Tamil Justice

SMH – Refugees try to put nightmares behind them

Yuko Narushima Immigration Correspondent

RAMASH* carries a plastic bag as he shuffles into the Dulwich Hill Uniting Church hall. The 25-year-old produces a bottle of cranberry soda and offers it to his friends, two men he didn’t know in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, but with whom he’ll form a surrogate family to adjust to life in Sydney.

The men are all Tamil refugees. Sanjay* is the youngest but looks the oldest. Vinoth*, 25, is slightly stooped and nervous. More

AFP  - SLanka military chief skips US war crimes quiz: MP

Sri Lanka’s military commander left the United States ahead of possible questioning over alleged war crimes committed during the defeat of the island’s Tamil rebels, a legislator said Wednesday.

General Sarath Fonseka headed back to Sri Lanka without facing questioning by the Department of Homeland Security later in the day, Samantha Vidyaratne told parliament. More

Time – The U.S. Wants to Talk to Sri Lanka’s Tiger Tamer

Amantha Perara

To many Sri Lankans, Lieut. General Sarath Fonseka is a bit of a hero. Now the equivalent of the U.S. military’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Fonseka was the former army commander who helped strategize and lead the campaign that put a decisive end to the quarter-century-long separatist war of the Tamil Tigers. The intensity of the onslaught raised criticism around the world, including a 68-page State Department report to the U.S. Congress that took to task the conduct of both government forces and the Tigers. Now, what appears to be an attempt by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to interview Fonseka about the war has raised angry protests from the highest official ranks in Sri Lanka. More

Reuters – Sri Lanka police fire water cannon at protesters

Sri Lankan police fired tear gas and water cannon on Wednesday to stop unemployed graduate protesters entering a high security area near President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s official residence.

 Rajapaksa has been riding a wave of popularity since the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May ended a 25-year civil year, but is now coming under pressure from protests and strikes by trade and student unions ahead of elections in early 2010. More

BBC – Sri Lanka court acquits Tamil MPs

A court in Sri Lanka has acquitted four Tamil MPs charged under anti-terror laws with making statements against the government and security forces. More

Bloomberg – Sri Lanka Tells U.S. Not to Question Army Chief on Rights Abuse

Sri Lanka won’t allow its army chief, Sarath Fonseka, to be questioned in the U.S. over alleged human rights violations committed during the island nation’s war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the government said.

The president and the government “stand firmly” behind the office of the chief of defense staff and “we will not allow that high post to be denigrated or made vulnerable,” Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said, according to a statement on the government’s Web site today.  More

BBC – S Lanka opposition forms alliance

Opposition parties in Sri Lanka have formed an alliance to fight presidential and parliamentary elections due by next April.

They hope to dislodge a governing coalition still riding high on a tide of popularity among majority Sinhalas after the Tamil Tigers’ defeat in May. More

Guardian – US to question Sri Lanka army chief over war crimes allegations

AFP – Sri Lanka protests at US plan to quiz military chief

Outlook – US to Interview Fonseka on War Crimes Issue: Report

BBC – US ‘to quiz Sri Lanka army chief’

Digital Journal – Sri Lanka Confirms US to Quiz Army Chief over War Crimes