OPINION

Opinion

Latest news from and about the homeland

From Visionary to Bystander: How ITAK has forgotten its historic roots
  Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), the largest Tamil party in Sri Lanka and once a pioneer of Tamil nationalism in the first decades after the independence of Ceylon, has strayed far from its historic mission. Founded in 1949 as the Federal Party, ITAK was born out of the necessity to challenge the Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism that sought to dismantle the political and cultural…

Speaking Frankly About Sri Lanka's President and Wartime Abuses

Jan 8, 2016
Taylor Dibbert
Reviewing a year of Sirisena’s presidency, Taylor Dibbert raised concerns on the urgent need for security sector reform, witness protection, and accountability for wartime abuses which could include war crimes.

Full opinion reproduced below.

In January 2015, Maithripala Sirisena, unexpectedly thwarted Mahinda Rajapaksa's quest for an unprecedented third presidential term. According to his campaign pledges, Sirisena hoped to address various issues including constitutional reform, anti-corruption and improved governance. The broad coalition that supported his campaign could at least agree on one thing: that Rajapaksa needed to go.
Years from now, how will the election of Sirisena be remembered? And what about healing those wounds of war and finding a lasting political solution to an ethnic conflict that has burned for seven decades?

Solidarity Actions and Struggles for Justice in Sri Lanka

Dec 29, 2015

Writing on the recent successful conviction of the two men for the abduction and rape of a 17 year old Tamil girl, Rita, human rights activist Ruki Fernando said the conviction was a “rare success” driven by the “courage and determination of survivors and their families have brought justice in several other cases.”

Full opinion reproduced below.

What’s the Deal with Sri Lanka’s War Crimes Court?

Dec 27, 2015
Taylor Dibbert

Sri Lanka’s announcement of a special court to handle alleged wartime abuses should still be met with scepticism.

Several weeks ago, Chandrika Kumaratunga announced that Sri Lanka would set up a special court to deal with alleged wartime abuses. Kumaratunga is the chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR); she served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994-2005.

The news about a special court came as a surprise to many people. When the initial announcement was made, Kumaratunga stated that the court was expected to begin its work by late December or early January. Yet it remains unclear if that’s still the case.

What’s missing out there? People or Politics?

Dec 25, 2015
Kusal Perera

The new “Tamil Makkal Peravai” TMP platform must act prove that it will act in a way that avoids mirroring the Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) political naivety to prove itself relevant to furthering Tamil aspirations, writes Colombo based Journalist Kusal Perera.

Highlighting the TNA’s failure to mobilise its electorate into action and pressure the new Sirisena government during the early days of forcing reform, Mr Perera added that the formation of the TMP highlighted doubts regarding the "capability and wisdom of the TNA leadership that seems a failure in advancing the political aspirations of Tamil people for realistic answers."

Full op-ed reproduced below.

Renewed US-Sri Lanka Relations: A Slobbering Love Affair

Dec 16, 2015
Commenting on the recent visit of the US Under Secretary of State for political affairs, Thomas Shannon’s visit to Sri Lanka, Talyor DIbbert stressed concern on the US State Department ‘s willingness  to uphold pressure for accountability in Sri Lanka.

Full opinion piece published in The Diplomat reproduced below.

There was another high-level U.S. visit to Sri Lanka this week. State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon visited the island nation from December 14-16. The highlight of his trip seems to have been the formal announcement that the first “U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue” will be held in Washington this February. The dialogue will focus on four broad areas: governance, development cooperation, and people-to-people ties; both economic and security cooperation; and global and regional affairs.

‘Is Sri Lanka’s Fiscal House in Order?’ – IMF mission chief

Dec 8, 2015
Proposals put forward in Sri Lanka’s budget “raise questions” said the International Monetary Fund's mission chief for Sri Lanka, in an op-ed published this week.

Todd Schneider outlined concerns in both Sri Lanka’s revenue and spending targets, saying “the direction of policies and the lack of a medium-term context”.

Stating Sri Lanka’s targeted rise in public revenue “seems ambitious—perhaps overly ambitious”, Mr Schneider said “apart from being an unprecedented increase, the main underlying measures—for the most part—are likely to work toward lowering revenues”.
Sri Lanka’s proposed spending raises “the concern is whether the overall targets can indeed be met”, he said. 

Noting that “spending for other goods and services almost doubles, and the reason for this has yet to be clarified,” Mr Schneider added “the risk is that capital spending could be slashed in the event of revenues falling short—which has been the case for the past several years”. “This underscores the need for realistic revenue estimates which would then provide greater certainty to the path of critical expenditures.”

