One of the three international experts appointed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to lead the international inquiry into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, Asma Jahangir, expressed confidence in the inquiry's ability to deliver answers despite the Sri Lankan government's persistent refusal to cooperate, in an interview with BBC Tamil . Highlighting her previous experience in conducting UN inquiries when governments refused to cooperate, Ms Jahangir said “we have provided very independent and reliable reports, and these have been accepted too”. A lawyer from Pakistan, Ms Jahangir, is also a former President of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association and of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, as well as the previous holder of several Human Rights Council mandates and member of a recent fact-finding body into Israeli settlements. "It will be a very difficult task for any government to stop people from contacting investigators," she said, warning the Sri Lankan government that any attempts to prevent people from testifying at the inquiry would only be detrimental to them. “People will always find a way to collaborate with such inquiries," she added. The inquiry will begin during the first or second week of August. The full interview by BBC Tamil is translated below: Asma Jahangir: Our role is within our mandate. We are basically supposed to be making recommendations to the High Commissioner. We will ensure that the inquiry will be independent and that human rights violations by all sides will be looked in an unbiased manner. BBC Tamil: The Sri Lankan government has said that it will not cooperate with your inquiry. If it does not issue you a visa and prevents people from being able to contact you, how will you be able to conduct the inquiry?
Development in the North-East cannot take place without a permanent political solution in place, the TNA MP for Vanni District, Sivasakthi Ananthan, was quoted by the Uthayan as saying. "Several thousands of millions of rupees is required to do development in North East, but the government cannot get this sum without finding a permanent solution," he said on Saturday. "The govt has misjudged that it can win over the international community just as it did the war, but the truth is, without finding Tamils a permanent solution, it cannot win over the international community," he further added.
The ruling party MP for Colombo district, Thilanga Sumathipala, warned the International Criminal Court (ICC) of a "turbulent environment" and inter-ethnic violence in Sri Lanka and beyond, if the UN was to take action against Sri Lanka following an international inquiry into mass atrocities, reports FT.lk . " If the UN persists in taking action against Sri Lanka, a turbulent environment is likely to prevail once again within our country. Furthermore this could affect the entire Asian region, with a rapid spread of unrest and violence between ethnic groups ,” Mr Sumanthipala told the President of the ICC, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, during a visit to the Hague attending the Executive Committee of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). He added: " It is indeed regrettable and unjust that the United Nations has deemed it fit to yield to pressure from the globally-dominant Tamil population and use the weapon of human rights against the Sinhalese .
There have been unconfirmed reports that a boat of 153 Tamil asylum seekers heading towards Christmas Island have been handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy by Australian authorities, reports the Guardian. Christmas Island shire president, Gordon Thomson, spoke to Guardian Australia on Tuesday informing them of the latest reports, adding that there was no sign of the vessel at Chirstmas Island. Thomson told AAP, "It's a very, very, very disturbing story, if it's true... That would be a quantum leap in ruthless bastardry by any government." The Sri Lankan Navy denied that the asylum seekers, of which more than 30 are thought to be children, have been handed over to them by Australian authorities. Speaking to ABC radio, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott refused to comment on whether the reports were true, saying "I'm not going to comment on the operational detail of what happens on the water." Greens senator and immigration spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young called the reports “extremely concerning” and added , “The Australian government has a responsibility to assess these people’s claims for protection, not hand them over to the very authorities they are fleeing.”
The European Union (EU) has welcomed the appointment of three international experts to the UNHCHR investigative team on Sri Lanka and called on the Sri Lankan government to “fully co-operate” with the upcoming investigation. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU said, “We urge the Governme nt of Sri Lanka to fully cooperate with the investigation to address accountability issues as an important step for fostering genuine reconciliation.” The statement went on to call upon the Sri Lankan government too “also allow all...
(Picture: news.lk) The Sri Lankan Army remembered their dead soldiers at a Buddhist event in Jaffna on Friday night. The military’s Jaffna commander, Major General Udaya Perera, organised the remembrance event in connection to the 18th anniversary of the formation of the Security Force – Jaffna. Senior members of Sri Lanka's Buddhist clergy presided over the event to “invoke blessings” for those Sri Lankan soldiers who lost their lives fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which included tribal dancers from the Sinhala south and an all-night chanting ceremony, according to the defence ministry's website .
Sri Lankan minister Wimal Weerawansa, faced angry protests from the Sinhalese diaspora in Italy on Tuesday, for his criticisms of the Buddhist monk group, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and its leader, the SriLanka Mirror reported. Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Mr Weerawansa was almost assaulted when a member of the audience grabbed him by the shirt, before his bodyguards intervened. Mr Weerawansa, the leader of the government coalition partner, National Freedom Front (NFF), is currently on a tour of Italy. The Sinhalese diaspora in Italy, had previously vowed not to allow Sri Lankan...
Australia’s Immigration Minister has refused to comment on the fate of a boat carrying 153 asylum seekers towards Christmas Island, as it nears 2 days since last contact was made with the vessel. Reports have speculated that the boat may have been intercepted by Australian Navy as part of “Operation Sovereign Borders”, but with no reports of arrivals at Christmas Island detention centre, there are fears the asylum seekers are being forcibly held on the vessel. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young slammed the government’s approach, noting that with more than 30 children thought to be on board. ''It is more like operation prison ships than it is Operation Sovereign Borders,'' said the senator. ''I'm extremely concerned that the government is holding these asylum seekers on board customs vessels. We know they've been doing that in the past with other boats for a number of days, weeks. A prison ship is no place for children.'' Her comments come as Immigration Minister Scott Morrison held what was described by the Guardian as a “near farcical” press conference, refusing to comment on any events involving boats.
Writing to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa has called for an “immediate and emphatic response” to the repeated arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. Her letter comes after yet another incident where 17 Tamil Nadu fishermen were detained by Sri Lankan security forces over the weekend. In her letter to Modi, Jayalalithaa, who commands the third biggest party in India, said , “My government looks to your immediate and emphatic response to this issue and to ensure that it is taken up at the highest levels of the Sri Lankan Government, so that our fishermen are not repeatedly arrested and abducted in the high seas of the Palk Bay.” Slamming the “hostile actions of the Lankan Navy”, the Chief Minister went on to add , “These continued and repeated instances of apprehension and abduction of our fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy are adding to the very heightened sense of unrest and resentment among the Tamil Nadu fishermen”.
The probe by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is “utterly uncalled for”, says Sri Lanka. “We have taken the view that this investigation is utterly uncalled for,” UN Ambassador Palitha Kohona, said according to the Associated Press . “It’s like this poor third-world country is being punished in an unforgiving manner for having defeated a terrorist group” he said. Kohona has previously said that surrendering LTTE members, who are thought to have been shot by the military, were actually shot in the back by Tamil fighters. But Kohona now distanced himself from those comments, saying that he doesn't personally know what happened.