Monday, November 8, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sri Lankan Army Raped and killed the Tamil woman and her dead body
As you all know the Ruthless Sinhala Terrorist army forces raped and kill Tamil girls ever since British left the Island of Ceylon. This picture taken in 2009 May after the peak of Mass Genocidal war against the Tamils. They have raped the Tamil girl and killed then they raped the Tamil girl's body.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, October 9, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Evidence of Sri Lankan 'war crimes' emerge
Channel 4 News showed video footage claiming to show Sri Lankan forces executing Tamils earlier this year.
Just three months after the Sri Lankan government declared the country liberated from the Tamil Tigers, video footage has emerged apparently showing government troops summarily executing Tamils, Jonathan Miller reports for Channel 4..Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, which obtained the material, said it was filmed in January - when the international media were prevented by the Sri Lankan government from covering the conflict zone.
The Sri Lankan High Commission denied that the Sri Lankan armed forces carried out atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamil community. The High Commission said that they were only engaged in a military offensive against the LTTE.
The Sri Lankan government launched a large scale military offensive in January capturing the Tamil Tiger held town of Kilinochchi. The army then steadily pushed the rebels into an small area of the north-east.
Channel 4 warns that there are extremely disturbing scenes in the report from foreign affairs correspondent Jonathan Miller.
The Sri Lanka High Commission responding to the video said: "The High Commission has noted that in many instances in the past, various media institutions used doctored videos, photographs and documents to defame the Sri Lankan government and armed forces. Therefore, we request you to verify the authenticity of the video footage before the telecast".
Friday, August 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Avoid witch hunt, HRW tells Colombo
Avoid witch hunt, HRW tells Colombo
[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 June 2009, 03:34 GMT]
Noting that "Disappearances" of ethnic Tamils in the north and east and in the capital, Colombo, allegedly by members of the security forces or Tamil armed groups remain a serious problem, New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a press release issued today said, "[t]he Sri Lankan government needs to ensure that the abuses that occurred when LTTE strongholds fell in the past don't recur," and that Sri Lankan Government "should ensure that military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam does not result in new "disappearances," unlawful killings or the jailing of government critics."
Full text of the release follows:
The Sri Lankan government should ensure that military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam does not result in new "disappearances," unlawful killings or the jailing of government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Sri Lankan government appears from its statements to be preparing to take action against individuals and organizations that criticized it during the war, Human Rights Watch said. On June 3, 2009, the media minister, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana, said the Defense Ministry was preparing to bring charges against journalists, politicians, armed forces personnel and businessmen who have assisted the LTTE.
"The last thing Sri Lankans need right now is a witch hunt," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The country desperately needs healing. The government should make clear to everyone, especially Tamils, that it will respect their rights."
In addition to the media minister's statement, in late May, the Army commander, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, said in a televised interview that the government would take action against journalists whose reporting benefited the LTTE, saying that they would be prevented from leaving the country and prosecuted for treason. Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickremeratne accused unnamed Sinhalese media-freedom activists of being paid by the LTTE to generate false reporting intended to implicate the army in war crimes.
Sri Lankan security forces have long been implicated in enforced disappearances and unlawful killings following the capture of LTTE strongholds. In the 12 months after government forces captured the northern town of Jaffna from the LTTE in December 1995, more than 600 people, mostly young men suspected of having LTTE links, "disappeared." Although several mass graves have since been uncovered, the fate of most of them has never been determined, and successful prosecutions of security forces personnel have been few.
Enforced disappearances and killings of people suspected of being LTTE supporters also occurred in association with the government's taking of LTTE-controlled territory in eastern Sri Lanka in late 2006 and early 2007. Government security forces were implicated in the mafia-style killing of 17 humanitarian aid workers shortly after government forces retook the northeastern town of Mutur from the LTTE in August 2006. Human Rights Watch reported on numerous serious human rights violations in the east in late 2008.
"Disappearances" of ethnic Tamils in the north and east and in the capital, Colombo, allegedly by members of the security forces or Tamil armed groups remain a serious problem.
"The Sri Lankan government needs to ensure that the abuses that occurred when LTTE strongholds fell in the past don't recur," said Adams. "This is crucial for building trust between communities."
The government announced victory over the LTTE on May 18 after a devastating 25-year conflict. The last months of fighting came at a terrible cost in civilian lives, estimated at more than 7,000 civilian dead and 14,000 wounded. Human Rights Watch reported on serious violations of international humanitarian law by both sides. However, a full accounting of abuses is not yet possible because of government restrictions on access to the conflict zone by the media and human rights organizations.
