The start of the UN Human Rights Council's 27th session this week saw the welcome reaffirmation of resolve to pursue accountability for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka through a UN inquiry from the newly appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid al-Hussein and the US and UK missions. Amid the crises unfolding in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine, the High Commissioner's pointed statement highlighting the importance he places on the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) is a significant pledge to fulfill the commendable legacy of his predecessor, Navi Pillay. Equally resolved however was Sri Lanka in its determination to oppose it. Reiterating its categorical rejection of the inquiry, Sri Lanka renewed its refusal to cooperate with UN investigators. Its seemingly desperate attempts to block the functioning of the inquiry, only serve to vindicate the basis on which member states led and supported the resolution in March mandating an international inquiry – Sri Lanka will not deliver accountability and justice for the deaths of over 70,000 Tamils during the final stages of the armed conflict itself.
Any talks with the government on a political solution must take place in the presence of international officials said Tamil political parties. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called for an international observer to be present, highlighting the need to ensure commitments made were fulfilled. “We are prepared to talk to him anytime, but in the past this has been without a time frame. As a result we would very much like an international observer’s presence at talks to ensure that the commitments he gives are known to everyone," TNA leader R. Sampanthan told The Hindu , commenting on remarks made by the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa in an interview with the paper the day before. The president of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, called for "international mediators", however stressed that the talks must be on "the basis of how the Tamil nation's right to self-determination can be realised in a multi-national state".
The UK's All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils condemned Sri Lanka's repeated refusal to cooperate with the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) and demanded that it adhere to the UN Human Rights Council resolution passed mandating the inquiry or face sanctions. Calling on the UK government to also condemn Sri Lanka's rejection of the inquiry, the cross-party group of MPs urged the British government "to consider all actions including sanctions until the Government of Sri Lanka agrees to cooperate with OISL." “It is completely unacceptable that after the resolution was passed in March of this year, the Sri Lankan government is still unwilling to participate in this investigation; and is finding ways to regularly prolong and avoid this," wrote the APPG for Tamils chair and Conservative MP Lee Scott, together with the group's vice chair and Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh in a statement released Friday.
Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa hit out at the resolutions passed earlier this week by the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi , one of the main constituent parties of the TNA. An “irate” Rajapaksa, accused ITAK of attempting to cause “fresh political turmoil” and said a tangible campaign was necessary to neutralise the threat by the party, The Island reported. The resolutions adopted by ITAK earlier this week included demands for maximum possible devolution to a merged Northeast Province and an appeal to the international community to halt the genocidal actions of the Sri Lankan government. The defence secretary said that almost all the resolutions encouraged “separatist sentiments”, undermining the Sri Lankan government, and urged the supporters of the TNA in the international community and other local parties to examine the proposals.
The Sri Lankan navy arrested 53 fishermen off the coast of Talaimannar and Jaffna on Thursday morning, reports PTI . According to the Fisheries Association, 30 of those arrested were from Rameswaran in Tamil Nadu, whilst the remainder were from Poompuhara. Six boats and a fishing trawler have also been seized. The arrest comes after five Indian fishermen and one child, were arrested Tuesday by Sri Lankan navy personnel. Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urged the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action against the Sri Lankan navy's ongoing and repeated arrests of Indian...
The UNP's deputy leader Sajith Premadasa ruled out any alliance with NGOs, particularly those "that had opposed the war", as well as a common presidential candidate, reports LankaNewsWeb . “Common candidates are of no use to us. We will field our leader. Anyone accepting our viewpoint can join us. But, no conditions. No common symbols. The leader should contest on the elephant symbol," he reportedly said. "There is no need to form fronts with NGOs. We can win if we can garner part of the Sinhala Buddhist votes. Tamil and Muslim votes are anyway for us. So, what is the use of a front? Those who speak about fronts and those who aid NGO crows should be expelled from the party."
Reiterating Sri Lanka's rejection of the UN inquiry into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, President Rajapaksa stressed "we will not allow an external inquiry". "We want a local enquiry here to find out what happened to them. Obviously many are missing in the war, both from the civilians and the Army. But we reject this UN commission, and how it was formed," he told The Hindu during an interview, published Thursday. "Our government is speaking of local investigations, but we won’t allow them to internationalise it. The next time if they will say that there must be an international enquiry into...
A court in Tamil Nadu ordered issue of summons to the BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy in relation to the case filed by the state's chief minister J. Jayalalitha. Swamy had written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arguing the chief minister had only pushed for the release of fishing boats, held by Sri Lanka, as they were owned by someone she knew. Jayalalithaa rejected this, filing a case for defamation . Authorities of the Times of India and Dinamalar newspapers have also been summoned over their decision to publish his statement. Swamy has been requested to appear before the court before...
Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he would like to meet non-governmental organisations openly critical of the government, reported the Daily Mirror . Rajapaksa was speaking to representatives from 11 NGOs, who were involved in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the Commonwealth People’s Forum, when he expressed an interest in meeting those groups. The defence secretary urged the NGO community to discuss their issues with the NGO Secretariat, instead of “internationalising” them, and spoke about the “unwillingness” of NGOs to engage in dialogue with the government. National Peace Council Executive Director Jehan Perera, who was one of those present at the meeting said, “It was a very cordial discussion but because it was the first meeting of its kind we did not go into details of the various suggestions that were made to improve the situation. But most importantly, the Defence Secretary himself requested and expressed an interest in meeting other NGOs including those that have been very critical of the Government.”
The Madras High Court confirmed that Sri Lankan minister Douglas Devananda can face trial for a murder charge through video conferencing from Colombo on Tuesday. Devananda, who also heads the government-linked paramilitary Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), faces a murder charge relating to a 1986 shoot-out in Chennai which killed one person. Justice C T Selvam, the High Court judge, ruled that the given the diplomatic status that Devananda holds as a Sri Lankan minister, he was permitted to attend hearings via “video-conferencing at the office of the High Commissioner of India at...