2009: The State of Human Rights in Sri Lanka

The world Human Rights Day was on the 10th December. The event passed in Sri Lanka without anything to celebrate in terms of any kind of positive achievements in the area of human rights. In fact, looking for human rights in Sri Lanka is becoming increasingly like looking for water on the moon or in the desert. Read more>>> 

The international significance of Sri Lanka’s emerging police state

The rapid moves by the Sri Lankan government towards a police state not only spell danger for the working class on this island, but are a warning to workers around the world. As debt crises erupt in country after country and governments encounter resistance to the savage austerity measures being demanded by international finance capital, the anti-democratic methods of President Mahinda Rajapakse are an advance notice of the measures that will be used elsewhere. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: One year after the LTTE’s defeat

One year ago today, the Sri Lankan military completed its seizure of the last scrap of land held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, with the massacre of all the top LTTE leaders—some of whom were attempting to surrender. It was the final act of a criminal war that had been prosecuted ruthlessly by successive Colombo governments for a quarter century to suppress the democratic rights of the island’s Tamil minority and divide the working class. Read more>>>

Sri Lankan military court convicts former army commander

A Sri Lankan military court convicted former presidential candidate and army commander General Sarath Fonseka last Friday of “engaging in active politics while in uniform”. He will be stripped of his military rank, medals, honours, pension and other benefits, and be barred from military installations. The following day, President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also defence minister and commander-in-chief, ratified the court’s sentence. Fonseka rejected the verdict and indicated that he would appeal. Read more>>>

My Father Has Scars To Prove His Work; by Apsara Fonseka

Almost two weeks ago, after six whole months of illegal detention and many court cases, my father’s first court martial case convicted him of doing politics while in uniform. I must say, this did not come as any surprise to us since we knew that the verdict was written by this regime a long time ago. We knew our father would be found guilty until proven innocent, not the other way around. But the fact that we were not even given a chance to argue the case in court was not something we expected. Many probably don’t know that the case was heard and closed without even having our lawyers present – we did not even have a chance to bring forth our evidence. Read more>>>

Rajapakse Vengeance

" The Rajapakses, having gained a world have a world to loose. That is why they react with such ‘fear and vindictiveness’ to anyone they consider to be a threat to their Familial Rule and Dynastic Project. The Rajapakses, like all political parvenus, are uncertain about their grip on power and thus very jealous of it. " Read more>>>

Sri Lankan government prepares major constitutional changes

Just two months after parliamentary elections, the Sri Lankan government is preparing a series of far-reaching constitutional amendments that will further entrench President Mahinda Rajapakse in power and enhance his autocratic methods of rule. Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne presented the proposed amendments for cabinet approval on June 9 and revealed last week that the changes will be presented to parliament in the coming weeks. Underlining their anti-democratic character, the changes will be introduced as an “urgent bill” under a rarely used constitutional clause, effectively blocking public discussion. Read more>>>

Sri Lankan SEP condemns opposition candidate’s arrest

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) unequivocally condemns the arrest of defeated opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka. His detention by military police on Monday night is a fundamental attack on democratic rights that foreshadows the consolidation of a police-state regime under President Mahinda Rajapakse. No charges have been laid against Fonseka, who resigned from the military last November to contest the January 26 presidential election. The various accusations levelled by government spokesmen are riddled with contradictions—that he divulged state secrets, conspired to overthrow the government, and planned to assassinate Rajapakse and his close advisers, including the president’s brothers. Read more>>>

Sri Lankan government uses emergency laws to charge former presidential candidate

President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Sri Lankan government has invoked its draconian emergency regulations to lay serious criminal charges against the defeated president candidate, ex-Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka. The laying of the charges against Fonseka, who is also a member of parliament, after holding him in military custody for more than five months, is not only a move to silence him. It is yet another indication of Rajapakse’s increasingly totalitarian measures as the government prepares to impose severe austerity measures on the working class and poor. Read more>>>

Armed mob sets fire to Sri Lankan TV/radio station

In the early hours of July 30, an armed mob stormed the Siyatha TV and radio station in central Colombo, and set fire to the premises. Two station employees and a security guard were injured. The attack is part of a continuing campaign of violence and intimidation by pro-government thugs, acting in collusion with the country’s security forces. No one has been arrested, despite police claims that they are carrying out “extensive investigations”. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: UN Rights Council Fails Victims

