2 abducted, youth reported missing in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 August 2007, 06:50 GMT]
Unidentified armed men in a white van and on motorcycles forcibly abducted Sunday night two persons in two separate incidents in Koapay and Kantharmadam, in Jaffna respectively, according to complaints made by family members to Jaffna Human Rights commission (HRC) office. Meanwhile, family members of a youth from Chu'n'naakam in Jaffna complained to the HRC that the youth had not returned home after going to collect his National Identity Card (NIC) confiscated by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers Saturday.


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Right to Protect

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 August 2007, 01:01 GMT]
Gareth Evans, President, International Crisis Group, in the eighth Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture at International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) , Colombo, 29 July said "The State has a primary responsibility to protect the individuals within it. Where the state fails in that responsibility, through either incapacity or ill-will, a secondary responsibility to protect falls on the wider international community. That, in a nutshell, is the core of the responsibility to protect (R2P) idea" and that "Sri Lanka is anything but an R2P."
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Japan's aid not conducive to peace in Sri Lanka - Sampanthan

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 July 2007, 19:38 GMT]
R. Sampanthan, parliamentary group leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has said that the decision by Sri Lanka's major donor country Japan, to continue economic aid to Sri Lanka, will soften the International pressure on the SL government to seek a political solution and strengthen Colombo to pursue the military option. Pointing out Sri Lanka President's categorical statement that there would be no change in his policy on a "unitary structure of a government" with the "district as the unit of devolution," Mr. Sampanthan dismissed the efforts of All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) as "no more than a mere pretense" to show some action is being taken towards political solution.
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IIGEP faults Commission of lacking Independence, Timeliness

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 June 2007, 09:42 GMT]
International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), in a report released to the President of Sri Lanka on 1st June on the President’s Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to Investigate and Inquire into Alleged Serious Violations of Human Rights, said: "We have identified and raised a number of concerns with the Commission and the Government of Sri Lanka. We remain concerned that current measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Commission to address issues such as the independence of the Commission, timeliness and witness protection are not adequate and do not satisfy international norms and standards."
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India: Sri Lankan Navy attacking Tamil Nadu fishermen

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 May 2007, 12:11 GMT]
The Indian government said Wednesday that it “is aware that a number of fishermen from Tamil Nadu are being attacked and killed by Sri Lankan Navy.” In a written response to a query in Parliament, India’s Defence Minister, Shri AK Antony, noted: there have been incidents of firing on Indian fishing boats in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar area and recently slight increase in such incidents has been noticed.” The Defence Minister did not comment on recent accusations by Tamil Nadu Police that Tamil Tigers had also fired on fishermen.


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‘The gun is silencing the pen’ – Jaffna journalists

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 May 2007, 11:49 GMT]
Following the recent murder of another journalist in Jaffna by suspected Army-backed paramilitaries, the Journalists Union there has appealed to the international community to defend media freedom in Sri Lanka. Despite international media watchdogs’ disquiet over threats to Sri Lankan journalists, paramilitaries are openly threatening media workers and civil society activists in the northern peninsula, reporters say. The journalists appeal was supported this week by an appeal to the government signed by the Tamil Nationalist Alliance (TNA), Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil party.
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Ambassador Boucher visits Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 May 2007, 10:15 GMT]
Ambassador Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Affairs, accompanied by US Ambassador in Colombo Robert O' Blake, arrived in Palaali in Jaffna district around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday by a special flight. Mr. Richard Boucher held discussion with the Sri Lanka army high officials in Palaali military headquarters and at 11:15 a.m. he met with the Jaffna Government Agent K.Ganesh at the latter's office located in the Jaffna district secretariat and discussed about the ground situation in the peninsula. Government officials also attended the discussion.
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Two Tamil youths abducted in Colombo

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 May 2007, 10:09 GMT]
In two separate incidents, unidentified men who came in white vans abducted two Tamil youths in Colombo city Tuesday night, according to complaints made by relatives at Wellawatte and Kotahena police stations, sources said. Both youths are natives of Jaffna.
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SLA threatens Jaffna media to censor news of student abductions

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 May 2007, 02:03 GMT]
"I strongly condemn the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) personnel intimidating the Jaffna media not to publish any news of the student agitation calling for the immediate release of the four students. This is a gross violation of the freedom of the press," S. Gajenthiran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna parliamentarian said.
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3 High School students abducted in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 May 2007, 15:28 GMT]
Three students studying advanced level in two prominent high schools in Jaffna were forcibly abducted Friday night from their homes by armed men arriving in white vans, according to complaints filed by the parents of the students with the Jaffna Human Rights Commission offices. Two are students at Jaffna Hindu College and the third student attends St.John's College.
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Police powers to military, licence to torture, says Rights Group

