Arizona Senator and former presidential hopeful John McCain has asked whether the US should be more active in condemning the ongoing serious human rights violations in Sri Lanka, reported Colombo Gazette. Speaking at the confirmation hearing of Nisha Desai Biswal, President Obama’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, McCain said there continue to be reports from human rights organisations that there are still significant human rights abuses taking place against the Tamils which rise to a level that is “very disturbing”. Senator Marco Rubio also noted that there had been...
A Sri Lankan court granted bail today to a Buddhist monk and four laymen that were arrested for attacking Christian places of worship. The monk, Homagama Wimalawansa Thero, said that the Christian place of worship was being used to convert Buddhists into Christina.
Reports have suggested that women in three Kilinochchi villages were subjected to coercive birth control last month. After being asked to visit the hospital to check up their children, the doctors allegedly used coercive language to convince the women to take Progestogen-only subdermal implants (PODIs), a long-term hormonal birth control under the skin of a women’s upper arm. Speaking to reporters one woman said , “They treated me but I wanted to see the doctor who did this to me, but he wasn’t there. And the other doctor told me that he doesn’t know anything about this. The other doctor told...
India’s Shipping Minister, GK Vasan, has expressed his opposition to the proposed sale of two naval ships to Sri Lanka. “I am against the selling of warships to Sri Lanka. I will meet the Prime Minister soon and represent him not to sell the warships,” he told reporters at a function in Erode. Vasan had already requested the government to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka, reported The Hindu . He also pledged he would urge Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to insist that the Sri Lankan government implements the 13th Amendment to the constitution without dilution,...
The Buddhist Ravana Balaya group warned today that the Tamil National Alliance’s Chief Ministerial Candidate, C.V Wigneswaran would not be allowed to return to Colombo following the results of the Northern Provincial Council election. The General Secretary of Ravana Balaya, Ithkande Saddhatissa, said that the TNA election ‘manifesto’ was illegal and unconstitutional. Saddhatissa told journalists that the TNA were a threat to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and that, by asking for land, police, education and financial powers in the North-East, the TNA were attempting to establish a separate state. The...
In a statement released today, the All Party Parliamentary Group For Tamils, urged the British government, in the light of Navi Pillay’s recent findings, to reconsider its stance on the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka. Full statement reproduced below or see here .
The TNA’s manifesto for the Northern Provincial Council elections has been making waves across the island, with several parties deeming it to be separatist and extreme. Comparing the manifesto to the TULF’s 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution, Youth Affairs and Skills Development minister Dullas Alahapperuma called it a strategic document prepared with an eye on separatism, saying , "the TNA’s manifesto is a cyanide capsule to the Tamil youth." The opposition has also criticised the manifesto, with the UNP’s parliamentarian for Hambantota saying that the TNA were misleading people by claiming the...
India’s Union Minister of State V Narayanasamy has confirmed to media that India is providing two warships to Sri Lanka under an agreement signed several years ago. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister J Jayalalitha has demanded that India cancels the sale, saying there is a deep sentiment amongst all sections of society that the Sri Lankan government must be held accountable for the genocide that was committed against Tamils. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Jayalalitha also said that the Sri Lankan Navy was intensifying their campaign against Indian Tamil fishermen. “Given the strength...
A United Nations led survey into violence against women across the Asia Pacific region found that substantial numbers of sexual violence cases were met with impunity in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan section of the study which was conducted in Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, Batticola and Hambantota, found that 15% of the men surveyed in Sri Lanka had admitted to committing rape. The study further showed that only 3% of all those who admitted to rape, and only 2.2% consequently jailed. The study therefore concluded that 96.5% of rape cases ended resulted in no legal consequences. Further statistics...
Lawyer’s Right Watch Canada (LRWC), commemorated Sunila Abeseykara’s life at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Watch full statement from one of the LRWC directors, Gary Anandasangaree, below.