Mannaar Bishop rejects GoSL’s Presidential commission on missing persons

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=37333

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2014]
Rejecting an offer to make presentations before the GoSL’s Presidential commission on missing persons, Mannaar Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph said “Over the years many commissions such as yours have been set up and there is absolutely no shred of evidence that they have tackled impunity. Most, if not all of these commissions have provided only to be eye washers for the then Governments in power.” In a letter sent on Sunday addressed to the Chairman and Commissioners of this setup, he further expressed his concern that “the recent expansion of your mandate and the appointment of international experts to oversee the work of the commission without any clear terms of reference has been deliberately done to undermine the work of the UN OHCHR's inquiry into Sri Lanka which commenced recently.” 

SL Presidential Commission on Missing Persons visits Bishop of Mannaar Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph

The full text of Rev Fr Rayappu Joseph’s letter follows:

The Chairman and Commissioners, Presidential Commission on Missing Persons.

Dear Commissioners,

Submission Regarding My position with regard to appearing before the above Commission in Mannar

• Mannaar Bishop's position on appearing before PCMP

I am thankful for your very kind visit to me and for your personal invitation to testify before the commission during it's sittings to be held in Mannar between the 8th and 11th of August 2014.

Media groups protest against SL military’s shadow war on Eezham Tamil journalists

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=37319

[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 July 2014]
Following the SL military sabotage against Tamil journalists, who were on their way to attend a workshop held in Colombo on Friday, 25 July, and against the continued threat and harassment of the involved Eezham Tamil journalists, Tamil journalists in the five districts of Northern Province came together at a protest organised by the Jaffna Press Club in Jaffna city on Thursday. Media organisations based in South also took part in the protest in Jaffna expressing their solidarity with the Eezham Tamil journalists, who are being threatened and harassed by the occupying military of the genocidal Sri Lankan State. 

Sexual violence against Tamils ‘systematic’, ‘part of policy framework’ - Yasmin Sooka

http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=11198

Tamil Guardian 10 June 2014

Photograph SL Campaign

Yasmin Sooka, co-author of the UN Panel of Experts report into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka and the 'An Unfinished War: Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka 2009—2014'report, called on Tuesday for international action to stop ongoing sexual violence by the security security forces against Tamils, which she stressed was "not random" but "systematic".

In an interview with the Tamil Guardian during the global summit on 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' taking place in London this week, Ms Sooka stressed that five years after the war, sexual violence "is still happening in Sri Lanka and we have to draw attention to it so we can put a stop to it".

Sri Lanka activists stage protest against Modi

http://tribune.com.pk/story/719896/sri-lanka-activists-stage-protest-against-modi/

By AFP

Published: June 10, 2014

Sri Lankan pro-government supporters burn a larger-than-life photograph of Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jayaram during a demonstration outside the Indian High Commission in Colombo on June 10, 2014. The activists denounced India s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jayaram for allegedly interfering in Sri Lanka s domestic politics. PHOTO: AFP

COLOMBO: Hundreds of activists protested in the Sri Lankan capital Tuesday against India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi for urging the island to step up post-war reconciliation with ethnic minority Tamils.

The pro-government protesters waved placards that read “Modi don’t be foolish” and shouted anti-Modi slogans outside the Indian High Commission – the de facto embassy – in Colombo over the prime minister’s comments made last month.

The protesters accused Modi, who swept to power with a landslide election win in May, of interfering in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs.

Tamil nation remembers Mullivaikal massacre 5 years on, amidst military ban

http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=10954

Tamil Guardian 18 May 2014

Students at University of Jaffna commemorate Mullivaikkal massacre 5 years on, amidst death threats and military ban. Photograph @Uthayarasashali

In commemorative events across the North-East and the world, the Tamil nation marked 5 years since the massacre of tens of thousands at the end of the armed conflict on May 18th 2009.

Remembrance events took place in the North-East in amidst a military ban and overwhelming military presence across the Tamil areas.

Tamil media and political parties were targeted on the morning of May 18, as heavily armed troops surrounded the offices of Uthayan, Thinakkural newspapers, the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). 

Sri Lanka: Comply with Rights Council Investigation

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/19/sri-lanka-comply-rights-council-investigation

No Justice for Abuses in 5 Years Since Conflict’s End

MAY 20, 2014

(New York) – The Sri Lankan government should comply with the March 2014 United Nations Human Rights Council resolution creating an international investigation into allegations of serious abuses by both sides during Sri Lanka’s civil war, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution calls on the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate violations of the laws of war and serious human rights violations. The week of May 18 marks the fifth anniversary of the end of the conflict that resulted in the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

5 years on: The White Flag Incident (2009 — 2014)

http://white-flags.org/

This is the story of the killing or disappearance of several groups of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who surrendered to the Sri Lankan army on or about 18 May 2009 at the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war. They were told by the government if they carried a while flag they would be safe crossing the frontline. But when they surrendered it became apparent they had been lured into a trap.Several were executed in cold blood - others have never been seen since.