Since 2008, virtually all civilians who managed to flee the fighting to government-controlled areas have been sent to government detention camps in northern Sri Lanka. Almost 300,000 persons, including entire families, are currently in these camps, where they are denied their liberty and freedom of movement, either for work or to move in with other families.
In recent months, the government has also detained more than 9,000 alleged LTTE fighters and persons with suspected LTTE connections. The United Nations and other international agencies have had little or no access to the screening process, and the government has in many cases failed to provide families of the detained with any information. Many families still do not know the fate and whereabouts of their relatives.
Human Rights Watch urged the Sri Lankan government to take steps to ensure the safety of both civilians and LTTE fighters taken into custody. This includes registering and providing public information about all persons who have been in LTTE-controlled areas, and allowing international humanitarian agencies to participate in processing them. Those detained should have prompt access to family members and legal counsel.
The Sri Lankan government has rejected calls from opposition politicians to end Sri Lanka's state of emergency and to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has been used to arrest and indefinitely detain suspected LTTE supporters and government critics.
Human Rights Watch called upon the Sri Lankan government to treat internally displaced persons in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and respect their basic human rights.
"The government should recognize that respecting the rights of all its citizens, including political opponents and critics, displaced civilians and captured combatants, will have important long-term implications for Sri Lanka's future," Adams said.
[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 June 2009, 03:34 GMT]
Noting that "Disappearances" of ethnic Tamils in the north and east and in the capital, Colombo, allegedly by members of the security forces or Tamil armed groups remain a serious problem, New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a press release issued today said, "[t]he Sri Lankan government needs to ensure that the abuses that occurred when LTTE strongholds fell in the past don't recur," and that Sri Lankan Government "should ensure that military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam does not result in new "disappearances," unlawful killings or the jailing of government critics."
Full text of the release follows:
The Sri Lankan government should ensure that military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam does not result in new "disappearances," unlawful killings or the jailing of government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Sri Lankan government appears from its statements to be preparing to take action against individuals and organizations that criticized it during the war, Human Rights Watch said. On June 3, 2009, the media minister, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana, said the Defense Ministry was preparing to bring charges against journalists, politicians, armed forces personnel and businessmen who have assisted the LTTE.
"The last thing Sri Lankans need right now is a witch hunt," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The country desperately needs healing. The government should make clear to everyone, especially Tamils, that it will respect their rights."
In addition to the media minister's statement, in late May, the Army commander, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, said in a televised interview that the government would take action against journalists whose reporting benefited the LTTE, saying that they would be prevented from leaving the country and prosecuted for treason. Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickremeratne accused unnamed Sinhalese media-freedom activists of being paid by the LTTE to generate false reporting intended to implicate the army in war crimes.
Sri Lankan security forces have long been implicated in enforced disappearances and unlawful killings following the capture of LTTE strongholds. In the 12 months after government forces captured the northern town of Jaffna from the LTTE in December 1995, more than 600 people, mostly young men suspected of having LTTE links, "disappeared." Although several mass graves have since been uncovered, the fate of most of them has never been determined, and successful prosecutions of security forces personnel have been few.
Enforced disappearances and killings of people suspected of being LTTE supporters also occurred in association with the government's taking of LTTE-controlled territory in eastern Sri Lanka in late 2006 and early 2007. Government security forces were implicated in the mafia-style killing of 17 humanitarian aid workers shortly after government forces retook the northeastern town of Mutur from the LTTE in August 2006. Human Rights Watch reported on numerous serious human rights violations in the east in late 2008.
"Disappearances" of ethnic Tamils in the north and east and in the capital, Colombo, allegedly by members of the security forces or Tamil armed groups remain a serious problem.
"The Sri Lankan government needs to ensure that the abuses that occurred when LTTE strongholds fell in the past don't recur," said Adams. "This is crucial for building trust between communities."
The government announced victory over the LTTE on May 18 after a devastating 25-year conflict. The last months of fighting came at a terrible cost in civilian lives, estimated at more than 7,000 civilian dead and 14,000 wounded. Human Rights Watch reported on serious violations of international humanitarian law by both sides. However, a full accounting of abuses is not yet possible because of government restrictions on access to the conflict zone by the media and human rights organizations.
Since 2008, virtually all civilians who managed to flee the fighting to government-controlled areas have been sent to government detention camps in northern Sri Lanka. Almost 300,000 persons, including entire families, are currently in these camps, where they are denied their liberty and freedom of movement, either for work or to move in with other families.
