Posts Tagged ‘Sri Lankan Government’
Protecting Human Rights in Sri Lanka
[Huffington Post] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to India this week offers a vital opportunity for the world’s two greatest democracies to jointly promote their common values supporting freedom and civil rights in South Asia — a region where extremism and China’s influence continues to grow. More specifically, the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue must…
Read MoreWhy should we care about the suffering of Tamils?
[Independent UK] On Tuesday 14 June, a shocking, heart-wrenching documentary was shown on Channel 4. ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’, broadcast just after 11pm, displayed what presenter Jon Snow described as “devastating evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and a powerful case for bring those guilty of these crimes to justice.” [Full Story]
Read MoreThe Silence of Sri Lanka
[New York Times] In April 2009, we travelled together as foreign ministers to Sri Lanka, as 25 years of fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers neared its end. The remaining fighters were trapped in the northern most part of the country — along with large numbers of civilians. U.N. estimates put…
Read MoreWar crimes: The world has seen the evidence. Now we must act
[Guardian UK] The broadcast last week of Channel 4’s Sri Lanka‘s Killing Fields documentary was a defining moment not just for the media, but for those who investigate war crimes. Chronicling the final bloody weeks in 2009 of the country’s civil war which claimed the lives of at least 40,000 Tamil civilians, it captured in sometimes grainy,…
Read MoreSri Lanka: Fears for Tamils deported from UK
[BBC] A BBC reporter said that the deportees were questioned and later released and that they appeared to be a mixture of failed asylum seekers and overstayers. Human rights groups have criticised Britain, saying the mainly Tamil asylum seekers may not be safe. The UK government dismissed the fears. [Full Story]
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