Month: August 2017

”Soldiers will not be tried internationally” Justice Minister

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Even if War Crimes were committed by the Sri Lankan military on Tamils than they will not be punished. President Maithiri will  follow the steps of Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda and protect the killers as long as they are members of the Sinhala Community and have killed the Tamils. The new Minister speaking to media after officially assuming duties as Justice Minister this morning said the government will take measures to protect those who dedicated their loves for the country. The Minister added the government is bound to protect the country’s sovereignty…

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Now…. Minister Swaminathan ‘Promises’ better future for Tamils!

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A special event to hand over 78 houses, to needy families, was organized in Morakkoddanchenai, Batticaloa on Saturday (26). The Minister of Rehabilitation, and Resettlement, D. M. Swaminathan graced the occasion as the chief guest. Addressing the gathering, the Minister stated: “The good governance Government is fully aware that the people in the North and East, who were affected by the conflict, require 160,000 houses and the government is doing its best to provide these houses. The government will make the people’s dreams a reality.” The Minister added that the…

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Sri Lanka defends General accused of war crimes against LTTE

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Colombo, Aug 30 (PTI) The Sri Lankan government today came out in defence of a former Army Commander accused of committing war crimes during the brutal civil war against the LTTE, saying every death in the three-decade long conflict cannot be treated as a human rights abuse case. Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said the government was prepared to probe any specific charges made against the military and Commander Jagath Jayasuriya. Senaratne, who is also the Health Minister, said the accusations against Jayasuriya were of a general nature. “Every death which…

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Why a Sri Lankan leader might be tried for war crimes in Brazil

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Early Tuesday morning, news broke that Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Brazil had fled the country. Sri Lanka’s government later announced that his departure was planned, and it was simply the end of his ambassadorial term, but the timing raised eyebrows. The previous day, human rights groups had filed a criminal complaint accusing Ambassador Jagath Jayasuriya of command responsibility for war crimes. Jayasuriya, who is also Sri Lanka’s ambassador to five other Latin American countries, is a former army general. From 2007 to 2009, he oversaw the last phase of Sri Lanka’s…

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Channel 4 – War crimes charges against Sri Lankan ambassador

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Click to view – Channel 4 – War crimes charges against Sri Lankan ambassador https://www.channel4.com/news/rights-group-files-war-crimes-charges-against-sri-lankan-ambassador The Sri Lankan government has denied its ambassador to Brazil is on the run, after a human rights group filed war crimes charges against him there. Jagath Jayasuriya is flying back home to Sri Lanka just as he stands accused of criminal responsibility for the killing, torture and disappearance of civilians during his previous role as army commander during his country’s civil war. A warning, there are distressing images in this report. Click to view – Channel 4…

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End the practice of Enforced disappearance – EDITORIAL

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On Wednesday the 30th August the world over observes the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The aim is to raise awareness that enforced disappearance is a crime and a criminal act, which cannot be used as a tool to deal with situations of conflict. Unfortunately even today enforced disappearance is used as a strategy to spread terror within the society. Unfortunately the phenomenon continues to grow. In its 16 September 2016 in its report to the United Nations, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances…

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Reconciliation still on the drawing board – EU Chargé d’affaires

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By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan Chargé d’affaires of the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Paul Godfrey, tells Ceylon Today that the Government of Sri Lanka set out on an ambitious agenda to fulfil its commitments to the UN resolution but unfortunately has faced several blockages and roadblocks in its progress. “What we see is that there is a certain degree of scepticism about the changes and a certain degree of resistance in some quarters to the changes proposed. It’s up to the senior leaders of…

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Activists File War Crimes Case Against Ex-Sri Lanka General Over Tamil ‘Genocide’

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Lawyers seek to expel Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil Jagath Jayasuriya over alleged abuses committed during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war. Human rights groups in South America have filed war crimes lawsuits against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his country’s ambassador to Brazil. RELATED: Worst-Ever Dengue Outbreak Kills up to 300 in Sri Lanka The lawsuits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. He was accused of overseeing military units that…

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WAR CRIMES SUITS AGAINST SRI LANKAN AMBASSADOR IN BRAZIL

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_BRAZIL_SRI_LANKA_WAR_CRIMES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-08-29-00-00-55 RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Asian nation’s ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America. The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. They allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people. Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries…

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‘I regret we could not spend more time with Prabha,’- Erick Solheim

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If we had spent more time with LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran, we would probably be able to influence him more, Erik Solheim, the Norwegian peace mediator in the 30-year-long Sri Lanka civil war, said in a conversation with WION’s Padma Rao Sundarji.  Padma Rao Sundarji: How and when did the government of Norway decide to mediate in Sri Lanka and why did they pick you? Erik Solheim: We were invited in absolute secrecy by the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga. At the time, only two people in Colombo knew, she and…

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Suhada Gamlath reveals how Mahinda tried to win a rape case!

