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Profiles of May 2009: Ahalya

May 16, 2014

Illustration by Keera Ratnam

The following account written by Paul M.M. Cooper is based on a survivor interview to Tamils Against Genocide (TAG). Personal details of Ahalya (*not her real name) and her family members, place names and dates have been changed to protect their identities.

Ahalya was in her late twenties when the war in the Northeast of Sri Lanka came to an end. She was the sister of an LTTE fighter who was killed fighting in the war, and since his death had been determined to do what she could to alleviate the suffering of the Tamil-majority population of the LTTE-controlled zone.

During the war, Ahalya assisted in the hospital in Oru Kiraamam, while her mother and father stayed at home and looked after her little son. It was hard work, and at first dealing with the wounded and the sick made her heart tremble. She grew tougher, though, and before long her work at the hospital, along with caring for her child, became the focus of her life.

UK politicians and campaigners condemn structural violence against Tamil women in Sri Lanka

May 16, 2014

UK politicians, rights activists and campaigners condemned the structural violence taking place against Tamil women in the North-East of Sri Lanka, at a conference held in the House of Commons in Westminster, on Tuesday.

The event, highlighting the extensive sexual violence, torture and abuses still being inflicted on Tamil women and the societal structures that lead to these atrocities and perpetuate impunity, was organised by a cross party group of UK MPs, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) in collaboration with the British Tamils Forum (BTF).

The societal structures present within Sri Lanka that lead to the injustices and atrocities Tamil women faced were discussed by a panel of activists, campaigners and journalists. The panel comprised Dr Frank Arnold from the medical campaign group MEDACT, Charu Lata Hogg from Chatham House and Child Soldiers International, Dr Juliet Cohen from Freedom From Torture; and Sujatha Moorthy from the telephone counseling service Jothy Helpline. The panel was moderated by Dr Sivakami Rajamanoharan, Tamil Guardian editor.

Tamil parties call for freedom and an end to oppression at May Day rallies across North-East

May 1, 2014

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) mark May Day 2014.

Enter South Africa?

Apr 18, 2014

Cyril Ramaphosa, Vice President of the African National Congress and South Africa's Special Envoy on its dialogue initiative in Sri Lanka addresses speaking at a Hindu Easter festival this weekend. Photograph courtesy of Subry Govender.

An effort by South Africa to facilitate negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) received renewed public interest this month following the visit there by the TNA leadership to meet with Special Envoy, Cyril Ramaphosa, who was appointed earlier this year by President Zuma to facilitate, what is described as the first of the five pillar programme – 'talks about talks'.

The TNA delegation was led by TNA leader R. Sampanthan and including parliamentarians MA Sumanthiran, Selvam Adaikalanathan and Suresh Premachandran.

Arriving in Johannesburg on April 9, they were welcomed by a familiar face, the South African High Commissioner for Colombo, Geoff Doidge, before meeting over the next three days with Mr. Ramaphosa and several officials from the South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) including the Minister of DIRCO, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and the Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim at his residence.

The Sri Lankan government has been noticeably silent on the South African role, and on talks with the TNA, but the high profile of the MPs visit has drawn intense interest, especially as the TNA has since remained tight-lipped over details of their discussions. A press conference to be held on Saturday in Jaffna to elaborate on the visit was cancelled at the last minute.

“It was a very preliminary meeting, we just explained about our past experience in dialogue with Sri Lankan government,” Mr Premachandran, spokesperson of the TNA, told Tamil Guardian two days after the delegation's return.

“He listened [to] whatever we said, it was a long discussion,” Mr. Premachandran said of the meeting with Mr. Ramaphosa on April 11.

Mr. Sumanthiran, confirming the TNA's meeting with DIRCO officials, was upbeat about President Zuma's appointment of a special envoy which he described as an escalation of South Africa’s involvement.

“The South African initiative has been there for more than two years, but has moved to another plane now with the appointment of the special envoy,” Mr Sumanthiran said in an email to Tamil Guardian.

“This was our first meeting with him and it is too premature to comment in detail at this stage,” he added.

We will continue to keep Sri Lanka issue alive' says Stephen Rapp at event on international criminal justice

Apr 13, 2014

The US Ambassador-at-large for Global Criminal Justice, Stephen J. Rapp, said at an event in Washington that the US will continue to work to keep the Sri Lanka issue alive, with a view to see justice some day.

Rapp was speaking last Thursday at an event organised by the America Bar Association-International Criminal Court Project, the Aspen Institute Justice & Society Program, and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, entitled International Criminal Justice: Mass Atrocities, The International Criminal Court, and the Role of States.

What drew bond investors to Sri Lanka this week?

Apr 8, 2014

Sri Lanka sold $500m of bonds on Tuesday with a yield of just over 5 percent – its lowest ever – after raising $1bn in January in a separate bond issuance with a 6 percent yield.

The low yields (or the variable interest Sri Lanka pays annually for borrowing the $1.5bn) suggests investors are not concerned about the country defaulting in paying back the debt. Heavy demand for the bonds this week (orders totaled $4bn) also meant Sri Lanka could offer a lower return to attract investors.

Diaspora groups reject SL ban, vow to continue struggle

Apr 1, 2014

07:12 GMT, updated 23:01 GMT (TGTE, TYO)

Tamil diaspora groups, accused of being "LTTE fronts" by the Sri Lankan government and due to be proscribed, condemned the move as an attempt to criminalise and terrorise Tamils overseas, and vowed to continue to struggle for the Tamil people's liberation from Sri Lankan state repression.

Speaking to Tamil Guardian, representatives of the Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), Canadian Tamil Congress, National Council of Canadian Tamils, Tamil Coordinating Committee UK, British Tamils Forum, and the Global Tamil Forum, said the move was an attempt to silence Tamil voices outside the island, and force the homeland to distance itself from the diaspora, for fear of reprisal.

Tamil Nadu fury at India abstention in UNHRC vote

Mar 27, 2014

Political parties in Tamil Nadu expressed shock and disbelief while condemning India’s decision to abstain from a US sponsored resolution at the UN Human Right Council mandating an international inquiry into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka.

See various reports by Times of India (here and here), The Hindu (here and here), Hindustan Times (here), Business Standard (here), domain-b.com (here ) and PTI (here).

The below is a summary of key reactions.

UN Rights Council mandates 'comprehensive investigation' by OHCHR into Sri Lanka

Mar 26, 2014

Resolution passed - 23 Yes, 12 No, 12 abstentions. Photograph Tamil Guardian. (UPDATED 30 March 2014 - remarks, details of three rounds of votes)

Strong calls for international investigation on first day of HRC session

Mar 2, 2014

Opening of Human Rights Council 25th Session (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe)

Calls for an independent investigation into crimes in Sri Lanka featured strongly on the first day of the 25th UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

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