The Sri Lankan mission addressed a general debate on the Israel Palestine conflict at the 22nd United Nations Human Rights Council Session today, championing the idea of a people’s right to self determination and a sovereign state.

Commending the acceptance of Palestine as a non-member observer state at the UN, the Sri Lankan representative outlined in a short statement, that Sri Lanka supported the Palestinian people’s right to a sovereign state and condoned the occupation of land in Gaza and the West Bank.

See our tweets from Geneva below:

Around 1,000 people from  30 different unions affiliated to  the Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) joined a protest on Tuesday, joining student protestors across Tamil Nadu.

Observing a token fast near Valluvar Kottam, the protestors called for economic sanctions against Sri Lanka, an independent investigation into genocide, Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa produced before the International Criminal Court and a referendum for a separate state of Tamil Eelam.

FEFSI president and director Ameer stated,

“If the Union Government does not take any positive step for Sri Lankan Tamils, the Tamil film industry would break all the ties with island nation. None of the Tamil movies would be screen in Sri Lanka".

Those present at the protest included music director Ilayaraja, movie directors Shankar, A R Murugadoss, Balaji Sakthivel, Suhasini, Jananathan, Sasikumar, Santhanabharathi, actors Vinu Chakravarthy, Sibi Sathyaraj,  Prasanna and 'small screen' actor Kuyili.

See report from New Indian Express here.

Also see our earlier post:

Tamil Nadu film industry to protest against genocide (18 March 2013)

Writing in the Asian Correspondent, Frances Harrison has stated hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka “rubber stamps the Rajapaksa regime” saying that the reputation of the Commonwealth was at stake.

Extracts from the former BBC journalist and author of “Still Counting the Dead” piece entitled “Commonwealth struggles for unity amid Sri Lanka HR concerns” have been reproduced below.

See the full piece here.

“Holding the Commonwealth’s main gathering in Colombo rubber stamps the Rajapaksa regime, endorsing its extreme Sinhala chauvinist agenda and whitewashing war crimes. As the host, Sri Lanka will  head the 54-nation body for two years and automatically sit on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which is tasked with taking action on thorny issues like democracy and rule of law.”

“But the Commonwealth likes to operate by consensus and it’s paralysed by division on the issue of Sri Lanka. Some argue the emphasis on human rights is a preoccupation of Western nations – the old white commonwealth. Others say Sri Lanka is a watershed moment for the organisation’s relevance and commitment to democratic values. The Commonwealth’s Secretary General is one of those who believes in engagement with Sri Lanka; he was seen in public at a recent official dinner in London warmly embracing the Sri Lankan Ambassador which raised some eyebrows.”

“What’s at stake is the reputation of the Commonwealth – a diverse group of nations united by shared values. Soon it will be led by a country that committed war crimes on a scale that the UN says, “represented a grave assault on the entire regime of international law”.”

Also see our editorial: A common wealth of values that Sri Lanka does not share (15 March 2013)

Continuing the widespread protests across Tamil Nadu, over 1,000 students gathered at Marina Beach, Chennai on Wednesday to protest against Sri Lanka.

Deepak Johnson, a student of Madras-IIT and one of the many present at the protest, said,

"We demand a fair trial of war criminals in Lanka. Indian government should do justice to the victims by taking a rights-based stand".

More protests and fasts were reported across Tamil Nadu, with at least 525 colleges shut down by the Tamil Nadu government due to the unrest.

Fishermen protested in Puducherry and more protests were reported in Coimbatore, Madurai,  Tiruchirapalli with 90 protestors were arrested at the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) at St Thomas Mount.

Refugees in camps located in Mandapam near Rameswaram, Anupankulam and Sevalur near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district were also reported to have observed token hunger strikes and protests.

The all-party meeting has not been able to come to a common position on the resolution on Sri Lanka in the Indian parliament.

Of all the parties present only the Tamil parties DMK and AIADMK supported a resolution to be passed in parliament, with all other parties rejecting the idea, reported FirstPost.

“We are with Lankan Tamils but there is no need for a resolution by Parliament as Lanka is the only country which stood with us during the 1962 China war.

“We have recently rejected Pakistan parliament resolution on Afzal Guru. How can we do the same to a friendly neighbour. At the UNHCR, India should do what is in the national interest and interst of Tamils of Lanka,” said Samajwadi Party leader Rewati Raman Singh.

The BJP also rejected interference in what it said were Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. Party leader Sushma Swaraj questioned why the meeting had been convened in the first place.

“We had never created the impasse. The impasse is between government and DMK and it is for them to sit together and resolve it,” she said.

The Sri Lankan Special Envoy for Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe has slammed the report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay during a debate in the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.

“We wish to express our strongest reservations as to the content of the report on Sri Lanka as well as the procedure followed in formulating this document,” he said to the Council.

