The Jaffna University Student’s Union has expressed disappointment in the omission of international investigation mechanisms in a proposed draft of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka. In a statement released on Monday, the Union said:

“The current draft resolution’s exclusion of proposals for an international investigation mechanism – for which Tamil demands have been firm – has disappointed those affected [by war crimes].”

“It is important to note that in the case of Sri Lanka, a domestic investigation is impossible.”

The former head of the Sri Lankan Air Force, Harsha Abeywickrema, will be appointed as the new chairman of the Bank of Ceylon this week.

Abeywickrama resigned from his post with the air force last week and was in charge of air operations during the final phase of the armed conflict. Under his command, the air force is thought to have taken part in indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

Northern Province Councillor, Ananthi Sasitharan's address at the side event on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council on March 11th, organised by IMADR (International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism), reproduced in full below:

My name is Ananthi Sasitharan, I am an elected Member of Northern Provincial Council in Sri Lanka. I am here today in front of you as a voice of the oppressed Tamil people in Sri Lanka, and I speak on behalf of thousands of Tamil people that surrendered as individuals and as families to the Sri Lankan government.

Myself and others have filed cases habeas-corpus and continue to receive no justice for the thousands of people that were put in Sri Lankan custody.

Our homeland is completely occupied by the military, that are almost entirely Sinhalese. At any event, the army is there and people are afraid by the army presence - too afraid to talk or do anything. All our native lands are in their hands, as they have occupied everything.

In the North-East, there are a huge number of relatives of missing people; not just of those that disappeared during the war, because even today people are disappearing.
 

Published 14:22 CET

An event held on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council earlier today highlighted ongoing rights violations occurring in North-East of the island of Sri Lanka, calling for a international Commission of Inquiry into abuses committed during the armed conflict and that carry on to this day.

Organised by the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism on the sidelines of the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council Geneva, the event saw speakers from the North-East who described the violations that continued to take place and called for a international Commission of Inquiry. Speakers that addressed the event included IMADR President Nimalka Fernando, Anne-Kathrin Glatz from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, TNA Northern Provincial Council member Ananthi Sasitharan, Rev. Jeyabalan a member of the Christian clergy in Mannar, Sri Lankan human rights activist and lawyer Niran Anketell, and Sandya Ekneligoda, whose husband Prageeth, a renowned cartoonist, was disappeared.

See live coverage from the event on our Twitter page - @TamilGuardian

IMADR president Nimalka Fernando also told the event how the denial of the right to self-determination was just one of the several violations currently taking place, adding,

“the reconciliation that is needed should also provide dignity to the Tamil Nation on the island.”

Fernando went on to tell the audience,

"The international intervention we are calling for is a just cause, people in Sri Lanka have waited for long enough... The issue is not just about setting up any international mechanism.... We need a comprehensive international investigation that addresses violations before during and after the war."

Anne-Kathrin Glatz from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre noted the plight of IDPs in the North-East, stating that government figures which claim that there were 23,568 were false. She stated that figures obtained from the organisation’s research suggested that there were over 90,000 IDPs.

Also addressing the event was Reverend Jeyabalan from Mannar who spoke of ongoing disappearances in the North-East, including the recent abduction of a Tamil priest.

Speaking on the current situation he went on to add,

“There is a clear attempt to change the ethnic makeup of the North-East through land grabs and militarisation”.

Human rights activists across India have called on the Central government to support an international investigation into genocide in Sri Lanka, urging it not to “hide” behind strategic interests.

According the New Indian Express, V Suresh, national general secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said,

“This is not only an issue of the Tamils’ but a serious human rights violation and with the help of human rights organisations in over 25 States, we will spread awareness so that the whole nation rises against the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan government.”

“The Sri Lankan government should not be allowed more time for reconciliation initiatives and the investigation should be started immediately. The more the delay, the more the loss and manipulation of evidence.”

Brokers in Sri Lanka’s stock exchange have said that speculation around an impending UNHRC resolution is affecting investor confidence, despite an increase in foreign inflows.

The Green Party’s human rights spokesperson and Member of Parliament Jan Logie has called on the New Zealand government to support an international inquiry into war crimes in Sri Lanka, as the lack of accountability "puts the lives of people today at risk, as well as future peace in the region.”

Speaking on the resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, Logie said,

“The Human Rights Council session presents an opportunity for New Zealand to push for accountability and protection of human rights action in regard to the worrying situation in Sri Lanka… Our representatives at the United Nations should be doing all they can to support an independent investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.”

A Sinhalese deportee, who said he was tortured on his return to Sri Lanka, was denied an interview with Australian police who were in Colombo, according to a cable released under a Freedom of Information law request by The Guardian.

The police declined the opportunity to interview the man, to avoid interfering with any ongoing Sri Lankan investigation.

The election manifesto of the Dravida Munettra Kazhagam (DMK) pledged to push the central government for a referendum, held amongst the Tamil of the North-East of Sri Lanka, and migrant Tamils living abroad, to decide on a permanent political solution.

The manifesto also said the party would press for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment on the island and that it would appoint Tamil speaking envoys to countries with large diaspora populations.

Updated 17:40 GMT

The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that Britain is supporting an independent international inquiry in Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, reported The Guardian.

A spokesperson for David Cameron said that Sri Lanka had failed to meet the deadline set by the PM to conduct a thorough and credible inquiry and that the UK would support the UN High Commissioner’s call for an independent, international investigation.

"Ahead of the vote, we are working hard to secure support from other countries. The PM has personally written to a number of leaders whose countries are on the human rights council this session calling on them to support this resolution which would help to deliver progress on reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka."