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Wickrematunge V. Republic of Sri Lanka
Communication to the Human Rights Committee Submitted Pursuant to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights AHIMSA WICKREMATUNGE for herself and on behalf of LASANTHA WICKREMATUNGE Victims ― v. ― DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA, Respondent INITIAL SUBMISSION Nushin Sarkarati Catherine Amirfar Carmen Cheung Natalie L. Reid CENTER FOR JUSTICE & Elizabeth Nielsen ACCOUNTABILITY Duncan Pickard One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 750 Alyssa T. Yamamoto San Francisco, CA 94102 Sebastian Dutz United States Samantha B. Singh DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON LLP 919 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 United States 8 January 2021 CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1 A. The Authors and Victims .............................................. 1 B. Request to Prioritize the Case ....................................... 1 II. FACTS ........................................................................................ 1 A. Country Context ........................................................... 2 B. The Victims’ Story ....................................................... 6 III. THIS COMMUNICATION IS ADMISSIBLE .......................... 15 IV. SRI LANKA HAS VIOLATED THE COVENANT ................. 18 A. Right to Life (Article 6) .............................................. 18 B. Right to Freedom from Torture or Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Article 7)...... 20 C. Rights to Freedom of Expression and Opinion and Non- Discrimination -
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 -
"Her Body, Her Right"?: Interrogating the Discourse on Abortion in Sri Lanka' Carmen Wickramagamage
Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences 2004 27(1&2): 17-59 "HER BODY, HER RIGHT"?: INTERROGATING THE DISCOURSE ON ABORTION IN SRI LANKA' CARMEN WICKRAMAGAMAGE Abstract This paper calls attention to an issue, abortion, that requires the urgent attention of those interested in the reproductive health indicators of women. The author's investigation of the issue arises from three particular phenomena: a) the high incidence of back-alley abortions in Sri Lanka; b) the failed attempt in1995 by .d the People's Alliance government to liberalise the restrictive law on abortion; and c) the media campaign of the Women's NGO Forum in 1999 to generated a public debate on the issue. The paper begins with an analysis of both how and why abortion has come to be such a key issue in discussions on and debates around women's rights and women's reproductive health across the globe and argues for considering it a vital reproductive health issue in Sri Lanka as well. It then critically interrogates the vocabulary deployed by the Women's NGO Forum to initiate a debate in Sri Lanka and proposes an alternative grammar of communication that might better suit the particular socio-cultural context and better address the issues at hand. This paper offers theoretical interventions into an issue, abortion, that requires the urgent attention and intervention of all policy planners, family planning service providers, health care professionals, and women's rights activists interested in the reproductive health indicators of women. My reflections on and interrogation of the Abortion Question arise from three particular phenomena: a) the reportedly high incidence of back-allgy (i.e., illegal) abortions in Sri Lanka; b) the absence of political will among Sri Lankan parliamentarians as demonstrated in 1995 when they f~&dto make even minimal amendments to the archaic, lgth century, law on abortion to bring it into line with present day realities; c) the attempts by the Women's NGO Forum in 1999 to generate a debate on the Abortion Question through the media, i.e., a television and newspaper, campaign. -
SL Election Media Monitoring Report.Pub
Report of the Election Media Monitoring Team Sri Lankan Parliamentary Elections December 2000 REPORT OF MEDIA MONITORING TEAM OF CPU IN SRI LANKA DURING ELECTIONS IN OCTOBER 2000 he Commonwealth Press Union put together and sent a five-person team to T Sri Lanka for nearly three weeks to observe the conduct of the print media during the last parliamentary elections held there in October 2000. The members of the delegation were drawn from five different Commonwealth countries - Uganda, India, Malaysia, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, bringing a wealth of professional experience and insights to the assignment. The CPU was partnered in this unique and pioneering initiative by the Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, an independent body comprising of the