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Features

Full coverage: SL army attack Ananthy Sasitharan's home

Sep 19, 2013

Less than two days before the Northern Provincial Council election, the Sri Lankan army and paramilitary group, EPDP, surrounded the house of Ananthi Sasitharan. Whilst she and her three daughters managed to escape, many of her supporters, and one election monitor were injured after being beaten by the soldiers. The election monitor said, "they [soldiers] kept beating us repeatedly with wooden poles saying "You all speak Tamil Nationalism? You all want the Northern Provincial Council. Take this"

Buddhism & Violence' - academics discuss Sri Lanka and Burma

Aug 30, 2013

Discussing 'Buddhism & Violence' in a recent episode of the BBC Radio 4 program 'Beyond Belief', academics and human rights activists discussed the nature of Buddhist violence, including the texts used the justify war in the defence of Buddhism, in Sri Lanka and Burma. See here (first broadcast on 19th August 2013).

Guests included Michael Jerryson, an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies in Youngstown State University in Ohio and co-author of the book 'Buddhist warfare', and Rupert Gethin, professor of Buddhist Studies in the University of Bristol and author of the 'Foundation of Buddhism'.

Outlining the two main streams of Buddhism, Rupert Gethin explained:

"Theravada Buddhism is a form of Buddhism that takes as its authority of set of texts written in Paali, which go back many many centuries to two millennia. This is the kind of Buddhism that is followed by Buddhists in Sri Lanka, South East, Thailand, Cambodia and Lao.

Mahayana Buddhism which is the other main stream of Buddhism, to simplify things, is the kind of Buddhism followed in Tibet and China. They have scriptures that correspond in some way to the Pali cannon but they also have additional texts that they take as authoritative."

Discussing the use of Buddhist scriptures to justify violence, which on the surface appears diametrically opposed to Buddhist teachings of non-violence, Michael Jerryson said,

"There are texts that have been used in recent years to justify violence."

"For example there are texts, the Buddha once spoke with a mercenary. The mercenary asked the Buddha for example, 'Look I'm not an aahat [enlightened being], I'm not enlightened, what I'm doing though is my job, will I have repurcussions for it?' And the Buddha said 'yes, you'll have repurcussions for it. Not for the act of killing, but for holding debase thoughts and bad intentions whilst doing the killing'.

This text has been used sometimes, by for example by Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka right now, by Buddhist monks in Thailand, to give sermons to soldiers to cool their minds, in order for them to clear thoughts whilst doing the killing."

Despite end of conflict, SL heading in an 'increasingly authoritarian direction' - Navi Pillay

Aug 30, 2013

Addressing press in Colombo at the end of her seven day visit to Sri Lanka and the North-East, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay said,

"I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant, all-embracing state, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction,"

In an far reaching statement, which will be followed by an oral report at the UN Human Rights Council during the September session, Pillay began by saying:

"It is important everyone realizes that, although the fighting is over, the suffering is not."

In what she described as a "disturbing aspect of the visit", Pillay described "the harassment and intimidation of a number of human rights defenders, at least two priests, journalists, and many ordinary citizens" who had planned to meet, or met with her.

She said that she had "received reports that people in villages and settlements in the Mullaitivu area were visited by police or military officers both before and after I arrived there" whilst in Trincomalee "several people I met were subsequently questioned about the content of our conversation."

Condemning this as "utterly unacceptable at any time", Pillay commented, "it is particularly extraordinary for such treatment to be meted out during a visit by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights," and stated that "this type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka."

Expressing concern over the "degree to which the military appears to be putting down roots and becoming involved in what should be civilian activities, for instance education, agriculture and even tourism", Pillay highlighted the reports of land grab in order to build military camps and installations.

Calling on the government to "speed up its efforts to demilitarize" the Northern and Eastern provinces, Pillay said "the continued large-scale presence of the military and other security forces is seen by many as oppressive and intrusive, with the continuing high level of surveillance of former combatants and returnees at times verging on harassment."

She also drew attention to the "vulnerability of women and girls, especially in female-headed households, to sexual harassment and abuse", on-going detention of Tamils under the Prevention of Terrorism Act suggesting a repeal of the PTA, and the "urgent need" to resolve the issue of disappearances.

Reliving Black July 1983

Jul 22, 2013

As Eelam Tamils around the world mark thirty years from the horrors of the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, we remember the events of that infamous month of 'Black July' via a collection of excerpts from international newspapers published at the time... As well as news stories from the last two years...

30 years on from Black July 1983

Jul 22, 2013

Editorial and feature marking 30th anniversary of the anti-Tamil pogrom of Black July.

Matter for humanity that justice is done' - interview with Callum Macrae

Jul 12, 2013

Tamil Guardian's correspondent based in Toronto, Canada, caught up with the director of the documentaries 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields' and 'No Fire Zone - the killing fields of Sri Lanka', Callum Macrae, at the sidelines of FETNA 2013, to find out how he viewed Sri Lanka's reaction to the documentaries, himself and others who are speaking out against the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils.

Protesters disrupt Sri Lanka's last match with pitch invasions

Jun 19, 2013

Photograph from uktamilnews.com

Tamil protesters brought the Champions Trophy semi-final India vs Sri Lanka to a halt yesterday after the pitch was invaded on two occasions by protesters carrying Tamil Eelam flags and placards.

Photograph NDTV Sports

The first protester ran on, carrying a placard reading '40,000 Commonwealth Citizens massacred by Rajapaksa' with a Tamil Eelam flag draped around his shoulders, and dodged stewards for quite some time before he was rugby tackled to the floor.

Later in the afternoon, up to 6 protesters carrying the Tamil Eelam flag invaded the pitch, suspending play once again.

The pitch invasions took place as hundreds of Tamils joined activists from the 'Boycott Sri Lankan Cricket' campaign to stage a demonstration outside Swalec stadium in Cardiff calling on countries to suspend sporting ties with Sri Lanka, and support a call for an international, independent investigation into the mass atrocities of 2009.

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Full coverage: SL army attack Ananthy Sasitharan's home

Buddhism & Violence' - academics discuss Sri Lanka and Burma

Despite end of conflict, SL heading in an 'increasingly authoritarian direction' - Navi Pillay

Reliving Black July 1983

30 years on from Black July 1983

Matter for humanity that justice is done' - interview with Callum Macrae

Protesters disrupt Sri Lanka's last match with pitch invasions

Sri Lankan cricket fans attack Tamil #BoycottLKA activists in London

The nation remembers four years on

Sri Lanka faces another resolution at UNHRC

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