Police disrupts Mullivaykal memorial event at NPC office

http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=10921

Tamil Guardian 16 May 2014

An attempt to commemorate the Tamil genocide at the office of the Northern Provincial Council in Kaithady, Jaffna, was disrupted by Sri Lankan police.

NPC Councillors Ananthy Sasitharan and Shivajilingam made preparations to hold the rituals outside the office, as the gates were padlocked and police officers and officers from the Terrorism Investigation Department, were inside and outside the premises.

However when Shivajilingam lit the camphor against the outside wall of the premises, police officers stamped on the culturally significant flame, extinguishing it. They kicked and broke other utensils, while shouting in Sinhalese.

Amnesty's 'Stop Torture' campaign highlights continuing use of torture in Sri Lanka

http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=10908

Tamil Guardian 14 May 2014

Amnesty International's new campaign, 'Stop Torture', highlighted the extensive use of torture as a 'fact of life' across Asia, including in Sri Lanka.

Highlighting the use of torture in extracted confessions from detainees, the 'Stop Torture' report noted:

"Police forces in countries including China, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, at times torture individuals during interrogation and pre-trial detention, often forcing detainees to “confess” to a crime. Sometimes prisoners are even tortured to death.
 
In Sri Lanka – where the National Human Rights Commission registered 86 complaints of torture in the first three months of 2013 alone – prisoners have died after being brutally abused in custody."

See full report here.

SL military conceals mass graves at Vara’ni in Thenmaraadchi

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=37178

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 April 2014, 23:21 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lankan military relocating its 522 Brigade Headquarters, which was the artillery and command base at the Northern front during the war, has been removing the skeletons including the sand from an alleged mass grave site at the locality of the old base in recent weeks, reliable sources in Thenmaraadchi told TamilNet on Monday. After removing all the traces, the bunkers have been filled with sand brought from elsewhere. Despite the claim that it had moved the camp to a new locality, at Aasaippi’l’lai-yeattam at Mirusuvil, the SL military was present at the old site for several weeks to ensure that all traces have been removed, the sources further said. 

The notorius Vara'ni camp was situated at Point Pedro – Kodikaamam Road since 1996 when Jaffna peninsula was captured by the genocidal military of Sri Lanka. 

Terror squad assaults Tamil journalist in Vadamaraadchi, Jaffna

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=37170

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 April 2014, 23:43 GMT]
A squad, believed to be operated by the Sri Lankan military intelligence on Monday evening chased and attacked 29-year-old Sivagnanam Selvatheepan, a leading journalist in Vadamaraadchi. When the journalist attempted to escape from the squad, the attackers chased him on foot and assaulted him causing severe internal injuries to his head. The squad also broke one of his legs. The brutal assault comes just one week after the so-called Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of occupying Colombo had obtained his motorbike registration number, identity card number and cell phone details through Nelliyadi police in Jaffna. 

Journalist Selvasivan Sivagnanam at Manthikai hospital

5 years today - 600 shells fall in No Fire Zone, US calls for halt to shelling, international access

http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=9905

Tamil Guardian 16 April 2014

16 April 2009 - 600 shells fall in No Fire Zone, US calls to halt shelling and allow international access 

The US department of state, in a press release, called on the government of Sri Lanka to halt shelling of the No Fire Zone, allow international monitors to ensure the safe passage of Tamil civilians and enforce international humanitarian standards within IDP camps.

See full statement here.

The statement came as over 600 shells fell in the No Fire Zone within the space of a day. Sources in the No Fire Zone registered over 1500 shell explosions with roughly 600 occurring within the No Fire Zone.

Tamilnet reported that 130 injured civilians were admitted to the ad-hoc hospital within the No Fire Zone in Puthumathalan.

Canada pulls funding for Commonwealth in flap over Sri Lanka

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-pulls-funding-for-commonwealth-in-flap-over-sri-lanka/article17998194/?click=dlvr.it&cmpid=rss1

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Apr. 14 2014

Canada is suspending voluntary funding for the Commonwealth Secretariat over alleged human rights abuses by Sri Lanka, the organization’s current chair.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird accused Sri Lanka on Monday of failing to take meaningful action on human rights and political reconciliation. The decision to halt funding for the Commonwealth Secretariat comes five months after Prime Minister Stephen Harper skipped the 2013 Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Colombo because of concerns about Sri Lanka’s human-rights record.

French charity welcomes inquiry into aid worker massacre in Sri Lanka

http://www.trust.org/item/20140331153846-videc/?source=hpeditorial

NEW DELHI, March 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - French charity Action Contre La Faim (ACF) has welcomed a United Nations resolution which paves the way for an inquiry into human rights abuses committed during Sri Lanka's civil war, including the massacre of 17 of its aid workers eight years ago.

The ACF workers were murdered outside their office in the town of Muttur in the mainly Tamil north of Sri Lanka in August 2006. The charity said they were lined up and shot at point blank range.

"This is a great victory for the families of our colleagues, a huge relief for everyone working for ACF, and a huge step forward for people who suffered abuse and exactions," Serge Breysse, ACF's advocacy director, said in a statement on Monday.

