Aerial Bombing- Genocide, Not Soft Option
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Sri Lanka 2020 Human Rights Report
SRI LANKA 2020 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sri Lanka is a constitutional, multiparty democratic republic with a freely elected government. Presidential elections were held in 2019, and Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the presidency. He appointed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother, as prime minister. On August 5, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa led the Sri Lankan People’s Freedom Alliance and small allied parties to secure a two- thirds supermajority, winning 150 of 225 seats in parliamentary elections. COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented international observers and limited domestic election observation. Domestic observers described the election as peaceful, technically well managed, and safe considering the COVID-19 pandemic but noted that unregulated campaign spending, abuse of state resources, and media bias affected the level playing field. The Sri Lanka Police are responsible for maintaining internal security and are under the Ministry of Public Security, formed on November 20. The military, under the Ministry of Defense, may be called upon to handle specifically delineated domestic security responsibilities, but generally without arrest authority. The nearly 11,000-member paramilitary Special Task Force, a police entity that reports to the inspector general of police, coordinates internal security operations with the military. Civilian officials maintained control over the security forces. Members of the security forces committed some abuses. The Sri Lanka parliament passed the 20th Amendment to the constitution on October 22. Opposition political leaders and civil society groups widely criticized the amendment for its broad expansion of executive authority that activists said would undermine the independence of the judiciary and independent state institutions, such as the Human Rights Commission and the Elections Commission, by granting the president sole authority to make appointments to these bodies with parliament afforded only a consultative role. -
Justice Delayed, Justice Denied? the Search for Accountability for Alleged Wartime Atrocities Committed in Sri Lanka
Pace International Law Review Volume 33 Issue 2 Spring 2021 Article 3 May 2021 Justice Delayed, Justice Denied? The Search for Accountability for Alleged Wartime Atrocities Committed in Sri Lanka Aloka Wanigasuriya University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, International Humanitarian Law Commons, International Law Commons, Law and Politics Commons, and the Military, War, and Peace Commons Recommended Citation Aloka Wanigasuriya, Justice Delayed, Justice Denied? The Search for Accountability for Alleged Wartime Atrocities Committed in Sri Lanka, 33 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 219 (2021) Available at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr/vol33/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace International Law Review by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JUSTICE DELAYED, JUSTICE DENIED? THE SEARCH FOR ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ALLEGED WARTIME ATROCITIES COMMITTED IN SRI LANKA Aloka Wanigasuriya* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction .......................................................................... 221 II. National Action ..................................................................... 223 A. National Mechanisms............................................... 223 1. Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) .............................................................. -
Reforming Sri Lankan Presidentialism: Provenance, Problems and Prospects Volume 2
Reforming Sri Lankan Presidentialism: Provenance, Problems and Prospects Edited by Asanga Welikala Volume 2 18 Failure of Quasi-Gaullist Presidentialism in Sri Lanka Suri Ratnapala Constitutional Choices Sri Lanka’s Constitution combines a presidential system selectively borrowed from the Gaullist Constitution of France with a system of proportional representation in Parliament. The scheme of proportional representation replaced the ‘first past the post’ elections of the independence constitution and of the first republican constitution of 1972. It is strongly favoured by minority parties and several minor parties that owe their very existence to proportional representation. The elective executive presidency, at least initially, enjoyed substantial minority support as the president is directly elected by a national electorate, making it hard for a candidate to win without minority support. (Sri Lanka’s ethnic minorities constitute about 25 per cent of the population.) However, there is a growing national consensus that the quasi-Gaullist experiment has failed. All major political parties have called for its replacement while in opposition although in government, they are invariably seduced to silence by the fruits of office. Assuming that there is political will and ability to change the system, what alternative model should the nation embrace? Constitutions of nations in the modern era tend fall into four categories. 1.! Various forms of authoritarian government. These include absolute monarchies (emirates and sultanates of the Islamic world), personal dictatorships, oligarchies, theocracies (Iran) and single party rule (remaining real or nominal communist states). 2.! Parliamentary government based on the Westminster system with a largely ceremonial constitutional monarch or president. Most Western European countries, India, Japan, Israel and many former British colonies have this model with local variations. -
