The UTHR(J) is not known for its love towards the LTTE. It’s one time leader and revered academic Rajini Thiranagama was killed by the LTTE. Even today, it’s present leadership lives in fear and in hiding in light of the threats by the LTTE who are opposed to that which the UTHR9J) regularly publishes as […]
PLEDGE (plĕj) A solemn binding promise to do, give, or refrain from doing something… UN official says Sri Lanka pledges to improve security, access for aid workers President pledges full commitment to protect Human Rights Foreign donors pledge to uphold international standards in aid delivery The UNF Government led by Prime Minster Ranil Wickremesinghe wins […]
This author is gobsmacked by the recent edict by the Chief Justice on school admissions to Grade 1. It is an affront on equality and human dignity. What is more, as a journalist, I am appalled at the silence of the media regarding this issue. “මෙම නිර්දේ෠මගින් සමහර ජනය෠වඩ෠වටින්නේ ය යන දුර්දà·à¶±à·Šà¶ […]
July 2007 In the past 18 months, over 2,000 Sri Lankans have been kidnapped or murdered, allegedly by government death squads. Now Human Rights Watch is calling for aid to Sri Lanka to be withheld. The Tamil homeland of Northern Sri Lanka is once again a war zone. The government is convinced it can crush […]
By Frederica Jansz Thevani Yogaraja holds a photograph of her family while grieving for her missing husband Emanuel and two sons Daniel and David, during a gathering to demand investigations into the disappearance in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007. Relatives of more than 100 civilians who went missing after being abducted, participated in […]
Photo credit: Sam de Silva The Neelan Tiruchelvam Lecture delivered by Gareth Evans, the former Foreign Minister of Australia and the current President of the International Crisis Group (ICG), was a lucid and incisive account of recent developments in the international humanitarian and human rights fields and their relevance to Sri Lanka. Titled the “The […]
Traders on Jaffna Stanley Road are badly affected by the closure of the road. The road is closed for public usage for security reasons and only pedestrians are allowed to use it. Even bicyles are not allowed by forces. Two major offices are situated on the road. One is the EPDP Jaffna office. The other […]
මළ ජූලි à·„à¶à¶šà·’න්වà¶à·Š පà·à¶©à¶¸à¶šà·Š ෙන෠ගන්නළ Photo credit: Tamilnation.org My article deals with the social and political after-effects of one of the most despicable episodes in Sri Lankan history – the ethnics riots of July 1983. I examine how in the intervening years, Sri Lanka’s political establishment has failed to address the growth of hate […]
Shanthi Sachithanandam “There is among the Ceylon Moors diverse opinion on this question in this house and throughout the country. Those who are living in the Sinhalese areas are definitely for the Bill. Some of them are most enthusiastic. But my own view is that, in the final analysis the choice for us is between […]
Donna E. Chung, Ph.D. International Trade and Labour Compliance Advisor Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. Washington, D.C. 20 July 2007 On 15 July 2007, just one day before the deadline, a judicial appeal was filed to save Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan teenager, from facing execution in Saudi Arabia. Had this deadline passed without an […]
“I have a moral duty to pacify wherever there is irritation given to the Sinhalese. I have a duty to pacify them and tell them our people are at your mercy. They are running away from the LTTE’s atrocities – you have a duty to protect them” says Anandasangaree in this Al Jazeera video that […]
Tune in and turn up the volume! VOR Radio aims to enhance social, political and cultural cohesion in Sri Lanka through podcasts in Sinhala, Tamil and English with a special focus on civil society initiatives and perspectives on peace, reconciliation and democracy. Some of the latest additions to our growing collection of podcasts from Sri […]
“Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda, and in most modern conflict, the men of war prey on the ignorance of the populace to install fears and arouse hatreds.†Sashi Tharoor, Bookless in Baghdad Mark Whitaker captures well the perversity of Sri Lanka today in a compelling biography of murdered Tamil journalist Sivaram Dharmeratnam […]
War, Abductions, killings, human rights violations, and evictions are synonyms widely used to describe the current situation in Sri Lanka especially in the international area. Are we facing the gravest period of Sri Lanka history? One would say the accusations lodged against country are accurate and the situation demands immediate intervention and another would argue […]
R.M.B Senanayake Photo credit: Dinidu De Alwis Hundreds of Tamils temporarily resident in Colombo in lodges were summarily bundled into buses and forcibly taken to the towns in the North & East. The Supreme Court has however issued a stay order on such evictions as they are a violation of the Fundamental Rights of the […]