island’s leading edi- tors. Without their co-operation and acquiescence, this assignment could not have succeeded. Mention must also be made of the co-operation given by the Sri Lanka govern- ment in general and its information department and the diplomatic missions in particular. At no stage was there the slightest hesitation in giving information or indeed facilitating the task of this mission. The government had already opened its doors to various observer missions, including from the European Union and the Commonwealth and the media monitoring team was accorded the status of visit- ing media-men, with all the rights and privileges therein. Right from the beginning the office of the competent authority responded to every request with alacrity and without this assistance, the monitoring team’s task would have become difficult. OBJECTIVE & METHODOLOGY he objective was very clear and focused: to observe how the print media, T both government-controlled and independent, covered various aspects of the election campaign. -
Media Freedom in Post War Sri Lanka and Its Impact on the Reconciliation Process
Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper University of Oxford MEDIA FREEDOM IN POST WAR SRI LANKA AND ITS IMPACT ON THE RECONCILIATION PROCESS By Swaminathan Natarajan Trinity Term 2012 Sponsor: BBC Media Action Page 1 of 41 Page 2 of 41 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to thank James Painter, Head of the Journalism Programme and the entire staff of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism for their help and support. I am grateful to BBC New Media Action for sponsoring me, and to its former Programme Officer Tirthankar Bandyopadhyay, for letting me know about this wonderful opportunity and encouraging me all the way. My supervisor Dr Sujit Sivasundaram of Cambridge University provided academic insights which were very valuable for my research paper. I place on record my appreciation to all those who participated in the survey and interviews. I would like to thank my colleagues in the BBC, Chandana Keerthi Bandara, Charles Haviland, Wimalasena Hewage, Saroj Pathirana, Poopalaratnam Seevagan, Ponniah Manickavasagam and my good friend Karunakaran (former Colombo correspondent of the BBC Tamil Service) for their help. Special thanks to my parents and sisters and all my fellow journalist fellows. Finally to Marianne Landzettel (BBC World Service News) for helping me by patiently proof reading and revising this paper. Page 3 of 41 Table of Contents 1 Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Challenges to Press Freedom -
PDF995, Job 7
24/2, 28t h La n e , Off Flowe r Roa d , Colom bo 7, Sri La n ka Tel: 94-11-2565304 / 94-11-256530z6 / 94-11-5552746, Fax: 94-11-4714460 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.cpalanka.org Media Unit Monitoring media coverage of Presidential election November 2005 Compiled by Sunanda Deshapriya & Sisira Kannangara First week from nomination: 8th-15th October Monitored news papers: 11 dailies, 17 weeklies Number of newspaper issues monitored: 94 State media - Monitored Newspapers: Dailies: Dinamina (Sinhala language), Thinakaran (Tamil language), Daily News (English language); W eeklies: Silumina (Sinhala language), Thinakaran Vaaramanjaree (Tamil language), Sunday Observer (English language); • The three state owned dailies - Dinamina, Thinakaran and Daily News - had the lowest Unfavorable coverage of total election coverage on Mahinda Rajapakse, respectively 1.14, 00% and 1.82%. The same newspapers had the highest Favorable coverage given to any candidate by same language daily news paper, in these instances to Mahinda Rajapakse. - Dinamina (43.56%), Thinakaran (56.21%) and Daily News (29.32%). • The three state dailies had the highest Unfavorable coverage of the Ranil W ickramasinghe, of any daily news paper. Dinamina had 28.82%. Thinkaran had 8.67% and Daily News had 12.64%. • Their Favorable coverage of Ranil W ickramasinghe, was 10.75%, 5.10% and 11.13% respectively. • The state owned dailies and weeklies had 04 front page Lead stories and 02 Editorials in favor of Mahinda Rajapakse, while 02 Editorials and 03 front page Lead stories were Unfavorable to Ranil Wickramasinghe. State media coverage of two main candidates (in sq.cm% of total election coverage) Mahinda Rajapakshe Ranil W ickramasinghe Newspaper Favorable Unfavorable Favorable Unfavorable Dinamina 43.56 1.14 10.75 28.88 Silumina 28.82 10.65 18.41 30.65 Daily news 29.22 1.82 11.13 12.64 Sunday Observer 23.24 00 12.88 00.81 Thinakaran 56.21 00 03.41 00.43 Thi. -
The Sunday Leader the Entrenchment of a Fascist State