Sri Lanka – Colonel Karuna – Abductions – Joseph Pararajasingham
Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: LKA31328 Country: Sri Lanka Date: 16 February 2007 Keywords: Sri Lanka – Colonel Karuna – Abductions – Joseph Pararajasingham This response was prepared by the Country Research Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Questions 1. Please provide any information you have about the physical appearance, age, background, etc, of LTTE Commander Karuna. 2. Please provide current information about Karuna. 3. Please provide information about the murder of MP Joseph Pararajasingham. RESPONSE (Note: There is a range of transliteral spelling from non-English languages into English. In this Country Research Response the spelling is as per the primary source document). 1. Please provide any information you have regarding the physical appearance, age, background, etc, of LTTE Commander Karuna. “Colonel Karuna” is the nom de guerre of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan. Karuna was born in Kiran in the Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka. A 2004 BBC News profile of Karuna describes him as being 40 years old whilst Wikipedia1 information gives his year of birth as 1966. A photograph of Karuna is printed in the attached BBC News profile (Gopalakrishnan, Ramesh 2004, ‘Profile: Colonel Karuna’, BBC News, 5 March http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3537025.stm – Accessed 7 February 2007 – Attachment 1; ‘Karuna: Rebels’ rebel’ 2004, The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), 7 March http://www.sundaytimes.lk/040307/ – Accessed 7 February 2007 – Attachment 2; ‘Colonel Karuna’ 2007, Wikipedia, 27 January http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Karuna – Accessed 7 February 2007 – Attachment 3). -
Country of Origin Information Report Sri Lanka May 2007
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT SRI LANKA 11 MAY 2007 Border & Immigration Agency COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE 11 MAY 2007 SRI LANKA Contents PREFACE Latest News EVENTS IN SRI LANKA, FROM 1 APRIL 2007 TO 30 APRIL 2007 REPORTS ON SRI LANKA PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED BETWEEN 1 AND 30 APRIL 2007 Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY........................................................................................ 1.01 Map ................................................................................................ 1.06 2. ECONOMY............................................................................................ 2.01 3. HISTORY.............................................................................................. 3.01 The Internal conflict and the peace process.............................. 3.13 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS...................................................................... 4.01 Useful sources.............................................................................. 4.21 5. CONSTITUTION..................................................................................... 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM .............................................................................. 6.01 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................... 7.01 8. SECURITY FORCES............................................................................... 8.01 Police............................................................................................ -
Sri Lanka: Tamil Politics and the Quest for a Political Solution
SRI LANKA: TAMIL POLITICS AND THE QUEST FOR A POLITICAL SOLUTION Asia Report N°239 – 20 November 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. i I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 II. TAMIL GRIEVANCES AND THE FAILURE OF POLITICAL RESPONSES ........ 2 A. CONTINUING GRIEVANCES ........................................................................................................... 2 B. NATION, HOMELAND, SEPARATISM ............................................................................................. 3 C. THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT AND AFTER ................................................................................ 4 D. LOWERING THE BAR .................................................................................................................... 5 III. POST-WAR TAMIL POLITICS UNDER TNA LEADERSHIP ................................. 6 A. RESURRECTING THE DEMOCRATIC TRADITION IN TAMIL POLITICS .............................................. 6 1. The TNA ..................................................................................................................................... 6 2. Pro-government Tamil parties ..................................................................................................... 8 B. TNA’S MODERATE APPROACH: YET TO BEAR FRUIT .................................................................. 8 1. Patience and compromise in negotiations -
