Accountability

V Suryanarayan /30 May 2011 In her first interaction with the media, soon after unprecedented electoral victory, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa assured the people that she will exercise pressure on the central government to revise its Sri Lanka policy not only to expose the heinous crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government during the last […]

By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press A U.N. human rights expert says gruesome new footage from the final days of Sri Lanka’s civil war is authentic and proves war crimes took place there, challenging the government’s claim that videos showing the army executing captured rebels in May 2009 are faked.The U.N.’s independent investigator on extrajudicial killings says […]

Ms Pillai says HRC should reconsider its 2009 May verdict on Sri Lanka in light of “efforts to combat impunity worldwide”Senior UN officials and sections of the international community have called for an international body to investigate alleged rights violations during Sri Lanka’s civil war.Some other countries including China have opposed the call. Speaking at […]

If what the President saying is true, why there is opposition to an independent investigation. Let an independent international investigation tell us, what the President saying is truth and nothing but the truth. Let them assert that the soldiers were holding the Human Rights Charter in one hand and that they did not kill a […]

May 29 / by Rajan PhilipsLast Sunday’s editorials and commentaries were pre-occupied with the Joint Statement from Delhi following delegate-level discussions between External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and his Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna. As a visiting dignitary, Peiris also had an audience with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and met with Foreign Secretary NirupamaRao and National […]

May 28/ by Austin FernandoProf. Rohan Gunaratne- international terrorism expert- addressing the business community last week convincingly and openly cautioned that “India might ‘punish’ Sri Lanka”, if Sri Lanka leans elsewhere to India’s detriment. This is a very serious statement, especially if Indians do not intend doing so.To prove his point, he quoted a meeting […]

29 May 2011India could do much better by acknowledging the right to independence of Eezham Tamils, by working for international consensus towards it, by structuring an IC-facilitated transition arrangement for it, and by creating an environment for the diaspora to freely interact through Palaali and Trincomalee, for India’s own reconciliation with Tamils and for relieving […]

 Let me also refer to the report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka, which concludes that there are credible allegations of a wide range of serious violations of international law committed by both the Sri Lankan Government forces and Tamil Tigers in the final stages of the conflict. It is […]

May 27, 2011 Carter Center; Human Rights Watch; Enough Project; Democracy Coalition Project; Freedom House; Open Society Foundations; International Crisis Group; Physicians for Human Rights; Citizens for Global Solutions; U.S. Campaign for Burma; and Amnesty International have jointly urged US to act on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, in a letter to […]

‘Even though terrorism was eradicated from Sri Lanka, terrorists living abroad continue to work to destroy our country’ 27 May 2011, / by Mahinda Rajapaksa After uniting the country with the defeat of the most ruthless terrorism in the world, today we were able to hoist our national flag with dignity and honour. Today we […]

” In the presence of jumbo sized state military and intelligence service and the state backed paramilitaries and the violent government goons, the HRC is being engineered to do an exercise to undermine any further UN effort on war crimes  against Sri Lanka.”  ___________________________________________by Rajasingham JayadevanMay 27 2011 Media reports of government appointing a five […]

As professionals, we have seen the deterioration of the institutional integrity and rule of law in this country for many years. As lawyers we have, from time to time, urged the succeeding governments to protect human rights of the citizens and establish Rule of Law.    2011-05-25 | Press Statement- Lawyers for DemocracyThe war in […]

26 May 2011/ By Sandun A. JayasekeraSri Lanka would appoint a five member panel of judges to initiate fresh investigations into Human Rights and Fundamental Rights violations in the North-East and report back to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC), officials said.The newly appointed Chairman of the HRC, retired Supreme Court Judge Priyantha […]

25 May, 2011For the second time in a fortnight, subscribers to the Daily Mirror newspaper have been entreated to an interesting disinformation campaign that appears to be conducted with those embedded within, and possibly with the full support of the Sri Lankan Army and its network of patriots.The full page ad above was published on […]

R. K. Radhakrishnan People in this friendly town woke up on Monday a full page advertisement in its newspapers mocking U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The advertisement reproduced in full below, sought to place in perspective the rationale behind Sri Lanka being questioned for eliminating terrorism in its backyard. The […]

