News

14 May 2011Eezham Tamils in NorthEast would mourn thousands of their slain kith and kin on 18 May, said M K Sivajilingam, a former TNA parliamentarian and the general secretary of Tamil National Liberation Front. “No one can suppress the memories of a people remembering the sacrifices of thousands of their loved ones,” the former […]

15 May 2011Suresh K. Premachandran, the official spokesman of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Saturday sent TNA’s congratulations to Ms. J. Jayalalitha, the newly elected chief minister of Tamil Nadu state in India, saying that Eezham Tamils have become hopeful and are encouraged by the stand Ms. Jayalalitha has expressed to the media on the […]

Despite spin doctoring by envoys, EU resolution could have grave implications for Sri Lanka India still undecided as crucial battle looms at UNHRC sessions By Sunday Times Political Editor On Thursday, Sri Lanka completes two years after the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas. In that span, the government has taken several measures to ensure the […]

As one Commissioner mused several months back in a different context; “we were told by weeping mothers of children being literally grabbed from their arms and dashed on the ground with remnants of their heads being scattered around by enraged soldiers who had come upon a suspected subversive or JVP infiltrated village in the deep […]

Given the deadly potential inherent in this scheme, why is polity and society (including most of the academia) reacting to it with indifference? By Tisaranee Gunasekara Kristallnacht — “Night of Broken Glass”. On November 9-10, 1938 the Nazis initiated a pogrom against the Jews, Hitler youth and HitlerNazism offered….a society that had been scarred by […]

Delegation postpones visit as New Delhi tells Lanka to respond positively to UN panel reportBy Our Political Editor India is to ask Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution giving full land and police powers to provincial councils as part of measures to address Tamil grievances. The move comes as the government […]

by Sunanda Deshapriya Since the publication of report political parties in Sri Lanka (and India) has been  expressing  their opinions on the report findings and desired responses to the report.  A clear polarization on ethnic lines was immediately  visible with regard to the panel report.  No political party based on majority Sinhalese community   approved the appointment […]

14 May 2011 “The TNA has consistently asked for power devolution on federal lines. The party has also insisted on the re-merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces,” The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has refused to accept the government’s proposal to establish a Senate as a substitute for a power devolution arrangement, Daily Mirror learns. […]

14 May 2011 12:38 Days after the killing of a member of the Karuna faction, an unidentified gunman shot and killed a supporter of Eastern Province Chief Minister S. Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan in Batticaloa last night, police said. They said that the 34 year-old victim, identified as M. Ilanga Kumar, who is a Bar owner […]

14 May 2011 Families of youth who disappeared from Trincomalee protested at the Trincomalee Junction pleading with the Government to release information about their whereabouts, ‘We are Sri Lankans’ Convener Udul Premaratne said yesterday.“More than 100 youth from Trincomalee disappeared during the last phase of the war and up to now their whereabout are unknown,” […]

13 May 2011, By Shamindra Ferdinando Prabhakaran’s successor, T. S. Pathmanathan or simply ‘KP’ as he is known, says the controversial ‘Darusman Report’ will not help the ongoing national reconciliation process. Instead, it can cause irreparable damage to ambitious reconciliation efforts, he asserts.Pathmanathan asserts the report commissioned by UNSG Ban Ki-moon will only strengthen the […]

“I will exert pressure on the central government, after I take over as the CM, to take action against Sri Lankan president before international court for genocide and war crimes. “ 13 May 2011While most of the media in India don’t want to recognize the heart of the matter behind the unprecedented way in which […]

Ben Doherty /May 14, 2011 BEATEN and with nowhere left to run, they received the text message just before 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning.It came, through an intermediary, from the Sri Lankan foreign secretary, apparent instructions for a surrender: ”Just walk across to the troops, slowly! With a white flag and comply with instructions […]

By Varind Set to form the next government in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa today said the Centre should declare Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse a “war criminal” for the “genocide” of Tamils in the island nation. India should come out with economic sanctions against Sri Lanka to compel the government to take steps […]

13 May 2011By Ananda Weerasuriya In an explosive statement yesterday a former Army Intelligence Unit (AIU) member told Court yesterday that the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) had assured him of being made a state witness, provided security and a foreign job if he agreed to implicate a senior army officer in the brutal killing of […]

