Archive for the ‘Human Security’

Ganesan Nimalaruban: A murder and responses of Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice

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Photo courtesy Vikalpa Ganesan Nimalaruban’s murder in July last year wasn’t an issue for or comprehensively covered in the mainstream media in Sri Lanka. Vikalpa covered the circumstances of his murder and funeral, and this content was translated into English and published onGroundviews. Responses to the stories on both sites included a former high ranking UN diplomat and senior civil servants who said they had tears in their eyes listening to and reading the lamentation of Nimalaruban’s mother at his funeral. Contrast this with some of the comments made by Sri Lanka’s de facto Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, as reported in the media recently, when the Fundamental Rights case of Ganeshan Nimalaruban was taken before the Supreme Court. “When the prison is under siege do you want the prisons commissioner have to read to them the Geneva Conventions?” The AG submitted a confidential report to the Court and Counsel Petitioner requested a copy to be issued to him. CJ Peiris said “Why do you need this? The court…

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Freedom of assembly in post-war Sri Lanka

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Sandya Ekneligoda, wife of missing journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, center,  speaks to reporters during a protest rally out side the parliament in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Relatives, colleagues and opposition activists staged a protest rally Thursday demanding that the Sri Lanka government hold proper investigation to find out what happened to Ekneligoda who went missing in January 2010. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, via Inquirer News) The war in Sri Lanka ended on 18th May 2009. During three decades of war, civil liberties were severely curtailed, often in an arbitrary manner, without possibilities of challenging them or seeking remedies through independent bodies. The Ministry of Defense, the military and police reigned supreme. Even judicial discretion was curtailed, with the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) compelling Judges to obey wishes of the Ministry of Defense and the police through the Attorney General’s department when it came to remanding people, bail etc. The PTA remains as a dreaded legal weapon in the…

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Police in Sri Lanka show their true saffron colours

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Lest we forget, the Sri Lankan police, who act under the orders and protection of the Ministry of Defence, are far from doyens of impartiality. A few weeks ago, we noted that ”it is quite clear that four policemen, no more than 3 feet away from and staring directly into the face of the Buddhist “monk” who is engaged in destroying private property isn’t quite enough these days for an arrest to be made”. There is evidence, from no less than the Government’s Minister for Justice himself, that the Muslim owners of the property the “monks”destroyed were forced to withdraw their charges against the perpetrators. Contrast this Police inaction and collusion with fascist forces with their behaviour today in Colombo, against a peaceful vigil, as clearly indicated in a Facebook page that promoted the event. Sirasa TV captures the response by the Police in grim detail. Clearly then, in Sri Lanka today, Buddhist “monks” destroying private property are kosher, but citizens attempting…

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A Tolerant Sri Lanka: How far will we go?

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The past few weeks have seen a rise in incidents and publicly expressed sentiments against the Muslim community by groups who claim to represent the rights of Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Expressing concerns of undue place given to Muslims in Sri Lanka – from entrance to the Law College to issuing Halal certification to even increase in Muslim population and property ownership by Muslims, groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena and Sinhala Ravaya have taken it upon themselves to educate the Sinhala Buddhists on these concerns. While these groups declare to be non-violent, speeches given by them at various rallies, defamatory references to individuals and the attacks on Muslim owned businesses in the past few weeks give the impression of a situation of vigilante groups gathering strength. It is in this context that Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives created this online questionnaire. How seriously should we take the anti-Muslim sentiments being…

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Taking old friends too seriously: Sri Lanka, Burma and Buddhist extremism

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People collect pieces of metal from the rubble of a neighbourhood in Pauktaw township that was burned in recent violence October 27, 2012. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun (Caption and content from Reuters) Sri Lanka’s long relationship with Burma is something that anyone who has even a nodding acquaintance with Sri Lankan history is aware of. In both nations, Theravada Buddhism has been a vital political idea that has cemented the legitimacy of monarchs. Both Burma and Sri Lanka saw a Buddhist revival as a response to colonial occupation, a revival which has allowed Buddhism to fuse with nationalism as both countries achieved their independence. With such a similar and connected past, it should come as no surprise that the Bodu Bala Sena’s manifesto echoes that of the 969; an extremist Buddhist organization in Myanmar that seeks to ethnically cleanse Myanmar of Muslims, who make up 4% of the country’s population.  The 969 take their title from Buddhist numerology and have styled themselves…