Sri Lanka: The death of a newspaper – The Sunday Leader The entrenchment of a Fascist State Brian Senewiratne MA(Cantab). MBBChir (Cantab). MD (Lond). FRCP (Lond). FRACP Consultant Physician Brisbane, Australia On Friday 21 September 2012 (another ‘black Friday’1), The Sunday Leader, the only newspaper critical of the Rajapaksa junta, was ‘killed’ (silenced), the ‘body’ quickly ‘cremated’ (handed over to one of Rajapaksa’s stooges), and the ‘ashes’ scattered in the President’s House (Palace) and ‘Temple Trees’ (so that the President and his brother can keep an eye on them to make sure they do not rise again (get back into circulation and be a thorn in the flesh)). ‘Temple Trees’ is the official residence of the Prime Minister – now acquired by the President presumably because the vast President’s House in the Colombo Fort is unable to accommodate the ever-increasing Rajapaksa dynasty. It used to be “Queens House”, the residence of the Governor General of Ceylon, and then became “President’s House” in 1972 when Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka. I have no idea who occupies it now, presumably the Rajapaksa clan or the de facto President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with the de jure President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, demoted to “Temple Trees”. The assassin of The Sunday Leader has not been identified but the bloody footprints lead to the Rajapaksa junta and the Colombo stock market. Rumour has it that the Colombo stock market mafia raised Rs 190 million, in addition to Rs 100 million given as a bank loan by the President. It is difficult to believe that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who recently called the Sunday Leader ‘a fucking newspaper’ and the Editor-in-Chief “a dirty fucking shit journalist” was not applauding. -
(Since 1917), and Later Still Battenberg
THE 23RD COMMONWEALTH TOURNÉE WILL TAKE PLACE IN COLOMBO, SRI LANKA ON 15-17 NOVEMBER 2013 by Dr George Venturini * Cast of characters: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Hanover-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, later Windsor (since 1917), and later still Battenberg (since 1947) in the part of Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of the United Kingdom and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. In that capacity she officiated in Perth, Western Australia on 28 and 29 October 2011 for the 22nd Tournée. Elizabeth II is also Queen of Australia, of former Dominions such as Canada, New Zealand, as well as villes du plaisir et de débauche for the privileged such as Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, and fortunate places such as Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu, in each of which she is represented by a Governor-General. Elizabeth II holds a variety of other positions, among them Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Duke of Normandy, Lord of Mann, and Paramount Chief of Fiji. Her Majesty is also styled Duke of Lancaster, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of many of her realms, Lord Admiral of the United Kingdom, Defender of the Faith in various realms for differing reasons. Neither Elizabeth II nor her husband (and second cousin once removed as well as third cousin - and that may go a long way in explaining Prince Charles and much of the other progeny), Philip Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg known as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, will take part in the Tournée, as they had done in Australia in 2011 at the declared cost - according to the Australian government - of AU$ 58 million. -
Sri Lanka's Assault on Dissent
SECURITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS SRI LANKA’S ASSAULT ON DISSENT Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. First published in 2013 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom © Amnesty International 2013 Index: ASA 37/003/2013 English Original language: English Printed by Amnesty International, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. The copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. To request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] Cover photo : Police use water cannon on peaceful demonstrators protesting against rising fuel costs in Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 2012. © AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena amnesty.org CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................7 Methodology ................................................................................................................10 The right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Sri Lanka........10 II. -
Freedom of the Press 2004
