Channel 4 is to screen Sri Lanka's Killing Fields , a special one-hour investigation which features devastating new video evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sri Lanka, at the UN this Friday 3 June . Presented by Channel 4 News journalist Jon Snow, the film features footage captured on mobile phones, both by Tamil civilians under attack and government soldiers as war trophies. “ The footage is probably the most horrific the channel has ever shown . The decision to show it at length was made only after serious and careful consideration,” Channel 4's Head of News...
“I conclude on the basis of the extensive technical evidence we obtained from independent experts that what is depicted in the video indeed happened . … I believe that a prima facie case of serious international crimes has been made ." "The prima facie case should go to the next level of investigation on a domestic and an international level . ... "We should recognise the domestic process, but I think in parallel there should be an international investigation ." - Christof Heyns , the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, speaking to the Human Rights...
As speculation drove Sri Lanka’s stock market to a 1-week high, foreign investors net sold $1.5 m (Rs. 165m) worth of shares on Monday, Reuters reported. Foreign investors have sold a net $58m (Rs. 6.36 bn) worth of shares in 2011, after a record $240m (Rs. 26.4 bn) in 2010. See our earlier posts: Sri Lanka’s stocks: a closer look (Jan 2011) Foreigners sell, state buys (Oct 2010)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navanethem Pillay, during her opening statement to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 30 May 2011. Let me also refer to the report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka, which concludes that there are credible allegations of a wide range of serious violations of international law committed by both the Sri Lankan Government forces and Tamil Tigers in the final stages of the conflict. It is incumbent on the Government to investigate these allegations and I also urge it to implement the measures recommended by the...
While Sri Lanka’s friends urge a domestic investigation into war crimes committed during the final months of the island’s war as a way of fending of an international probe, a defiant President Mahinda Rajapaksa made clear Friday there will be nothing of the sort. See reports by the BBC and other agencies . “ We were with you in the battlefield. It is the same today. We will not betray you before the world ,” President Rajapaksa told his troops in a speech marking the second anniversary of the end of the war with the Liberation Tigers. "I will recall what I said in the past - that our troops...
The rank of President’s Counsel (PC) in Sri Lanka – originally Queen’s Counsel (QC), as it is in UK – is awarded to the most senior lawyers who are experts in a particular field. The title refers to those considered sufficiently eminent as to be appointed to represent the head of state. According to Sri Lanka’s constitution, PCs are those lawyers who have “reached eminence in the profession and have maintained high standards of conduct and professional rectitude.” Thus, at a time Sri Lanka is under growing international scrutiny for mass killings during the final months of the island’s war,...
In the light of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s categorical refusal to investigate war crimes by Sri Lanka’s military, this is what US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Robert Blake, had to say during his visit earlier this month (see AFP’s report here ): "We look first to the host government, in this case the government of Sri Lanka, to take responsibility (for) these issues. " The US has continuously expressed to the government of Sri Lanka to implement a credible process of accountability." "[An] international mechanism can become appropriate in case of states that are unable or...
From the Sunday Times, May 30: Rehearsals for the Victory Day parade held on Friday began two weeks ago. Among those rehearsing were a group of 23 newly-recruited policemen from Jaffna, six of whom were women constables. On the eve of the parade they were told, that due to security reasons , they had been dropped from the parade, but if they wished they could witness the parade. See also our earlier posts: Which nation’s team? (April 2011) Strict criteria ... (Dec 2010) 'Ethnocracy'? (Nov 2010)
Daily Mirror's cartoon Friday May 27, 2011 Sri Lanka on Thursday withdrew the on-arrival free visa facility for Indian tourists. Although potential visitors from 78 other countries will also be impacted by the decision announced this week, t he majority of tourists to the island are Indians. Over 120,000 visited last year, up from 85,000 in 2009. See the Hindustan Times’ report here . The move comes amid growing hostility to India, and Indians, amongst Sinhala society. Amid barely-disguised resentment over India's refusal to support Sri Lanka against international demands for an investigation...
Sri Lanka's announcement of the appointment of yet another commission to investigate human rights abuses should come as no surprise. Following the release of report by the UN expert panel, calls for an international, independent inquiry into the final stages of the conflict are gaining momentum on a global level. This new commission, like its predecessors, including the infamously impotent Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) is a farce. Its announcement is a insolent retort at the UN report and all those advocating accountability, as well as another of Sri Lanka's habitual ploys to buy time for international attention to fade.