In recent months, the government has also detained more than 9,000 alleged LTTE fighters and persons with suspected LTTE connections. The United Nations and other international agencies have had little or no access to the screening process, and the government has in many cases failed to provide families of the detained with any information. Many families still do not know the fate and whereabouts of their relatives.
Human Rights Watch urged the Sri Lankan government to take steps to ensure the safety of both civilians and LTTE fighters taken into custody. This includes registering and providing public information about all persons who have been in LTTE-controlled areas, and allowing international humanitarian agencies to participate in processing them. Those detained should have prompt access to family members and legal counsel.
The Sri Lankan government has rejected calls from opposition politicians to end Sri Lanka's state of emergency and to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has been used to arrest and indefinitely detain suspected LTTE supporters and government critics.
Human Rights Watch called upon the Sri Lankan government to treat internally displaced persons in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and respect their basic human rights.
"The government should recognize that respecting the rights of all its citizens, including political opponents and critics, displaced civilians and captured combatants, will have important long-term implications for Sri Lanka's future," Adams said.
Sri Lanka rejects probes into slaughter of Tamil civilians
Sri Lanka rejects probes into slaughter of Tamil civilians
[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 June 2009, 03:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka has no plans to investigate allegations that its security forces massacred 20,000 Tamil civilians in the final stages of an offensive against the Tamil Tigers, and neither is Colombo willing to eventually accept an international probe, trade minister G. L. Peiris said Wednesday in Tokyo. "No, we don't regard that attitude as acceptable. That is some kind of inquisition," Peiris, a former peace negotiator said, according to an AFP report. Last week, leading British and French newspapers published their investigations, including interviews with UN officials, into the massacre.
Minister Peiris had earlier held talks with his Japanese counterpart Toshihiro Nikai and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
At a news conference, Minister Peiris reiterated that Colombo has no plan to probe allegations of war crimes and rejected international demands for a probe.
The minister said: "The world should not try to... emphasise everything that is negative, make things as difficult as possible for Sri Lanka, threaten economic sanctions."
Unnecessary pressure on the Sri Lankan government may even lead to a revival of terrorism in the country, he warned, without elaborating.
"What the country needs this time is support, understanding, empathy, not condemnation, not judgement... not posturing," he said.
Peiris said his government refrained from using heavy artillery and aerial bombardment attacks out of concern for civilians "at the expense of postponing the end of hostilities."
The United States and other governments had repeatedly called on the Sri Lankan government (GoSL) to cease pounding a narrow strip of land in which 300,000 people had concentrated on the government’s advice.
In mid-March, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephone President Mahinda Rajapakse “to express the United States' deep concern over the deteriorating conditions and increasing loss of life occurring in the GoSL -designated 'safe zone'.”
“The Secretary stated that the Sri Lankan Army should not fire into the civilian areas of the conflict zone,” a State Department press release said.
More pointedly, as casualties mounted amid relentless shelling – even as US satellites observed – President Barack Obama demanded on May 13, “the [Sri Lanka] government should stop the indiscriminate shelling that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, including several hospitals, and the government should live up to its commitment to not use heavy weapons in the conflict zone.”
Last week, independent investigations by The Times and Le Monde newspapers found that up to 20,000 Tamil civilians had been slaughtered by government shells. The papers quoted UN officials as saying the UN knew, but sought to suppress reports to retain Colombo’s goodwill.
Regarding the controversy over an IMF loan Sri Lanka is seeking, Minister Peiris said that a decision on the disbursement of the funds "should not involve political considerations," but should be "dependent upon technical criteria."
Prof. Peiris was the chief negotiator for the then UNP government when it was in negotiations with the LTTE in 2002-3.
The UNP was defeated by the SLFP in 2004 and he switched sides two years later, along with fellow negotiator Milinda Moragoda.
Both men had been popular with Western backers of the peace process as was the UNP, given its enthusiasm for the neoliberal agenda for Sri Lanka.
During the Norwegian-brokered negotiations, Prof. Peiris was famously associated, along with LTTE chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, with the ‘Oslo Declaration’, an agreement between both sides to explore federalism as a solution to the conflict.
At the time Peiris lauded the Oslo Declarations as a ‘paradigm shift by the LTTE’ and as a climb down by the Tigers from the demand of an independent Tamil Eelam state.
However, after crossing over to the Sinhala-nationalist government of President Rajapakse in 2006, Prof. Peiris rejected federalism as a solution.
"Today the intellectuals and experts worldwide agree that terms such as federalism, unitary and united have no clear definition and are indistinct at best," he was quoted as saying.
He added, without elaborating, that what was required was a "practical solution" to the ethnic conflict.