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 2004 FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 2004 A Global Survey of Media Independence Edited by Karin Deutsch Karlekar WITH ESSAYS BY BRIAN KATULIS, JEREMY DRUKER AND DEAN COX, AND RONALD KOVEN FREEDOM HOUSE NEW YORK WASHINGTON, D.C. ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. LANHAM BOULDER NEW YORK TORONTO OXFORD ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706 www.rowmanlittlefield.com P.O. Box 317, Oxford OX2 9RU, United Kingdom Copyright © 2004 by Freedom House All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN 1551-9163 ISBN 0-7425-3648-3 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-7425-3649-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Table of Contents Acknowledgments, vii Survey Methodology, ix Press Freedom in 2003, 1 Karin Deutsch Karlekar Global and Regional Tables, 9 Liberated and Occupied Iraq: New Beginnings and Challenges for Press Freedom, 17 Brian Katulis Under Assault: Ukraine’s News Media and the 2004 Presidential Elections, 29 Jeremy Druker and Dean Cox In Defiance of Common Sense: The Practical Effects of International Press Restrictions, 41 Ronald Koven Country Reports and Ratings, 49 Freedom House Board of Trustees, 195 About Freedom House, 197 Acknowledgments Freedom of the Press 2004 could not have been completed without the contributions of numerous Freedom House staff and consultants. -
New Fronts, Brave Voices Press Freedom in South Asia 2016-2017
NEW FRONTS, BRAVE VOICES PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTH ASIA 2016-2017 FIFTEENTH ANNUAL IFJ PRESS FREEDOM REPORT FOR SOUTH ASIA (2016-2017) 2 IFJ PRESS FREEDOM REPORT 2017 3 This document has been produced Sevanti Ninan by the International Federation of Designed by: Magnesium Media Journalists (IFJ) on behalf of the Images: With special thanks to South Asia Media Solidarity Network Agence France-Presse for the (SAMSN). use of images throughout the Afghan Independent Journalists’ report. Additional photographs are Association contributed by IFJ affiliates and also All India Newspapers Employees’ accessed under a Creative Commons Federation Attribution Non-Commercial Licence Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik and are acknowledged as such Forum through this report. CONTENTS Federation of Nepali Journalists This document has been produced FOREWORD 4 Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka with support from the United Nations Indian Journalists’ Union Educational, Scientific and Cultural OVERVIEW 6 Organisation (UNESCO) and the Journalists Association of Bhutan Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs IMPUNITY 10 Maldives Journalists’ Association (NMFA). The views and contents National Union of Journalists, India expressed herein are those of the IFJ GENDER 20 National Union of Journalists, Nepal and can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of UNESCO and Nepal Press Union NMFA. INTERNET CONTROLS 28 Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ The author will be responsible for the ONLINE HARASSMENT 36 Association choice and presentation of the facts contained in the paper and for the AFGHANISTAN 40 South Asia Media Solidarity Network opinions expressed therein, which will (SAMSN) – Defending rights of not be necessarily those of UNESCO journalists and freedom of expression in BANGLADESH 46 and NMFA and do not commit the South Asia. -
Bingo N, JW.Hal4com HAU CMI AUCTION Truman and Cabinet
1 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17,' Average Dally Ctrealatleii The Weather FAOl FotntreEit ^anrhpst^r lEpgtting Hgratt rur tha Msmh « f September, 1848 at O. A Weathm 9,109 heavy tenlabt, bet eedleg aatuidey nia atau iaaodatKm of ‘Town- mendna end cleartea VHrtr at dey; ■end duba wUl^fftaat Sunday. Oct Wins Qtation YBoys’ Towu About Town 20 at tha canter, SOS Broad aUeet ■ •n»a aftar- Mancheater^A Ciiy of Village Charm noon mieetlnx adU in at 2:80 To Be Formed 8unMt Ooundi D *fTM of Poca- at 6:30. A i hfcwtM wlU hold a food M l« Sat- and tha avenlna (SIXTEEN PAGES) PRICE THREE CENTS draaing on about 40 p: wUl ba Aaverttelea ea P efe 14) MANCHESTER, CONN., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18. 1948 Viitlsj norniiis at ^iSO In-Halo■ Hale’s Self Serve VOL. LX V L NO. 16 held In tha evening. To Run Propruns oC| jtora. DonatioM ahould bo at tha __ \ atoro bgr >>»• o’clock. - further In- The exhibit of paintlnga b^Mlaa Athletic Contests I>ur* (Unnattoo may ho obtalaad from E m 4 B Hope Henderaon, teacher of art at iiig Winter Months | Byrnes Reports to Truman Byrnes to Tell M n . W alter Kanohl o f 44 Walla Mancheater High achool and and Health Market atraat who la chairman. A aarlaty Haacl Uita, art teacher In tha alOr Theorize Truman and Cabinet o f fceme bakad fooda w ill ba offer- A Boira* Town Club win be or- menUry achoola, wUl be open to About G)nf lict •d fo r aala.