June 14-20:
The mood in Jaffna is that of being tragically marooned
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
A Christian clergyman who inspired many of us during our student days was the Anglican Bishop of Kurunegala Rt. Rev Lakshman Wickremasinghe.
This eminent theologian known popularly as Bishop Lakshman was a practical man of action when it came to the question of human rights violations and inter-ethnic justice and unity. [DBSJ]
Reconciliation: A Sinhala "middle-class" point of view
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Opening up this Blog for people to express their views on national reconciliation, ethnic amity and inter-racial justice seems to have created a vibrant forum.
I am particularly heartened by the positive responses of so many people from different walks in life. [DBSJ]
In Pictures: Displaced Afghans in Khan Colony, Lahor
By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
Pakistan has hosted one of the world's largest refugee populations since 1978. Almost two million Afghan refugees remain there according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. [TC]
End of Government Commission on Wartime Abuses Puts Justice at Risk
The Sri Lankan government’s announcement that it was ending its special inquiry into conflict-related abuses underscores the need for an international commission to investigate violations of international law by government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Human Rights Watch said today. [TC]
PUCL India initiatives on the SL conflict and petition to the UN
Initiatives by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, India, in collaboration with other like minded organisations and civil society personalities, in raising the issue of Human Rights violations in Sri Lanka and also initiating an effort to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes; [TC]
Channel 4 Video: Fresh claims over Tamil casualties [TC]
International Commission of Jurists urges Sri Lanka to comply with laws and treaties
If Sri Lanka wants to be treated seriously internationally and in the former British Commonwealth. It needs to comply with the laws and treaties.[TC]
Sri Lankan camps breach convention against genocide
The International Commission of Jurists says the conditions there are not the only worry.
Justice Dowd says the purpose of the camps may breach the convention against genocide. [TC]
by M. Junaid Levesque-Alam
Brintha Jeyalingam is skeptical of the Sri Lankan government's claims and intentions. A 29-year-old American activist with the organization People for Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka (PEARL), her family is of Tamil origin. [TC]
LTTE forming "provisional transnational government" to pursue self-rule for the Tamils
Why international observers are needed in Sri Lanka
by Lorrie Goldstein
Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation. It had the right to bar Liberal MP Bob Rae and Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, from entering the country. [TC]
Price of peace for the innocent Tamils
by Dan McDougall
A foul-smelling monsoon closes in from the north, carrying dark clouds of ash from the Hindu funeral pyres burning along the "Highway for Peace and Unity". [TC]
Video: The disappearing act in Sri Lanka
Sharmini Peries speaks to Sunila Abeysekera award-winning human rights defender and the Executive Director of INFORM, an organization working to spread the word on Sri Lankan human rights violations. [TC]
by Rajan Philips
In the beginning, the Rajapakse government characterized its war against the LTTE as part of the global war on terrorism. In the middle, and muddle, it became the war to liberate the Tamil civilians from the clutches of the LTTE. In the end, the war morphed into a despotic assertion of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty against Western interference. [TC]
Our Post-War Relationship With India Depends on Implementation of 13th Amendment
by Dayan Jayatilleka
The warning about the risk of triumphalism came days before the 65th anniversary celebration of D Day, by the leaders of the US , UK and Franc. [TC]