Helping the Police arrest brutish “monks” in Sri Lanka

Apparently the infamous Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has condemned the attack on Fashion Bug warehouse a few days ago and asked the Police to arrest those involved in it, even if they are monks. A Daily Mirror news report suggests BBS thinks the individuals captured on film destroyed private property were actually impostors.

Matale mass grave: Gory details of torture ; Nails inserted into the fingers

Crime scene: will the perpetrators be punished? 

Ranga Jayasuriya
The report of Judicial Medical Officer (JMO), Dr. Ajith Jayasena, on the mass grave in Matale reveals in gory detail the extensive torture the hapless victims had been subjected to before their mass burial.
“The skeletons bore extensive marks of torture. We have discovered a major crime scene,” said Dr. Jayasena.
“Nails have been inserted into the fingers in some skeletons. In some others, nails have been inserted into the legs of the victims as well.

“State Terrorists” Carrying Lion Flags Launch Stone Attack On TNA Meeting in Kilinochchi

........waving of lion flags while the dastardly attack was in progress

D.B.S.JEYARAJ
Sri Lanka’s national flag was disgraced and disrespected in the Northern town of Kilinochchi on Saturday March 30th 2013 when a motley crew of “State Terrorists” launched a stone attack on the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) office premises while a political discussion was in progress.

Blatant Attempt Underway to Whitewash Role of Bodhu Bala Sena in the “Fashion Bug” Attack

D.B.S.JEYARAJ
A blatant attempt is underway in Sri Lanka to “cover up” and whitewash the despicable role played by the “Bodhu Bala Sena”(Buddhist Power Force)in the recent attack at Pepiliyana on the Muslim owned apparel establishment”Fashion Bug”.

Attack on the Temple of Justice and on religious freedoms:The combination of the two at present is both a time-bomb waiting to go off and a cancer spreading to other areas at the same time.

The BASL convocation ( photo - Sunday Times)

Shirani Bandaranayake attended the Annual Convocation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in Colombo on March 30, 2013. She was invited as the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. Mohan Pieris, the 44th Chief Justice, was not invited. Attorney General Palitha Fernando came to the venue but left before proceedings began.

BASL convocation : De jure Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayaka presides , while Mohan Peiris, the De Facto Chief Justice, was not invited.

Shirani Bandaranayake attended the Annual Convocation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in Colombo on March 30, 2013. She was invited as the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka

Update from Lawyers Collective on Historic Convocation of BASL
Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) held a historic convocation and inducted its newly elected President Upul Jayasuriya, today at Nava Rangahala. De jure Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayaka was among the special guests, who graced the occasion, while Mohan Peiris, the De Facto Chief Justice, was not invited.

SL military operatives attack TNA parliamentarians in Ki'linochchi

Military style subtle operation against  TNA in Kilinochchi

30 March 2013/Four Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians, Mavai Senathirajah, S. Sritharan, E. Saravanapavan and MA Sumanthiran, who visited Ki'linochchi Saturday morning for a meeting at Sritharan MPs office, were surrounded by a mob that was carrying Lion flag and shouting slogans against the TNA parliamentarians. The group, started to pelt stones at the office and at the vehicles of the Tamil parliamentarians.

Military torture chamber near Matale mass grave

154 skeletons of extrajudicial killings 

Ranga Jayasuriya
 In a damning disclosure, the survivors of a military-run detention centre that existed during the southern counter-insurgency campaign have alleged the army had operated a torture chamber in a government school in the vicinity of the mass grave of Matale in 1989-90, and that the skeletons of the mass grave belong to the victims of that torture chamber.

SLMC wants govt. action against rising tide of hate; Attacks are not isolated

Hakeem: Not an isolated incident

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader and Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem has requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to convene a cabinet meeting to discuss the ‘rising religious unrest and civil disturbance’ in the country.
"The Minister has also contacted Senior Minister MHM Fowzie – currently out of the country- and Ministers Rishard Bathiutheen and ALM Athaullah regarding the matter", a press release issued last night by the SLMC said.

Impending danger warned of due to religious tensions in Sri Lanka

A Buddhist monk attack Muslim owned Fashan Bug on 28th March 2013

(Xinhua)  The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC) on Friday warned that a "dangerous national issue" has arisen in the island nation as a result of the recent religious tensions in the country.
The commission said that it is concerned that state institutions responsible for the implementation of the rule of law and for ensuring peace are silent on this matter and that the tensions could lead to the creation of mistrust within different communities resulting in these communities growing apart from one another.