Tides of Violence: Mapping the Sri Lankan Conflict from 1983 to 2009 About the Public Interest Advocacy Centre
Tides of violence: mapping the Sri Lankan conflict from 1983 to 2009 About the Public Interest Advocacy Centre The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is an independent, non-profit legal centre based in Sydney. Established in 1982, PIAC tackles barriers to justice and fairness experienced by people who are vulnerable or facing disadvantage. We ensure basic rights are enjoyed across the community through legal assistance and strategic litigation, public policy development, communication and training. 2nd edition May 2019 Contact: Public Interest Advocacy Centre Level 5, 175 Liverpool St Sydney NSW 2000 Website: www.piac.asn.au Public Interest Advocacy Centre @PIACnews The Public Interest Advocacy Centre office is located on the land of the Gadigal of the Eora Nation. TIDES OF VIOLENCE: MAPPING THE SRI LANKAN CONFLICT FROM 1983 TO 2009 03 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 09 Background to CMAP .............................................................................................................................................09 Report overview .......................................................................................................................................................09 Key violation patterns in each time period ......................................................................................................09 24 July 1983 – 28 July 1987 .................................................................................................................................10 -
The Israeli-Sri Lankan Relationship
The Israeli-Sri Lankan Relationship by Punsara Amarasinghe BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,962, March 12, 2021 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Following Indian premier Narendra Singh Modi’s historic visit to Israel in 2017, bilateral relations between India and Israel were elevated into a strategic partnership. But this was not Israel’s first successful diplomatic venture in South Asia. India’s tiny neighbor, Sri Lanka, had a strategic alliance with Israel long before India developed one. During the Cold War era, Sri Lanka was viewed as an Israeli success story in the region. Jewish relations with Sri Lanka have a long history that dates all the way back to the biblical epoch: the Sri Lankan city of Galle is said to be the city of Tarshish, to which King Solomon sent merchant ships. Beyond the biblical legacy, the Jewish presence in the island nation thrived under British rule, as many European Jews held prominent positions in the colonial administration. In the early stage of British rule, then Chief Justice of Sri Lanka Sir Alexander Johnston proposed the establishment of a Jewish settlement on the island, an idea that was not taken up by the colonial office in London. Both Israel and Sri Lanka became independent states in 1948. At Israel’s inception, it faced diplomatic hostility from the Arab world, and many post-colonial countries—including India—refused to recognize it as an independent state. But Sri Lanka’s first PM, D.S. Senanayake, initiated the island nation’s cooperation with Israel, despite the disapproval of many Asian and African states. -
A Study of Violent Tamil Insurrection in Sri Lanka, 1972-1987
SECESSIONIST GUERRILLAS: A STUDY OF VIOLENT TAMIL INSURRECTION IN SRI LANKA, 1972-1987 by SANTHANAM RAVINDRAN B.A., University Of Peradeniya, 1981 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department of Political Science We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA February 1988 @ Santhanam Ravindran, 1988 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Political Science The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date February 29, 1988 DE-6G/81) ABSTRACT In Sri Lanka, the Tamils' demand for a federal state has turned within a quarter of a century into a demand for the independent state of Eelam. Forces of secession set in motion by emerging Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism and the resultant Tamil nationalism gathered momentum during the 1970s and 1980s which threatened the political integration of the island. Today Indian intervention has temporarily arrested the process of disintegration. But post-October 1987 developments illustrate that the secessionist war is far from over and secession still remains a real possibility. -
Committee on Public Enterprises