[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 June 2009, 03:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka has no plans to investigate allegations that its security forces massacred 20,000 Tamil civilians in the final stages of an offensive against the Tamil Tigers, and neither is Colombo willing to eventually accept an international probe, trade minister G. L. Peiris said Wednesday in Tokyo. "No, we don't regard that attitude as acceptable. That is some kind of inquisition," Peiris, a former peace negotiator said, according to an AFP report. Last week, leading British and French newspapers published their investigations, including interviews with UN officials, into the massacre.
Minister Peiris had earlier held talks with his Japanese counterpart Toshihiro Nikai and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
At a news conference, Minister Peiris reiterated that Colombo has no plan to probe allegations of war crimes and rejected international demands for a probe.
The minister said: "The world should not try to... emphasise everything that is negative, make things as difficult as possible for Sri Lanka, threaten economic sanctions."
Unnecessary pressure on the Sri Lankan government may even lead to a revival of terrorism in the country, he warned, without elaborating.
"What the country needs this time is support, understanding, empathy, not condemnation, not judgement... not posturing," he said.
Peiris said his government refrained from using heavy artillery and aerial bombardment attacks out of concern for civilians "at the expense of postponing the end of hostilities."
The United States and other governments had repeatedly called on the Sri Lankan government (GoSL) to cease pounding a narrow strip of land in which 300,000 people had concentrated on the government’s advice.
In mid-March, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephone President Mahinda Rajapakse “to express the United States' deep concern over the deteriorating conditions and increasing loss of life occurring in the GoSL -designated 'safe zone'.”
“The Secretary stated that the Sri Lankan Army should not fire into the civilian areas of the conflict zone,” a State Department press release said.
More pointedly, as casualties mounted amid relentless shelling – even as US satellites observed – President Barack Obama demanded on May 13, “the [Sri Lanka] government should stop the indiscriminate shelling that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, including several hospitals, and the government should live up to its commitment to not use heavy weapons in the conflict zone.”
Last week, independent investigations by The Times and Le Monde newspapers found that up to 20,000 Tamil civilians had been slaughtered by government shells. The papers quoted UN officials as saying the UN knew, but sought to suppress reports to retain Colombo’s goodwill.
Regarding the controversy over an IMF loan Sri Lanka is seeking, Minister Peiris said that a decision on the disbursement of the funds "should not involve political considerations," but should be "dependent upon technical criteria."
Prof. Peiris was the chief negotiator for the then UNP government when it was in negotiations with the LTTE in 2002-3.
The UNP was defeated by the SLFP in 2004 and he switched sides two years later, along with fellow negotiator Milinda Moragoda.
Both men had been popular with Western backers of the peace process as was the UNP, given its enthusiasm for the neoliberal agenda for Sri Lanka.
During the Norwegian-brokered negotiations, Prof. Peiris was famously associated, along with LTTE chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, with the ‘Oslo Declaration’, an agreement between both sides to explore federalism as a solution to the conflict.
At the time Peiris lauded the Oslo Declarations as a ‘paradigm shift by the LTTE’ and as a climb down by the Tigers from the demand of an independent Tamil Eelam state.
However, after crossing over to the Sinhala-nationalist government of President Rajapakse in 2006, Prof. Peiris rejected federalism as a solution.
"Today the intellectuals and experts worldwide agree that terms such as federalism, unitary and united have no clear definition and are indistinct at best," he was quoted as saying.
He added, without elaborating, that what was required was a "practical solution" to the ethnic conflict.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
India should stop war, instruct Colombo to talk to Tigers - BJP Tamil Nadu
India should stop war, instruct Colombo to talk to Tigers - BJP Tamil Nadu
[TamilNet, Saturday, 17 January 2009, 12:37 GMT]A senior leader of BJP, a major national political party of India, visited Friday Thol. Thirumavalavan, the VCK President who is on a fast-unto-death demanding the Central government of India to stop the war being waged by Colombo against Eezham Tamils. The BJP politician, Vaithiyalingam, a member of the party's national general council, declared that India, which is a powerful country in the region, cannot sit back and watch without doing anything to stop the genocidal war in Sri Lanka and added India should be specific in demanding ceasefire between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam.
Another BJP politician Kasi Muthu Manickam also addressed the gathering.
A neo-Buddihst monk from the Dalit community addressed the gathering. He condemned Sri Lanka and said it was a shame to call Sri Lanka a Buddhist country. Religious representatives from the local Muslim Jamaat also visited Thirumavalavan and donated money to the campaign.
Thirumavalavan's fast has entered 3rd day and his doctors were concerned of blood pressure and sugar levels, sources in Chennai said Saturday.