Mob led by Buddhist Monks Attacks Muslim Owned”Fashion Bug”Clothing Establishment at Pepiliyana

D.B.S.Jeyaraj
A mob numbering hundreds led by Buddhist monks attacked the showroom cum warehouse complex of the reputed apparel firm”Fashion Bug” in the suburbs of Colombo city at about 8 pm on Thursday March 28th 2013.
The Muslim owned “Fashion Bug”chain of clothing stores with the motto of catering to “changing life styles” is one of Sri Lanka’s foremost business establishments.It has a chain of 18 clothes stores employing over 1200 persons.The majority of its employees are Sinhalese.

Sri Lankan Muslims fear reprisals as monks vent anger - Xinhua

March 29 (Xinhua) -- Muslims in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country, have been living in fear over the past couple of months as comments and statements made by Buddhist monks at public rallies have led to hate campaigns, mostly using social media.
The concerns saw an online campaign being launched this week seeking the intervention of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to protect the liberties of Sri Lanka's minorities and to defend their interests against hate speech and hate acts.

Sri Lanka: Probe into LTTE Crimes Should Start with Karuna; Deputy Minister Among Senior Leaders Linked to Wartime Atrocities

Karuna Amman on the left with LTTE Fighters

''Karuna’s call for war crimes investigations should not allow him to airbrush out his own role in atrocities. His LTTE forces were implicated in some of Sri Lanka’s most horrific abuses, so the government’s long-stalled war crimes investigations might as well begin with him.'' - Brad Adams, Asia director

Sri Lanka facing constitutional crisis concludes IBAHRI report

The removal from office in Sri Lanka of Chief Justice Bandaranayake was unlawful, is undermining public confidence in the rule of law, and threatening to eviscerate the country’s judiciary as an independent guarantor of constitutional rights states the Executive Summary of an International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) report released today.

Issued ahead of the full report, the Executive Summary of A Crisis of Legitimacy: The Impeachment of Chief Justice Bandaranayake and the Erosion of the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka finds the legal profession in Sri Lanka to be in a perilous state.

Bodu Bala Sena, Population Control and Reproductive Rights

BBS : Gathering emotionally charged crowds 

Vishakha Wijenayake
The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has highlighted in their website the fact the latest census reports have indicated a reduction of the percentage of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka by around nine per cent during the recent past.

“Haunted by her Yesterdays”: A Documentary About the Plight of Former Female Fighters of the LTTE. ( now on You Tube)

“Haunted by her yesterdays” is a new film by The Social Architects.

Watch the Video here 
This documentary tells a story of silent agony, trapped screams and repressed mourning. A story of women forced to deny their identity – who are trapped in between a government which sees them as “Tigers,” and a society whose norms they are no longer deemed worthy of.

To defend Buddhism we have brought an army; Begin a holy war - BBS Theme song

Fearsome hordes of demons have brought their armies and are upon us again

Dear Load Buddha who broke the strength of demons,

the dharma you gave us is under threat

The pinnacle of temple lies broken; the lams are gone out,

Buddhism lies in darkness.

From a bitter critic to Eelam champion;She has taken cautious line when it came to the LTTE

The Hindu A file photo of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

B. Kolappan
From a bitter critic of the LTTE to a champion of the ‘Tamil Eelam’ cause, the political evolution of the AIADMK headed by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has always been a roller-coaster ride.

Her political mentor M.G. Ramachandran gave political and monetary support to the LTTE led by V. Prabhakaran to purchase arms and the militant group was seen as being closer to the AIADMK than the DMK. But the AIADMK’s sympathy for the LTTE vanished in the wake of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.

JHU calls on Sinhalese to teach Muslim leaders a lesson that will never forget

Mujibar Rahuman under attack from the JHU

Jathika Hela Urumaya, (JHU) a constituent partner of the of the Rajapaksha government has callled on Sinhalese Buddhists to be determined to teach selected  Muslim leaders a lesson that they will never forget. The statement issued by Nishantha Warnasingha, the National Coordinator of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU includes a scathing attack on Minister Rauf Hakeem, leader of the another constituent partner, the Sri Lanka Mislim Congress  of the Rajapaksha government.

