• US Democrat calls for international investigation

    The US Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to the Secretary of State Kerry, urging the State Dept to support a call for an international independent investigation, stating that he had serious concern regarding the "deterioration of democracy and the lack of progress on reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka."

    Letter reproduced in full below:

    Dear Secretary Kerry:

    I am writing to express my concern about the continued erosion of democracy in Sri Lanka and to urge you to call for an independent international investigation into allegations of war crimes by both the Government of Sri Lanka and the terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), during their final battles.

  • Cross party group of UK MPs call for international inquiry into genocide

    In a statement the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils called on the UN to create an "International Commission of Investigation into the allegations of War crimes, Crimes against Humanity and the Crime of genocide against the Tamil people in Sri Lanka" and urged the member states of the UNHRC to strengthen the current proposed draft "so tha

  • Sri Lanka 'served as precursor' to Syrian tragedy
    Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva, Tasha Manoranjan of Tamil Nadu based NGO Pasumai Thaayagam, stated that Sri Lanka has "served as a precursor for the tragedy now unfolding in Syria".

    Stating that Sri Lanka's "long history of impunity is institutionalised", the speaker said 
    "abuses by the Sri Lankan government remain unchecked, uninvestigated and unprosecuted".

    The full statement has been reproduced below.
  • Very limited progress' by Sri Lanka - EU
    Speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Ambassador Gerard Cor, Ireland's permanent representative to the UN, called for Sri Lanka to remain on the council's agenda, stating the county had made "very limited progress" since the passing of the March 2012 resolution.

    Addressing the council on behalf of the European Union, Cor stated,
  • Growing discontent amongst Tamil Nadu students

    Student protests that proclaim the US resolution on Sri Lanka inadequate, which were initially started at Loyola College in Chennai, have spread across the Tamil Nadu state, resulting in a massive student voice of dissent around India’s dealing of the Eelam Tamil issue.

  • UNP seeks MoU with govt on UNHRC resolution

    The opposition UNP wishes to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the government "to support the country in dealing with the aftermath of the impending resolution at the UNCHR" and stop the country becoming a "pariah state", announced the leader of the UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe at a press conference on Wednesday.

  • Rajapaksa arrives in Japan

    The Sri Lankan president and his wife arrived in Japan on Tuesday as part of a four day official visit, accompanied by Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L.

  • LTTE groups using international forces - SL minister

    Groups supporting the LTTE are trying to attack Sri Lanka using international forces said Sri Lankan Minister of Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena at a public meeting, reported Colombo Page.

  • TNA to be investigated for LTTE crimes - Karuna

    The government is to investigate the TNA's complicity in crimes committed by the LTTE announced the paramilitary leader and deputy minister, Vinayagamoorthy Karuna.

    The news was reported in the Sinhala language newspaper Divaina on Friday. 

  • Further calls for an independent investigation...

    Speaking at the General debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council sessions, Canada reiterated its call for an independent investigation in to the Sri Lankan government’s human rights violations.

    Canadian Ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, Elissa Golberg, stated

  • More discontent in India...

    The Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) calls for a State-wide general strike in Tamil Nadu stirred a widespread response, resulting in arrests and small incidents of violence.

  • Absence of war is not peace' - Tutu & Robinson

    Writing in the Times of India on Monday - Commonwealth Day, two prominent members of the Elders group, the Archibishop Desmond Tutu and the former Irish President Mary Robinson, argue that the "climate required for reconciliation does not yet exist" in sri Lanka and "urge the Commonwealth to seriously reconsider appointing Sri Lanka as its chair for 2013-15".

    See here - 'Hope and reconciliation: Healing Sri Lanka’s wounds of conflict' - together with embedded links.

    Extract reproduced below:

    'How the Council chooses to act at this time will have a profound impact on Sri Lanka's standing in the international community. In this regard, we urge the Commonwealth to seriously reconsider appointing Sri Lanka as its chair for 2013-15, as it currently plans to do. In this role, Sri Lanka would host the biennial meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in November this year.

  • Britain needs to back call for CHOGM venue change - David Miliband

    Writing in The Guardian on Monday, the former UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, urged the British government to "back the call for CHOGM to be moved", arguing that "for it to go ahead in Sri Lanka would be a mockery of Commonwealth values and UN authority, and a further invitation for its government to ignore international pleas for decency and accountability."

    See here - 'Britain must stand up for human rights in Sri Lanka'.

    Extract reproduced below:

    'Human Rights Watch says that several thousand people are locked up without charge, and that state-sponsored abuse of Tamil activists is widespread. Other UN investigations record over 5,000 outstanding cases of enforced and involuntary disappearances; and nearly 100,000 internally displaced people remain without proper protection. This is not the path of reconciliation promised by the Government after the civil war.

  • SL govt attempted to intervene in US trial

    In a letter to the US State Department, the Sri Lankan government asked the US to discontinue to the prosecution of a Tamil Canadian Suresh Sriskandarajah reports the National Post.

  • SL's behaviour demonstrates need for international inquiry - Pasumai Thaayagam

    Addressing the Human Rights Council on Monday during the 22nd session currently underway, Kartiga Thavaraj of the Tamil Nadu based NGO - Pasumai Thaayagam or 'Green Motherland' said, 'the Government of Sri Lanka’s behavior demonstrates the need for the Council to convene an independent international mechanism to investigate Sri Lanka’s alleged violations of international law, as recommended by the High Commissioner'.

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