The Mayor of Toronto has said that only an independent mechanism with international can deliver justice to the Tamil people.

Writing in the Toronto Star on his recent visit to the Northern Province, Mayor John Tory, also commented on the “extraordinary military presence” in the North, adding “when you ask, you are told most of these bases are located on land forcibly taken from Tamil citizens,” and that “this unilateral use of formerly privately owned land, combined with the suffocating military presence itself, causes immense anxiety on the part of the people of northern Sri Lanka and impairs the healing process.”

See the Mayor’s full op-ed published below.

New UK home office policy advise on Sri Lanka is misleading and downplays ongoing human rights violations, Freedom from Torture has said.

The charity which provides rehabilitation and therapy for torture survivors in the UK has said it is deeply concerned by the new policy and has called for an urgent review.

Sri Lanka was the top country of origin for torture survivors referred to the organisation in 2016, and referrals included survivors who have been detained during the current government’s tenure.

Ann Hannah, Freedom from Torture’s Director of Policy and Advocacy said:

Fishermen in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu said they would picket Katchatheevu in protest on April 25 at Sri Lanka's impounding of their fishing boats, the Times of India reported. 

Demanding the release of their boats, the fishermen association's head, N J Bose said, "foreign secretary S Jaishankar, who will be visiting Sri Lanka on April 7, should take up this issue with Sri Lankan authorities to secure the release of Indian fishing boats". 

People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) released its most recent report, "Impunity reigns in Sri Lanka: the Kumarapuram Massacre and Acquittals" during a side session during the Human Rights Council session in Geneva on March 20.

The Sri Lankan health minister laughed off a question about investigating war crimes when speaking to media in Jaffna today.

Asked for his thoughts on future war crimes investigations by Tamil journalists, Rajitha Senaratne, said “war crimes? No we don’t agree with war crimes - nobody is there.”

The minister further responded “in that case who will investigate about the LTTE war crimes” before laughing and saying “are there any leaders? We have to ask them.”

Instead of pursuing accountability, the government will focus on a settlement and devolution the minister said.

A booklet on human rights documentation in a post-war context and a report on memorialisation amongst Tamils in the North-East were launched in February at a panel co-hosted by the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR), People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), and the Forum on Contemporary Issues at the Department of Law at the

Limits must be placed on the number of fishermen from the South using Mullaitivu waters, the Northern Provincial Council said in a resolution last week.

In a resolution passed at the council’s 85th sitting, members said the TNA leader, the North’s Chief Minister and Tamil MPs should directly take up the issue with Sri Lanka’s president, prime minister and fisheries minister.

The motion was brought by Ravikaran, a representative for Mullaitivu, who mentioned specifically the encroachment of Naiyaaru waters by fishermen from the South.

The British Home Office this week published an updated policy guidance and information note on Sri Lanka aimed at decision makers handling the granting of protection and human rights claims for Tamils.

The updated policy guidance, which follows the country guidance of GJ & Others in 2013, stated that there had been "positive developments" since the new government led by President Sirisena came to office and "an improved environment for civil society and human rights defenders has also been reported". 

Sri Lanka's appointment of Major General Shavendra Silva, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Tamils, to the new position of Adjutant General of the army has sparked widespread criticism. 

Major General Silva, who commanded the army's 58 division during the final stages of the ethnic conflict in 2009 where tens of thousands of Tamils were massacres by shelling and aerial bombardment of civilian areas, assumed his duties at a ceremony on Thursday at the army's headquarters. 

Six army officers who were charged and remanded in custody over the abduction and assault of the Sri Lankan journalist, Keith Noyahr in 2008 were on Thursday released on bail. 

The magistrate in Mount Lavinia released the officers, who include one army major, on surety bails of 1 million rupees each, Colombo Page reported.  

Keith Noyahr, an associate editor of The Nation was abducted from just outside him home in Colombo and tortured before being released in May 2008.