President Maithripala Sirisena promised families of the disappeared he would issue directives to the National Security Council the following day to release lists of surrendees, detainees, and political prisoners that families were demanding. This assurance was given during a meeting between representatives of families of the disappeared from across all eight districts of the North-East and President Sirisena in Jaffna on Monday. The meeting was arranged as a result of demands by the families at demonstrations on the 100 th day of their Kilinochchi protest on May 30. Also in attendance at the...
The Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) launched “Stories of Mullivaikaal,” the first series in ACPR’s “Stories of Resilience” project at www.storiesofresilience.com . The project will document stories of resilience and agency, highlighting narratives other than victimhood within Tamil community, who have exhibited diverse forms of resilience through various stages of Sri Lanka’s unresolved ethnic conflict. See full press release below: Today the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) launched “Stories of Mullivaikkaal”, the first series in ACPR’s “Stories of Resilience” project...
Thirty-six years ago today, the Jaffna Public Library, a crown jewel among Tamil cultural institutions and one of the largest libraries in South Asia, burned at the hands of Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs.
Eelam Tamils across the homeland and the diaspora commemorate the Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day
Land is linked to identity, and identity is important to all communities regardless of whether they are from the North or the South. By Aingkaran Kugathasan, for Tamil Guardian | Colombo Subsequent governments in Sri Lanka have manipulated the issue of land for political and economic gains by; promoting the livelihood and well-being of one Community over another (in this case the ethnic majority), providing lands to transnational corporations (TNCs), acquiring lands for security purposes (High Security Zones: HSZ). Both private and state lands of people who have for generations been settled...
The measures taken by Sri Lanka since October 2015 have been inadequate to ensure real progress a report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released on Friday in Geneva concluded, reiterating the need for a hybrid court with international judges and lawyers. Assessing the progress made by Sri Lanka in implementing resolution 30/1 which it co-sponsored at the Human Rights Council the report urged "stronger, tangible results need to be forthcoming without further delay to prevent any further dissipation of hardearned trust." Welcoming the Sri Lankan...
On the 31st January, 84 Tamil families from Mullaitivu awaited the scheduled return of their lands, only to be turned away by the Sri Lankan air force personnel whose camp was built on the land. The families of Pilavu village in Keppapilavu, owners of around 20 acres of occupied land, commenced a protest outside the air force camp, announcing they would stay there until they were given access to their properties.
JR Jayewardene discussing the military assault on Jaffna with a commander. A set of recently declassified CIA reports reveal how Sri Lanka’s former president J R Jayewardene attempted to garner military support from the United States and position himself as a moderate dedicated to solving the island’s ethnic crisis, even as the Sri Lankan army was committing large scale human rights abuses in the North-East.
The Pilakudiyirippu (Pilavu) protest for land return enters its third week. With each morning that breaks at their base outside a Sri Lankan air force camp, the protestors reaffirm their resolve.