• Ruling party calls for Tamil Bishop’s arrest

    Mar 05

    One of the parties of Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition has called for the prosecution of the Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph, and 30 other members of the clergy who have signed a letter critical of the government.

    The JHU, a Buddhist nationalist party, accused the Bishop of sympathising with Tamil separatism, for his letter that criticised the LLRC and called on the UN Human Rights Commission to pass a resolution to put pressure on Sri Lanka.

    The letter reveals a growing rift along ethnic lines within the Catholic clergy on the island.

    "At least now, we urge the Council to act decisively in relation to Sri Lanka, to enable Sri Lankan to move towards genuine reconciliation," said the letter signed by 31 clergymen including the bishop.

    The bishop also called on the UN to urge Sri Lanka to accept an international investigation into accountability issues, something which was totally ignored by the LLRC.

    The Sinhala head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, criticised the letter and said it does not represent the Catholic community’s views.

    Cardinal Ranjith said the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka rejects the resolution on Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council, in a statement released last week and said "such efforts by western powers is an insult on the intelligence of the people of Sri Lanka".

  • Tamil NGO delegates intimidated at UN Human Rights Council

    Tamil NGO delegates were subject to intimidation tactics by members of the Sri Lankan delegation reported the news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), on Thursday.

    Delegates were targeted with photography and video inside the main plenary room at the UN, and during side line event hosted by Sri Lanka. A formal complaint has been lodged with security officers, AFP reported.

    A Tamil delegation, including members of the British Tamil Forum (BTF), Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), Tamil Youth Organisation UK (TYO UK) and US Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) were attending the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

  • MSF confirm denial of access to war zone

    Médecins Sans Frontières have refuted comments made by Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa that the organisation was allowed access in the final war zone in 2009, stating that despite repeated reuqests, access was denied.

    Following comments made by the Defence Secretary to the Deccan Chronicle, MSF stated that in September 2008 they were issued a government directive asking them and other international organisations to leave Kilinochchi. They went on to state,

    "Permission was sought from numerous ministries, including the Ministries of Health as well as Defense, but at no point was this request granted during the final stages of the conflict in late 2008 and 2009."

    MSF also commented that it was only after May 2009 that they were able to provide assisstance in North Vavuniya and at an emergency field hospital in Menik Farm. They further clarified that "all of this activity was outside the battle zone".

    See their full release here.

  • UN panel of experts urge UNHRC to take action

    Writing in the New York Times, the panel of experts appointed by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon to examine the final stages of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka - Marzuki Darusman, the former attorney-general of Indonesia, Steven Ratner, a professor of law at the University of Michigan, and Yasmin Sooka, the executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa - urged the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council to ensure that "Sri Lanka fulfills its responsibilities to all its people and to the rest of the world".

    See here for text in full, extracts reproduced below:

    "Given Sri Lanka’s unwillingness to take concrete steps, the best way to get to the truth is for the council to create an independent investigative body to determine the facts and identify those responsible, as we recommended in our report."

    "The lack of much outside interest in the bloodshed while it happened cannot be an excuse for continuing to ignore the situation. The international community must now assume its duty to ensure that Sri Lanka fulfills its responsibilities to all its people and to the rest of the world."

    "For Sri Lanka to experience a true peace, rather than simply the peace of the victor, truth and accountability are essential. This is the lesson from states as varied as South Africa, Sierra Leone and Argentina."

     

  • Canadian Lawyers' rights NGO urges action at UNHRC

    Addressing the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), an NGO that advocates the rights of human rights activists internationally, highlighted Sri Lanka's failure to make meaningful progress on peace and reconciliation, whilst increasing its intimidation and harrassment of those campaigning for human rights.

    See here for full statement, including LRWC's concerns regarding the situation in Syria.

    Extracts reproduced below:

    "Since winning the war in 2009, Sri Lanka has failed in attaining peace."

    "Sri Lanka has enjoyed the support of this Council. Sri Lanka has been given the appropriate time and space to offer a path towards peace and reconciliation."

    "However, for close to three years, it squandered these opportunities, and has instead commenced a full frontal attack on anyone seeking the universal application of human rights laws, and standards, including human rights defenders in Sri Lanka and those attending this very Council. Government delegates continue to hinder the full participation of NGO’s at this Council, and we have seen a marked reduction in individuals attending from Sri Lanka as a result."