Sri Lanka’s transitional justice: Genuine move or red herring?

Nov 28, 2015
J. S. Tissainayagam
Noting the absence of commitment to demilitarisation of the North-East JS Tissainayagam questioned the Sri Lankan government’s commitment to an all-inclusive transitional justice process that had the buy in of the victims.

Writing in the Asian correspondent Mr Tissainayagam said,

UN Confirmation of Sri Lanka Torture Camp Raises More Questions - PEARL

Nov 21, 2015
PEARL
The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UN WGEID) confirmed Wednesday what Tamils in Sri Lanka have known for many years: the Sri Lankan state runs secret detention camps in which it holds and tortures Tamil detainees.

The UN WGEID’s announcement that it had discovered a “secret underground detention cum torture center” during its recent visit corroborates reports by Tamil victims and human rights groups that the Sri Lankan authorities are operating several secret camps to torture Tamils.

Since the new government of Sri Lanka has emphasized its willingness to positively engage with the international community on accountability for violations of human rights law and humanitarian law, the international community must press the government to take immediate and decisive action on these secret detention and torture camps.

Samantha Power Must Recalibrate Washington’s Sri Lanka Rhetoric

Nov 19, 2015
Taylor Dibbert

Samantha Power, America’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), is in India and Sri Lanka from November 18 – 23. In India, she’s set to meet human rights activists, members of civil society and senior government officials. On November 20, she’ll give a speech about UN peacekeeping.

While far less significant on the geopolitical front, Power’s visit to Sri Lanka could be a tricky balancing act. Regarding the Sri Lanka portion of her trip, the U.S. mission to the UN has stated the following:

In Sri Lanka, Ambassador Power will highlight the United States’ commitment to strengthening the bilateral partnership, and she will underscore U.S. support for the country’s efforts toward reconciliation, accountability, and lasting peace in the aftermath of a devastating civil war. In Colombo, she will meet with senior government officials, community leaders, civil society groups, and youth.

Monitoring of Sri Lanka critical to discern government's commitment to healing war wounds - Taylor Dibbert

Nov 14, 2015
Taylor Dibbert
Continuous monitoring of Sri Lanka's transitional justice plan is vital in discerning how committed the new government is to the commitments made at the United Nations Human Rights Council , warns Taylor Dibbert in the Huffington Post.

Raising concern at Colombo's downplaying of international involvement in a criminal prosecution mechanism, Mr Dibbert writes,

"Since the resolution was passed at the Council, Colombo has been downplaying the notion of any meaningful international involvement for its domestic audience. While the exact level of international involvement remains unknown, it's vital to reiterate that, in the form of the recently passed resolution, Colombo agreed to something other than a purely domestic process."

"Monitoring the implementation of Colombo's transitional justice plan, like the larger set of commitments made in the recently passed resolution, is very important. Yet in order to accurately track progress, understanding the content of the latest resolution is absolutely essential. For that is how we can begin to discern whether Sri Lanka's new government is really serious about healing the wounds of war."

Full piece reproduced below.
Speaking Frankly About Sri Lanka's President and Wartime Abuses
Solidarity Actions and Struggles for Justice in Sri Lanka
What’s the Deal with Sri Lanka’s War Crimes Court?
What’s missing out there? People or Politics?
Renewed US-Sri Lanka Relations: A Slobbering Love Affair
‘Is Sri Lanka’s Fiscal House in Order?’ – IMF mission chief
Sri Lanka’s transitional justice: Genuine move or red herring?
UN Confirmation of Sri Lanka Torture Camp Raises More Questions - PEARL
Samantha Power Must Recalibrate Washington’s Sri Lanka Rhetoric
Monitoring of Sri Lanka critical to discern government's commitment to healing war wounds - Taylor Dibbert
Speaking Frankly About Sri Lanka's President and Wartime Abuses
Solidarity Actions and Struggles for Justice in Sri Lanka
What’s the Deal with Sri Lanka’s War Crimes Court?
What’s missing out there? People or Politics?
Renewed US-Sri Lanka Relations: A Slobbering Love Affair
‘Is Sri Lanka’s Fiscal House in Order?’ – IMF mission chief
Sri Lanka’s transitional justice: Genuine move or red herring?
UN Confirmation of Sri Lanka Torture Camp Raises More Questions - PEARL
Samantha Power Must Recalibrate Washington’s Sri Lanka Rhetoric
Monitoring of Sri Lanka critical to discern government's commitment to healing war wounds - Taylor Dibbert