“makes it easier for police and military members to carry out body inspections and ‘searches’ without having to justify doing so.

These searches are often carried out alongside sexual harassment and violence that is specifically of a sexual nature.”

“Sri Lanka ratified this agreement and is thus currently disregarding the obligation it accepted  to fight any forms of discrimination and to ensure the effective prosecution of perpetrators of gender-based violence.

Sri Lanka has said it is committed to implement the recommendations of the LLRC, despite the ‘setback’ of the resolution on Sri Lanka which passed in March.

Speaking at the 20th UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva, Sri Lanka’s representative Manisha Gunasekera claimed some of the recommendations were already being implemented.

However she expressed displeasure at the ‘ill-conceived’ US-sponsored resolution that passed during the last session.

"Sri Lanka continues to believe that this Resolution was completely unnecessary and unwarranted. It does not add any value to the ongoing domestic efforts.

"On the contrary, this action has caused mistrust about international processes among the people of Sri Lanka and runs counter to our domestic efforts," she explained to the Council.

"Within the country, women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels. Boys are more likely than girls to be forced into prostitution in coastal areas for domestic child sex tourism."

"Internally-displaced persons, war widows, and unregistered female migrants remained particularly vulnerable to human trafficking."

"Government employees’ complicity in trafficking remained a problem. There were allegations that police and other officials accepted bribes to permit brothels to operate; some of the brothels exploited trafficking victims.

Many recruitment agencies were run by politicians or were politically connected. Some sub-agents cooperated with Sri Lankan officials to procure forged or modified documents, or real documents with false data, to facilitate travel abroad. There were no reported law enforcement actions taken against officials complicit in human trafficking."

"In addition, there are reports of children being subjected to bonded labor and forced labor in dry-zone farming areas on plantations, and in the fireworks and fish-drying industries. Some child domestic workers in Colombo, generally from the Tamil tea-estate sector of the country, are subjected to physical, sexual, and mental abuse, non-payment of wages, and restrictions of their movement."

"Serious problems remain, particularly in protecting victims of trafficking in Sri Lanka and abroad, and not addressing official complicity in human trafficking."

"There have been some reports of abuse by Sri Lankan embassy officials in shelters abroad, and one official in a Sri Lankan embassy reportedly condoned passport withholding – a sign of human trafficking – by employees in that country."

Amnesty International have asked the UN Human Rights Council to call on Sri Lanka to implement measures to protect human rights and to be prepared to take independent action if Sri Lanka fails to deliver justice to victims of human rights violations.

In a statement, released for the June UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Amnesty said has failed to fulfil its human rights obligations and human rights abuses still take place.

See extracts below:

"Sri Lanka is not fulfilling many of its international human rights obligations. Impunity remains the norm for gross violations of human rights, including alleged war crimes. Gross and systematic human rights violations continue to take place. Sri Lanka’s armed conflict ended in 2009, but its legacy of unlawful detention practices continues; arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment and custodial killings remain hallmarks of Sri Lankan policing."

"The number of reports of enforced disappearances in the past six months is alarming; political activists critical of the state continue to be victims. Intimidation and smear campaigns against human rights defenders and journalists in government-owned newspapers have included attacks on individuals advocating for human rights accountability before this Council."

"Resolution 19/2 was an important first step by UN member states to encourage Sri Lanka to pursue accountability for crimes under international law allegedly committed by its armed forces and the LTTE in the course of the conflict. Without international attention it is almost certain that Sri Lanka will not pursue these grave allegations. Failing to secure justice for survivors would be disastrous and would threaten future generations and institutions that are critical to protection of rights in Sri Lanka and internationally."

"The Human Rights Council and UN member states must persevere in encouraging Sri Lanka to improve respect for human rights through domestic reforms and to deliver justice for the victims of human rights violations."

"The UN must be prepared to act independently to end the cycle of impunity in Sri Lanka if the Government of Sri Lanka fails to do so. To date, Sri Lanka has not demonstrated that it has either the capacity or the political will to adequately account for alleged war crimes committed in the last stages of the armed conflict with the LTTE. Amnesty International remains convinced that only an impartial international investigation into allegations of crimes under international law committed by both sides in the country’s armed conflict will do that."

For full statement, see here.

“a follow-up to the United Nations Human Rights Council vote against the island nation in its last session.”