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A Missing Person in Sri Lanka: Heartfelt Issues & Ground Realities

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Image courtesy Salon / AP Photo by Eranga Jayawardena When I was in Sri Lanka from mid-April to early June 2009 I was on holiday with my wife and not able to pursue investigations in any depth. In contrast my sojourn in May-June 2010 focused on a range of studies and travels. One gem of a life-story surfaced near my second home in Wellawatte when I was able to chat with a domestic servant at a Tamil house nearby, a lady who had been through the crucible of Eelam War in the Vanni Pocket. I shall call her Sambandhi. She was a wizened wiry soul who had survived the war together with husband, but (1) had one daughter killed by shrapnel; (2) one son (who was then aged c. 21) hospitalized in mid-2009 with the loss of one eye and injuries to face and other eye;[i] and (3) was wracked with pain because one of her sons had been conscripted…

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Sons and daughters missing, missed, forgotten: LLRC’s failure in Sri Lanka

"My daughter has been missing since 15th of May 2009 from Valaijarmadam" ~ Vasanthathevi Kathirkamanathan from Ananthapuram, Puthukkudiyiruppu in Mullaithivu District

Tamil mothers, sisters, wives and daughters have not yet given up their hopes to find their disappeared sons, brothers, husbands and fathers. The tragedy of endless search continues for them. Some Tamil women have more than one tragedy to digest. Vasanthathevi Kathirkamanathan is still searching for her missing daughter. And, her husband has been missing since May 2009. “I don’t know whether he is alive or dead. My relatives want me to believe that he was hit by a shell during the heavy fighting in May 2009, and died on the spot. But, he was with me till the last moment on 18th May 2009. If he was hit by a shell, and died on the spot, I must have seen his dead body. Since, I have not seen his dead body, I am unable to believe that he was killed. I strongly feel he was made to disappear. My life is in limbo” says tearful Vasanthathevi Kathirkamanathan from Ananthapuram,…

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Mullikulam: Restrictions on fishing, cultivation, access to the church and school continue

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The continuous appeals and campaigns carried out by the people of Mullikulam, the Bishop of Mannar, Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph and members of the clergy and civil society seems to have finally borne some results, in terms of the resettlement process of the people of Mullikulam. Even though the situation is still far from ideal, and the people still aspire to return home, as the intention of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) to stay put, is quite clear, and as the people have suffered for so long, they have reluctantly agreed to being resettled 750m outside of their original residential lands. Two and a half months since (December 26th 2012) the Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith met with the people of Mullikulam to discuss[1] their grievances,[2] we visited Mullikulam on 13th March 2013. We were able to see for ourselves and hear directly from the people about the progress made in terms of commitments[3] made by…

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Travails of the Women in the Vanni

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Photo courtesy Amantha Perera / Perambara (Following is a copy of  a presentation made by the author at a side event at the UNHRC in Geneva on 11th March, 2013 organised by the Co-operative Society of Netherlands in collaboration with the International Movement Against Discrimination and Racism)     All of us remember the day the war ended in Sri Lanka. While those in the rest of the country rejoiced, to  the Tamils, many of whom had friends and relations living in the war zones, it was a very sad day.    Thousands of persons had been killed in the final days of the war.  Thousands of others  walked  into the hands of the army waiting  to receive them and send them to the hurriedly established camps which they called welfare centres. The  292,000 odd persons who escaped death during  the war,  had to spend  nearly three years  in  refugee camps in which they were imprisoned till they were re-settled or re-located in…

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Police detains families of disappeared from Northern Sri Lanka and prevents peaceful protest and petition to the UN

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[Editors note: See our earlier report, Police impeding the movement of Tamils.] March 5th, 2013, Vavuniya On March 5th, 2013, at about 8.30pm, the Police blocked about 600 persons, comprising families of the disappeared and civil society activists from the North, from traveling from Vavuniya to Colombo to attend a protest organized by the ‘Association of the Families Searching for the Disappeared Relatives’ the following day (6th). Following the protest at Viharamaha Devi Park, in Colombo, the families had planned to march to the UN office in Colombo and hand over a petition. This protest was meant to be part of a larger campaign organized by the families of the disappeared to know the truth about their loved ones, and to lobby the international community to intervene on their behalf by calling on the Sri Lankan Government to provide them with truth, justice and accountability. As a result of this obstruction however, the planned protest could not be held. People had…

