Reconciliation

”According to TNA leader M.A. Sumanthiran, after May 2009, the defence forces have occupied more than 7,000 sq km of land owned by Tamil people. There is one member of the armed forces for approximately every 10 civilians in the Jaffna Peninsula. ”R. K. Radhakrishnan Even as Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and its diplomatic […]

”Every single survey from 2006 onwards was fully supportive of the President fighting the LTTE but equally supportive of a political solution, so one cannot accuse the Sinhalese of being racist.  Both the government and the TNA will have to recognise that there are extremists on either side who would prefer not to have a […]

Natasha Chaku  Disclosing that the next meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) will go ahead in Sri Lanka in 2013, Australian foreign minister Kevin Rudd today said some nations may boycott it. “It will be a matter for individual governments how they then view matters unfolding in Sri Lanka between now and when […]

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated the importance of dealing with accountability issues as Sri Lanka continues to work towards national reconciliation following its long-running civil war. Mr. Ban stressed the point during a meeting at United Nations Headquarters with Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Special Envoy of the President of Sri Lanka on Human Rights. The meeting […]

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse has emphasized that no room should be left to nullify the freedom accorded to the country by the war heroes by eliminating tiger terrorism. He has said that pro-LTTE elements are still attempting to spread wrong opinions within the country and re-group once again.  He has emphasized that these attempts should […]

M.A. Sumanthiran 1. IntroductionOn 7th July 2011 I tabled a report in Parliament detailing the situation in the North and East, highlighting a series of urgent concerns. The following is an update to the previous report and discusses some of the most serious issues that have arisen since or continue to take place in these […]

”The physical and emotional pain that has been handed down through generations in Sri Lanka during the last five decades has mainly been the inevitable outcomes of past policies followed by the successive governments, based on discrimination and social exclusion. The players, particularly parties to the conflict, have continued their unceasing confrontational politics. The current […]

Robert MuggahThere is something rotten going on in Sri Lanka. More than two years after comprehensively dispensing with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elaam (LTTE), the government is at risk of losing the peace. Rather than reducing the presence of the armed forces in occupied areas and promoting a peaceful transition, the government is instead […]

The occupying Sri Lanka Navy in Jaffna has again introduced pass system for fishermen engaging in fishing in the Jaffna lagoon, fishing community leaders in Jaffna csaid. During the recent election campaign in the North, the SLgovernment had annonced that it was withdrawing the pass system which has been in practice for several years. However, […]

Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka Project Director and Senior Analyst, International Crisis Group speaks to Daily Mirror on its motives for screening the controversial Channel 4 documentary,’Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ in the European Parliament, the LLRC process and Sri Lanka’s process of peace.  Q: What was the ICG’s motive for organising the screening of the controversial […]

TamilNetThirty Sinhalese families have been allocated lands under the Mahaweli Development Land Distribution Scheme in a traditional Tamil village Oamadiyaamadu located in Koa’ralaippattu North DS division in Batticaloa district. This planned land grab in Batticaloa district is being carried out on the direction of Colombo government led by SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa.To a plea not […]

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and several other Tamil parties have commenced a protest in Vavuniya focusing on three main issues.,Vauniya MP Sivasakthi Anandan said that the protest began this morning and will continue till evening today. New Assistant Government Agent Divisions (AGAD) are being created within the Welioya AGAD in the Mullaitivu District and […]

A Sri Lankan Tamil party delegation today (Oct. 10) impressed upon visiting Indian foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai that finding an early solution to the ethnic question will be the only answer to many serious issues faced by their community.V. Anadasangaree, D. Siddharthan and T. Sritharan representing the Tamil United Liberation Front, PLOTE and EPRLF Pathmanabha […]

In just over a year, Jaffna peninsula has seen the visit of two Indian foreign secretaries to the sites of a housing project by India for the war-affected Tamils, ‘The Hindu’ reports.In more than a year, a mere 52 of the projected 1,000 houses have been built in a project for a total of 50,000 […]