The United Nations Human Rights Council on May 27 passed a deeply flawed resolution on Sri Lanka that ignores calls for an international investigation into alleged abuses during recent fighting and other pressing human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. The council held a special session on May 26 and 27, 2009, on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, a week after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by government forces. "The Human Rights Council did not even express its concern for the hundreds of thousands of people facing indefinite detention in government camps," said Juliette de Rivero, Geneva advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "The council ignored urgent needs and wasted an important chance to promote human rights." Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: World Leaders Should Demand End to Detention Camps

World leaders in New York for the United Nations General Assembly and the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh should call on the Sri Lankan government to immediately release more than 260,000 displaced persons illegally confined in detention camps, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch said it was concerned about a lack of protection mechanisms in the camps and the secret, incommunicado detention - and possible enforced disappearance - of suspected combatants. Poor conditions, overcrowding, and inadequate medical care increases the risk of serious health problems during the coming monsoon season. Human Rights Watch also said that the authorities are not being open and honest with camp residents about when they may go home, keeping them in a state of uncertainty and anxiety. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: Government Breaks Promises That Displaced Can Go Home

The Sri Lankan government's recent statements that it aims to return only 100,000 of the original 273,000 displaced civilians confined to camps by the end of 2009 breaks a promise to camp residents and the international community, Human Rights Watch said today. In May, the government announced that 80 percent of the displaced people would be able to return home by the end of the year. Since the end of the fighting in May, the government has released or returned fewer than 27,000 people, leaving about 245,000 civilians in the camps. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: End Indefinite Detention of Tamil Tiger Suspects

The Sri Lankan government should end its indefinite arbitrary detention of more than 11,000 people held in so-called rehabilitation centers and release those not being prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 30-page report, "Legal Limbo: The Uncertain Fate of Detained LTTE Suspects in Sri Lanka," is based on interviews with the detainees' relatives, humanitarian workers, and human rights advocates, among others. The Sri Lankan government has routinely violated the fundamental rights of the detainees, Human Rights Watch found. The government contends that the 11,000 detainees are former fighters or supporters of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Read more>>>

Joint statement by un Secretary-General & Government of Sri Lanka

Following is the joint statement by the Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations at the conclusion of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Sri Lanka on 23 May: At the invitation of Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, paid a visit to Sri Lanka. During the course of his visit, he held talks with the President, Foreign Minister as well as other senior leaders of Sri Lanka. During his stay, he also consulted other relevant stakeholders, members of international humanitarian agencies and civil society. The Secretary-General visited the internally displaced persons (IDP) sites at Vavuniya and overflew the conflict area, near Mullaitivu that was the scene of the conflict. Read more>>> 

Sri Lanka: New Evidence of Wartime Abuses

New evidence of wartime abuses by Sri Lankan government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the armed conflict that ended one year ago demonstrates the need for an independent international investigation into violations of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Recently Human Rights Watch research gathered photographic evidence and accounts by witnesses of atrocities by both sides during the final months of fighting. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: Execution Video Shows Need for International Inquiry

A disturbing video recently provided to the media showing the apparent summary execution of prisoners by Sri Lankan soldiers underscores the need for an international commission of inquiry into possible war crimes committed by both sides during the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said today.
The video shows men in Sri Lankan army uniforms firing assault rifles point-blank at two naked, blindfolded, and bound men sitting on the ground. Eight other bodies are visible on the ground nearby, all but one unclothed. According to Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, a multiethnic exile organization, the video was taken by a soldier with a cell phone in January 2009. Read more>>> 

Sri Lanka: Government Proposal Won’t Address War Crimes

The Sri Lankan government's suggestion that a newly announced commission will provide accountability for laws-of-war violations during the armed conflict with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is yet another attempt to deflect an independent international investigation, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch urged United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to take steps to ensure accountability through an independent international investigation into the alleged laws-of-war violations. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: US War Crimes Report Details Extensive Abuses

A US State Department report on possible violations of the laws of war in Sri Lanka made public on October 22, 2009 shows the need for an independent international investigation, Human Rights Watch said today. The report details violations of the laws of war committed by both government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from January through May 2009. "The US State Department report should dispel any doubts that serious abuses were committed during the conflict's final months," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Given Sri Lanka's complete failure to investigate possible war crimes, the only hope for justice is an independent, international investigation." Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: US Report Shows No Progress on Accountability