A Tamil woman cries as she holds up an image of her disappeared family member during Sri Lanks's civil war, August 27, 2013. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

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

Sri Lanka: UN report must be call to action on international war crimes investigation

http://www.amnesty.ca/news/news-releases/sri-lanka-un-report-must-be-call-to-action-on-international-war-crimes

The international community must act on a robust new UN report calling for an international investigation into alleged human rights violations and war crimes in Sri Lanka, Amnesty International said.

“It’s utterly shameful that five years after Sri Lanka’s armed conflict ended, the victims and family members have yet to see justice. Navi Pillay’s latest report is another urgent and poignant reminder that an international investigation into alleged human rights violations and war crimes cannot wait,” said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

“Sri Lanka has so far done all it can to throw sand in the eyes of the international community and to block attempts to bring genuine accountability for past human rights violations.

“This report has to be an eye-opener, and we urge the UN Human Rights Council in March to pass a strong resolution establishing international investigation.”

Mass held at killing field, Mannaar Bishop demands international investigation

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=37048

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 February 2014]
We should never give up the struggle seeking the truth, said Bishop of Mannaar, Dr. Rayappu Joseph, attending a special mass and prayer service held on Wednesday at the St Lourde’s church at Maanthai, just across the spot where excavations of a killing field have so far brought out 61 skeletons. The mass was dedicated to the disappeared. Speaking at the mass, the Bishop demanded international investigation on the disappearance of people in the war and he was specific about the Maanthai killing field. He also reminded the crowd on the number of the disappeared [146, 678], which he had earlier brought out at the LLRC. Intelligence sleuths of Colombo were present at the mass, recording the Bishop’s speech. 

Sinhala Rulers waste Trillions Tricking the UN Trounce Rights of Eelam Tamils

http://www.tamilcanadian.com/article/6308

By: Dr C P Thiagarajah

The news of a 3rd resolution by US and allies on Sri-Lanka in the UNHRC had been floating around for a long time. Movement of UN, US, and UNHRC staff in out of Sri-Lanka had been very frequent recently. The Sinhalese who carried out an alleged war crime and genocide in May 2009 in the last war against the indigenous Tamil population in their Traditional Homeland (TH) of North and East of Sari-Lanka are on pins as to what will happen to their Sinhala hero.

From the time the valiant UK Prime Minister, Right Honourable David Cameron called for a credible International Inquiry (II) into the war crimes in the CHOGM, the Sinhalese are united as a bunch irrespective of their religious and party differences to protect the Sinhala war criminals involved in the dastardly crime. Even Sinhala NGOs and the clergy both Christian and Buddhists are against an II into the alleged crimes and genocide. Their morale had gone to the wind. Consequently Sinhala Lankan Rulers had been allowed to waste trillions tricking the UN trounce the basic democratic human Rights of Tamils after the war of genocide.

Sri Lanka rejects fresh war crimes allegations

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/06/sri-lanka-rejects-fresh-war-crimes-allegations

By 

Greg Dyett

 
Source 

World News Australia Radio

It was the British Prime Minister David Cameron who gave Sri Lanka a March 2014 deadline when he was in the country last November for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Mr Cameron infuriated the Sri Lankan government by meeting with Tamil representatives during a short visit to the northern Jaffna peninsula, the scene of some of the worst fighting during the civil war.

The British PM demanded Sri Lanka do much more to address allegations of war crimes.

"And it means credible transparent and independent investigations into alleged war crimes and let me be very clear: if that investigation is not completed by March then I will use our position on the UN Human Rights Council to work with the UN Human Rights Commissioner and call for a full, credible and independent international inquiry."

US: Sri Lanka refuses visa for State Dept official after war crime accusations

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/04/sri-lanka-rights-usa-idINDEEA130D120140204?feedType=RSS&feedName=southAsiaNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FINsouthAsiaNews+%28News+%2F+IN+%2F+South+Asia+News%29

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka has refused a visa request for a U.S. State Department official, the U.S. Embassy said on Tuesday after Washington signalled it would propose a U.N. resolution against the South Asian state over alleged war crimes.

Tensions rose after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal voiced frustration on Saturday over Sri Lanka's failure to punish military personnel responsible linked to reported atrocities in a civil war that the Colombo government won in 2009 against separatist Tamil rebels.

Biswal, speaking after a two-day visit to Colombo, said Washington would table a third U.N. human rights resolution against Sri Lanka in March to address the allegations because its human rights climate has been worsening.

Peasaalai villagers mobilize against genocidal land grab in Mannaar

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=37016

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 January 2014, 07:52 GMT]
The Tamil Catholic people of the coastal village of Peasaalai in the north-west of the Mannaar island on Thursday took to the streets in protest against the genocidal land grab by the occupying Sinhala military. The protest took place when the SL Navy brought land surveyors to measure a land belonging to the 600-year-old church in their village. The occupying Navy, which is already stationed in the one-acre coconut palm grove, is now trying to permanently seize the land from the church. The people of the village mobilized against the move and blocked the surveyors from measuring the land despite the harassment by the occupying navy video-filming the people amidst the deployment of a large number of SL navy sailors at the site.