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No one forgets that the law of the jungle prevailed during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. Mahinda became a lawyer thanks to Felix Dias Bandaranaike. It is now coming to light that Mahinda used the law of the jungle not to gain experience. This story was told by his contemporary Suhada Gamlath, who went onto become the solicitor general.  A rape case was heard at the Matara high court around 35 years ago. Then a state counsel, Suhada appeared for the victim, while the accused was represented by Mahinda. Both were…

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Police Intimidates Member Of EC After He Criticised Police For Working In Sinhalese In North And East

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A member of the Election Commission, Prof.S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole has been intimidated by the police, a highly placed source closed to the Speaker and the Chairman of the Constitutional Council told Colombo Telegraph. Police officer Wanninayake speaks to Prof Jeevan Hoole’s elder brother Dr. Rajan Hoole with Black Maria like vehicle (WP LF 0711) and armed police According to a complaint made by Prof. Ratnajeewan Hoole, mid-morning on 16th August, an armed police party called at the home of Prof. Hoole in Jaffna and wanted to take him away to the Jaffna…

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Govt Gazettes Establishment of a Missing Persons Office While Protecting Police and Military Personnel Responsible for Disappearances Crimes.

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By Vijith Samarasinghe Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena last month signed a gazette to establish an Office on Missing Persons (OMP) so as to pretend to be delivering justice for the tens of thousands of people who disappeared during the country’s three-decade communal war and civil emergencies. In reality, this is a desperate attempt by the government to paint itself in “democratic” colouring, while protecting and further arming the same police and military forces responsible for these crimes. More than 20,000 people, mainly Tamils, went missing during the 26-year communal…

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Supreme Court Rules Federalism is not Separatism

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ByD.B.S.Jeyaraj The month of August saw a flurry of hectic political activity in Sri Lanka. The statement made by controversial minister Ravi Karunayake at the Presidential Commission of inquiry followed by his resignation, the move to postpone Provincial council polls by way of the 20th Constitutional amendment, the revolt within UNP ranks against the conduct of maverick UNP minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and the fast tracking of probes concerning allegations against family members of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa along with other issues like the SAITM affair etc have been drawing the attention…

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Face-lift for Thileepan monument Damaged by various parties

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By Mirudhula Thambiah The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) is to work with the Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) to renovate and preserve the Thileepan monument, which was subjected to constant destruction by various parties since its inception in 1988. NPC Chairman C. V .K. Sivagnanam said the monument in Nallur is dilapidated and a decision was adopted by the house to take necessary action to clean the surroundings and renovate it. This monument was initially erected in 1988, but was destroyed by various groups and was reinstated in 1999. “We will…

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IS suicide bomber attempted to brainwash Sri Lankans

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The Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber attempted to brainwash Sri Lankans using Facebook other personal messenger services, the Press Trust of India reported. IS today claimed that an Indian suicide bomber killed a “number” of people in an attack in Syria’s north west Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the terror group. In a statement in Arabic via its Amaq propaganda agency, the IS identified the Indian suicide bomber as Abu Yusuf al- Hindi, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring firm. The terror group claimed killing and wounding a…

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Sri Lanka leads the world for torture, again

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Sri Lanka is once again top in a global list of states that torture its citizens. This is the sixth year in a row that Sri Lanka  has been named as the leading state in torture. UK based Freedom from Torture (FFT) that has helped people from 76 countries to overcome torture has met with 230 victims from Sri Lanka, last year. The number is much higher than the torture victims from the second in the list, Iran. FFT has seen 140 torture victims from Iran. ‘Nothing changed’ “In 2016, Sri…

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EU asserts UN resolution on Sri Lanka must be implemented

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The European Union (EU) today asserted that Sri Lanka must fully implement the resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. “There is no change in the EU support for the full implementation of the UNHRC resolution,” the EU office in Colombo said. The EU said that the critical element is that justice has the victims at its heart and facilitates national healing. “Anything else will not be accepted by the international community or – more importantly – the victims themselves,” the EU added. A committee headed by Prime Minister…

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Wiggy blasts Thavarajah

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BY Thambithurai Pratheepan Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran yesterday (17) claimed that in order to safeguard his position in the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), Opposition Leader S. Thavarajah was attempting to show that the Council was incapable of functioning. Speaking at yesterday’s Council sittings, Wigneswaran said, “The leader of the Opposition, to safeguard his position in the council, had always tried to show that we are incapable.” He added that the Opposition Leader had become unpopular amongst his party membership and was therefore, in order to safeguard his position, trying…

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Former President Chandrika salutes Premier Ranil

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Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga saluted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for his 40 years of public service in front of a crowded audience at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall yesterday. Speaking at the inauguration of “Encounter Ranil,” a photographic exhibition celebrating 40 years of public service by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Bandaranaike Kumaratunga noted that she and Wickremesinghe had a history of working together, even as members of opposing parties who often disagreed. “Destiny threw us together twice in my political life to work together. Once was when the…

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