Friday, August 12, 2011
China to step up role in Sri Lanka projects
Jayalalithaa slams Lanka defence secretary's remarks on war crimes
Nine killings in North and East after war ended – Govt.
Yohan Perera
The government admitted yesterday for the first time that there had been abductions and killings in the North and the East during the post war period.
The government admitted yesterday for the first time that there had been abductions and killings in the North and the East during the post war period.
TNA’s ultimatum to government
Negotiating a political arrangement for post-conflict Sri Lanka can be considered daunting for Sri Lanka as it is for the US to resolve its debt crisis. The hard stand taken by the TNA even after three decades of death, destruction and untold suffering by the Tamil people is comparable to the unyielding stand taken by the Tea Party in its approach to the US national crisis.
Neville Ladduwahetty
Neville Ladduwahetty
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Children in the North, unable to bear hunger, sell pieces of bombs & mines
Children in Jaffna, despite threats to their lives, are collecting pieces of iron and other metals to be sold to quench unbearable hunger pains states ‘Thinakural’ a newspaper published in Jaffna.
Sri Lankan protest over 'disappeared
Weeping parents have been demonstrating in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, asking what has become of close family members who have disappeared.
(More photos at the end )
Sri Lanka in denial over war crimes
Priyamvatha/Rajesh Sundaram
The UN says over 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the last stages of the 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka. NGOs put the figure at over a lakh and fifty thousand. The UN also says that the Sri Lankan military committed war crimes. But the Lankan government is in denial with defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa saying, "The figures you are quoting are too high."
The UN says over 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the last stages of the 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka. NGOs put the figure at over a lakh and fifty thousand. The UN also says that the Sri Lankan military committed war crimes. But the Lankan government is in denial with defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa saying, "The figures you are quoting are too high."
Factbox: China-Sri Lanka economic ties
Shihar Aneez
(Reuters) - Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday started a four-day state visit to China, with support against a Western war crimes push and deeper economic ties on his agenda.
Here are some facts about Chinese's financial cooperation and investment in the Indian Ocean island nation:
(Reuters) - Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday started a four-day state visit to China, with support against a Western war crimes push and deeper economic ties on his agenda.
Here are some facts about Chinese's financial cooperation and investment in the Indian Ocean island nation:
War crimes, US ultimatum and SL political opinions
“We support a full and credible and independent investigation of alleged violations of international human rights and law and international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka. We want to see the Sri Lankans do this themselves in a way that meets international standards. So what I would say to Sri Lankan critics is take your responsibility and mount an investigation that meets international standards.- State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland
TNA’s withdrawal from talks and the emerging political paralysis
Kalana Senaratne
The recently concluded Local Government (LG) elections provided evidence, if evidence was needed, of a divided polity. Amidst accusations of violence, intimidation, and killings, the Tamil people voted, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) emerged triumphant, resilient, re-asserting its dominance in the North.
The recently concluded Local Government (LG) elections provided evidence, if evidence was needed, of a divided polity. Amidst accusations of violence, intimidation, and killings, the Tamil people voted, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) emerged triumphant, resilient, re-asserting its dominance in the North.
Despite rhetoric how seriously is the Rajapaksa regime committed towards a political settlement?
Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
The collapse of the Government –TNA talks has an air of inevitability about it for no other reason than the central one of the seriousness and commitment of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime towards a political settlement, its rhetoric notwithstanding.
The collapse of the Government –TNA talks has an air of inevitability about it for no other reason than the central one of the seriousness and commitment of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime towards a political settlement, its rhetoric notwithstanding.
Lankan Tamil issue to be raised in India’s Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Tamil Nadu State Assembly on same day
D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Sri Lanka Tamil issue likely to be raised in India’s Upper&Lower houses of Parliament&Tamil Nadu legislative assembly today August 11th 2011.
Sri Lanka Tamil issue likely to be raised in India’s Upper&Lower houses of Parliament&Tamil Nadu legislative assembly today August 11th 2011.
Ratnajeevan Hoole flees Sri Lanka
Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole, the unsuccessful candidate for the post of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jaffna supported by a section of pro-Rajapaksa elements, had to flee Jaffna as well as the island in the wake of a defamation case filed by SL minister Douglas Devananda in the Kayts court, news sources in Jaffna said adding that Prof Hoole is on his way back to the USA via UK.
