“An alleged former combatant who was “rehabilitated”. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is the armed group that the Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa government claim they defeated in May 2009.…
In Sri Lanka, the challenge to achieve transitional justice lies not in the process alone but also in coming to terms with the ultimate goal. In a post-war context, what is the…
Maaveerar Naal, otherwise known as Heroes day, is celebrated on November 27 to remember those who lost their lives fighting for the LTTE. While this day has come to be a highly…
It was a dramatic moment: a tall, well-built young man dressed in white with a black band tied across his forehead pushed his way through the closed gates of the church premises…
In different parts of Sri Lanka, families of the disappeared came together to hold events to commemorate the UN Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on August 30. In Digana (Central province), families held…
Until recently, the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) was housed in a magnificent colonial building in a leafy Colombo suburb that used to house members of parliament; now it has been relegated…
The International Day of the Disappeared is on August 30, and I was in Mannar when a group of mothers were preparing to show their collective resistance at Omanthai in the North…
The ‘Trinco 5 case’, involving the murder of 5 students on a beach in Trincomalee on 2 January 2006, is an emblematic case of impunity in Sri Lanka. The case became well-known…
Major General Shavendra Silva faces credible allegations of violating international humanitarian law and human rights. During the last stages of the war in 2009, he was the Commanding Officer of the 58th…
Professor Gayatri Spivak Chakravarti, I would like to thank you, Mr. Mawng Zarni and his enthusiasm for bringing me here today to discuss one of the most important issues of our lifetime.…
One of the greatest challenges facing Sri Lanka today is to restore its image in the realm of human rights. There’s not a day that goes by without the media highlighting war…
The gates of the 59 Division Mullaitivu Security Forces Headquarters dominate the view 10 kilometres inwards from the Nandikadal lagoon and the Eastern coast. The protest tent a few metres away appears…
366 days (as of 20th Feb) is a long time to be at a 24 hour roadside protest. That’s how long Tamil families of disappeared in Kilinochchi have been there. In the…
“Do you have anything that reminds you of your son/daughter/husband/grandchildren? Something that they used?” Mother/Father/Wife/Sister/Grandmother: “I have, son. I kept it safely. I washed my son’s blood-stained shirt, and kept it with…
November 6 marks the deadline for candidate applications for the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). The signing of the Office of Missing Persons gazette drew praise from the UN, with United Nations Secretary-General António…