The fasting VCK leader thanked the BJP politicians for visiting him and expressing solidarity to his campaign said that the BJP politicians' solidarity, despite the ideological difference between Hindutva BJP and the secular and Dalit VCK, showed the genuineness of the cause he was representing.
The BJP in Tamil Nadu has recently staged protests in support of Eezham Tamils.
The BJP, in alliance with several other parties, was in power from 1998 to 2004 with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister. The February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement was mooted, shadow-managed and supervised by Vajpayee's Advisor Brajesh Mishra, reports revealed in Indian media last year.
The CFA signed in February 2002 was unilaterally withdrawn by the Sri Lanka government in January 2008.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Ruthless Genocidal Sri Lankan Army blocks gateway to Vanni civilians for 5th day
[Wednesday, 07 January 2009, 16:22 GMT]
A woman, wounded in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment on 01 January succumbed to her wounds Monday night and other patients in need of urgent medical transport from Puthukkudiyiruppu to Vavuniyaa with ICRC escort remain blocked for days despite repeated attempts to access the road, which remained under Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery fire, as reported earlier. In the meantime, officials at the Government Agent's office in Vavuniyaa told media that the SLA has turned away humanitarian convoys despite their repeated attempts. Civilians in Vanni are refused essential supplies and refused critical medical transport, in violation to Geneva Conventions.
The officials in Vavuniyaa, responsible for facilitating humanitarian supplies to civilians in Vanni, complained that the SLA had turned away their convoys despite their repeated attempts, at least five times, since Thursday.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the ICRC told journalists in Colombo that they were unable to provide escort to the humanitarian convoys due to the security situation. The ICRC spokesperson also admitted that the movement of wounded civilians remained blocked as the ambulances heading for Vavuniyaa from the conflict zone were halted due to the closure of the roads.
A woman, wounded in Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombardment on 01 January succumbed to her wounds Monday night and other patients in need of urgent medical transport from Puthukkudiyiruppu to Vavuniyaa with ICRC escort remain blocked for days despite repeated attempts to access the road, which remained under Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery fire, as reported earlier. In the meantime, officials at the Government Agent's office in Vavuniyaa told media that the SLA has turned away humanitarian convoys despite their repeated attempts. Civilians in Vanni are refused essential supplies and refused critical medical transport, in violation to Geneva Conventions.
The officials in Vavuniyaa, responsible for facilitating humanitarian supplies to civilians in Vanni, complained that the SLA had turned away their convoys despite their repeated attempts, at least five times, since Thursday.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the ICRC told journalists in Colombo that they were unable to provide escort to the humanitarian convoys due to the security situation. The ICRC spokesperson also admitted that the movement of wounded civilians remained blocked as the ambulances heading for Vavuniyaa from the conflict zone were halted due to the closure of the roads.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sri Lanka Air Force attacks convent in Vanni, deploys cluster bombs
Karaichchi North Co-Operative society building located between the junction and the convent was also attacked by the SLAF bombers, causing the remaining civilians to flee the area. Paranthan has been bombed in more than five sorties by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers causing civilians living near the convent to flee the area. The indiscriminate bombardment has also targeted shops and other commercial establishment in Paranthan and Kumarapuram. SLAF bombed Paranthan three times Tuesday night and twice Wednesday morning, at 7:30 a.m. and around 9:00 a.m.The bombers also attacked Kugnchup-paranthan where heavy fighting has erupted Wednesday morning.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Ruthless Genocidal Sri Lankan Army Shelling Killed 5-month-old child
[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 December 2008, 13:02 GMT]
Two males who went to their agricultural lands in Kanakapuram, a suburb of Ki'linochchi town, were killed in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shelling Saturday morning around 11:45, medical sources at Ki'linochchi hospital said. A 17-year-old boy sustained injuries in the attack. Meanwhile, a 5-month-old child was decapitated by the shrapnel of a shell that exploded inside the hut of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) on Hudson Road in Vaddakkachchi, near Thakarap-pi'l'laiyaar temple Saturday around 9:30 a.m. The mother of the baby, an IDP from Chinnap-pa'ndi-virichchaan, was wounded.
The child killed was Jeyarooban Ajanthan. His mother wounded in the shelling was identified as 26-year-old Jancy Rani Jeyarooban.
One of the males killed in Kanakapuram was identified as 41-year-old Paalaiya Pulendran, a native of Ki'linochchi who was displaced to Visuvamadu. The other male killed in the shelling was yet to be identified.