War crime charges LTTE funded - Major General Shavendra Silva
Major General Shavendra Silva, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, tells Daily Mirror that despite repeated attempts by paid activists of the LTTE failing to discredit the government and the forces, the agenda will continue to block the path of development and peace on the ground.
Youth underemployment a pressing issue, says IPS
* Jobs for Lankan youth in South Korea
Think tank says it was alarmed to note a majority of educated youth were willing to go to South Korea for any type of job, including manual labour
Think tank says it was alarmed to note a majority of educated youth were willing to go to South Korea for any type of job, including manual labour
Reduction of Jaffna MPs 'erodes Tamil sovereignty'
The EC has decided to reduce the number of seats allocated to Jaffna district
The biggest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka has objected the decision to reduce the number of parliamentary representatives from Jaffna district.
The biggest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka has objected the decision to reduce the number of parliamentary representatives from Jaffna district.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
"Hospitals in Sri Lanka have been shelled - ICRC
Millions affected by violence against health-care personnel and facilities
10-08-2011 News Release 11/191
10-08-2011 News Release 11/191
Geneva (ICRC) – Assaults on health-care personnel, facilities and vehicles in conflicts and violent upheavals leave millions around the world without care just when they need it most.
Concerns over Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights in the Northern Province - Friday Forum
PRESS RELEASE/9th August 2011
Weeks after local government elections in Jaffna we remain concerned about the state of democracy, protection of human rights, and the political polarisation that troubles the North in particular and the entire country in general.
Weeks after local government elections in Jaffna we remain concerned about the state of democracy, protection of human rights, and the political polarisation that troubles the North in particular and the entire country in general.
US warns Sri Lanka to investigate atrocities ‘quickly’ to avoid international action
The United States said Tuesday that if Sri Lanka does not “quickly” investigate “in a way that meets international standards” allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the final months of the island’s war in 2009, “there’s going to be growing pressure from the international community for exactly the kind of international action that Sri Lankans say they don’t want.”
Vanni survivors recount mass killings, rape in Headlines Today documentary
In a world exclusive report aired Tuesday, India’s Headlines Today (HT) television broadcast eyewitness accounts of mass slaughter, the use of chemical weapons and cluster bombs, and torture, rape and sexual humiliation in internment camps by Sri Lanka’s military.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Fighting for press freedom in Sri Lanka
“If you are not with the government, you become an instant traitor to the country. They said I should be killed; very clearly, they said I should be killed.” In his 30-year career as a reporter and editor in Sri Lanka, Sunanda Deshapriya says he was non-political, but his reporting on the 25-year civil war and human rights violations in the country rubbed the government the wrong way.
Sri Lanka war crimes: War survivors relive horror of Sri Lanka's killing fields
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The closing stages of the Sri Lankan civil war were a story of extreme brutality against civilians by the army. Despite being widely documented, Colombo remains in denial about atrocities on Tamils in the country's north and the east.
No purpose in a parliamentary select committee without progress in govt-TNA talks
An interview with M.A. Sumanthiran MP
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) last week gave an ultimatum to the government to respond to its set of proposals on finding a solution to the ethnic question.
TNA MP, M. A. Sumanthiran speaks to The Nation on the reasons for giving an ultimatum at this juncture and on the issues that arose following his speech in London
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) last week gave an ultimatum to the government to respond to its set of proposals on finding a solution to the ethnic question.
TNA MP, M. A. Sumanthiran speaks to The Nation on the reasons for giving an ultimatum at this juncture and on the issues that arose following his speech in London
No One, in the US or Sri Lanka, Should Be Above the Law
''Whether committed by the US or Sri Lanka, by government officials or separatist groups, serious human rights abuses should be investigated and perpetrators held to account.''
by Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch
Sri Lankan tea industry is not a goose laying golden eggs but a disguised lame duck
Dr U. Pethiyagoda
It is claimed that this goose which has laid golden eggs for more than one and a half centuries, is currently the third largest foreign exchange earner, employs over 100,000 persons, contributes healthily to the GNP and occupies some 200,000 hectares of good land. Its pre-eminent position seems evident.
It is claimed that this goose which has laid golden eggs for more than one and a half centuries, is currently the third largest foreign exchange earner, employs over 100,000 persons, contributes healthily to the GNP and occupies some 200,000 hectares of good land. Its pre-eminent position seems evident.
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