• Seventh anniversary of Sivaram’s assassination

    Seven years have passed since the Tamil journalist and editor of TamilNet was found assassinated in Colombo, inside a High Security Zone.

    No-one has yet been brought to justice for his murder, after a trial was postponed earlier this year.

  • Muslims appeal to President over Dambulla mosque

    The Dambulla dispute maybe resolved by intervention from the president, reports The Sunday Times.

  • Army collects information on 'ex-LTTE'

    The Sri Lankan army has been collecting information on young Tamil men and women who it claims are former LTTE cadres, reports Tamilwin.

    Upto 500 young men and women, including 200 in Trincomalee have been targeted. All in the name of 'rehabilitation'.

    See also:

  • The same old story
    Speaking to the BBC, the senior Buddhist monk who led the protest against a mosque in Dambulla has stated that footage from the protest has been “technically manipulated”.
  • Sri Lankan Muslims indignant over Dambulla incident

    Muslims in Ampara and Batticaloa districts demonstrated for a second day through strike action, over the desecration of a mosque in Dambulla.

    According to reports in the BBC, demonstrations were halted by the Sri Lankan military.

  • Army continues to deny cluster bomb use

    Despite the United Nations having released more evidence of cluster bomb use in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Army has continued to deny their use.

    Noting that it was “not the first time such allegations have been hurled at us”, Brigadier Wanigasooriya said,

  • Defence ministry decrees 'war heroes' month

    The Ministry of Defence and Urban Development declared the month of May (specifically, 30th April to 30th May) as the 'Ranaviru Month' (War Heroes Commemoration Month) for the Sri Lankan armed forces and police force.

  • Petition against the word "Tamil" taken to Supreme Court

    A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against a number of political parties that use the word “Tamil” in their names, claiming that it violates the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

  • More evidence of Sri Lanka’s use of cluster munitions and white phosphorous bombs

    Following a UN demining expert’s discovery this week of unexploded cluster munitions used by Sri Lankan forces during the island’s war, a medical worker has told Associated Press of seeing civil

  • Britain hails Sri Lanka trade links

    British High Commissioner John Rankin, speaking at the recently held Sri Lanka Apparel Sourcing Association AGM, said:

  • Authorities halt temple construction work in Trincomalee

    The Urban Development Authority ordered that recent development work at a 60-year-old Pillaiyar temple in Trincomalee be demolished, citing the need for "road development work".

    The Urban Development Authority is under the Ministry of Defence, overseen by the President’s brother Gothbaya Rajapakse.

    See

  • Minority Rights Group concerned about religious freedom

    Minority Rights Groups International said in a statement it was very concerned about the recent attack on a mosque in Sri Lanka by a Singhalese mob.

  • Ban Ki Moon calls on Rajapaksa to act … again
    Speaking to the PTI, UN General-Secretary Ban Ki Moon has said now is the “right time” for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to deal with issues of human rights.

    Talking on the recent UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka, the UN chief stated that a “very transparent” accountability mechanism needed to put be put in place and said,
  • Action Against Hunger submit report to UN over massacre
    The humanitarian organisation Action Contre La Faim (“Action Against Hunger” or ACF) have submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council regarding the massacre of 17 of their employees in Muttur in August 2006.

    Together with SPEAK, the report for the Fourteenth Session of the upcoming Universal Periodic Review in October 2012 said that the crime was,
  • UN team confirms cluster bomb use in Sri Lanka


    Cluster bombs found in Mullaiththeevu, January 2009. Courtesy of TamilNet
    A UN mine removal expert has reported the discovery of unexploded cluster munitions during demining work in Puthukudiyiruppu, officially recognising for the first time their use in Sri Lanka.

    The confirmation comes after a young boy was killed and his sister injured after trying to prise apart explosive device for scrap metal to sell.

    Cluster munitions are packed with small “bomblets” that break up upon release, spreading over a large area. They often indiscriminately harm civilians, lying unexploded long after their initial deployment, leading to them coming under intense international scrutiny.

    In an email on Tuesday written by Allan Poston, the technical adviser for the U.N. Development Program's mine action group in Sri Lanka, he states,

    “After reviewing additional photographs from the investigation teams, I have determined that there are cluster sub-munitions in the area where the children were collecting scrap metal and in the house where the accident occurred. This is the first time that there has been confirmed unexploded sub-munitions found in Sri Lanka,"

    "Cluster sub-munitions are extremely dangerous items of (unexploded ordnance) and can explode with the slightest movement or touch,"

    Sri Lankan government spokesman Lakshman Hulugalla immiediately said the military had not used cluster munitions.

    "We are denying that information," he said.

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