The victims had gone to their agricultural lands to unearth cassava roots in their attempt to earn money to safeguard their families.
The youth who sustained injuries at Kanakapuram was identified as Jeyakaran, from Periyaku'lam in Pu'lyampokka'nai. He was being treated at Ki'linochchi hospital.
The dead bodies of the two males killed in Kanakapuram were brought to the hospital in Ki'linochchi town and transferred to Tharmapuram.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter jets bombed 6 times in Vaddakkachchi and Paranthan areas.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Condoleeza Rice spotlights Rights violations in Sri Lanka
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 12:15 GMT]United States Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, Wednesday, awarded the 2008 Human Rights and Democracy Achievement Award to Michael De Tar, the chief of the Political Section of our Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for engaging "constructively with Sri Lanka while underscoring our [U.S.'s] human rights," and for proposing the roadmap adopted by the Sri Lankan Government "to induce a paramilitary aligned with the government to begin to release its child soldiers [in the east]." The situation in the East, however, has rapidly deterioted recently with Human Rights Watch accusing the Colombo-backed paramilitaries in the east for thirty murders and thirty abductions during September and October."Secretary Rice presented the "Freedom Defenders Award" to Yulia Latynina, an independent journalist, writer and radio host from Russia, and the "Diplomacy for Freedom Award" to James D. McGee, U.S.'s Ambassador to Zimbabwe during the same ceremony held at the Treaty Room Washington, DC.Rice said that De Tar was "a key actor in the international effort to monitor an official Commission of Inquiry investigating high-profile cases of human rights abuse, and he has responded quickly and effectively when journalists and other activists have been threatened or arrested."The Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), a rights monitoring mission set up to oversee the investigations of rights violations by the local Commission of Inquiry (CoI) terminated its observation mission reasoning that the proceedings of the CoI have not been transparent and did not satisfy basic international norms and standards. The IIGEP blamed the Government of Sri Lanka for "absence of will" in the present Inquiry to "investigate cases with vigour, where the conduct of its own forces has been called into question." Full text of Secretary Rice's speech on Mr De Tar's award follows:"Our diplomatic effort to advance human rights is not just a job for ambassadors, and that is why annually we confer the Human Rights and Democracy Achievement Award upon an outstanding officer serving at one of our posts abroad. This year’s recipient is Michael DeTar, the chief of the Political Section of our Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka’s 25-year conflict has escalated over the last two years, triggering a sharp increase in human rights violations by the warring parties – the government, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil [Eelam], and paramilitary organizations. Michael found creative and pragmatic ways to engage constructively with Sri Lanka while underscoring our human rights concerns. Michael helped position the United States to play a leading role in the stabilization and recovery of the conflict-torn Eastern Province, focusing on disarming and demobilizing paramilitaries there. He was also a key actor in the international effort to monitor an official Commission of Inquiry investigating high-profile cases of human rights abuse, and he has responded quickly and effectively when journalists and other activists have been threatened or arrested. The Sri Lankan Government adopted Michael’s proposed road map to induce a paramilitary aligned with the government to begin to release its child soldiers. So using his extensive network of civil society and media leaders, Michael has enriched our reporting on human rights conditions in Sri Lanka. And he has not only reported, he has acted. And so I am delighted to bestow the 2008 Human Rights and Democracy Achievement Award on Michael De Tar," Rice said.Meanwhile, in an op-ed column in the Washington Post, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said: "With a new administration and a new vision coming to the White House, we have the opportunity to move boldly to restore the moral authority behind the worldwide human rights movement.The moral footprint of the United States has always been vast. "Our next president has an unprecedented opportunity to lead through example by inspiring and supporting those who would reach for freedom and by being tough and effective with those who would impede freedom's march. All Americans must give him full support."
