• Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka - systematic, deliberate and intended to destroy

    Jun 04
    Photograph Salem News


    Next week, the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict is due to take place in London, co-hosted by the UK's Foreign Secretary, William Hague and the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie.

    In the run up to the ESVC summit, we revisit the mounting evidence which documents the widespread, systematic and on-going use of sexual violence     by Sri Lanka's military against Tamils, that occurs with absolute impunity.

    See our full feature: 'Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka'

    Testimonies collected from victims and from those within the Sri Lankan military suggest sexual violence against Tamils, far from being confined to one rogue detention centre or regiment, was widespread and systematic.

    A former UN field officer, present during the final months of the armed conflict, told Human Rights Watch:
    “A large number of women fleeing from the conflict areas during the peak of fighting were sexually assaulted. The abuse was extensive, causing a large number of civilians to flee back to the theater of conflict to escape the abuse”
    Examining 40 cases of sexual violence and torture in detention facilities across the North-East and in Colombo, authors of the 'An Unfinished War: Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka 2009—2014', which includes Yasmin Sooka, co-author of the UN Panel of Experts report on mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, concluded:
    “The similarity of the torture, rape and sexual violence perpetrated against the witnesses confirms a well-organised pattern of systematic abuse on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka security forces.”
    Many analysts have described a deliberate policy of sexual violence, not only as a means of torture on individuals, but to terrorise the Tamil population as a whole.

    Examining the on-going use of sexual violence against Tamils in detention facilities in Sri Lanka since the armed conflict ended, Human Rights Watch, in its report published in February 2013, 'We Will Teach You a Lesson' - Sexual Violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces’, said sexual violence was intended “to instill terror in the broader Tamil population”.

    The group's UK director, David Mepham, said,
    "There is method in this. It is coercive. It is a deliberate policy. People throughout the security forces in Sri Lanka are involved. This is deeply entrenched and systematic."
  • Campaigners discuss 'Sexual Violence in Conflict' ahead of global summit

    The Frontline journalists club in London held a discussion on 'Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence in Conflict' on Tuesday, in the run up to Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict next week.

    The panel, chaired by Liz Ford, deputy editor of the Guardian's Global Development website, consisted of Doctor Juliet Cohen, head of doctors at Freedom From Torture; award winning film maker Fiona Lloyd-Davies; Serge Eric, co-founder of  Survivors Speak OUT! network and Sarah Cotton the public affairs and communications advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross UK and Ireland.

    The discussion with a focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo, also included Sri Lanka and Syria, exploring measures that can be taken to protect victims and respond to sexual violence in conflicts around the globe.

  • Sri Lanka apologist Naseby must withdraw allegations' – Telegraph
    The Daily Telegraph's chief political commentator Peter Oborne has called on British politician Lord Naseby to withdraw his comments made on Sri Lanka, stating that he has "misled parliament, and thus given comfort to perpetrators of state-sponsored terror."
     
    Oborne, saying that Naseby has “ become an apologist for the Sri Lankan government”, noted it was, “essential to adhere scrupulously to the facts when it comes to an event as grave and sensitive as the massacre of the Tamils in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war”.
  • Disabled former cadre attacked at her Kilinochchi home
    A former LTTE cadre has been attacked by unidentified persons at her home in Kilinochchi, after they entered her house demanding to know the whereabouts of her husband.
  • Australia gifts second patrol boat to Sri Lankan Navy

    The Australian government has signed off the deed for a second Australian Bay Class patrol boat to the Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday, as part of its attempts to stem the flood of asylum seekers fleeing the island.

    The controversial gift, the second of two boats, was signed off by the Australian High Commissioner Robyn Mudie when she met with the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage.
  • ConIFA overturns Kurdistan decision
    Updated 21:00 BST

    The decision to award the match to Tamil Eelam over Kurdistan has been overruled by the ConIFA committee, after Kurdistan appealed the initial decision, which would have seen Tamil Eelam progress to the quarterfinals.