GoSL owned Mobitel in partnership with racist Bodu Bala Sena

Mobitel and the Bodu Bala Sena

The BBS ringing tone on Mobitel had recorded nearly a 1000 buys as of 9am, 27 March

Racist and hate groups are supposed to remain on the sidelines of society, screaming their subversive rhetoric in order to appeal to the seedier side of the collective conscience. Their funding usually comes from shadowy sources with powerful interests and money to be made from destruction and chaos. All of them invariably will remain behind the scenes, after all  who in the name of God would want to be publicly associated with hatred?

Sri Lanka mass grave from Marxist uprising (1988 -1990) era: expert

The country's rights record has also been marred by charges of extra-judicial killings in the 1970s and 1980

A mass grave found in Sri Lanka with over 150 skeletal remains dates back to a time when thousands of people disappeared during a crackdown on Marxist rebels, a forensics expert said Thursday.
Raj Somadeva said he had confirmed that the grave uncovered in the central district of Matale last November dated back to the late 1980s, the height of an insurgency by Sinhalese rebels.

Power has to be devolved according to the wishes of the majority - Gotabhaya Rajapaksha

Devolution is a scheme for dividing the country

Power should be devolved according the wishes of the majority as this is a democratically elected government.
If the powers in Sri Lanka have to devolved it should not be done according to the manner the International community or to the needs of the Tamil Diaspora, but according to the wishes of the Sri Lanka people disclosed the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

If Jayalalitha wants ‘Kachchtivu’ island she will have to take 842,323 Tamils also living in the island - Minister Weerawansa's website

Following is a news item published in the news website close to  Minister Wimal Weerawansa

If Jayalaitha has a craze to get ‘Kachchitivu’ island she will carry the burden of 842, 323 Tamils -Lak Bala Sena


If  Jayalilitha has an absolute craze in getting back Kachchtivu Island she will have to take over the 842,323 Tamils also who are employed here  with it. This was disclosed by the President of the Lak Bala Sena organisation Dr Sudath Sri Mallikarachchi had disclosed.

US closely consulted with India on Lankan resolution: Blake

The United States has worked with India throughout the process on the US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), Obama Administration’s point man on South Asia has said.
“We worked very closely with India throughout the process and we indeed welcomed some of the changes that India made,” the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, told the BBC Sinhalese service in an interview.

UNHRC resolution: Time for a rebellion for democracy

The US resolution on accountability and reconciliation, which was moved at the UNHRC, remains a threat directed at the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.

But many Tamils feel that it falls far short of their expectations. It is naïve of them to believe that global powers will go against a regime that has won the heart of the IMF.

The Violent Creed: Sinhala Ravaya storms Buddhist, Christian religious centres

Nilushi, a devout Buddhist, was threatened with violence

And then they went for the Christians – and even the Buddhists. A new group called the Sinhala Ravaya is making their presence felt across the island, carrying out systematic attacks on what they deem to be illegal places of worship.

Geneva Resolution: Not A Victory For Tamils, But A Defeat For Sri Lanka – TGTE

Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
The resolution proposed by America at the Human Rights Council related to Sri Lanka was passed by a majority of 13 votes. Out of the Human Rights Council comprising of 47 member states, 26 voted for the resolution, 13 against and 8 abstained taking a neutral position.

Bodhu Bala Sena Wants Sri Lankan Envoy Ferial Ashraff Recalled From Singapore Immediately

The New target of BBS

 D.B.S.JEYARAJ
Ms. Ferial Ashraff, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Singapore
The latest target in the on going anti-Muslim campaign of the Bodhu Bala Sena (BBS)is Ms.Ferial Ashraff, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Singapore.
The BBS has demanded that Ferial Ashraff’s services be terminated immediately and that she be recalled from Singapore.

Chauvinism at its worst - Editorial, The Hindu

But worse, sport, which brings peoples together, has now been turned into a vehicle of jingoism and ethnic affinities

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa did more than give her stamp of approval to calls for protests against the participation of Sri Lankan players in the Indian Premier League. By declaring that the State government will permit the matches to be held in Chennai only if the organisers provided an undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches, she effectively endorsed chauvinism and discrimination in sport and politics.

BBC World Service broadcasts in Sri Lanka on SLBC suspended due to censorship

The BBC’s World Service Director, Peter Horrocks, today announced the suspension of BBC broadcasts on SLBC (the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation) following continued interruption and interference of BBC Tamil programming on SLBC.