13 May 2011 00:48By Kelum Bandara The Japanese government has asked Sri Lanka to work towards national reconciliation and fulfil its accountability while maintaining close consultations with the United Nations, an official said yesterday. Responding to a Daily Mirror email request for comments on the UN Advisory Panel Report, Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Deputy Media […]

13 May 2011 Complaints made in regard to missing persons in the police stations in Vanni are on the increase, according to Kilinochchi district police. Relatives of the missing persons make these complaints now as the war has ended and law and order has been properly established in these areas. Complaints of those who went […]

13 May 2011 The military has started registering the family members once again in some areas in Valikamam in Jaffna, especially in Sankanai and Mathagal area Valikamam west where the activities are now very briskRegistration of families Continue in Valikamam. The military has started registering the family members once again in some areas in Valikamam […]

Thursday, 12 May 2011 The United Nations has listed the Iniya Barrathi faction of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) that recruits or uses children, kill or maim children, and/or commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in situations of armed conflict on the agenda of the Security Council. Releasing the UN […]

11th May 20111. Introduction This note is based on conversations with 15 former detainees (7 women between 21 and 35 years and 8 men between 21 and 41 years) from villages in the Vanni region (areas previously under LTTE control from where the entire population was displaced during the final phase of the war and […]

May 12, 2011/Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-092-2011 Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. W.A. Lasantha Pradeep Wijeratna (36) of No. 98, Galahitiyawa, Ganemulla in the district of Gampaha was illegally arrested and severely tortured by the police officers attached to the Criminal Investigation Department on 15 August 2010. Lasantha […]

The General Secretary of the JVP said, “Imperialists make use of internal crises in countries to interfere in them. 11 May 2011 19:43 Whatever facts are included in the report compiled by the ‘Panel of Experts’ appointed by the UN Secretary General, the JVP rejects the political objectives that were the background for compiling such […]

Speaking at a gathering to collect signatures in blood to oppose UN panel report on Sri Lanka Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva blamed the chairperson of the panel of having a beast mother. here is the translation of relevant section:   ” I ask this Darusman , the executioner  whether he used his had or […]

 The Daily Mirror today runs a full page add attributed to the ‘International Accountability Network’. Thiran De Silva, Head Of IT, Sri Lanka Army along with the fact that this individual is currently a Web Consultant/Trainer to Sri Lanka Army. The ’International Accountability Network’ website is, politely put, a dysfunctional mess with content largely automatically […]

They complained that virtually every decision relating to community life needed to be taken after permission was sought and obtained from the military. On my way to Jaffna over the past weekend I stopped over in Vavuniya to meet with several civil society leaders. When we discussed the current political situation, the main issue that […]

According to the US cables, presidential adviser Basil Rajapaksa “energetically refused” to give the ICRC permission, The Sri Lankan government rejected a surrender offer by Tamil Tiger rebels at the end of the war, reports released through the Wikileaks website say. They say that Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa dismissed US pressure to allow a mediated […]

For one, the government’s favourite pastime quite clearly is to update the Constitution for a more stable and secure Sri Lanka; more than cozily so for some citizens at least. May 10, 2011 Even Mahinda Rajapaksa’s worst critic cannot accuse his regime of lacking bright ideas or the righteous will to execute them. It hardly […]

8 May 2011,by Dr. Kay S. Kumaran, United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) USTPAC recently released the following report, entitled “The Track Record of Sri Lankan Commissions and the Need for an International Investigation of War Crimes.” This report highlights the Sri Lankan Government’s attempts to resist international pressure to investigate violations of human […]

The EU hopes that the Government of Sri Lanka will recognise the constructive objectives of the report, and encourages it to engage with the UNSG on its contents. 10 May 2011, 9:08 am Declaration by the High Representative, Catherine Ashton, on behalf of the European Union on the Report of the UN Secretary-General Panel of […]

Basil Rajapaksa said that according to the SL president there are no more High Security Zones but the entire island is a ‘peace zone.’ 09 May 2011, Sri Lanka President’s brother and SL Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa made an unannounced sudden visit to Jaffna Monday. Nothing will happen by some welcoming the UN panel […]