A police spokesperson has told media that all investigations of incidents at protests and demonstrations in regards to religion will be handed to the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs. Police Media Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said that the ministry will be informed of this today. The ministry is responsible for all affairs relating to Buddhism, the religion given the foremost place by the Sri Lankan constitution. “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana,” the...
British MPs and local councillors of the London constituency Ilford North met with members of the Tamil community today to discuss the issue of seeking ‘Justice for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.' Left to Right: Jim Murphy, Wes Streeting & Mike Gapes (Photo:John Howard) Labour’s candidate for Ilford North, Wes Streeting chaired the event with local councillor T Jeyaranjan, the Shadow Secretary for International Development , Jim Murphy and Ilford South MP, Mike Gapes joining his panel. Opening the event, Mike Gapes outlined that the continued subjugation of Tamils by the Sinhala majority had been the main cause of the ethnic conflict which ended with the brutal atrocities committed against Tamil civilians. Gapes went on to stress that recent documentaries and credible reports proved that an international investigation into war crimes was required as the Sri Lankan government did not have the capacity to perform their own. Arguing that calls for an international investigation should be immediate Gapes said, “Sri Lanka do not deserve to be given yet more time to perform an independent inquiry by March.”
The social, political, and economic arrangements of a society can place some people in a privileged position relative to others, particularly with respect to important goods, like institutional representation, economic resources, and even less tangible goods like “respect” and “welfare”. Since societal arrangements are not always brought into reflective awareness, it is unsurprising when even well meaning and well-intentioned members of privileged groups are unaware of how they may benefit from social arrangements relative to members of other groups. Many times have we experienced “upper-caste” Tamils unable and unwilling to recognize the privilege they hold vis-à-vis “lower-caste” Tamils in Sri Lanka and beyond. Sometimes they may well be aware of some of the difficulties faced by oppressed caste members. Sometimes they may even work for the betterment of other communities in the island, but this hardly ever translates into wider acknowledgment of the privilege centred around their “upper-caste” Tamil identity.
Seven new Buddhist viharas (temples) had been built in Batticaloa alone since the end of the armed conflict, along side a total of 54 Sri Lankan military camps, said P. Selvarajah of the TNA, reported Tamil Mirror. Speaking to journalists, he said that the rights of Tamils were being increasingly denied, with many Tamils being forced to relocate as their lands are appropriated by the Sri Lankan state. An area of land spanning 122,226 acres is to be acquired by the Ministry of Environment, uprooting Tamils who are resident within the zone.
Buddhist monks led protests and attacks against two Christian Churches in the south of the island today, reports Colombo Gazette . Claiming that the churches - Assembly of God Hikkaduwa and the Calvary Free Church - were operating without the necessary authorisation, the monks and residents encircled the congregation, demanding that the church be shut down. In a statement, the Assembly of God criticised the Sri Lankan police's response, saying, “We have also been informed that contrary to previous reports the police gave very feeble assistance. Lawyers are now meeting with the police. As of...
The United States has released a statement calling on Sri Lanka to hold independent and credible investigations into reported human rights abuses, adding that, where relevant, prosecutions should also be taking place. In a statement marking the end of US Ambassador at large for War Crimes Stephen Rapp’s visit to the island, the United States said he had heard about the “continuing desire for reconciliation, justice and accountability”. It went on to add, “During Ambassador Rapp's discussions, he listened to eyewitness accounts about serious human rights abuses and violations of international...
The Sinhalese Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has said that the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka does not support the allegations made by Tamil bishops to US officials last week. Speaking to The Island , Cardinal Ranjith said that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka would not endorse the claims made by Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph and the Bishop of Jaffna Thomas Soundranayagam, saying those were the personal opinions of the Tamil bishops. The bishops had told US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Stephen Rapp that Sri Lanka had used chemical weapons and cluster bombs...
Assessing the risk of mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, five years after the end of the armed conflict, The Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention, concluded in a report published on Friday, that " the mass atrocity risk in Sri Lanka remains high ". The Sentinel Project is a non profit organisation, aimed at ensuring effective early warning of genocide, and acting to prevent the loss of life. See here for full risk assessment, which includes an outline of the basis of the accusation of genocide against the Tamils by the Sri Lankan government (page 34). Extract of the report summary has been reproduced below: "The current political situation gives the military an ever-greater concentration of power. The heavy militarization of the north remains one of the main obstacles to the region’s recovery since the Sri Lankan military has assumed an economic role in not only overseeing but also approving development efforts. The military’s freedom of action represents a potent example of socioeconomic deprivation of a specific group based on the treatment of Tamils as second-class citizens by the Sri Lankan government . Furthermore, the defeat of the LTTE in 2009 has done little to address the concerns and fears of the Tamils as they relate to Sinhalese domination. Instead of forming more inclusive relationships with the minority, the Sinhalese government has used this transitional period to reassert Sinhalese power . Additionally, police and military forces, as well as Sinhalese militias, continue to resort violence, including intimidation, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, and even murder to restrain any opposition to the government.
Sri Lanka's infamous Chinese-built Lakvijaya Power Station in Norochcholai has broken down for the 26th time, since its opening in 2010. The plant, Sri Lanka’s only coal powered plant, reportedly experienced problems in the conductivity of water used to generate electricity, causing yet another shutdown. It was active for only 5 days, following a previous shut down on January 5th. According to Bandula Chandrasekara consultant of the National Electricity Consumers' Movement, each time the plant suffers a breakdown, there is a Rs. 26 million cost in restarting it. A team of Chinese engineers...
The Sri Lankan government is to ban the building of places of worship without permission from the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs. According to Colombo Page, the government cited clashes between religious groups for this decision, and claimed that the Ministry had received numerous complaints by 'inappropriately' situated places of worship. The Ministry's chief, who also happens to be Sri Lanka's Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne, previously instructed officials to relocate a mosque that was ordered to be demolished by the government, arguing that there was no need to create...