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sri Lanka in "Genocide Red Alert" watch list
Sri Lanka in "Genocide Red Alert" watch list[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 December 2008, 12:41 GMT]New York-based Genocide Prevention Project in a report to be published Tuesday includes Sri Lanka as one of the eight "red alert" countries where genocide and other mass atrocities are underway or risk breaking out. A comprehensive list of 33 countries is also contained in the report. Tuesday marks the 60th anniversary of the United Nation's convention on the prevention of genocide, and 20th anniversary of U.S's ratification of the treaty. "Red alert" countries include Afghanistan, and Iraq alongside regions currently experiencing genocidal conflict such as Sudan's Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These and Myanmar, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka all made the list's top eight because they appear in each of the five "expert" indexes.The next 25 "orange alert" countries appear in at least three of the indexes. They include China, Colombia, Philippines and Indonesia as places where ongoing or simmering violence could flare to genocidal proportions."It is possible to identify early indicators of mass atrocity crimes. But what happens now is the international community sees what's going on, gets paralyzed and, if it acts, really only acts after the fact," said Jill Savitt, project executive director.Savitt states three factors that are likely to change the "political will" lacking in the past. First, the stated determination of Susan Rice, U.S. president-elect Barack Obama's choice for U.S. ambassador to the UN, to prevent future genocides after witnessing the after-effects of the 1994 Rwanda slaughter. Second, current discussion around the 60th anniversary of the genocide prevention convention, which calls on countries to prevent and punish actions of genocide.And third, the public "guilt" over what occurred in Rwanda and Bosnia, and what she called public "hunger for a response" to the Darfur crisis, Savitt says.Meanwhile, a task force led by Madeleine K Albright, former Secretary of State, and an advisor to Obama and Clinton, released Monday a report on world genocide threats which will likely be used by the Obama administration as a guide post to prevent developing genocides."Preventing genocide is an achievable goal," the Albright report says. "Genocide is not the inevitable result of ancient hatreds or irrational leaders. It requires planning and is carried out systematically. There are ways to recognize signs and symptoms, and viable options to prevent it at every turn if we are committed and prepared," Washington Post said, quoting from the Albright report.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tamil Women in protective custody, transferred to Ruthless genocidal Sri Lankan Army detention centre, fear for safety
[TamilNet, Monday, 08 December 2008, 00:40 GMT]The women and children who faced death threats in Jaffna from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and its paramilitary and placed under protective custody through the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission in Jaffna at Kurunakar Rehabilitation Centre have been suddenly moved to the detention camp run by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) inside its High Security Zone in Thellippazhai. The women and children are being denied the opportunity of meeting their family members besides fear for their safety, according to legal sources in Jaffna. They have appealed to the team of Magistrates who visited the camp to relocate them to a protection facility in Jaffna city. Kurunakar Rehabilitation Centre was vacated in order to house persons fleeing from war in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held territories to Jaffna peninsula.Meanwhile, the husbands of the above women, placed in Jaffna Prison had protested against the sudden transfer of their wives by observing a token protest fast.Their fast, however, was given up due to pressure exerted by powerful parties in the government, the sources further said.The women who appealed to the team of magistrates pointed out that the opportunity of meeting their family members and relatives, which they had been allowed to in Kurunakar Rehabilitation Centre, is denied in the SLA detention centre where they are now housed.The husbands of these women in Jaffna Prison suffer from mental depression and fear for their wives and children, the officials of Jaffna Prison said.The inmates at the detention camp of the SLA, located inside the HSZ in Thellippazhai, have been treated as 'suspects' under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as they were forced to sign a document which stated that they were ex-members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) in the past. Although, the new inmates were not subjected to sign a such document, they were being treated as potential 'terror suspects' by the SLA men guarding the detention centre, legal sources that were in contact with the families said.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
International media, human rights watchdogs lopsided - Jaffna MP
International media, human rights watchdogs lopsided - Jaffna MP[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2008, 20:39 GMT]"The Colombo government is embarked upon a killing spree of children and women in refugee camps who are already victims of war, displacement, cyclone and floods. This act of 'state terrorism' is in what way less deplorable than the Mumbai killings, for failing to attract condemnation and action from the International Community," asks Padmini Sithamparanathan, Tamil National Alliance MP for Jaffna. "The so-called international media and human rights organizations are shameless in exhibiting their impotency they have acquired by becoming stooges to the lopsided agenda of the international politics of terrorism which is nothing but geopolitics," she added.
