Ananthy Sasitharan, TNA candidate for the upcoming Northern Provincial Council elections narrowly escaped an attack while travelling home after campaigning in Jaffna on Tuesday. Assailants on a motorcycle followed Sasitharan’s vehicle and hurled rocks, targeting the window seat where she was sitting, causing slight damage to the vehicle. A military vehicle had reportedly overtaken Sasitharan’s vehicle just minutes before the appearance of the motorbike. The attack also took place just after a ruling party gathering which had caused traffic in the area, causing Sasitharan’s vehicle to move...
The Tamil National Alliance accused the military of campaigning on behalf of the ruling coalition in the run up to the Northern Provincial Elections today. The military were accused of threatening opposition candidates and erecting posters for candidates of the ruling coalition. In a letter addressed to Mahinda Rajapaksa, the TNA leader Sampanthan said , “In this background and otherwise, it is clear that there cannot be a free and fair election if the military continues its interfering pressure in the Northern Province,” “It has thus become imperative for me to ask you to relegate the army...
Liberation, a London-based NGO submitted a report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council, in which it warned of the continuation of “the Sri Lankan state’s acts of genocide” “in the absence of any accountability”. Of the overall situation in Sri Lanka, Liberation said: “The conventional war was brought to an end with heavy civilian casualties. Subsequently the violence faced by the surviving Tamil population has escalated to new levels. Instead of taking genuine steps to bring about lasting peace, the Sri Lankan state has chosen the path of: triumphalism,...
In a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, Chennai-based NGO Pasumai Thaayagam warned of “a complete ethnic cleansing of the Tamils from their traditional homeland”. The report on land grabs in the Northeast urged the UNHRC to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate the “systematic land grabs” in the traditionally Tamil Northeast. Pasumai Thaayagam said in the report: “Land grabs constitute serious structural violence, which, if left unaddressed, could threaten the chances of achieving a sustainable peace. Structural violence, with its associated consequences—such as violence...
As the 24 th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council commenced today, several members of the Council slammed Sri Lanka over the alleged threats faced by people who met the UN High Commissioner for Human Righst Navi Pillay during her recent visit to Sri Lanka. The US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Eileen Chamberlin Danahoe, welcoming Navi Pillay’s visit to Sri Lanka, urged the nation to make use of the UN offer of technical assistance on addressing the human rights related issues. The European Union, went on to call on Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of the Lessons...
Delivering Sri Lanka’s statement at the 24 th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Ravintha Aryasinha implored Navi Pillay to take an ‘unbiased’ approach to Sri Lanka in fulfilling her mandate and not to give credence to ‘unsubstantiated’ allegations. Responding to concerns over intimidation of human rights defenders, Aryasinha stressed that Sri Lanka was ’fully committed’ to protecting human rights defenders and requested the Human Rights High Commissioner and her office to provide specific evidence. Noting the freedom to travel that...
A 15-member delegation from the National Defence College of India visited the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Navy in Colombo, reported The Island . Navy Commander Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage received the visitors, which included officers from Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Nepal and Uganda.
Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development said on Saturday that the Chief Minister of the Northern Province would not have any authority to reduce military presence in the North. In apparent criticism of the TNA, Basil said that only the president could make such a decision which even Parliament did not have the authority to make. The minister also claimed that the TNA had made a manifesto to please the diaspora saying : "By way of its manifesto, the TNA has paved the path for another chaotic situation in the country. The TNA manifesto has highlighted that the TNA is clueless about...
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) called on leaders to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due to take place in Sri Lanka later this year. In an open letter to the heads of government of members states of the Commonwealth, the GTF's president, Rev. Dr. S.J. Emmanuel, called on them to " make a stand on Sri Lanka and boycott CHOGM 2013 " and " to bar the Government of Sri Lanka from chairing the association for the next two years ." Detailing the lack accountability for past crimes, and the on-going human rights abuses taking place on the island, the GTF president wrote, "...
British research group Corporate Watch has uncovered that the Scottish Police College has trained over 3,500 Sri Lankan police officers, including some senior commanders, funded by the UK and Scotland. Sri Lanka is under scrutiny over hyuman rights abuses and the police is suspected to be involved in killings and disappearances, especially of Tamil speaking people. “Investigation by Corporate Watch reveals that, in the build up to this combined police-military offensive, 48 Sri Lankan police officers were trained by the SPC from May 2007 to January 2008. One of these officers, Jayantha Wickremaratne, was then promoted to lead Sri Lanka's police from June 2008 – October 2009, commanding the force at the height of its human rights violations,” the organisation’s website stated. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay concluded a visit to the island last week and was scathing in a statement after her tour of the war-affected areas.