No change of heart in Sri Lanka

President Mahinda Rajapaksa does not seem inclined to be particularly magnanimous towards the media following his re-election by a handsome majority. If the watching world was looking for any positive signals in this regard what it got was the opposite. On January 30(2010) an anti-government newspaper was shuttered and its editor arrested on allegations of publishing details of an ongoing investigation against a former Tamil rebel now in custody. http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?sectionId=6&mod=1&pg=1&valid=true&storyid=4332

Journalists in Sri Lanka face intimidation, censorship

The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that journalists in Sri Lanka have been subjected to government intimidation, arrests, censorship, and harassment in the aftermath of this week’s presidential election. “We are receiving reports of government retribution against journalists who sided with the opposition in the election. Given the ugly history of attacks on journalists in Sri Lanka, we call on President Mahina Rajapaksa to ensure the safety of all journalists in Sri Lanka, and to use his new mandate to reverse the repressive trends of the past several years,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. http://cpj.org/2010/01/journalists-in-sri-lanka-face-intimidation-censors.php

PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL ON SRILANKA - Final Report Jan 2010

http://www.warwithoutwitness.com/images/stories/news/25851626-people-s-tribunal-on-srilanka-final-report-jan-2010.pdf

Sri Lanka: President’s New Term Time for Accountability

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and key international actors should take steps to bring accountability for Sri Lanka's grave human rights violations so that the thousands of victims will not continue to be denied justice during President Mahinda Rajapaksa's second term, Human Rights Watch said today.(Jan 27,2010) http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/27/sri-lanka-president-s-new-term-time-accountability

New video of Lanka war crimes

Another war video has Lankan army in dock - A new video sent be aviewer to Headlines Today shows Lankan soldier stripping LTTE femalecadres and dragging them out of their hide outs Another video alleging atrocities by Sri Lankan forces during itsfinalbattle with the LTTE has surfaced. The video shows gunmen in fatigues dragging naked bodies of women LTTEcadres callously. The soldiers are seen going on a search missionafter anoperation to flush out LTTE cadres. The women have been stripped andtheirbodies are being dragged out of hideouts. The video was sent to *Headlines Today* and there is no independentverification of its authenticity. The Sri Lankan army has trashed the video with its spokespersondenying anyatrocities by the soldiers. Earlier too, a video of Lankan soldiers killing surrendered LTTEcadres hadcreated a stir. While an international panel had declared the video asgenuine, the Lankan government had said that the footage wasdoctored. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/80947/43/New+video+of+Lanka+war+crimes.html

Uncovering Sri Lanka's war crimes

The Sri Lankan authorities have a list of "biased" organisations that includes just about anybody who reported critically on the final months of the fighting last year against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in which at least 7,000 civilians died. The villains include my own organisation, Human Rights Watch, other international human rights and humanitarian groups, several UN agencies, the European Union, the BBC, Channel 4 and many other media outlets. For our Sri Lankan human rights colleagues and journalists, the situation is even graver, of course: many have fled the country fearing for their lives, and some have paid the highest price. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/22/uncovering-sri-lankas-war-crimes

Satellite Imagery Evidence Showing Sri Lanka Military “Purposely or Intentionally” Targeted PTK Hospital - TAG

http://www.tamilsagainstgenocide.org/Docs/DublinTribunal/TAG-PPT-PTK-Hospital-Satellite-Final.pdf

DUBLIN TRIBUNAL FINDS AGAINST SRI LANKA ON CHARGES OF WAR CRIMES

Dublin judges panelIn Dublin today at 2:00 p.m.[Saturday,16January 2010] the Peoples Tribunal chairman Francois Houtart read the preliminary findings of the Peoples Tribunal on the war in Sri Lanka and its aftermath. There are 4 findings: That the Sri Lankan Government is guilty of war crimes That the Sri Lankan Government is guilty of crimes against humanity That the charge of genocide requires further investigation That the International Community, particularly the UK and USA, share responsibility for the breakdown of the peace process. Harrowing evidence including video footage was submitted by eye witnesses of the use of heavy artillery and phosphorous munitions, and of the continuous violation of human rights by military activity to a panel of 10 international jurors over two days. Irish members of the jury were Denis Halliday and Mary Lawlor. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=31009

British MP urges boycott of Sri Lanka goods

Next time you want to buy underwear from Marks & Spencer, you want to buy a t-shirt from Next, you want to go on a holiday of a lifetime in a beautiful island off the coast off India - Do you really want to spend your money on a government that chooses to lock 300,000 people up behind barbed-wire. A country that is the most dangerous in the world to be a journalist. http://www.channel4.com/news/article.jsp?id=3367897&time=112829

Sri Lanka Police kill mentally ill Tamil youth‏

Sri Lanka Police and Sri Lanka Army soldiers beat a mentally ill Tamil youth and forced the youth to drown near the sea near Bambalapitya, Colombo, railway station Thursday. The youth was identified as Balavarnam Sivakumar, http://www.warwithoutwitness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=275:sri-lanka-police-and-sri-lanka-army-soldiers-beat-and-killed-a-mentally-ill-tamil-youth&catid=39:by-war-without-witness&Itemid=62<

True never die‏

Srilanka Defense Secretary Gottabaya Rajapakse stated, even though he knows the background of many journalists assassinated in Sri Lanka, but in the intention of protecting Military Commanders, he did not reveal. After President Mahinda Rajapakse came to power during the year 2006 to 2008, 16 journalists had been brutally murdered and 30 had been under attack was mentioned by Gottabaya Rajapakse. For more information, http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=8760

Deeming Sri Lanka execution video authentic, UN expert calls for war crimes probe

7 January 2010 – An independent United Nations human rights expert said today there are strong indications that the video of alleged extrajudicial executions by Sri Lankan soldiers that aired last August on British television is authentic, and called for an inquiry into possible war crimes committed during the conflict with Tamil rebels. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33423&Cr=sri+lanka&Cr1

More than 40 years the Srilankan Government genocide the tamil people.

Hidden Truth - October - 60 minutes Hidden Truth 1984: Our team made contact with key members of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka and recorded disturbing eye-witness accounts.. http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&tab=m163&from=39&vid=980D486C-1FD1-483F-96B0-662A8E5FA8BD&playlist=videoByTag:mk:en-AU:vs:0:tag:AUnews_AU60minutes:ns:MSNVideo_Top_Cat:ps:10:sd:-1:ind:1:ff:8A

Top Ten" Humanitarian Crises: Aid blocked and diseases neglected

Civilians attacked, bombed, and cut off from aid in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), along with stagnant funding for treating HIV/AIDS and ongoing neglect of other diseases, were among the worst emergencies in 2009, the international medical humanitarian organization M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF) reported today in its annual list of the "Top Ten" humanitarian crises. http://www.msf.ca/news-media/news/2009/12/top-ten-humanitarian-crises-aid-blocked-and-diseases-neglected/

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20091024_06 Rajapakse Shocked to See War crimes in Remnants Museum of Vietnam, but he did the same genocide the tamil people in Sri Lanka.

The truth of the war crimes‏

Former Srilankan Army General Sarath Fonseka says Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa instructed a key ground commander in the north that all LTTE leaders must be killed and not allowed to surrender. http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2009/12/13/%E2%80%9Cgota-ordered-them-to-be-shot%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-general-sarath-fonseka/

We will fight for our political objective’

Interview with V. Prabhakaran the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader in 1987. http://www.flonnet.com/stories/19870822078.htm.