The Women's Affair Minister’s statement not only encourages inequality and sexism but also shocks and insults all those who work for equality in this country

Mr. Tissa Karaliyadda

Condemning the statements made by Minister Tissa Karaliyadda on 11^th March 2013,  regarding women in leadership

 On the 11^th March the Minister of Child Development and Women's Affairs, Mr. Tissa Karaliyadda, stated that “women are incapable of performing duties of the head chair.” He went on to state that “when a woman is given authority in a department or a ministry they tend to suppress other women are under their administration out of jealousy. This situation will lead to inefficiency in that particular organization. Hence always the main chair should be given to a male and the assistant should be a female”

“Had King Vijayabahu failed to become the king at the right time, our country would have been called the ‘Manmadi Chola Mandalay’ - President Rajapaksha

Geneva resolution shows dire needs of several imperialist countries and the Diaspora - President Rajapaksha at VIR

• Media had unrestricted freedom to cover the northern humanitarian operations
• Had cease fire agreement worked as they wished, this country would have been by now split into two
• How come instances such as previous aerial drop of dhal, arrival of foreign troops and signing of ceasefires with countries, like Norway to appease Tigers, happened then? 

Is international pressure failing in Sri Lanka?

Recent war returnees in Jaffna District ; Photo: Contributor/IRIN'

HIGHLIGHTS

• US sponsors new UN resolution

• Resolutions’ efficacy questioned

• International condemnation yields little

• Power devolution within reach

BANGKOK, 21 March 2013 (IRIN) - The UN Human Rights Council approved on 21 March a second resolution requesting the Sri Lankan government to do more to address alleged wartime rights violations, but observers question whether such resolutions can create meaningful change.

US may launch Sri Lanka war crimes investigation

Play Video here

BBC/The US has warned that it may be forced to investigate alleged war crimes if the Sri Lankan government does not conduct its own "independent and credible" inquiry.

The Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert Blake, said it was up to the Sri Lankan government to prove that it was genuine in investigating allegations of war crimes during the last phase of the conflict with the separatist group the Tamil Tigers.
BBC

The Hardline Buddhists Targeting Sri Lanka’s Muslims

Hardline monks and Buddhist groups are trying to outlaw halal certification

Charles Haviland/BBC
After a series of attacks on mosques, wild rumours about animal slaughter and an attempt to outlaw the halal system of classification, the BBC’s Charles Haviland investigates how Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority is being targeted by hardline Buddhists.

“In this instance, If the Inquiry is to be Independent it must necessarily be International” - Sumanthiran MP

Only 470 houses have been built by the government in 4 years. Utterly shameful. If that is your resettlement, surely 3 more years is not enough for you

MA Sumanthiran M.P.
Thank you Mr. Deputy Chairman.
The Hon. Minister for External Affairs concluded with a question: ‘Is this right? Can we be happy with the way our Motherland is being treated by the United Nations system?’ I’d like to suggest that the question – more relevant question and the more serious question is not that. Is this how our Motherland should treat us, who are also citizens of this country?

In Sri Lanka, India has lost the plot to China

by FP Staff  

If there was a guidebook on ‘How to sour relations with neighbours and lose whatever little influence you have’, India is playing it out to perfection in Sri Lanka, yielding ground progressively to China.
On land, sea, and air—so to speak—India has steadily lost the plot, and the logical beneficiary of India’s maladroit moves is China, which has been quick to fill the vacuum created by India’s diplomatic self-goals, according to this report in Business Standard.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. AFP

Sri Lanka: Probe on journo who covered the war

An investigation is underway into a journalist from a television channel who had covered the final stages of the war in 2009 and has later supplied the video material to groups overseas carrying out a campaign against the government.

‘UNHRC Resolution on SL soft but dangerous’ .- NHRC

The Resolution passed by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) last Thursday could be described as a soft but dangerous one, Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Prathibha Mahanamahewa said yesterday.