Kelum Bandara Amid charges that the government is not genuinely interested in evolving a political solution to the Tamil question, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said yesterday it would discuss its political concerns with India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai tomorrow. Mr. Mathai will arrive in the country today, and visit the North tomorrow to monitor […]

Statement issued by Mr. R. Sampanthan, leader of Tamil National Alliance /Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi on elections scheduled to be held on 8th October 2011 to the Municipal Council, KalmunaiThe Tamil National Alliance-Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi is contesting the elections being held to the Kalmunai Municipal council. Even though our strength within the Area may […]

 The Tamil United Liberation front has appealed to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to intervene and stop the scheme of registering lands in the Tamil-dominated North and East. The process is flawed and would leave most Tamils landless and homeless, it has said.“No one can succeed in collecting the required details asked for in the […]

The government has postponed crucial talks with Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party TNA to find a solution to the political aspirations of the minority ethnic community after the end of a three-decade civil war in May 2009.The direct talks between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Sri Lankan authorities, which was scheduled for Monday, […]

 In Kokilai district, Mulaitivu where there was a Hindu Kovil (temple) which was damaged during the war is being demolished and a Buddhist Temple is being erected in that place, according to reports reaching Lanka e news. Buddhist monks have arrived there and the construction has begun. Part of the land of the Hospital in […]

Nisthar Cassim in New York President Mahinda Rajapaksa described his engagement with the United Nations member countries last week as very successful for him personally and Sri Lanka at large. “I am very happy with the visit as it was very productive and through our discussions we were able to portray the true picture,” President Rajapaksa […]

The two sides also discussed the issues of resettlement of displaced people including the housing project which is being undertaken with Indian assistance. They also had a detailed discussion on the fisheries issue Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reiterated at a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa that a successful conclusion of talks between the […]

”Hence, the overall aim of this current initiative needs to be welcome. However, this circular contains particular provisions, which are problematic and unclear and may exacerbate fear and apprehension among affected communities. ”Bhavani Fonseka and Mirak RaheemThe Government recently unveiled a policy regarding land in the North and East through the introduction of a Cabinet […]

“Whilst clash of ideas, opinions and values continue we have clearly to recognize that dialogue, deliberation and consensus offer the only viable means for resolving differences. The might of powerful nations cannot prevail against justice and fairplay,” said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the 66th Sessions of the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday. […]

Closing down the infamous Manik Farm barbed-wire camp where several thousands of war-displaced Tamil civilians were detained under extremely difficult conditions since early 2009, the genocidal Rajapaksa regime has now decided to relocate them in some strange jungle areas by force, under the name of ‘resettlement’ of internationally displaced people (IDPs), mainly to cover up […]

Sri Lanka Information Department is reporting that several thousands of IDPs are to be re-settled away from their homes and villages:Govt. to shut down Manik Farm, remaining IDPs to be resettled in Kombavil – PTK Preparations are being underway to construct 600 Acer new village in Kombavil for remaining IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) who are […]

Amid claims by the Sri Lankan government that all displaced persons in Mannaar district have been resettled in their own villages, uprooted residents of Mu’l’likku’lam in Musali DS division of the district, who were evicted from their homes in 2007, are still refused entry to their village by the Sri Lanka Navy, which has changed […]

Dianne Silva The United States yesterday urged the government to control para-military activity in the North and for Tamil police personnel to be deployed to the North. The US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake told journalists he was concerned about Human Rights in Sri Lanka. “I am concerned about human rights. I discussed […]

”FORUM-ASIA stresses that this Council must continue its demonstrated leadership in seeking accountability for the allegations of gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. To this end, the findings and recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on accountability issues in Sri Lanka must be brought to the agenda […]

12 September 2011: The Government of Sri Lanka has not taken credible steps to ensure accountability for the grave allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity identified in the April 2011 report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka. Nor has the government pursued policies to reconcile the country’s ethnic […]

Mahinda SamarasingheIt is my privilege to once again address this august body as head of the Sri Lanka delegation. We come here as always, Madam President, to share with the members of this Council and the other representatives of the community of nations, our experiences in overcoming the several challenges we face in the present […]