"Sri Lankan journalists forced to leave the island due to the government’s war against the truth make up the backbone of the website"

 “With voluntary contributors from around the globe complementing coverage from the ground, we believe that this would be a step towards strengthening the on-going struggle to democratize Sri Lanka. The site will also be a monument to media workers who made the ultimate sacrifice in their quest to reveal the truth.”

"Does Sampanthan want to create 100 more Mullivaikkals?

We are ready to forgive and forget the past and think about the future. But, if Sampanthan is calling us to a fight, our nation would proudly accept the challenge."

"One Mullivaikkal is enough. Don't try to get 100 more."

"We appeal to the Tamil people not to go behind this kind of people and end up in getting 100 more Mullivaikkals".

The Sri Lankan stock exchange is the fourth worst performing bourse in the world, according to a US investment group.

Bespoke Investment Group’s analysis showed the Colombo Stock Exchange’s All Share Price Index, is down by 18.95% on a year to year basis, just ahead of struggling European economies, Spain, Greece and the Ukraine.

Sri Lanka has been best and second best performing stock market in previous years, however after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started investigating suspect trades and imposed price bands, share prices fell sharply.

According to The Island, lobbying of President Rajapakse resulted in the removal last November of the Director General of the SEC, Malik Cader, who conducted investigations into insider trading and stock price manipulation.

Vietnam tops this year’s list with a gain of 20.97%, with Pakistan a close second at 20.37%.

Photograph: TamilNet

A large scale protest by Tamil activists in Jaffna against the expropriation of private land by the government, held in front of Jaffna Bus Stand, was blocked by Sri Lankan police on Monday, reports TamilNet.

See here.

Having alleged the protest contained "destructive elements", the Sri Lankan police cited 'legal permission' from a District Court judge to block the protest at the final moment.

Initiated by the Tamil National Peoples Front (TPNF), the protests saw activists from a wide variety of political and civil society organisations attending including students from the Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU), trade union organisations and other political organisations such as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Democratic Peoples Front (DPF).

According to TamilNet, Selvaraja Kajendran of the TNPF said, 

 'the ‘legal move’ by the SL Police to curb the protestors against the land grab, only indicated that the forces behind land grab in the peninsula have been severely disturbed by the emerging trend to stage protest against the illegal appropriations of land'

The key participants addressed the gathered protesters at the TNPF office located on 3rd Cross Street.

"I think there's still de-mining taking place, so there has to be involvement of the military as well."

"But for children who have lived in fear of war, seeing the presence of the military could affect them psychologically. On the one hand, that will have an impact on them, that the war is not over for them."

"For them to have a sense of real peace, whenever we have asked them, they've said that they need to have education and facilities for education, just like the kind of facilities that children have in the south of the country."

"So, greater focus is required for children in the north, to be resettled in their own villages and to receive an education, which will make sure that they have not lost everything, and they have an equal chance in life towards their future."

Raul Castro greets Mahinda Rajapakse (Pictures: ColomboPage)

Cuban President Raul Castro and President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks in Havana and agreed to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

The leaders praised the over 50-year old relationship the countries shared and Rajapakse expressed his appreciation for the support Cuba showed to Sri Lanka at the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council, where Cuba voted against a US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka.

Ministers Wimal Weerawnsa, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Mahinda Amaraweera, Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga travelled with the President to Cuba.

"Yes we will certainly lose a considerable income but I wouldn't say we will end up in debt as a result."

"We will look into how our marketing and sports departments missed the newspaper advertisement and of course will continue bid for sports rights in future events."

"It has been the practise that the rights were granted on a series-by-series basis not for very long periods."

"In my opinion, 125 million SLR could be earned in one tournament."

"How can it be a conflict of interest as it was the sports minister himself who allowed Nishantha Ranatunga to contest for while he was an official at the CSN?"

"Are we supposed to reject a company because it is an organisation owned by the president's sons?"

Critising the Metropolitan Police for doing "nothing to control or prevent the protest" against Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's Cabinet spokesperson and Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, said this week:

 “There was a fairly big crowd mainly Tamil youths who had gathered before the Marlborough House from many countries of the Euro Zone including France, Germany, Norway and Sweden. It is obvious that the Tamil Diaspora had been organising this protest against Sri Lanka and President Rajapaksa for a considerable period of time."

"The Scotland Yard, famous for its crowd controlling, crime busting and intelligence services should have known this in advance. But unfortunately it did nothing to control or prevent the protest against a Commonwealth head of state who arrived in London on the invitation of Queen Elizabeth 11 and was a host of the British government,”

Warning Scotland Yard to be scared of the 8000 British and European Tamil protesters, Rambukwella added:

“The Scotland Yard had a legal obligation to prevent the protest as the LTTE was a proscribed militant organisation in the UK,”

“There is a possibility that these protests and violence may turn against the British citizens themselves and the British government in the future.”