Delinking the Police from the Defence Ministry and the re-establishment of independent Police Commission has become a critical need in the current context anti minority violence

BBS monks invading a muslin owned Butchery in Dematagoda, Colombo

Protecting Inter-religious Harmony and Democratic Freedoms by Friday Forum

The Friday Forum has, in several earlier statements, drawn attention to the breakdown of law and order witnessed in Sri Lanka in the recent past.  We have pointed to the escalation of grave crimes committed even in public places. Recent campaigns by women activists have highlighted a serious problem of gender-based violence and child abuse.  The failure of the police to act swiftly and effectively in enforcing the law has encouraged individuals and groups of people to take the law into their own hands.

US Puts SL On Notice

Following the adoption of a second resolution onSri Lankaat the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) inGenevalast week, theUSstates that international mechanisms can be appropriate in cases where states are either unable or unwilling to meet their obligations.

Sri Lanka may pull its mission out of Tamil Nadu

Students of various colleges shout slogans during a protest against Sri Lanka’s for alleged war crimes in Chennai. TOI Photo)

COLOMBO: Faced with growing anti-Sri Lankan sentiments in Tamil Nadu, Colombo may shift its deputy high commission office out of Chennai, a media report said today.
The new location could be Trivandrum in neighbouring Kerala, the Sunday Times said.
Threats and intimidation of Sri Lankan nationals and Sri Lankan property have been noted in Chennai.

Bodu Bala Sena insists Lanka not multiracial ; “We have now become the police of this nation''

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) says Sri Lanka is not a multiracial or multi-religious country but a Sinhala Budhist country.
Speaking at the Bodu Bala Sena convention in Panadura this evening, the venerable Medagoda Abayathissa thero urged the Sinhalese to protect the nation and not let other races or religions to take over.

Extremist Groups are Publicly Calling for Boycott of Muslim Run Businesses and Referring to Our Religious Practices in Abusive Language

An extremist Buddhist group in action

''Out of our concern over the continued erosion of the above situation Muslim Religious, Civil, Professional, and Academic and Business representatives gathered on the 5th of March 2013 at a meeting organized by the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka in Colombo. At that meeting the group resolved to write to your Excellency regarding our concerns.''
 
N.M. Ameen

Second UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka Was Triumph for all its Citizens

During the voting of resolution L.1/REV.1, Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka on the the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council. 21 March 2013. Photo by Jean-Marc Ferré-UN

M.A. Sumanthiran MP
The recent passage of the second UN Human Rights Council resolution on reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka was a triumph for all its citizens. This is because it is now clear that Sri Lankans who desire ethnic reconciliation, democratic reform, positive peace, justice, and an end to the culture of impunity are not alone.

USTPAC accords cautious welcome to the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Sri Lanka

The Geneva based UN Human Rights Council adopted a second resolution on Promoting Accountability and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka, putting Sri Lanka under close scrutiny for grave rights violations, but the new resolution falls short of creating an international investigation mechanism called for by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Rules changed for the benefit of one more Rajapkasha

Shashendra Rajapaksa, the nephew of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and son of the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, has been given the opportunity of continuing as the Basnayake Nilame of Ruhunu Maha Katharagama Devalaya through an extra special gazette No. 1807/39 issued on 15th March without any election.
The gazette with the signature of Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne has exempted Ruhunu Katharagama Devale, in which Chief Minister for Uva PC Shashendra Rajapaksa is the Basnayake Nilame, from clause 12  (a) of Buddhist Viharas and Devalagam Temporalities Act which states that the period a person could hold the post of Basnayake Nilame could be extended only by two years.

UNHRC resolution exposes failure of Government: UNP

The UN Human Rights Council Resolution calling for progress on Sri Lanka’s outstanding reconciliation and accountability is merely asking the Government to deliver on promises made to the international community since 2009, the main Opposition said yesterday, reiterating its call for an all-party approach to implement reconciliation measure and avoid further international censure against the country.

Resolution On SL Voted On And Over; Where Goes TN “Eelamists” Now ?

Protest at Marina Beach in Chennai ( TamilNet)

Kusal Perera

The Resolution by the US, supported by the EU and just 02 countries – India and South Korea – out of 13 in the Asian bloc voting in favour at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva brought to an end, the much hyped issue of “war crimes” accusations against the Rajapaksa regime, some in the Tamil Diaspora and most in Tamil Nadu (TN) were very vociferous about. Adopted with 25 votes, the resolution has a procedural binding on the SL government and it is now left to be seen, what outcome this would have, in favour of war victims.

