Sri Lanka on Monday began compulsory military-led training for thousands of university entrants, despite a Supreme Court stay, and protests by opposition-backed student unions that called it the government’s latest move to militarise the country. See reports by Reuters and AFP . President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government has ordered 22,000 university entrants to attend what it calls “ leadership and positive-thinking training ” for three weeks at 28 military camps islandwide. (See our earlier post here on Sri Lanka's mono-ethnic military.) The first 12,000 began on Monday, despite Sri Lanka's...
At the conclusion of the visit to Delhi this week by Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris, the two governments issued a joint statement which set out a range of bilateral policy. However, no sooner had Peiris returned to Colombo, Sri Lankan officials were backpedaling from any commitments he may have given. “Only discussions were held and no agreements signed though there are reports to the contrary,” the Daily Mirror quoted officials as saying in its front page story. Interestingly, although Peiris’ visit to Delhi was widely understood to be about the recently released UN...
“The British government’s delay in seeking international justice for victims of genocide must be a matter of continuing shame for our country. “We as British citizens demand that the British government lives up to its international obligations, that it recognizes formally that genocide has occurred in Sri Lanka and it moves the UN Security Council, the Human Rights Council and General Assembly for an international investigation. “I know that the entire British people stand with us in this demand. Because it is consistent with fairness and the rule of law, both of which are deeply held British...
"Today, two years on, our nation once again stands united to remember. Not just amongst us here in London, but we stand united with Eelam Tamils in every major city, throughout the world, and with every mind of every Tamil who continues to live oppressed in our homeland. We will never forget those horrors that passed. "So on this day every year, we recall that at our nation’s bleakest moment, we came together. In the face of unimaginable destruction, we stood united. " Time may have numbed the raw pain, but it has only strengthened our resolve. Today, we renew that resolve. We renew our...
"The UN Panel of experts has reported that there is credible evidence to institute an inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the conduct of the war in Sri Lanka. However, the UN continues with its inaction by calling on the very same murderous Sri Lankan regime to investigate its own murder. "The Tamil people have no faith in the Sri Lankan judiciary or any other Sri Lankan state appointed mechanism to conduct an independent investigation to bring the war criminals to account. We demand an International Independent Investigation into the crimes committed against our...
India on Tuesday urged Sri Lanka to probe human rights abuses, implicitly endorsing the UN expert panel’s report, which made allegations of war crimes committed in the last stages of the war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers. In a break with tradition, and despite refraining from joining international endorsements of the UN report, India "urged the expeditious implementation of measures by the government of Sri Lanka, including... investigations into allegations of human rights violations," a statement said.
Sri Lanka and Iran are finalising plans to expand trade ties between the two countries. Currently there is about $120 million worth of annual trade between the two countries, but the Iranian Foreign Minister expressed hopes that it would reach $400 million. The announcement came during a visit to Iran by a Sri Lankan delegation, seeing to promote industrial and commercial ties. Commenting on the ‘already existing favorable ties’ between the two countries, the Iranian Foreign Minister noted that Islamic Republic is ready to expand relations with Sri Lanka in the industrial area, construction...
In the last days of Sri Lanka ’s war in mid-May 2009, over 300,000 Tamil civilians fled from the war zone and were housed in internment camps in sub-standard conditions. Gradually they have been released from the camps, and the Sri Lankan government has tried to claim credit for a ‘return to normalcy’ or improving conditions. But a recent report from the OCHA paints a different picture and gives more accurate figures. Over 373,000 civilians have been released from the Menik Farm detention centres as of mid May 2011, but more than 16,000 , mainly from Mullaitivu, still remain in the Vavuniya...
“During this month, we all must not be guilty of forgetting our history. We must instead actively remember the sufferings of our people, and educate our peers about their plight. We can all bear witness to the truth of what happened , and we must educate our friends, peers, coworkers, and neighbors.” - Mathusan Mahalingam , Canadian Tamil activist. See his comment here