    "As you correctly point out your Excellency, both reports must be discussed and appropriate measures must be taken to ensure the recommendations are acted on, with a definitive timeline for its implementation."

  • US says 'time slipping away' for Sri Lanka

    The US Under Secretary of State, Maria Otero, warned Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of the LLRC without delay.

    Speaking at the 19th UN Human Rights Session on Friday, Otero said that there can be no lasting peace without reconciliaton and accountability.

    The Under Secretary reiterated the need for action at this session to 'sow the seeds of lasting peace'.

    Full comment on Sri Lanka by Maria Otero:

    "We know from experience that there can be no lasting peace without reconciliation and accountability, but the United States is concerned that, in Sri Lanka, time is slipping away.

    "The international community has waited nearly three years for action, and while we welcome the release of the LLRC report, the recommendations of the report should be implemented.

    "We have engaged Sri Lanka bilaterally on these issues since the conflict ended in 2009, and stand ready to continue to work with them.

    "Action now in this Council will sow the seeds of lasting peace on the ground."

  • Jaffna uni students call on TNA to represent the people

    Condemning the TNA's boycott of the 19th UN Human Rights Council session currently underway in Geneva, the Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU), called on the TNA to represent the views of the people they were elected to represent.

    In a statement published Thursday, the JUSU urged the TNA to bring the aspirations of the Tamils to a global forum.

    See here for letter in full.

    The TNA's Suresh Premachandran said the decision to boycott did not reflect the overall stance of the TNA, but that of certain individuals, reported Tamilnet.  

  • Reporters Sans Frontières urge UNHRC to condemn violation of press freedom

    Reporters San Frontieres called on member states at the 19th UN Human Rights Council to pass a resolution condemning the Sri Lankan government's "violations of freedom of information and to demand an end to threats and violence against news media and human rights defenders in Sri Lanka".

    In a statement released Tuesday, RSF condemned the Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS) on Tamilnet.com, as well as a number of Sri Lankan news organisations.

    RSF said:

    “For more than a year we have been seeing new forms of censorship and a deterioration in journalists’ ability to work although the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officially ended in 2009,”

    “Rather than wait until the Universal Periodic Review to make recommendations, the Human Rights Council’s members should adopt a resolution now urging the government to take measures to improve freedom of information.

    “The number of cases of physical attacks, death threats and imprisonment may have fallen in 2010 and 2011, but the authorities continue to prevent the media from enjoying real editorial freedom and many journalists are still in exile. Sri Lankan and foreign media are still unable to cover the issue of war crimes, which will be at the centre of the Human Rights Council’s discussions during the 19th session.

     

    “An immediate reaction is needed to the obstruction of journalists who want to cover the activities of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and to self-censorship on this subject for fear of reprisals. The Human Rights Council must remind the Sri Lankan government of the importance of the media’s role as a critic and urge it to respect freedom of information. We call on the government to accept constructive questions from civil society and to stop branding its critics as ‘conspirators’ and ‘LTTE accomplices’.”
  • ‘Shocking allegations’ says US judge

    A US judge, ruled she ‘must dismiss’ a suit against the Sri Lankan President over allegations of killings by his country’s armed forces as the American administration has decided that he is immune from litigation as a foreign head of state.

    "The court does not take this step lightly," U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her ruling dismissing the case against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

    "The plaintiffs' complaint contains shocking allegations of human rights abuses and violations of United States and international law," she said.

    "The court's dismissal of this case is in no way a reflection of the merits of plaintiffs' claims or defendant's defenses. Rather, two centuries of case law and basic constitutional and statutory principles prevent this court from allowing plaintiffs' complaint to move forward at this time."

    The suit was brought by the parents of humanitarian workers and civilians killed by Sri Lankan forces during the course of the last few years.

    The father of a medical student shot dead with four friends while relaxing on a beach, the wife of a humanitarian worker executed with seventeen colleagues and the relatives of a family killed in the no-fire zone in the last stages of the war were among the plaintiffs.

  • ICG warns of 'future violence' if Sri Lanka does not improve

    The International Crisis Group (ICG) warned that the current ground situation in Sri Lanka could result in "future violence", and the UN Human Rights Council had a chance to do something about that.

    "The government claims to need additional time to pursue accountability. Yet its narrow promises, past three years of denial, dissimulation and intimidation of critics, and decades of failure to implement the recommendations of past domestic commissions of inquiry show that what is actually needed is a dramatic change of course."