Five relatives filed habeas corpus petition concerning missing persons at the final war. Court Summons to Military Commander

Unending wait for relatives of the disappeared

After the final war occurred between the Liberation tigers and government troops in Sri Lanka, those surrendered to the military and after getting lost, five persons concerning this have filed habeas corpus petition at the Vavuniya high court.

The UN resolution and what the world will learn about Sri Lanka in the coming year

How HRC voted on the resolution

Yesterday the United Nations Human Rights Council approved the resolution on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. The gist of the resolution is that the Human Rights Council welcomes the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights offering advice and technical assistance to the government of Sri Lanka for promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka,

Sri Lanka state media slams UN panel after rights vote

Sri Lankan pro-government activists protest outside the US embassy in Colombo on March 21, 2013, as the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva was set to vote on a resolution pressing for a war crimes probe against Sri Lanka. – AFP Photo

AFP/ COLOMBO: Sri Lankan state media on Friday called for the dismantling of the UN human rights chief’s office after Colombo was angered by a resolution calling for a probe into alleged war crimes in the island.
A ruling coalition partner also urged Colombo to reconsider ties with nations that supported Thursday’s censure move at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

LLRC recommendations: over 50 pc implemented - Cabinet spokesperson

 99 per cent LLRC recommendation implemented- Mahinda Samarasinghe


The government has completed implementing over 50 percent of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations not only to protect and safeguard Human Rights, but also to bring eternal peace to the country, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

Gotabhaya deeply disappointed with India’s stand ^ happy US got only 25

Shamindra Ferdinanda.
Responding to a statement attributed to Sinha that Sri Lanka should address accountability issues to the satisfaction of the international community, the Defence Secretary told The Island that those wanting Sri Lanka to satisfy the global community should realise that they were adopting double-standards. In fact, they would never have tolerated external intervention in domestic issues, though Sri Lanka was being asked to give into an investigation on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations.

The resolution, its follow up actions interim update in September and a comprehensive report in March 2014, is a strong signal that the international community intends to remain seized with the situation in Sri Lanka

Ambassador Eileen Donahoe speaking to the press at the UN in Geneva.

Ambassador Donahoe Press Statement After Adoption of HRC Resolution on Sri Lanka

I’d like to open with a few general remarks about the current session and then turn to the important resolution on Sri Lanka that just passed.

I know they will come for me

Megaraj Suresh, onthe beach in Batticaloa, says trying to come to Australia was his worst mistake. Photo: Ben Doherty

Ben Doherty
The repatriation of Sri Lankan asylum seekers may have 'stopped the boats', but many who are forcibly returned to Sri Lanka say their lives are in grave danger.

After some reluctance, Megaraj Suresh* agrees to meet outside a Hindu temple that is being renovated. We sit under a banyan tree in a corner of the sandy grounds, backs against the trunk, facing out so we can see anyone coming.

Sri Lanka to seize part of IOC's oil depot after UN vote

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka today announced plans that it would partially take over a strategic oil storage depot in Trincomalee from the Indian OilBSE -0.27 % Company's local arm after India voted in favour of a US-sponsored resolution against Colombo at the UNHRC.

UNHRC: The resolution (A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev1) on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, adopted by a vote of 25 in favour, 13 against and 8 abstentions

REMIGIUSZ A. HENCZEL, President of the Human Rights Council declaring the result 

Action on Resolution on Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka   
(To read  the resolution as word document  go to end)

In a resolution (A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev1) on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, adopted by a vote of 25 in favour, 13 against and 8 abstentions, the Council welcomes the report of the High Commissioner on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka; encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations made in the report of the High Commissioner, and to cooperate with Special Procedures mandate holders and to respond formally to their outstanding requests, including by extending invitations and providing access. 

Sri Lanka: Overwhelming evidence shows that the government has encouraged an increasing sense of lawlessness in which abduction, arbitrary arrest and intimidation is commonplace - Report

The UN’s human rights body has angered Sri Lanka by voting on a new resolution that calls on the island’s government to fully investigate civilian killings in its recent conflict and expresses growing concern over continuing atrocities.

OIC expresses concern over Sri Lanka’s ethnic tensions (Anti Mulim attacks)

A militant young Buddhist monk  at a recent protest 

The Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the parent body of 57 member countries, has expressed its concerns yesterday over the escalating ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka, which has affected the island’s Muslim community and its businesses sector.