tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87559811358141056782012-02-29T15:02:49.887ZSri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.comBlogger347125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-26825422861780750882012-02-29T15:02:00.000Z2012-02-29T15:02:49.898Z

‘I watched a little baby die today. Absolutely horrific…This is happening over and over and over…It is shelling with impunity and merciless disregard for the civilians who simply cannot escape… No-one here can understand how the international community can let this happen.’ This was the foreign correspondent Marie Colvin’s last report, from the besieged Syrian city of Homs, heard just hours

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-89331883800375818352012-02-23T08:23:00.013Z2012-02-26T20:10:47.782Z

The 19th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) is just round the corner, starting next Monday. On its first day, the delegate for Sri Lanka will be addressing the HRC during the High Level Segment, and will be due to speak at 3:30pm (2:30 pm GMT). The Government of Sri Lanka will use its speech to paint Sri Lanka as a land without major issues that need to be addressed and where domestic

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-52182168183554386142012-02-21T17:58:00.000Z2012-02-21T17:58:41.586Z

Access to land in the North and the East has been one of the most controversial and politically sensitive post-conflict issues in Sri Lanka. In November 2011, the Government of Sri Lanka (more precisely the Ministry of Land and Land Development) published a “land circular” (titled “Regulating the Activities Regarding Management of Lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces’ Circular No: 2011/04)

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-74602809344645300412012-02-18T18:08:00.004Z2012-02-18T18:33:41.236Z

The National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (NHRCSL) aims to protect and uphold human rights standards in Sri Lanka. However it is not fit for purpose, either by design (Sri Lanka’s draconian 18th amendment taking away any notion of its independence) or by its actions (seemingly only the meek and unquestioning achieve high office within the organisation).This was demonstrated in a recent

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-1038503273800659782012-02-11T15:38:00.001Z2012-02-11T17:22:03.018Z

Late last year Sri Lanka launched a "national action plan". We weren't impressed and so we wrote a report about it.You can read it hereTo quote our conclusion:".... all these measures’ effectiveness is undoubtedly limited when one considers the likely membership of the Committees and Commissions that will implement them. Sri Lanka has a long and sordid history in which such commissions have been

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-65417711452512122922012-02-03T12:43:00.001Z2012-02-03T12:44:50.462Z

SECRETARY-GENERAL UNITED NATIONS NEW YORK, NY 10017Dear Secretary-General,I write to follow up my letter of 2 June 2011 on the subject of the United Nations Panel of Experts' reporton accountability issues in Sri Lanka.Since I wrote, you have shared the report with the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a move we were very pleased to commend you for. But sadly the President has

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-36510008304222358132012-01-25T13:01:00.002Z2012-01-25T13:18:56.520Z

Today has been chosen to mark Black January, a memorial for all the attacks on the media that have occurred in the month of January in the past three years, and the failure of the government of Sri Lanka to bring to account those responsible for attacks on numerous journalists. The Sri Lankan Free Media Movement, and the International Federation of Journalists are leading the campaign.To mark the

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-1924812980086589562012-01-16T15:32:00.004Z2012-01-16T16:49:15.773Z

In October two mid-ranking politicians within the Sri Lankan ruling coalition exchanged gunfire in broad daylight – killing three. In November, in front of the President, MPs from the same ruling coalition ran across the floor of Parliament to punch opposition lawmakers in the face. And in December Sri Lankan politicians were again in the news, with tragic results.Khuram Shaikh Zaman was 32 and

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-90443831388479160042012-01-08T19:35:00.007Z2012-02-14T10:31:51.411Z

This is the third post in our three part series on the rights of Hill or Plantation Tamils.The first is available here. All three of these posts take material from a report by Home for Human Rights. “Without access to continued education, people on the estates miss out on opportunities for new careers, economic advancement, and intellectual development. Likewise, estate workers and their

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-1924277969697339602012-01-08T19:02:00.006Z2012-02-14T10:31:28.690Z

This is the second post in our three part series on the rights of Hill or Plantation Tamils. The first is available here. All three of these posts take material from a report by Home for Human Rights. "Unfortunately, the importance of the tea industry to the Sri Lankan economy has not helped to secure a reasonable standard of living for most estate employees." - Home for Human Rights Under

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-20486884245550996442012-01-04T21:32:00.002Z2012-01-15T11:18:55.892Z

On December 10th 2011, human rights day, a group of 42 Human Rights Defenders (HRD's) and political activists from the South of Sri Lanka were detained by police in the Northern town of Jaffna. Groundviews pick up the story here, and there is a summary below.Despite events marking Human Rights Day being tolerated in Colombo, Kandy and Kurunegela; in Jaffna, a predominantly Tamil town, the

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-5282257927499836602011-12-23T12:07:00.005Z2012-01-15T11:19:53.163Z

The Government of Sri Lanka's long awaited investigation into the end of the civil war, the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), is finally out. At a first read it appeared to be the whitewash we all feared and subsequent detailed study has not changed that view. Amnesty International,theInternational Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Freedom from torture, Sri Lankan commentators

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-61062141943042385002011-12-18T23:05:00.003Z2012-01-15T11:20:50.100Z

URGENT ACTION FEARS FOR MISSING SRI LANKAN ACTIVISTS Sri Lankan political activist s Lalith Kumara Weeraraju and Kugan Muruganandan have been missing since 9 December . They were arranging a press conference for the following day to publicize a protest . Lalith Kumara Weeraraju ’s family received a phone call saying that he hadbeen killed. Lalith Kumara Weeraraju and Kugan Muruganandan were