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Police impeding the movement of Tamils

11.14PM, 5th March 2013: Families of the disappeared in Sri Lanka, traveling to attend a demonstration in front of Colombo UN office, were detained in Vavuniya by the Police. Eleven buses with victimised Tamil people were en route to Colombo to stage a demonstration in Colombo tomorrow to coincide with the submission of the US resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN human rights Council. All the eleven buses and a total of around 700 individuals were hindered in their progress. The bus drivers were questioned by TID and CID members. This evening, when they tried to pass Omanthai check post after all the security procedures were completed, a special Police escort came and took them to Vavuniya. At present, all the families are being kept under heavy military presence amid heavy rain in Vavuniya’s Urban Council Ground. A short whole ago some unidentified people in civilian dress tried to infiltrate the crowed in an attempt to trouble them. 9.21am,…

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Grievances of Muslims in the North

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“It is not only inhumane to be expected to live under such terrible conditions, but these conditions are also a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the spread of other communicable diseases. If the water is not pumped out manually, it will be at least April by the time all the water left over by the floods evaporate,” said a distraught Muslim IDP from Uppukulam, Mannar, whilst pointing to a stagnant pool of water left by December’s flood (2012), in his backyard. He, together with his wife and widowed daughter live in a one-roomed shack in Uppukulam since their return in 2000. Muslim families in Uppukulam, Kondapitty (Mannar District), who were evicted by the LTTE in 1990, were given permit land by the State and permitted to return to Uppukulam in 2000. Having lived in cadjan huts for years, some families have been moved to an Indian Housing Scheme four years ago. Of the 96 houses built, only 50 (comprising approximately…

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Black January: Ceaseless media suppression in Sri Lanka, with total impunity

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Image via RNW The month of January is coming to an end and yet again it has been filled with a number of major attacks on media freedom in Sri Lanka. For this reason the month is often referred to as the ‘Black January’ of media suppression. This year too, journalists’ and organisations in the country are commemorating Black January as an event to mark continued suppression of independent media and journalists in Sri Lanka. The war against the LTTE was accompanied by another war, the war against independent media in Sri Lanka. The war against the LTTE came to an end in 2009 however the war against free media in Sri Lanka has not. It is a war that can not be won. Freedom of speech is an inherent right which can not be suppressed forever. The commemoration of Black January is itself a vivid example of the vitality of free speech, in desperate circumstances. What follows is an…

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Sri Lanka Navy vs. the people of Mullikulam

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“The Cardinal never even visited our church or spoke to our children. He came directly to the Navy Head Quarters for the meeting and left soon after. On my way to the meeting, it was pouring with rain. As I was exhausted when passing my old home, I asked a Navy officer there if I could take shelter from the rain there as it was where I used to live. He refused and told me that I’d better continue on my way,” said a village elder in desolation. “Whatever they (the Government) are offering you, please accept, as I will come forward as your guarantor,” said His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith to the people of Mullikulam, at the outset of the meeting[1] held between them and the Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa on December 26, 2012, to discuss their plight, having been displaced by the occupying Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) since 2007. The Bishop of Mannar, Most Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, was…

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Ashraf Nagar: The Courageous Struggle of Peasants against the Forcible Land Acquisition in Ampara District

Ashraf Nagar’s inhabitants can trace back their history to 1952 when it consisted of the following small villages – Aalim Nagar, Vilankadu, Kasangkeni, Muthiriyadiwattai, Pallak Kadu, Sinna Pallakkadu, Kattu Vattai, Ali Mudakadu and Aalim Chennai. Ashraf Nagar’s name was changed in the year 2006 to Oluvil first division and even though it consisted of Muslims, Sinhalese and Tamils the majority of inhabitants were Muslims. Around 156 Muslim families are said to have lived there around this period. By 1972 this number had increased to 272 families and to accommodate the growing need, a Jumma Mosque was established in Aalim Chennai. Over several decades the people in Ashraf Nagar have faced obstacles for their development and in creating a life of peace due to the intervention of several state and non -state actors. It is reflective of the plight of many such villages across the country especially with people who lack economic or political power. In 1983 due to ethnic tensions…

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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