    Tamil Eelam will now play against Sapmi at 10am on Thursday, as originally determined after the team’s losses against Kurdistan and Arameans Suryoye.

    Kurdistan’s 9:0 victory against Tamil Eelam was annulled initially, and the match awarded as a 3:0 win to Tamil Eelam, after Kurdistan included too many players in their squad.
  • India's intervention needed for resettlement of Tamils says Jaffna bishop
    The resettlement process in Sri Lanka cannot move forward without India’s involvement, said the Bishop of Jaffna diocese Daniel S Thiagarajah.

    The bishop, who was on a visit to Chennai, said that that ‘careful planning is needed for the resettlement,’ reports the Times of India.
  • Police powers will not be devolved reiterates Sri Lanka
    Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Professor G.L Peiris, speaking in parliament today, reiterated that police powers would not be devolved to the provinces, reports Colomob Page.

    “We made it crystal clear that devolution of police power is not acceptable",

  • TNA seeks views of electorate and diaspora
    Diaspora organisations and the public will be involved in discussion before an action plan is formulated to solve the Tamil ethnic issue, said the Tamil National Alliance spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran.
  • Military personnel enter TNPF office and collect details
    Military personnel entered the TNPF head office in Jaffna, to collect details of individuals that worked there, reports GlobalTamilNews.

    The military personnel entered the office in civilian clothes to collect information said someone from the TNPF office.

  • Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka – detention and torture 2009-2014
    Photograph HRW


    Next week, the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict is due to take place in London, co-hosted by the UK's Foreign Secretary, William Hague and the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie.

    In the run up to the ESVC summit, we revisit the mounting evidence which documents the widespread, systematic and on-going use of sexual violence     by Sri Lanka's military against Tamils, that occurs with absolute impunity.

    See our full feature: 'Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka'
     
    Despite the end of the armed conflict, the use of sexual violence by Sri Lanka's military against Tamil women and men continued, with Tamils routinely arrested and detained indefinitely using the country's draconian anti-terror laws.

    There are on-going reports of sexual violence against Tamils in detention to the present day, with many victims recounting sexual violence used as a means of torture to extract confessions.

    In 2012, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), examined witness testimonies of Tamils deported back to Sri Lanka. In its report 'Returnees at Risk: Detention And Torture in Sri Lanka', TAG noted:
    “The majority of the cases that reported abuse reported similar forms of physical torture, with 6 verified as having experienced additional forms of sexual torture. In all of the cases reviewed, judges found legitimate claims of severe torture to be “supported by photographic evidence and the medical reports” as well as through “psychological assessment”. Several of the applicants suffer from continued physical pain as well as forms of mental illness caused by severe trauma.”
  • Deceased Tamil asylum seeker had application frozen
    The Australian government had frozen the application of a Tamil asylum seeker, who tragically self immolated and died this week, stated refugee advocates.
  • Australian minister denies asylum policy implication in suicide
    Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has denied that the government's asylum policy was the reason behind why a Tamil asylum seeker committed suicide earlier this week.

    Leorsin Seemanpillai, a Tami asylum seeker who fled Sri Lanka self immolated and died from his injuries on Saturday night. He had spent 18 months in Australia, but was yet to be granted refugee status.
  • Heavy defeat for Tamil Eelam against current world champions Kurdistan

    The Tamil Eelam football team suffered a heavy 9-0 defeat today, at the hands of VIVA World Cup holders Kurdistan, at the 2014 World Football Cup in Sweden.

    The match was always going to be tough for the Leopards, with the highly rated Kurdistan team coming into the match as clear favourites. In a setback for the Tamils, regular starter Ronsan Valli was not able to play due to illness.
  • Jayalalitha calls on Indian centre to condemn genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka and set up UN referendum on separate Tamil state
    The Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, called on the Indian government to table a resolution at the UN that condemned the genocide in Sri Lanka and looked to hold those responsible accountable for their actions whilst facilitating a referendum for Tamils to decide on the formation of a separate state in Sri Lanka, reports the Tim
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