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 April 2007, 08:49 GMT]
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Thursday warned that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's recent declaration of delegating police powers to the Sri Lanka military would pave the way for the re-emergence of torture chambers inside Sri Lankan military camps similar to those of late 1980s when more than 30,000 persons disappeared. "The re-emergence of such a situation should be frightening to the citizens of a country which has seen such a situation in the past. Under the present circumstances the emerging situation can be even worse," the AHRC said.
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SLA troopers fail to appear for Court trials in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 April 2007, 02:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) personnel, involved either as the accused or witness in cases of abductions, killings and other such criminal allegations, fail to appear for the scheduled trials in the courts in Jaffna peninsula, causing numerous indefinite postponements of the cases, legal society sources in Jaffna said. The SLA Commander will act in consultation with the Attorney General, in case Magistrates handling such cases resort to punitive measures, SLA legal sources said.
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Britain’s Liberal Democrats back Amnesty’s Sri Lanka campaign

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 01:38 GMT]
Britain’s third largest political party, the Liberal Democrats, came out strongly Tuesday in support of Amnesty International’s campaign to promote independent human rights monitors in Sri Lanka and called on all sides to respect international human rights and humanitarian law. The party said one of its MEPs, Saj Karim, Liberal Democrat Member of the Human Rights Committee, has tabled a key amendment to the annual European Parliament report into Human Rights.
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HRW urges Pope to discuss human rights with Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 08:48 GMT]
The Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, Tuesday, urged Pope Benedict XVI, to raise the deteriorating human rights crisis in Sri Lanka with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is visiting Vatican this week. Sri Lankan military and police forces, as well as proxy armed groups, are engaged in serious violations of the laws of war and human rights, reiterated Human Rights Watch in the letter.
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Jaffna residents reluctant to return due to insecurity- Bishop

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 April 2007, 11:02 GMT]
"Of the more than 55,000 residents of Jaffna peninsula who left the peninsula in ships and planes seeking safety and refuge outside the peninsula, nearly 65% of them have not returned because of the escalating number of killings, abductions, forced disappearances, threat to lives, intimidation, harassment and restrictions in the peninsula," Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam said, in a statement to media Sunday, following his participation along with the representatives of the People's Committee for Justice and Peace (PCJP) in meeting with the Jaffna Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri.


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‘There is no ceasefire agreement with LTTE’ - Gothabaya

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 April 2007, 17:02 GMT]
There is no ceasefire between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government and the 2002 agreement was only being left in place to satisfy the international community, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said Tuesday. "There is no cease-fire agreement. There is no meaning in that," said Rajapakse, who is the brother and a close-confidant of President Mahinda Rajapakse told the Associated Press. He vowed to attack the LTTE’s northern strongholds, saying “it’s not good for the military to have relaxed periods.”
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Karuna threats prevent Batticaloa MPs from visiting electorates

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 April 2007, 11:57 GMT]
"Due to death threats from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) backed Karuna group in Batticaloa district, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians representing constituencies in the district have not been able to go to their electorates for the last six months, affected parliamentarians said. Batticaloa MPs have been unable to even participate in high level planning meetings where the district's urgent needs are discussed and decisions taken,TNA parliamentarians told media Sunday.
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Two Tamil youths abducted in Kadawatte, Peliyagoda

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 April 2007, 10:45 GMT]
Unidentified persons who came in white vans abducted two Tamil youths, one at Kadawatte and the other at Peliyagoda on Wednesday last week. Pathmanathan Pratheepan, 23, native of Mattakuliya and a resident of Peliyagoda was abducted at Peliyagoda junction after being assaulted and the other Ramiah Jeyakanthan, 24, resident of Wattala at Kadawatte junction when he was travelling in a bus, parents said in their complaints lodged with the police stations concerned, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC).
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LTTE, GoSL must work for sustainable peace- Jaffna Bishop

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 April 2007, 10:55 GMT]
Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Savundara- nayagam in his Easter Message delivered Thursday said: "In the perilous climate where abductions, disappearances and killings have become normal occurrences, people in Jaffna are leading a life filled with fear and mental trauma. Many are seeking danger-filled ways to escape from this open prison. The Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers must work with sincerity to arrive at a honourable, sustainable settlement to the conflict."
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UN fact-finding team in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 April 2007, 22:38 GMT]
A team of four persons representing UNHCR, UNICEF, Sarvothaya, Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka and Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka arrived in Jaffna Monday on a fact-finding mission with the aim of submitting a special report to the UN Security Council’s Action Committee regarding the deteriorating child rights situation in the Peninsula, civil society sources in Jaffna said.
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