24 May 2011Members of Non-Aligned Movement have a critical part to play in ensuring these terrible abuses never happen again and that survivors of the conflict can seek justice, thus laying the groundwork for reconciliation.They should encourage the UN and the government of Sri Lanka to implement the panel’s recommendations on accountability, including the panel’s […]

Invited Countries Should Stay Home, Press for Accountability May 23, 2011  This conference is nothing more than a public relations exercise to whitewash abuses. No professional, law-abiding military should take part in this farce.      -Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch (New York) – Governments should decline the invitation to attend a Sri […]

Sunday Times     Minister agrees to develop on 13th Amendment with Tamil parties, will include police and land powers     New Delhi non-committal on international probe on alleged war crimes; sellout on fishing crisis While these celebrations were in full swing in all Buddhist countries, Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris was in New Delhi […]

By Chandani KirindeSri Lanka is to carry out a pre-emptive campaign ahead of the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva next week to ward-off any moves to trigger a debate on allegations of human rights violations during the last stages of the fighting against the LTTE.Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who has also been assigned […]

The panel report  falsely accuses LTTE and its leadership, the force spearheading the decades-old liberation struggle, of using Eelam Tamils as ‘human shields’ and of even ‘point blank shooting of civilians’! By Democratic Students’ Union/ NewDelhi19 May, 2011Two years back, on 18 May 2009 the Sri Lankan army claimed to have killed Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the […]

20 May 2011 02:03By Sandun A. Jayasekera European Union Ambassador Bernard Savage yesterday reiterated that Sri Lanka needed to take follow-up action in line with the recommendations made by the United Nation Secretary General’s Advisory Panel Report but emphasized the EU had no intention of bringing about a regime change in Sri Lanka.“The allegations are […]

In other words, they were discussing the shuffling of Central, provincial and concurrent lists in a way that devolution of powers to the provinces was maximised. This message was conveyed “very categorically” by each of Mr. Peiris’ interlocutors — Dr. Singh, Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna, National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary […]

18 May 2011Rallies were held around the globe by Tamil organizations on Wednesday – May 18th, which the organizers have marked is a “Time to mourn; A time to reflect; A time for resurgence and creating awareness towards seeking “Justice for Genocide Victims of Tamil Eelam.”Among the attendees at a rally near United Nations in […]

TamilNet,19 May 2011“I’m not the best-placed person to suggest how China and Russia could be convinced and how one could pass a resolution at the UN Security Council. One should pose this question to the governments of USA, United Kingdom and France, those who negotiate with China and Russia in New York,” said Vidar Helgesen, […]

The Rajapaksa troika needs to accept this simple truth. They’ve got to be honest at least to themselves. President Rajapaksa needs to sideline political clowns, to have sensible and practical advice with accurate information.  by Kusal PereraSri Lanka was sent a very confidential message by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through Assistant Secretary for […]

May 18, 2011,India has asked Sri Lanka to devolve power, probe human rights violations and withdraw emergency regulations, among other things. This kind of diplomatic pressure amounts to interference in this country’s internal affairs, but in diplomacy and war, might is right whether one likes it or not.However, unlike in the 1980s, when India harassed […]

Why has Sri Lanka descended to this lower depth? The intelligence officer’s revelation is not unique. People are exposed to mega lies all the time. Antennas brings bring such lies to homes day and night, every day. by Basil Fernando According to a media report, a former army intelligence officer told the Mount Lavinia Magistrate […]

Sensing the new role and the whole new set of powers she enjoys with her position, the Sri Lankan counterparts will most definitely want to be in Jaya’s good books. May 18, 2011New Delhi, May 18: Amma-raj is back in Tamil Nadu and Jayalalithaa will reign Tamil Nadu as the new Chief Minister for the […]

Sri Lanka: Human Rights Council Support for an International Investigation is Necessary to Address Impunity for Violations and Abuses of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Date: 17th May 2011The armed conflict in Sri Lanka had been over for less than ten days when on 27 May 2009 the UN Human Rights Council adopted a […]

It would only be fair to conclude that like thousands of her fellow countrymen, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has probably been genuinely moved by the UN panel report on war crimes and human rights violations during the Eelam War. ..So there is a strong possibility that she might scale down her rhetoric on Sri […]