Lion’s Blood: Behind ‘Sinha Le’ Movement
By Zachary Walko. Since coming to national attention in late 2015, Sinha Le, the grassroots …
Monthly Archives: June 2016
Fishing in troubled waters
The issue of poaching by Indian trawlers in Sri Lankan waters has over the years become an increasingly contentious one, seriously threatening the livelihood of Sri Lanka’s fishing community. Fishers being among the poorest communities in both Sri Lanka and India, it is an issue …
International participation in the accountability mechanism will be important
A number of countries voiced their support for the High Commissioner’s oral update and re-asserted their commitment to ensuring full implementation of Resolution 30/1, while welcoming the positive steps taken by the Government The US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Keith Harper said …
One of our weaknesses has been our failure to communicate our strategies and plans
Replying to the oral update of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,on 29 June 2016, Sri Lanka said it looks forward to cooperation with the international community. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweear said that, In March next year, the contours of the new Sri Lanka …
Displaced people call for panel to monitor progress
A letter has been forwarded to the High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Al-Hussein by a group calling itself, ‘The Organisation for Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Vali North’, on 27 June to “monitor and report the progress on resettlement, relief, and restoration of the sociopolitical and …
De-militarisation to be complete by next year
De-militarisation of the North-East will be complete by next year said Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, whilst calling on the international community to “give Sri Lanka a chance” amidst civil society concerns of the government’s slow progress and reneging on its commitment to the UN Human …
There is no satisfactory progress
The Tamil Civil Society Forum releasing a statement on 27 June 2016 under the signatures of Co – Spokespersons Kumaravadivel Guruparan and Elil Rajan said “The unwarranted praise and promotion that the Sri Lankan Government continues to receive from certain powerful sections of the International Community, which …
A key question that remains is the participation of international judges
According to an advance copy of the report A/HRC/32/CRP.4 released on 28 June 2016 by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the High Commissioner believes the Government’s efforts to implement its commitments in Resolution 30/1 will require a comprehensive strategy that …
Is UK’s Brexit decision final? Germany does not seem to think so
Germany does not seem to think that the decision by the British public to exit the European Union is final – or so it seems. A high ranking official in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration has suggested that the UK government should, perhaps, be given …
Families of the disappeared protest over Office of Missing Persons
Families of the disappeared conducted a protest in Vavuniya on 25 June over the lack of consultation with the victim community when enacting the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) bill. The protest organised by the Forum for Searching Handed, Kidnapped and Forcibly Disappeared Relatives and the Vavuniya …