Tamil Justice

Reuters : Sri Lanka slams U.S. rights report

Sri Lanka dismissed a U.S. State Department report on Monday accusing it of violating citizens’ rights, saying the allegations were unsubstantiated and based on reports by unnamed sources.

“The document is a conflation of historical background, repetition of statements in earlier reports, unverified assertions of facts and broad generalizations,” said a statement by the Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights.

Read more here

Read US Human Rights Report on Sri Lanka here

ABC Radio Australia PM – UN Refugee Agency may change some protection guidelines

The United Nations Refugee Agency is looking at changing its international protection guidelines for Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers. The changes would pave the way for Australia to send many more of the detainees on Christmas Island back to where they started. The Tamil Association is urging against any change to the guidelines, saying it’s no safer for Tamils in Sri Lanka. From Canberra, Alexandra Kirk reports.

“There is still 100- to 150,000 Tamils being held in military run camps in the north and the fact that there’s about another 10- to 15,000 Tamils being held in undisclosed areas where there are allegations of rape and torture that have been continuing for more than a year. I do not believe that the guidelines should be relaxed. Sri Lanka is still a very dangerous country for Tamil civilians regardless of whether they’re from the north, whether they’re from the east or anywhere on the island.” – Dr Sam Pari, National Spokesperson, Australian Tamil Congress

Click here to download audio

CNN’s Sara Sidner travels to Sri Lanka to report from ethnic Tamil areas and the victims of nearly three decades of civil war. Watch “Witness to Survival” March 13-16 on CNN International.

Watch video from source

2009 Human Rights Report: Sri Lanka
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 11, 2010

Outside of the conflict zone, the overwhelming majority of victims of human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings and disappearances, were young male Tamils…[and] observers linked the government closely to paramilitary groups believed responsible for serious human rights violations…

There were also reports of secret government facilities where suspected LTTE sympathizers were taken, tortured, and often killed…

The government required Tamils who wished to move within the country, especially those Tamils living in Jaffna, to obtain special passes issued by security forces…

Security forces at army checkpoints in Colombo frequently harassed Tamils. After the government assumed effective control of the east, both the government and the TMVP operated checkpoints that impeded the free movement of residents, especially Tamils…

Tamils throughout the country, but especially in the conflict-affected north and east, reported frequent harassment of young and middle-aged Tamil men by security forces and paramilitary groups…

Download full report here

Indian Express – Canada asks Sri Lanka to start talks with Tamil groups

Canada has asked Sri Lanka to start talks and the reconciliation process with the Tamil groups, saying such a step is crucial for lasting peace in the country.

“After 30 years of war, reconciliation is crucial for lasting peace in Sri Lanka. Canada awaits to see what steps the Government of Sri Lanka will take towards this reconciliation,” Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, told Sri Lanka’s new High Commissioner Chitranganee Wagiswara during a meeting.

“Canada urges the government of Sri Lanka for an early safe return and resettlement of the approximately 100,000 individuals who remain displaced,” Obhrai said.

He said: “Canada is encouraged by the return of close to 160,000 internally displaced persons to their homes.”

Obhrai pointed out that Canada encourages the government of Sri Lanka to allow access by NGOs and the media to camps and resettlement areas and to continue to pursue effective coordination with humanitarian agencies and donors. “It is high time that the government of Sri Lanka lift the state of emergency as that the conflict is over,” he said. Obhrai told the High Commissioner that Sri Lanka remains a priority for Canada.

Dr. Palitha Kohona’s address at University of Toronto “postponed”

A talk by Dr. Palitha Kohona scheduled for March 10, 2010 at the University of Toronto has been postponed. The event was to be hosted by Centre for South Asian Studies. Local sources say the postponement is as a result of heavy opposition from Canadians of all ethnic communities and student movements who protested the event. Sri Lanka’s abysmal rate of human rights violations and evidence of war crimes are primary causes for the protest. Faculty’s website indicates that event has been postponed pending a standard security assessment – http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=8769

The Wire – Sri Lankan opposition leader arrested

Produced by Jacinta Patterson

In Sri Lanka, the main opposition leader has been arrested after the government accused him of what it termed ‘military offences’. Sri Lanka held its general election last month – the first since the end of the country’s lengthy civil war. Former military leader General Sarath Fonseca ran an unsuccessful campaign against his former commander-in-chief, President Mahendra Rajapaksa. His arrest came just hours after he told reporters he’d be willing to give evidence about war crimes he alleges took place during the conflict. Featured in this story: Dr Sam Pari, spokesperson for the Australian Tamil Congress; Dr Jake Lynch, director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University.

Listen from source or download here

Radio Adelaide Breakfast – Sri Lanka post election

After the elections in Sri Lanka, with the population being said to be more ethnically split than ever before, is it possible the President Rajapaksa will address issues such as economically developing the north, power sharing and reconciliation with the Tamil people?

Casey Hribar spoke to Bobby Sandaralingham of the Australian Tamil Congress and put these questions to him.

Listen from source

The Australian – Commonwealth Tested by Sri Lanka

IT is rare for the Commonwealth to have a chance to play a decisive role on the world stage, but last week’s disputed presidential election in Sri Lanka is one such opportunity. It was the only major international organisation to send observers, and the only one regarded as impartial by both the main candidates, President Mahinda Rajapakse and his former army chief, Sarath Fonseka.

It therefore falls on the Commonwealth to pass judgment on the election and the subsequent crackdown on the independent media and opposition.

Commonwealth Journalists Association – CJA Condemns Treatment of Journalists in Sri Lanka

The Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) is deeply concerned at the disappearance of Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda and appalled that Sri Lanka’s ‘democratic’ government continues to persecute journalists for committing the ’sin’ of criticizing the ruling party.

AAP – Indonesia to end asylum-seeker stand-off

Indonesia hopes to end a long-running asylum seeker stand-off at a Javan port by the end of the month, an official says.

More than 240 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have spent almost four months refusing to leave their rickety cargo boat in Merak.