The Slaughter of Tamils in Sri Lanka]

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 January 2012]
The Spanish Language Diario La Tarde, an evening journal published by independent journalists in West Argentina said the recent web publication of the story "Genocidio: (Primera entrega) - La masacre de los Tamils en Sri Lanka," [Genocide: (First Delivery) The Slaughter of Tamils in Sri Lanka] drew 22 million visits in two days. The story appearing in Spanish covers history to the conflict, the slaughter at Mu'l'livaaykkaal, and asserts the post-confl

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34826

http://www.diariolatarde.net/27.01.12columnista%20juan%20manuel%20velazquez.html

Resettled Tamil woman's body recovered near SLA bund in Thenmaraadchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2012]
The skeleton of a recently slain 28-year-old unmarried Tamil woman has been recovered near an abandoned military bund used by the Sri Lanka Army in A'rukuve'li, located along Kearatheevu Road (Jaffna - Mannaar Road) in Thenmaraadchi on Wednesday. The victim, Atputhamalar Subramaniyam, who had resettled in Thanangki'lappu near Ma'ravanpulavu of Thenmaraadchi last year, has been missing since November 13. But, her family was receiving SMS messages for some time from her cell phone. The abductors have been sending the messages with the intention of making the family to believe that she was not abducted, relatives of the victim who came for the funeral on Thursday told media. Tension prevailed in the recently resettled area where the occupying SLA is still on random patrol.

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34823

Sri Lanka press freedom worsens – RSF

Tamil Guardian 26 January 2012

Sri Lanka's press freedom is continuing to deteriorate according to the World Press Freedom Index. The annual report, compiled by Reporters without Borders (RSF), saw Sri Lanka drop to 163rd place out of 178 countries that are ranked, placing it below countries such as Pakistan and Azerbaijan, and just one place above Somalia. "In Sri Lanka (163rd), the stranglehold of the Rajapakse clan forced the last few opposition journalists to flee the country. Any that stayed behind were regularly subjected to harassment and threats. Attacks were less common but impunity and official censorship of independent news sites put an end to pluralism and contributed more than ever to self-censorship by almost all media outlets," the RSF statement said. http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=4314

Sri Lanka: No Progress on Justice

[ HRW Jan 23 ,2011 ]

The Sri Lankan government in the past year failed to advance justice and accountability for the victims of the country’s 26-year-long civil conflict, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012. While Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north and east became more open, the government deepened repression of basic freedoms throughout the country. The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa continued to stall on accountability for abuses by the security forces, threatened media and civil society groups, and largely ignored complaints of insecurity and land grabbing in the north and east, Human Rights Watch said.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/23/sri-lanka-no-progress-justice

Sri Lanka’s Game of Diplomacy

[ Journal of Foreign Relations,By Gibson Bateman]

In theory, Rajapaksa’s administration has plenty to worry about. Lobbying and debate surrounding the next session of the HRC has already begun.

Many foreign governments recently made strong statements that the LLRC’s final report does not touch on the question of accountability. The Sri Lankan government refuses to look into credible claims that violations of international humanitarian law occurred at the end of the war; government officials are unwilling to go into any detail about what actually happened during the last phase of the conflict.

Strident calls for an international mechanism will be made this spring in Geneva. If no resolution gets through either of the next two sessions of the HRC (another session will be held this summer), then Rajapaksa’s government can probably rest easy as long as they stay in power.

http://www.jofr.org/2012/01/16/sri-lankas-game-of-diplomacy-and-deceit/#.TxdNY6VSS26

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Response to the LLRC Report

As the elected representatives of the worst affected victims of the war, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has consistently maintained that genuine reconciliation in Sri Lanka is contingent on a credible accountability process that ensures the right of victims to truth, justice and reparations. On 15th May 2010, the President appointed the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and held out to the world that this Commission would address accountability issues.

Reports

• TNA Response to LLRC Report [PDF]
  
  
• Preamble Tamil [PDF]
  
• Executive Summary Tamil [PDF]
  
  
• Preamble Sinhala [PDF]
  
• Executive Summary Sinhala [PDF]
  
  

• Official LLRC Report [PDF]

http://www.tamilcanadian.com/article/6207

Canada says LLRC inadequate, calls for independent investigations

Adding to the increasing number of calls, ahead of the March meeting of UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva, for Independent International Investigations into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka committed during the final phases of war, Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Wednesday, "Canada remains concerned that the report does not fully address the grave accusations of serious human rights violations that occurred toward the end of the conflict. Many of the allegations outlined by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka have not been adequately addressed by this report. We continue to call for an independent investigation into the credible and serious allegations raised by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel that international humanitarian law and human rights were violated by both sides in the conflict."

Minister Baird Comments on Final Report of Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission

Minister Baird Comments on Final Report of Sri Lanka's LLRC

http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?nid=650369

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34783