Samples of human remains found in a mass grave in the central Sri Lankan town of Matale will be sent to the Beta Analytical Archaeological Laboratory in Florida, reported the Daily Mirror . A commission set up by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to look into the mass grave ordered the investigation. The head of the commission is former Supreme Court judge S.I. Imam, with additional members, retired secretary general of parliament Dhammika Kitulgoda, and retired Supreme Court judge A.L.B.K. Atapattu. State Counsel Chetiya Gunasekara is the secretary to the commission.
Updated 28 Feb 2014 16:10 In a report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, released today, the US state department highlighted ‘ serious human rights problems ' that were found ‘ often predominantly in Tamil areas. ’ The report outlined human rights issues, including unlawful killings by security forces and government-allied paramilitary groups, torture and abuse of detainees by police and security forces, improper prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention by authorities and neglect of the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to be prevalent in Tamil areas. See report here .
An Amnesty International report,’Sri Lanka: Suppressing calls for justice’, released today, reiterated its ‘urgent call on the UN to establish an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and other crimes under international law committed by all sides of the armed conflict.” See report here . The report outlined threats on to people meeting with visiting foreign MP’s, retaliations faced by people speaking to US diplomats and retaliations faced by people protesting enforced disappearances. Speaking in Amnesty International’s press release , the Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director, Polly Truscott, said, “Sri Lanka is doing whatever it can to avoid accountability for the alleged horrific violations by its security forces during the armed conflict” “We urge UN member states to use the HRC to agree a strong resolution establishing an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes. And its equally crucial that the world does not lose sight of the still very troubling assault on dissent in Sri Lanka today. ” “The pattern of harassment, surveillance and attacks against those opposing the Sri Lanka authorities is deeply disturbing and shows no sign of letting up”
There are serious doubts over Sri Lanka's reconciliation efforts, including the touted Truth and Reconciliation Commission, reported Deutsche Welle (DW). Germany's international broadcaster, speaking to several NGOs, said it was unlikely, given Sri Lanka's hostility to accountability, that it was serious about delivering justice. Speaking to the public-owned broadcaster, the Sri Lanka analyst for the International Crisis Group (ICG), Alan Keenan, commenting on the lack of progress towards a political settlement and continued subjugation of the Tamil people, said , “The central government has...
British Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hugo Swire, has stated that the UK strongly supports the position of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, adding that the international community has a duty to act on Sri Lanka. Swire went on to add that, “if a credible domestic process has not begun properly by March 2014 we will use our seat on the UN Human Rights Council to call for an international investigation.” Responding to questions in Parliament, hours before the High Commissioner’s report was released (see here), Swire reiterated the March 2014 deadline, also stating, “We share the High Commissioners concerns and do not believe that processes set up by the Sri Lankan Government, such as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission or the Commission of inquiry on Disappearances announced last year, adequately address accountability.” See his comments in full here . Also see our earlier posts below.
An investigation carried out by a social research and advocacy group based in the North East, The Social Architects (TSA), concluded that there were significant concerns in relation to ‘continued militarisation, the concomitant culture of fear which pervades the North and East and the asymmetrical implementation of the LLRC recommendations.” The Social Architect report, 'Reevaluating Sri Lanka's LLRC Progress:part1', looked into progress made in implementing recommendations from Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), by conducting surveys that questioned 1043 people...
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be meeting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Myanmar next week, confirmed India’s Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh. The meeting, on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit, comes as the UN Human Rights Council will meet in Geneva, where a resolution on Sri Lanka will be brought forward. Pressure has been mounting on Sri Lanka, with increasing calls for an international independent investigation, into the events of the armed conflict which ended in 2009. Earlier this month the Telegraph reported that India would support the move for an international...
The death of the British Tamil political prisoner Visvalingam Gopithas was due to a heart attack, Sri Lanka’s Department of Prisons claimed . Commissioner General of Prisons, Chandraratne Pallegama said that the inmate had fallen ill yesterday morning and died shortly after being admitted to the prison hospital. Fellow inmates had previously expressed their suspicions surrounding the circumstances of his death, reported the Uthayan on Monday. A spokesperson for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office meanwhile told the Tamil Guardian that it was aware of Mr Gopithas’ death. “We are aware...
80 bodies have been unearthed from the Mannar mass grave so far, following the 31st excavation, reported both the Uthayan and AFP . Judicial medical officer Dhananjaya Waidyaratne told reporters, "We found more skeletons yesterday and the figure now stands at 80... We have submitted the evidence to (the) courts". The next excavation has been scheduled for the 3rd of March.
Sajith Premadasa, MP for the Hambantota district, said he was ready to do anything to protect the ‘war heroes’ that had liberated Sri Lanka from ‘terrorism’ if there was an international conspiracy against them. However he said that he would not support the ‘corrupt government’, which was involved in the trafficking of heroin in Sri Lanka, reported The Island .