Parliament of Sri Lanka - Committee on Public Enterprises Committee on Public Enterprises Contact Committee Secretary Nandasiri Peiris Assistant Director (Administration) Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Jayewardenapura Kotte 0094-11-2777301 0094-11-2777559 This committee has lapsed. (Seventh Parliament of the D.S.R. of Sri Lanka - 1st Session) Committee Reports This is the other Financial Committee in the Parliament which consists of twelve members nominated by the Committee of Selection. The duty of this Committee is to examine the accounts of the Public Corporations and of any Business Undertaking vested in the Government. These two Committees have the power to summon before them and question any person, call for and examine any paper, book, record or other documents and to have access to stores and property. While the Public Accounts Committee exercises oversight in the financial performance of Government Institutions, the Committee on Public Enterprises has been established on 21.06.1979 to ensure the observance of financial discipline in Public Corporations and other Semi Governmental bodies in which the Government has a financial stake. The Committee on Public Enterprises, which consists of 31 Members reflecting the party composition in the House, is established under the Standing Order 126 at the beginning of each Parliamentary Session and the Chairman is elected by the Members of the Committee at its first session. Its quorum is four. The duty of the Committee is to report to Parliament on accounts examined, budgets and estimates, financial procedures, performance and management of Corporations and other Government Business Undertakings. The accounts of these organizations are audited by the Auditor-General and form the basis of the investigations of the Committee. -
News Round Up
NEWS ROUND UP Tuesday, February 05, 2019 Contents President raps politicians for country’s paralysis ......................................................................................... 2 Fraudulent ATM skimming: Industry says situation under control but urges vigilance ............................... 3 SL draws record $ 2.3 b FDI in 2018, eyes $ 3 b this year despite political challenges: Malik ..................... 4 Malik welcomes Dubai’s Essar for Rs. 30 b mixed development PPP in Battaramulla ................................. 5 US says eager to build on partnership with Sri Lanka .................................................................................. 6 Piramal Glass laments Govt. failure to reduce furnace oil prices ................................................................. 6 Who is fooling whom with another draft national maritime and logistics policy? ...................................... 7 Taprobane Securities (Pvt) Ltd – Research + 94 11 5328200 [email protected] President raps politicians for country’s paralysis President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday during his Independence Day address made a string of political and economic observations focusing on development, fighting corruption, holding provincial council elections and criticised actions during the recent Constitutional crisis and moves by the United National Party (UNP) to establish a National Government. Delivering his address to the nation to mark the 71st Independence Day, Sirisena took on several key issues and made fresh observations on -
DISAPPEARANCES Disappeared
This study explores the impact of the ruling elite’s political project through the experiences of 87 relatives of the DISAPPEARANCES DISAPPEARANCES disappeared. It considers how their own A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF political project to re-establish the IN SRI LANKA socio–legal identity of the disappeared was exploited by the political elite and their own communities rendering them socially ostracised. Within this context, DISAPPEARANCES transitional justice mechanisms including prosecutions and social movements were manipulated and IN SRI LANKA politicised along party lines as part of a ritual of conspiracy against the victims to deny state terror and protect those responsible for it. About the author: Jane Thomson-Senanayake, B.A Hons (NSW), Grad Dip (NSW), Grad Cert (New England), M.A (Deakin), PhD (Sydney), is a human rights and social policy researcher. Her academic J research has focused on political ane Thomson-Senanayake violence, enforced disappearances, transitional justice and social restoration in contexts including Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and East Timor. She was awarded the Lionel Murphy Postgraduate Scholarship in 2004 and completed her PhD in 2013 at the University of Sydney. Her doctoral research, which explored enforced disapearances over three decades in Sri Lanka and involved extensive fieldwork across eight districts, provided the basis Rs 1000/= Jane Thomson-Senanayake for this publication. Asian Human Rights Commission, Unit 1 & 2 12/F, Hopeful Factory Centre 10-16 Wo Shing Street, Fotan, N.T. ,Hong Kong, China A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF DISAPPEARANCES IN SRI LANKA ''Not even a person, not even a word...'' Jane Thomson-Senanayake ii A sociological exploration of disappearances in Sri Lanka ''Not even a person, not even a word...'' © Jane Thomson-Senanayake 2014 ISBN (Print) : 978-955-4597-04-4 Published by Asian Human Rights Commission Unit 1 & 2 12/F.