Sri Lanka wants the world to forget about justice for war victims

‘Fresh evidence has emerged of the use of cluster bombs against Tamil civilians during the last phase of the war.’ Photograph: Tamilsagainstgenocide.org  In October 2015 the government of Sri Lanka co-sponsored, along with the US, a resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, which was adopted at the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council. However, this very same government has since been backsliding from implementing its own commitments, promises and obligations made at the UNHR...

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The First Christmas Without Our Santa Claus: Remembering Dietrich

Dietrich has been described at times as Santa Claus. And because of this, during the festive season, Dietrich would become more special a person. This is the first Christmas we are going to celebrate without his physical existence. Dietrich was a kind, thoughtful and great human being. As far I am aware, his punctuality and time-keeping was to the second, from starting classes on time to taking a quick nap while his vehicle stopped at the traffic light! Unfortunately, we could not delay his final departure. We never thought that death would come to Dietrich so quickly. As my friend Mark wrote: Dietrich never liked to be late for anything....

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Challenges Ahead: Sri Lanka's mass atrocities and international justice

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”-  Edmund Burke Elections and the Engineers of Mass Atrocities  Sri Lanka, a country currently under international scrutiny for its violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law during the final phase of the war in Mullivaaikaal in the country’s north, is preparing for its seventh presidential election scheduled to be held on 8 January 2015. Three consecutive resolutions concerning wartime mass atrocities and accountability in Sri Lanka were adopted respectively in March 2012, March 2013 and March 2014 at the UN Human Rights Council....

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Sri Lanka: War remembrance, reconciliation and non-violent resistance

May 2014 marked the 5th year of the brutal end of the armed conflict in the island of Sri Lanka. The foremost stakeholders of the final phase of the war, the Tamil nation, the Sinhala nation and the international community seem to have different interpretations of the disturbing developments, unfolding since the last phase of the war. In its narrative, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) keeps obstinately insisting that they liberated the Tamil people from the grip of terror. Though, this year marks the 5th year of the cruel end of war, what it actually means for the Tamil people and the reality on the ground totally contradicts the GoSL narrative....

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Is South Africa’s Model Of TRC A Trap Or Trajectory For Sri Lanka?

Background Three days after the armed conflict in the island of Sri Lanka came to a bloody end, the UN Secretary General visited parts of the war zone. At the end of his visit he told the media, “I have traveled around the world and visited similar places, but this is by far the most appalling scenes I have seen.1”  In a joint statement with the President of Sri Lanka, he also underlined the importance of an accountability process for addressing violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL)2. At the time, many international stakeholders from the West also claimed they believed the end to...

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My Question and the President’s Silence

Today, I asked the following question to the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa during a Twitter interaction. Mahinda Rajapaksa @PresRajapaksa: This is the first time we are doing this. There may have been technical lapses. Lalith Weeratun...

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