Padmini Sithamparanathan, Jaffna MP
Six days of torrential rains with intermittent gale have caused the death of more than ten, injured hundreds and have displaced hundreds of thousands in Jaffna and Vanni.The people of Vanni especially face untold sufferings, deprived of everything including a guarantee to live. The latest aerial bombing of the Sri Lanka Air Force has targeted a location well known as a refugee camp according to news reports. "This heinous act has resulted in the death and injury of many, most of them, children, women and elderly, who were already suffering the misfortunes of war and nature," the Jaffna MP said. "The international media, which jumps at the slightest occasion to blare about terrorism, is by its silence and biased news reporting encourages the genocidal agenda of state terrorism in Sri Lanka."The US based Human Rights Watch, while pressuring the Colombo government to allow aid groups to help cyclone victims in Vanni, has come out with an unwarranted statement that “the LTTE bears a heavy responsibility for the suffering of the civilian population in the Vanni, by refusing to allow civilians their basic rights to freedom of movement," she said. "What the Human Rights Watch needs to do is seeing that the people get immediate aid in the very place they live. It may not have the guts to do so by pressing the International Community, but this is not the time for it to abet the wishes of the government waging a genocidal war."In its press release the HRW concedes: " Human Rights Watch has previously reported that the Sri Lankan authorities have detained many displaced persons leaving the Vanni, holding them in closely guarded militarized camps near Mannar town. The government claims this is necessary for the safety of the detained civilians themselves, but the families detained in the camps have repeatedly stated their desire to leave; the government’s detention policy violates the rights of these displaced persons to freedom of movement."In such a helpless background what justification is there for the HRW to expect the people to come out of Vanni, the MP asks. "Many civilians are cold-bloodedly killed in the East and a large number of Tamils have been arrested in the South in the recent days. Thousands of Tamils are virtually kept as hostages for a long time in custody of the Colombo government. It is a shame to human rights that Hundreds of Tamils in Jaffna have to voluntarily go into custody to safe life. " The Human Rights Watch itself came out with a statement a few days ago on the escalation of human rights abuses in the so-called 'liberated' East. The human rights organisations privately agree that there is no better place of safety for the people of Vanni.
Padmini Sithamparanathan, Jaffna MP
What guarantee the human rights groups were been able to give the Tamils of the so-called liberated East, or in the other parts of the island outside of Vanni, to justify their call now for the freedom of movement of the people of Vanni, that too at a time when there is an utmost urgency for the aid to reach their doorsteps, asked the MP. It is high time that the International Community and the human rights organisations prevail upon the Sri Lanka government to stop the war, enter into peace negotiations and resolve the human crisis in the island, she said. In the meantime, Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, while asking the Colombo government on Friday to lift restrictions on UN and other groups to operate in Vanni, has said: “If the humanitarian community can operate in conflict zones like eastern Congo, Somalia, and Iraq, they can operate in the Vanni as well. The government’s argument that the safety of humanitarian workers in the Vanni cannot be guaranteed comes across as more of an excuse to conduct military operations without scrutiny than a statement of concern.”
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Ruthless Genocidal Sri Lankan Air Forces bombs refugee camp in Vanni, children among killed, wounded
SLAF bombs refugee camp in Vanni, children among killed, wounded[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 November 2008, 08:59 GMT]Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers attacked a refugee camp with Internally Displaced People in Naathankudiyiruppu in Kallaa'ru, Ki'linochchi in the early hours of Saturday around 1:35 a.m. Medical authorities at Tharmapuram said three persons were killed. Two, a 5-year-old child and an 80-year-old man died at the hospital. At least 18 wounded civilians, including seven children below 10 years and 7 females, were admitted at the hospital following the indiscriminate bombardment on IDP settlement. Medical authorities described the bombardment as "terrible mid-night aerial attack on refugee camp". The 5-year-old child killed was identified as Sutharsan Sivakumar and the elderly male was identified as Raman Ramasamy. Another person, killed on the spot, was yet to be identified. There could be further dead bodies. Rescue operation was still going on, the sources further said. The wounded were:
5-year-old girl Thayananthan Pavithra
7-year-old girl Rasenthiran Logini
9-year-old girl Aananthan Chithra
10-year-old girl Rasendran Jasintha
10-year-old male Nalliyah Jasinthan
15-year-old male Selvam
16-year-old girl Rasenthran Thavachelvi
18-year-old male Ananthan Velavan
27-year-old female Sivakumar Rajakumary
28-year-old male Rasenthiran
28-year-old female Nalliyah Pusspavalli
33-year-old male Rajendran
35-year-old female Murugesu Rugunudevi
38-year-old female Ananthan Kamaladevi
40-year-old female Kannathas Amirthavalli
55-year-old male Sangarapillai
55-year-old male Nagarajah
75-year-old female Pallaniammah
5-year-old girl Thayananthan Pavithra
7-year-old girl Rasenthiran Logini
9-year-old girl Aananthan Chithra
10-year-old girl Rasendran Jasintha
10-year-old male Nalliyah Jasinthan
15-year-old male Selvam
16-year-old girl Rasenthran Thavachelvi
18-year-old male Ananthan Velavan
27-year-old female Sivakumar Rajakumary
28-year-old male Rasenthiran
28-year-old female Nalliyah Pusspavalli
33-year-old male Rajendran
35-year-old female Murugesu Rugunudevi
38-year-old female Ananthan Kamaladevi
40-year-old female Kannathas Amirthavalli
55-year-old male Sangarapillai
55-year-old male Nagarajah
75-year-old female Pallaniammah
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