Video footage that appears to show Sri Lankan troops committing war crimes by summarily executing captured Tamil Tiger fighters on the battlefield was not fabricated, as claimed by the Sri Lankan Government, an investigation by The Times found.
The United States Congress imposed military assistance to Sri Lanka and called for the Secretary of State to submit a report on the alleged crime against humanity during the last phase of the 30-year-old civil war there.
The statement issued by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to mark Heroes Day on November 27, 2009 has been translated by Tamil Guardian staff writers. The full text is produced below.
Tens of thousands of Tamils gathered in London Friday, November 27, to commemorate Remembrance Day. Organisers estimate that over 50,000 individuals made the effort to attend the Excel Centre event and pay their respects to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice for the Tamil national struggle.
The Advisory Committee for formation of the Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (PGTGE) held an awareness day in London on Sunday December 4.
The US House of Representatives passed a motion calling on the Sri Lankan government to respect its commitments to care for and ensure the speedy return of civilians displaced by the fighting.
"Sri Lanka refugees, we have lived in forest for one month. Please, sir, please take us to a country. It's OK if it is not Australia. It's better if any other country trades us. We can't live in Sri Lanka."
A recent US report into alleged war crimes committed during the last days of the war in Sri Lanka has necessitated the need for an independent probe, said the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Ronnate Tissainayagam, wife of Sri Lanka jailed journalist, Jayaprakash Tissainayagam, accepted the Peter Mackler Award for courageous and ethical journalism, named for a 30-year veteran of Agence France-Presse who died last year, at a ceremony at the National Press Club Friday, AFP reported.
If Sri Lanka is to become a tropical paradise again, it must build enduring peace. This will only occur through genuine interethnic equality, and a transition from being a unitary state to being a federation that grants provincial and local autonomy.
What Ranil, Mangala and Mano Ganesan said on 3 September at a Platform for Freedom Press Conference on the IDP issue was fairly widely covered in the print and electronic media, but three other contributors, Siritunga Jayasuriya, Nimalka Fernando and Herman Kumara failed to attract coverage.
In a significant decision, the Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, on Saturday, September 26, said he would take steps to ensure that the Centre granted citizenship to the more than 100,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in the state if they desired so.