    "The responsibility now falls on the international community to take up the issue, starting with a resolution in Geneva demanding progress on both reconciliation and accountability according to a strict timetable and with independent monitoring."

    See here for report in full.

  • Tamilnet website cyber-attacked ahead of 19th UNHRC

    The online site, Tamilnet, was out of service at the weekend after experiencing effective cyber-attacks, ahead of the 19th UN Human Rights Council session.

    In a statement, published Monday, Tamilnet's editorial board, said,

    "Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS), identified by the service provider of TamilNet as originating from specific parts of the world, has been disrupting web traffic of TamilNet.com since Saturday."

    "The attack on the independent media reporting to the world on Tamil affairs coincides with the opening of the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in Geneva on Monday, where the USA and Sri Lanka have already pitched positions in hijacking the focus of issues concerning the cause of genocide-affected Eezham Tamils."

    "TamilNet has been forced to seek expert services in regularising the web traffic. As a media arguing for Eezham Tamil public to take up the issues into their hands, TamilNet depends on the support of nobody other than the Tamil masses and the alternative world."

    See here for full statement.

  • Sri Lankans protest against UNHRC resolution
    Rallying behind the Sri Lankan government's call to arms against accountability for mass atrocities against Tamils, protests took place Monday as the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council began. 
     
    In the weeks leading upto the session, government ministers have publicly denounced the "western plot". 
     
    Speaking today, member of parliament for Badulla district and former deputy minister of justice, Dilan Perera told reporters, 
     
     "This is clearly international revenge on the president for his action to end a 30 year curse of terrorism,"
     
    "Forgetting all differences people must rally to protect the president and the nation," added Dallas Alahapperuma, Sri Lanka's minister of youth affairs. 
     
    Alahapperuma vowed that protests would be held in 150 local council sites across the island, with the largest protest taking place at the Fort railway station in Colombo. 
     
    Protests are reported to have taken place outside embassies in areas such as Galle, Kandy and as well as the heavily militarised areas of the North-East such as Kilinochchi and Puttalam, where according to reports on the BBC, masked gunmen on motorcycles forced passing Tamil civilians participation.
  • UK urges Sri Lanka to implement LLRC recommendations - UNHRC
    Speaking at the opening session of the 19th session of the UN human rights council, UK minister of state, foreign and commonwealth office, Jeremy Browne pledged the UK's commitment to working against the violation of human rights, and urged Sri lanka to implement the recommendation made in the LLRC. 
     
    "Where states fail, institutions of the UN should act to make change," said Browne. 
     
    It is "in this spirit," added Browne, that "Countries call on them [Sri Lanka] to make the implementations recommended in their Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission."
     
  • Our duty to Sri Lanka, and human rights'

    Writing in the Guardian, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Irish President Mary Robinson, members of The Elders, global leaders working for peace and human rights, called on the UN Human Rights Council to "support a resolution that seeks accountability for the terrible violations of international law".

    See their full piece here. Extracts reproduced below:

    “This week the UN Human Rights Council has an opportunity and a duty to help Sri Lanka advance its own efforts on accountability and reconciliation. Both are essential if a lasting peace is to be achieved. In doing so, the council will not only be serving Sri Lanka, but those worldwide who believe there are universal rights and international legal obligations we all share.”

    “In the absence of a credible and independent investigation into what happened in Sri Lanka, the Human Rights Council has an obligation to uphold human rights law and international humanitarian law during its upcoming 2012 sessions.,”

    “Against this background, and continuing reports of human rights violations by the authorities, we urge the council to support a resolution that seeks accountability for the terrible violations of international law that have taken place, and establishes mechanisms to monitor progress on the steps the government is taking on accountability. If there is insufficient progress by the government in establishing a credible accountability process in the near future, we urge council members to support the establishment of an independent investigation.”

    “Finally we want to emphasise that Sri Lanka's recent history is an issue that concerns all of us.

    Whether or not the Human Rights Council is able to summon the will to act on one of the most serious cases of human rights violations to have occurred since it was founded in 2006 could have ramifications for the global standing of human rights and international humanitarian law – and for the prestige and authority of the council.”

  • Come and 'die like dogs', minister threatens US
    Sri Lanka's public relations minister, Mervyn Silva expressed his thoughts on a US resolution at the UNHRC.

    According to BBC correspondent Charles Haviland, Silva said Monday, 

    “Americans, if you want to die like dogs as Prabhakaran did, come to Sri Lanka.”

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