I've just watched our Prime Minister talking about shared Commonwealth values in Perth. My mind turned at once to you and your solitary, late-night death in Villawood detention centre last week.”
"The second major issue for the meeting concerned the civil war in Sri Lanka and whether both the government and the Tamils had committed war crimes in the conflict's final years. The question, however, was virtually ignored."
Reporters Without Borders have expressed concern after Frederica Jansz, the editor of The Sunday Leader received death threats from the “Sinha Regiment”.
Indian army officials visited the Sri Lankan army's Security Forces Headquarters in the Vanni region on Wedesday, during a six day tour of the country.
“Last week Attorney-General Robert McClelland halted the possibility of the arrest and charging of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and in my view undermined similar ''citizens arrests'' of individuals against whom it could be said there is a prima facie case of crimes against humanity.”
One of the suspects on death row in Tamil Nadu for his alleged role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi still dreams of an independent country for Eelam Tamils.
39 year old Perarivalan, also known as Arivu, was convicted for assisting the alleged killers of Rajiv Gandhi by providing them with batteries in 1991.
Sri Lankan foreign minister, GL Peiris, attempted to denigrate the TNA (Tamil National Alliance) as the a TNA delegation met US state department officials in Washington, as well as the UN Secretary General in New York.
Reports have emerged that a statue of S. J. V. Chelvanayagam, affectionately known by Eelam Tamils as “Thanthai Chelva”, has been vandalised in Trincomalee.
The United States says it is 'deeply concerned' by Sri Lanka’s latest move in stifling press freedom, by blocking anti-government website Lanka-e-News.
The statement, released by the US Embassy in Colombo said,
Slamming Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper's threat to boycott the next Commonwealth meeting, which is to be held in Sri Lanka, if there is not satisfactory progress on war crimes investigation, Sri Lankan foreign minister, G.L. Peiris, claimed that such views did not reflect Canadian foreign policy towards Sri Lanka.
International human rights group, Amnesty International, slammed the Commonwealth for failing a "critical moral challenge" through its inaction on Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth last week.
Amnesty's National Director, Claire Mallinson, said,
Sri Lanka has been aiming to boost its trade with Canada, with a delegation meeting with businessmen in Toronto earlier this week, despite Canada’s continued concern regarding Sri Lanka’s war-time abuses committed against the Tamil people.
Sri Lanka’s controversial reconciliation commission has completed its report and will present it to President Mahinda Rajapakse in the second week of November.
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was set up by the President and was supposed to look into the conflict with the Tamil Tigers, but it has been slammed by human rights organisations and foreign officials as a farce.