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-40876921766922413972011-12-16T19:12:00.003Z2012-01-15T11:21:15.509Z

Commenting on the release of the Govenment's Lessons Learned And Reconcillaition Comission report Fred Carver, Campaign Director for the Sri Lanka Campaign for peace and justice, said "On a first read it's the whitewash we all feared but sadly had come to expect. "Given the LLRC's flawed methodology we should not be surprised that it is a flawed report. The 388 pages of waffle, denial, and

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-45139681540867081042011-12-09T13:28:00.008Z2012-02-14T10:31:02.919Z

"This systematic pattern of authority-sanctioned coerced sterilizations may amount to an intentional destruction ... of the Tamil estate population." - Home for Human RightsWhilst it is easy to suggest that the plight of the Tamils of the North and East of Sri Lanka deserves the most attention in light of the bloody end to the civil war, such a generalization is misleading and dangerous. No

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-23255318888513629782011-12-08T10:51:00.003Z2012-01-15T11:23:14.852Z

The concluding observations of the Committee Against Torture (CAT) have officially been released to the public by the UN Human Rights division – and they do not make for comfortable reading for the Rajapaska regime.Committee Experts, Ms. Felice Gaer and Mr. Alessio Bruni, drew attention to numerous reports of torture and ill-treatment in Sri Lanka throughout the numerous sessions; most notably

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-91102991867167757182011-12-07T12:52:00.005Z2012-01-15T11:24:22.140Z

Only weeks after the shoot-out between politicians Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and Duminda Silva that left Premachandra dead, another altercation took place on Monday the 21st, this time within the seat of power.(Original photo courtesy of AP via MSNBC)Members of Sri Lanka’s ruling party, the United People’s Freedom Alliance, attacked the opposition who were protesting inside parliament about

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-73181372116930199412011-11-30T23:04:00.006Z2012-01-15T11:29:03.710Z

This winter, we've teamed up with Amazon to allow you to do your Christmas shopping - or any other shopping for that matter - from behind your computer while raising money for a good cause - us!Under Amazon's "affiliates" scheme, when you shop using Amazon on our recommendation, we get at least 5% of everything you spend, at no extra cost to you - It's Amazon's way of thanking us for encouraging

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-8622521624510097982011-11-25T12:56:00.002Z2012-01-15T11:29:42.339Z

The recent Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice ‘Sink The Seminar’ campaign had a fantastic response from concerned individuals around the world. Over 6,000 messages were sent to the 25 invited Governments via our campaign website. They were demanding that their Governments not whitewash the reputation of Sri Lanka's military for brutality and rights abuses – as documented in the United

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-54093458065363065792011-11-24T13:53:00.004Z2012-01-15T11:31:41.535Z

Gotabhaya "Gota" Rajapaksa the Defense Secretary, Presdent's Brother, and arguably most powerful man in Sri Lanka made an extraordinary speech today in which he claimed that the Sri Lankan Government had, as part of its census, conducted a survey into how many people had been killed in the civil war. He also admitted for the first time that human rights abuses may have taken place or, as he put

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-51267604224645953012011-11-22T22:27:00.002Z2012-01-15T11:32:07.519Z

On 8 October, in the Kolonnawa district of Sri Lanka's commercial capital, Colombo, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, minor political party leader an adviser on trade union affairs to the Sri Lankan president, was killed in broad daylight during a shoot-out with a group led by another parliamentarian, Duminda Silva, a Colombo district MP who had worked closely with Gota Rajapaksa.Our Chair,

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-73149266105166552102011-11-20T13:13:00.003Z2012-01-15T11:32:35.078Z

Here is the executive summary of the United Nations Panel of Experts' report into accountability in Sri Lanka translated into French & Spanish. We believe it is the first time the report has been translated into these languages.Spanish:Queridos amigos,Os adjunto el resumen ejecutivo del informe del Grupo de expertos de las Naciones Unidas sobre la rendición de cuentas en Sri Lanka traducido al

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-82023366308834849332011-11-17T18:45:00.007Z2012-01-15T11:34:23.051Z

The Government of Sri Lanka announced some weeks ago that it would raise defence spending by over 5% in 2012, allocating 230 billion rupees ($2.1 billion) for 2012, up from 215 billion rupees ($1.92 billion) estimated for 2011. This is almost double the combined expenditure on health and education which constitute only 3.3 % and 2.5% of total spending. Whilst most governments today are

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-90780115325116897222011-11-15T21:51:00.004Z2012-01-15T11:34:58.625Z

The official body of the UN that reviews allegations of torture, the Committee Against Torture (CAT) met this week to discuss Sri Lanka and the Government did not have an easy ride.It was always going to be tough for Sri Lanka after twelve different organisations submitted detailed reports as to how torture is endemic throughout the island. Most damning of all was Freedom from Torture (formerly

Sri Lanka Campaignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574289771194815160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755981135814105678.post-42176273417352871522011-11-11T17:46:00.003Z2012-01-15T11:36:03.863Z

After last month's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting prompted fresh calls for war crimes investiations, Sri Lanka has ramped up its diplomatic PR drive by announcing the release of a National Plan of Action for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The only problem is that nobody seems to have seen it.Minister for Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe announced on 6 October that the

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