He suggested that the report had gone beyond the mandate given by last year’s resolution, saying the resolution only asked the High Commissioner to report on the provisions for technical assistance to Sri Lanka.

Samarasinghe also said the government requested that all references to the UN Panel of Expert report be deleted, as it was a “private consultation” for the UN Secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

Read full statement here.

The Students’ Federation for Free Eelam has called on the Board of Control for Cricket in India to bar Sri Lankan players to attend Indian Premier League matches in Chennai.

Coordinator of the group, V. Prabhakaran, said that students would disrupt matches if they went ahead with Sri Lankan players.

“There is no question of allowing the Sri Lankan players to participate in cricket matches here. We have nothing against IPL or the game, but allowing them to play in Tamil Nadu will be a great insult to millions of Tamils who are fighting for justice. We will go to any extent to stop this,” Mr Prabhakaran told The Hindu on Wednesday.

The organisation is helping to organise the huge protests that have swept Tamil Nadu and has nominated coordinators in 26 districts of the state, with thousands of students already enrolled.

“We are communicating with the students through email/social network and hundreds of them are joining us daily,” Mr Prabhakaran said.

Speaking at the 22nd session of the UN HRC, Tamil Nadu-based NGO Pasumai Thaayagam has welcomed the High Commissioner's report on Sri Lanka and underlined that an intnernational mechanism was the 'only mehcanism' in which true accountability could be brought to Sri Lanka.

Delivering her address, Dr Yaso Natkunam stated,

"The report underlined on-going and widespread allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture, detention and land-grab, severe threats to the right to freedom of expression and assembly, lack of demilitarization, especially in the Tamil areas of the North and East, as well as the eight long-outstanding visit requests by Special Rapporteurs appointed by this Council. Real victims, the majority of whom are Tamils, are affected when violations of human rights such as these and many others occur and go unchecked in Sri Lanka."

She went on to say,

"Mr. President, the international community represented by this Council has an incredibly important role to play in ensuring the realisation of human rights for all. Pasumai Thaayagam echoes the High Commissioner’s sentiments contained in this report that an independent and credible international investigation is the only mechanism that has the possibility to ensure genuine accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka."

See her full address below

Thank you Mr. President.

Pasumai Thaayagam wishes to express our sincere gratitude for the High Commissioner’s report on Sri Lanka to this Council.

The role of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is an extremely important one, and one of the strongest stalwarts our global community has for the safeguarding of human rights.  Even while there are some who seek to undermine it for political purposes, today the Office of the High Commissioner continues to discharge its responsibility within the spirit of its mandate. 

We wish to thank the High Commissioner for the dignity and courage with which she continues to undertake and fulfill her obligation to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world. 

With respect to the OHCHR country report on Sri Lanka, we are incredibly disturbed by the details provided, particularly concerning the breakdown of the rule of law and the administration of justice. The report underlined on-going and widespread allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture, detention and land-grab, severe threats to the right to freedom of expression and assembly, lack of demilitarization, especially in the Tamil areas of the North and East, as well as the eight long-outstanding visit requests by Special Rapporteurs appointed by this Council.   Real victims, the majority of whom are Tamils, are affected when violations of human rights such as these and many others occur and go unchecked in Sri Lanka. 

Mr. President, the international community represented by this Council has an incredibly important role to play in ensuring the realisation of human rights for all.  Pasumai Thaayagam echoes the High Commissioner’s sentiments contained in this report that an independent and credible international investigation is the only mechanism that has the possibility to ensure genuine accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.  

Thank you Mr. President.

Gary Anandasangaree of Lawyer's Rights Watch Canada has slammed Sri Lanka's 'ruthless program' to disenfranchise the Tamil people and demographic campaign of Sinhalisation in the North-East, when addressing the 22nd Session of the UNHRC, earlier on Wednesday.

Speaking in Geneva, Anandasangaree said,

"The North and East of Sri Lanka are traditional Tamil territory with a unique language and culture. Sri Lanka has undertaken a campaign against the Tamil people to systematically mute their voice, and agency over a 65 year period. This campaign has progressively curtailed the democratic franchise of Tamils in the East. The same ruthless program is now undertaken in the North. Increased militarization, land grab, and the establishment of new Sinhalese settlements in traditional Tamil areas are exasperating the Sinhalization and Budhization of the North."

"This is no longer an armed conflict – but a demographic one – one that is based on artificially changing the population that would assimilate Tamils as one monolithic group within the island."

He also slammed Sri Lanka's repeated criticism of the United Nations Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka, stating,

"We reject the statements of Minister Samarasinghe and others that this was a “private consultation” undertaken by the Secretary General. We wish to remind this Council that the Secretary General is the head of the United Nations and as such cannot commission private work – in effect, all of his undertaking ought to be in the public realm, inline with the principles of transparency and accountability."