Spokesperson for the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), Suren Surendiran, slammed the Parliamentary Select Committee as "delaying tactics", and the government's 'reconcilatory efforts' as disingenuous, in an interview with Shamindra Ferdinando of the pro-government newspaper, The Island. Mr Ferdinando was part of the Sri Lankan government's official delegation to the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year.

See interview in full here.

Extracts reproduced below:

Q: Did the GTF and the BTF pressure former UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband to rush to Colombo in April 2009 in a bid to persuade President Rajapaksa to halt the offensive? Miliband is on record as having told the US mission in London (according to Wiki Leaks) how he spent 60 per cent of his time on the SL issue, because of impending parliamentary polls.

A: Like I said before, the GTF came into being only after the end of the war. However, the answer to your question is yes, we did pressure the then British government as members of the BTF and the Diaspora community with loved ones caught up in the so called ‘no fire’ zone. It didn’t take too much of persuasion for Mr David Miliband or for other world leaders to see what was happening as reports and evidence of massacres and carnage were coming out regularly. It is a shame that there was a deafening silence from communities in the country outside the war zone and from local journalists who kept numb without reporting independently.

Regarding WikiLeaks - it is interesting isn’t it that in the same token of reporting what Mr Miliband had said or otherwise, it also reports that President Rajapaksa and the brothers were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Q: On the basis of the ‘Darusman report’––The Island recently revealed how UNSG’s Panel of Experts (PoE) had collected information/petitions and UK productions, ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ and ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished’––the GTF and various other Diaspora groups allege massacre of many thousands of men, women and children. A British MP, who recently raised UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague’s failure to expel the Sri Lankan Defence Attache in London, for killings committed during January-May 2009, last year, claimed that the final phase of the conflict claimed the lives of 40,000 civilians and 60,000 LTTE cadres. There were many other examples. ‘Tamils for Obama’ said fighting during the final few weeks claimed the lives of 75,000 civilians. How many Tamil civilians perished in the fighting? How many LTTE cadres died in action?

A: I can only go by credible reports such as the one by the United Nations Panel of Experts, which states that an estimated 40,000 men, women and children died during the last weeks of the war. Also Bishop Rayappu Joseph of Mannar alleged at the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) that over 146,000 people are missing.

As you have quite rightly pointed out, that there are various estimates and quotes exist. The best way to resolve this issue and other related issues is to allow an independent international investigation to establish a credible figure. If the government of President Rajapaksa has nothing to hide, they must permit such an investigation to clear these allegations once and for all, will be my advice.

Q: Do you have any idea of the LTTE fighting strength at the onset of the fighting in mid 2006? How many survived?

A: No idea and this could be another issue that can be resolved credibly, if such an investigation as described above is carried out.

Q: How do you view President Rajapaksa’s efforts to set up a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to resolve the problem?

A: These are delaying tactics.

President Rajapaksa appointed the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) under Prof. Tissa Vitharana a few years ago for the same purpose of coming to a consensus agreement between the parliamentary parties in finding a political solution. I would like to know what the President did with those recommendations.

A ‘popular’ President like Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was elected almost 100% with the Sinhala vote, who also commands a two third majority in ‘parliament’ could have resolved the Tamil political problem with ease if he had the political will and courage, at least since the end of the war, over three years ago.

Q: Do you think President Rajapaksa is genuine in his efforts? Or just trying to deceive your people?

A: No, I don’t believe President Rajapaksa is genuine in his efforts as proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say. Like I said before, a ‘popular’ President like Mahinda Rajapaksa who got elected almost 100% through the Sinhala vote, who also commands a two thirds majority in parliament could have resolved the Tamil political problem with ease if he had the political will and courage, at least since the end of the war, over three years ago.

I am sure he also fears that his vote base, which is an almost all Sinhala vote base, might deny him the votes, if he takes the bold and just step to resolve Tamil grievances.

President Rajapaksa is in a hell of a predicament also because as the Commander in Chief of the Military, he is alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. With mounting evidence, he is trying to negotiate, perhaps barter justice with a political solution as he knows that the day he relinquishes his position as head of state, he is likely to be arrested just as Charles Taylor of Liberia or Milosevic of former Yugoslavia.