Sri Lanka 'war crimes': the evidence

http://www.channel4.com/news/sri-lanka-united-nations-inquiry-evidence-war-crimes-abuse

As the UN prepares to launch an inquiry into allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, Channel 4 News presents the evidence collected by this programme over the past five years.

Since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, in which atrocities are reported to have been committed by both the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE, commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, Channel 4 Newshas aired shocking footage of alleged violations.

The footage includes evidence of prisoner executions, sexual violence and the targeting of civilians.

Below, Channel 4 News presents the evidence that may be of interest to the UN inquiry collected since the war's end in 2009 (warning, videos contain footage that viewers may find distressing)

Tamil 'Disappearances' campaigner and 13y daughter held by Sri Lankan military

http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=10238

Tamil Guardian 13 March 2014 A Tamil rights activist campaigning for the families of those ‘disappeared’ in Sri Lankan military custody is tonight herself being held, along with her 13 year old daughter, at an unknown location. Earlier today Sri Lankan police and soldiers entered Balendran Jeyakumari’s home in Tharmapuram, as hundreds of troops were deployed in the area. Local residents told the Uthayan newspaper late this evening they had seen Ms. Jeyakumari and her daughter being arrested and taken away by police. TNPF leader, Gajen Ponnambalam, who was able to speak briefly to Ms. Jeyakumari soon after the raid began, said she was being threatened for taking part in protests by families of the disappeared. Ms. Jeyakumari’s son is one of the missing. Ms. Jeyakumari, and her young daughter, Vipoosika, gained prominence during British Prime Minister Cameron’s visit to Jaffna in November, with Vipoosika’s desperate pleas for the return of her missing brother gaining widespread coverage.

Sri Lanka: new video evidence of grotesque violations

http://www.channel4.com/news/sri-lanka-video-war-sexual-violation-tamil-execution-macrae

There has been no shortage of distressing images emerging from the final two or three years of Sri Lanka's awful civil war. But this footage is amongst the worst I have seen, writes Callum Macrae.

Not because of the scale of the deaths it depicts – five deaths is a small incident in a war which saw upwards of 40,000 civilians massacred in the last few months alone, mostly by government shelling.

This footage is awful because of the behaviour of the soldiers towards the bodies of the female Tiger fighters, and because of the underlying culture of systematic brutality and sexual violence which it seems to illustrate.

http://mg.co.za/article/2014-03-04-letter-from-desmond-tutu-to-the-un-sri-lanka-needs-healing

In a letter to the UN, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, representing human rights activists, has appealed for a commission of inquiry in Sri Lanka.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. (AFP)

We, concerned individuals and organisations from around the world, urge the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to use their March 2014 session to pass a resolution that will include a commitment to an independent international investigation in the form of a commission of inquiry in Sri Lanka. Only this will help put the country on the path to justice and reconciliation. 

Church calls for an international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Church-calls-for-an-international-investigation-into-war-crimes-in-Sri-Lanka-30468.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=UFO4U

by Melani Manel Perera
Members of the clergy in northern and eastern Sri Lanka send an official letter to the United Nations Council for Human Rights (UNHRC) in which they slam "disappearances, sexual abuse, arrests, detention, torture, restrictions on religious freedom" and other violations that take place in the country.


Colombo (AsiaNews) - Some 205 members of the Catholic Church in northern and eastern Sri Lanka are calling for an international investigation into the crimes that took place during almost 30 years of civil war and for a stop to the human rights violations that are still happening today in Sri Lanka.
They made their request to the United Nations Council for Human Rights (UNHRC) in a letter in which they call for concrete answers to the demand among Sri Lankans for peace and reconciliation, especially among Tamils.
Mgr Rayappu Joseph, bishop of Mannar and a prominent figure in the fight for human rights, is among the signatories.

"Neither truth, nor justice have come from the investigations conducted by the Sri Lankan government," the letter says.

Tamil politicians demand international investigation at Jaffna protest

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=37078