See his full address here.

Tamil Nadu’s Dravidar Munnetra Kazhakam (DMK) has withdrawn from the ruling coalition in Delhi, amidst increasing protests on the streets of the southern Indian state.

As DMK Fumes, Tamil Nadu Boils - The Wall Street Journal (19 Mar 2013)

India’s contribution to the weakening of the US-sponsored resolution at the UN Human Rights Council has caused party leader M Karunanidhi condemned India’s actions and announced the DMK’s immediate withdrawal from the UPA government.

Has India watered down the resolution once again? – First Post (19 Mar 2013)

“The issues raised by the DMK haven't been addressed by the Congress, thus this is a government that doesn't benefit the Tamils in any way," Karunanidhi, told reporters in Chennai on Tuesday.

"And even after this, if we continue to extend our support to the government, it is a shame to Tamil Nadu... Thus the DMK has decided, and we are announcing our immediate withdrawal from the central government and the UPA,

"India, despite being the biggest democratic country, hasn't addressed the issues raised by the DMK, and they have chosen to ignore the problems of the Tamils. These are completely anti-democratic acts by them. I totally condemn it," he added.

Karunanidhi has said the party may reconsider its decision if India helps to introduce a strong resolution at the Human Rights Council, that demands an international inquiry into allegations of war crimes and mentions genocide. The DMK also wants to see the Indian parliament pass a resolution against Sri Lanka, declaring Sri Lanka’s crimes as genocide against Tamils.

“India should intervene and see that the resolution is strengthened. We have come to understand that the resolution has been diluted and so is now irrelevant. We want the government of India to intervene and see that Tamils are protected in the island. It is the duty of India”, said a DMK spokesman outside the parliament in Delhi.

Sonia Gandhi responded to the withdrawal saying the Tamil issue pained her and her party said DMK demands would be looked into.

“The plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka is close to our hearts. Our support for equal rights and equal protection of the laws to them has been unwavering since the days of Indiraji (Indira Gandhi) and Rajivji (Rajiv Gandhi). We are most pained at the manner in which their legitimate political rights continue to be denied to them. We are anguished by reports of unspeakable atrocities on innocent civilians and children, especially during the last days of the conflict in 2009," she said.

However, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister J Jayalalitha has dismissed the DMK’s withdrawal as a drama.

"Sri Lankan Tamils would have been saved if he had withdrawn his support to Central government then [in 2009]. Karunanidhi did not do it. This is a very big betrayal of Tamils,

“People are tired of the countless dramas by Karunanidhi. While the revived TESO had failed to find any support among people and students, he seems to aim at minimising the blame by enacting the latest drama. His aspirations would not come true and people will teach him a right lesson for his drama,” she said.

Over 500 students have now been arrested in the protests that have swept Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lanka’s national air carrier SriLankan Airlines has announced it has cut the amount of flights between Chennai and Colombo by half, due to a drop in passengers after anti-Sri Lanka protests in Tamil Nadu.

"Srilankan Airlines has observed a drop in traffic between Chennai and Colombo due to recent developments in Tamil Nadu, hence it was decided to reduce its frequency of flights to Chennai from 28 to 14 per week," a statement from the airline said today.

"Flights to other Indian destinations will be operated uninterrupted,"

"SriLankan Airlines is closely observing the situation and will take further action if necessary."

Amnesty International on Tuesday blamed India for weakening the US-backed draft resolution at the UN Human Rights Council seeking accountability for mass killings of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka in 2009.

The Deccan Herald and Washington Post both reported that India has been in touch with Washington to soften criticism of Sri Lanka.

G Ananthapadmanabhan, head of Amnesty International India said in a statement:

“The revised US draft resolution is much softer in the context of the overwhelming volume of new evidence [of mass atrocities] that has been unearthed since the 21st session of UNHRC last [March].

“There is a lot of evidence in this draft resolution to clearly show the imprint of Indian influence. There is a significant downgrading of the international community’s concerns regarding rights violations in Sri Lanka.”

“It is disappointing that the [diluted] resolution does not call for an international investigation,” Ananthapadmanabhan said.

On Friday Amnesty International gave a petition to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed by 1.4 million Indians seeking an independent international probe into allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

"This petition represents the voices of 14 lakh ordinary Indian citizens asking India to play a stronger role in seeking justice in Sri Lanka," Ananthapadmanabhan said.

"This is a demand for an end to the impunity for past and present human rights violations in Sri Lanka."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly considering asking Indian Premier League (IPL) teams to keep Sri Lankan players out matches in Chennai.

While the BCCI maintained that there were no immediate threats to players, it is anticipating protests against Sri Lankan players.

There are currently 13 Sri Lankan cricketers in the IPL.