation of an international tribunal to try those alleged to have carried out mass atrocities on the island. In a resolution that was unanimously passed earlier today, the NPC noted Sri Lanka’s “long and blighted history of human rights violations” which they had characterised as amounting to genocide. “In this context, we the members of the Northern Provincial Council believe that the trial of the alleged perpetrators should not take place through any mechanism instituted by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) as a State also incurs responsibility for the acts of its agents,” the resolution said. Further stating that no domestic law prescribes these international crimes and whether Sri Lanka’s constitution would allow foreign judges to be appointed to exercise jurisdiction, the NPC said, “Under these circumstances, the trial of the perpetrators of international crimes by a domestic mechanism, would be a travesty of justice as it would amount to the potentially guilty Government trying its own agents, thereby violating the prohibition in the maxim nemo iudex in sua causa.”
The Sri Lankan navy has arrested 16 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and seized 3 boats, for allegedly breaching the maritime boundary and engaging in illegal poaching. The fishermen, from Rameswaram, were reportedly apprehended by Delft Island and towed to the Jaffna coast. The charges were however r ejected by the Fishermen's Association President S Emiret, who said the fishermen were fishing in Indian waters off the Kodiakarai coast. Meanwhile, in a separate incident, another group of Indian fisherman were injured after the Sri Lankan navy reportedly attacked them. About 20 fishing nets were damaged in the attack.
The National Freedom Front (NFF) slammed Sri Lanka’s co-operation with the United States and warned that those who fought against the LTTE would be brought before an international war crimes tribunal. Colombo District MP and NFF spokesperson Wimal Weerawansa told The Island that Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should not “adopt a course of action that could be inimical to national security interests”. He went on to state that allegations of war crimes should be dealt with “without any external input”.
Sri Lanka’s defence secretary stated that despite the end of the island’s armed conflict over 6 years ago, the government “must remain vigilant about emerging threats”. Defence Secretary B M U D Basnayake made his comments at the‘Defence Seminar – 2015’, on ‘National Security in the context of Emerging Global Threats’ at the Colombo Galadari Hotel, which started earlier on Tuesday. “Although the defeat of the terrorists in May 2009 paved the way for peace and for rapid post conflict development, our security forces and law enforcement agencies must remain vigilant about emerging threats including drug smuggling, human trafficking, and organized crime,” said Mr Basnayake.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) decided that its leader, R Sampanthan should be appointed as 'Leader of the Opposition in Parliament' on Monday following a meeting of its parliamentary group, despite opposition to this from the SLFP. Since Sri Lanka's general election earlier this month, the TNA has called for it to be given the position of leader of the opposition, arguing that given the SLFP's decision to form a unity government with the UNP, the TNA was the party in opposition with the highest number of seats. The SLFP rejected this at the weekend, arguing that as the second highest...
The US embassy in Sri Lanka is to build 8 schools in the Eastern Province for different communities at a cost of $3.3 million. Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the province's governor, Austin Fernando, on Friday the US Embassy's defence attache, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ross said, “The United States remains dedicated to partnering with the Government to help provide schools and hospitals throughout Sri Lanka." In a statement, the US embassy added: "This sum is in addition to the United States’ pledge of $1 million for resettlement assistance in Sampur, where U.S. Embassy identified two schools for future development to support Sri Lanka's efforts towards reconciliation."
Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena said on Monday "the main aim of the National Government is to promote reconciliation and economic growth". A national government was formed with the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) following the general election earlier this month, when the UNP, which won the greatest number of seats, failed to win a simple majority. Addressing the 8th parliament of Sri Lanka, Mr Sirisena said, "my government will continue to crackdown on corruption and punish those who exploit national resources no matter who they are and there will be no political interference in the appointment of officials."