Balachandran Prabhakaran (The Independent) Pictures obtained by documentary makers have shown the 12 year old son of Velupillai Prabhakaran, Balachandran Prabhakaran, alive and apparently in army custody. Balachandran can be seen sitting with a snack in his hand, sitting on a bench surrounded by sandbags, in what looks like a fortified army position. Another picture shows him dead, with 5 bullet wounds to his body. Digital analysis of both pictures shows that they were taken by the same camera, only a couple of hours apart, according to Callum Macrae, director of the documentary called “No...
The clergy of the North-East have written to the UN Human Rights Council, calling for stronger action against Sri Lanka and also pointing out the systematic destruction of the Tamil nation by the government. The letter, signed by 133 priests, is the first of its kind to be signed by so many of the clergy. See here for the full letter. Extracts reproduced below: " In the last year, those criticising and challenging the government in peaceful ways including by engagement with the UN, have been assaulted, questioned, arrested, threatened, discredited and intimidated by government ministers,...
The Sri Lankan government has reached out to Estonia in an attempt to strengthen trade, tourism and investments between the countries, reported ColomboPage . The announcement comes after a high-level 24-member business delegation from Estonia toured Sri Lanka last week, the first visit of its kind. Meeting with Sri Lankan Minister for Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, Estonia's Foreign Minister said, "Estonia's strategically favourable location and the modern infrastructure and technology in our ports would allow Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to arrange transit more effectively here than in...
Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited Jaffna earlier this month, to observe how new "permanent structures" were being put in place, according to the Sri Lankan Army website . The upgrading of the Jaffna army complex will cost 52 million rupees according to the Army, with the website stating that the renovations were so that, " Battle-fatigued troops serving the Security Force Headquarters - Jaffna (SFHQ-J) would hereafter be able to rest and relax freely ". Some of the facilities offered at the military camp for the soldiers included, "a state-of-the-art air-conditioned...
Photo: Sri Lankan troops parade their weapons at the country's Independence Day celebrations in the Tamil town of Trincomalee, earlier this month.
Three BBC media crew, including South Asia correspondent Charles Haviland, came under attack at a Bodu Bala Sena rally on Sunday. Charles Haviland tweeted : 'Our 3-member BBC team + driver covering #Buddhist #BBS rally #srilanka was seriously threatened with violence by mob after filming...' 'My #srilankan colleagues were verbally abused, accused of having "foreign parents". On the mob's word, police barricaded us & stopped...' '... stopped our car leaving until police superior came & dispersed mob & let us go without further ado. #srilanka #BBS #buddhist' 'Mob behaviour...
Thousands of Sri Lankans have attended a rally launching a campaign calling for the boycott of Halal meat. The campaign, led by Buddhist fundamentalists of the Bodu Bala Sena, calls for all stores to clear Halal products from their shelves by April. "More than 90 percent of the population are Buddhists, Hindus and Christian and therefore there is no justification to force them to eat halal products," Buddhist monk Kirama Wimala Jothi said in a statement. The monk also called on the government to outlaw Muslims from issuing Halal certificates. Nationalist speeches made by monks were...
The shooting 52-year-old Sunday Leader journalist Faraz Shaukatally in Colombo on Friday evening has drawn “ shock and serious concern ” from the British Foreign Office, as attacks on journalists continue on the island. British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt who recently visited Sri Lanka released a statement stating that British consular staff had visited Shaukatally, who holds British and Sri Lankan citizenship. The statement went on to say, “It remains unclear whether this horrific incident was connected to the victim’s work as a journalist. The Sri Lankan authorities must quickly identify who committed this crime and bring them to justice.” “ There has been a range of attacks in Sri Lanka on journalists, civil society organizations and others in recent years. To date, too many incidents have had little investigation and no resolution. The UK and EU have urged the Government of Sri Lanka to do everything possible to investigate such incidences and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.” The attack also drew sharp criticism from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who in an interview with Channel 4 said, "I'm deeply disturbed by this particular shooting because it's a journalist and he's attached to a newspaper that's known to be critical of the government - particularly on accountability and in justice issues - which are issues that I cover. And I will be reporting to the Human Rights Council my concern over extra judicial killings, abductions and this kind of treatment and suppression of freedom of expression ." She went on to call for a “ credible investigation ” for this incident and for all others, calling for civil society to be involved, as the government or police does “not enjoy the confidence of the people, they’re not impartial ”.
In an interview with Channel 4 news, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, has reiterated her call for an international independent investigation into allegations of war crimes and stated that Sri Lanka would be reviewed once more at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva. The High Commissioner also praised Channel 4’s documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields”, commenting, "Let me say how much Channel 4's information is appreciated because you have brought this to the fore. I myself mandated by the Human Rights Council have been filing reports on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka - we will be reviewing that again in March, but I have consistently called for a credible international investigation particularly of the occurrences in the last few days of the conflict". Despite Sri Lanka’s refusal to allow any international investigation take place, Pillay went on to say, “We want to provide them with expert investigative assistance, we are ready to provide this kind of assistance and I'm really disappointed it has not been taken up." "It's particularly bad because this was government forces firing on civilians indiscriminately - they were shelled and the normal responsibility of governments is to protect people - not to kill them."
Sri Lanka’s police have said that they have “run into a blank wall” and haven’t made any progress in identifying the gunmen or a motive behind the shooting of Sunday Leader journalist Faraz Shauketaly. "Investigators have still not been able to make any headway. We are probing all aspects of the case" , police spokesman, SSP Prishantha Jayakody said . President Rajapakse has ordered police chief N. K. Illangakoon to launch an immediate investigation of the shooting of Shauketaly, who holds dual, British and Sri Lankan citizenship.