A US State Department report released on August 11, 2010, shows that Sri Lanka has not yet conducted an effective investigation into laws-of-war violations by government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the final months of the war that ended in May 2009, Human Rights Watch said today. The report states that one post-war government inquiry was "ineffective" and that a second inquiry, just under way, raises concerns about its mandate and composition. Read more>>>

Sri Lanka: New Evidence of Wartime Abuses

New evidence of wartime abuses by Sri Lankan government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the armed conflict that ended one year ago demonstrates the need for an independent international investigation into violations of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. Recently Human Rights Watch research gathered photographic evidence and accounts by witnesses of atrocities by both sides during the final months of fighting. Read more>>>

Sri Lankan house-maid returns from Saudi with 24 nails inside body

A Sri Lankan housemaid has returned home from Saudi Arabia with 24 nails embedded in her body after allegedly being tortured by her employer, officials said Wednesday. A government minister said police were investigating a complaint from L. T. Ariyawathi, 49, that her Saudi employer tortured her and drove nails into her body as punishment. Read more>>>

MUSLIM MADRASAS (Talibanisation Centres) - implications for Sri Lanka

Muslim Madrasas in several countries, have been identified today, to be education and training centres of Muslim fundamentalism, extremism and violence, especially those in Muslim dominated countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistan alone has more than 13,000 mandasas of which many are said to be promoting Muslim fundamentalism and extremism. It is noteworthy that Madrasas have been banned in several non-Muslim countries. It is widely reported that some Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders have obtained radical political views at Madrasas. Read more>>>

A Radical Approach to Pakistan's Economic Crisis

‘Roti, Kapra aur Mukan' (food, clothing and shelter)! This has been the selfless slogan of the PPP rulers since the party was founded in the 1970s. Yet with the delivery of the new budget Pakistan's rulers have come bearing gifts of a totally different but not of an unexpected kind; new tax rises, public spending cuts and electricity price increases to name but a few.  Read more>>>

The Pogroms in Kyrgyzstan

Successive governments have failed to address ethnic tensions in the south or even to admit their existence. Many features of the 2010 violence strongly resemble the last round of bloody ethnic clashes, in 1990. One of the most striking differences, however, is that twenty years ago, a large number of elite Soviet troops were deployed in the region for six months to normalise the situation. This time, a weaker government facing a greater challenge has refused any external help, unrealistically arguing that it can handle the situation itself. Read more>>>

£300m earthquake aid 'misused by Zardari’ of Pakistan

More than £300 million in foreign aid for victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake has been diverted by President Asif Zardari's government to other causes, officials have told The Daily Telegraph. Read more>>>

The floods reveal the good in the Ummah and the evil in her rulers

As July ended and August began, during the monsoon seasons of Pakistan, heavy rains caused rivers and lakes to burst their banks, dams to be overwhelmed by the sheer weight of water, sending great flash floods which swept away the houses, bridges, roads and electricity power lines in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and Southern Punjab, with Charsadda, Nowshera, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Swat and Shangla included amongst the worst hit areas. Thousands have been drowned and hundreds of thousands are now under the bare sky, starving and thirsty, now facing death through waterborne diseases of the stomach, such as cholera and typhoid. Read more>>>

Two Sri Lankan opposition MPs cross over to government

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse took a step toward his goal of achieving a two-thirds parliamentary majority, and the ability to amend the constitution, when two opposition parliamentarians joined his ruling coalition on August 5. The constitutional amendments being prepared are designed to further entrench Rajapakse in power and legitimise his anti-democratic methods of rule. Read more>>>

Where is Zaradari's priority in Pakistan?

Pakistan is once again in the midst of another crisis. Floods triggered by the heavy monsoon rains have left a trail of destruction throughout the country. Images of children and women submerged in waist deep water have beamed around the world. They now face hunger and disease. Read more>>>

Ramadhan Mubarak

Once again, by the grace of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, we welcome the arrival of the blessed month of Ramadhan in which we fast and sacrifice in order to seek closeness to our Lord. We pray that He accepts our Siyaam and Qiyaam and forgives our sins and mistakes. This is a time when we recite the Qur'an and ponder over its meanings. It is also a time when we think of our brothers and sisters across the world who are fasting with us - most especially those who face hardship -such as those overcome by the floods in Pakistan or those imprisoned in Gaza and occupied elsewhere. Read more>>>

The “humanitarian” campaign for the war in Afghanistan

The US media has launched a full-scale effort to suppress growing popular opposition to the war in Afghanistan, using one-sided propaganda about Taliban atrocities to conceal the murderous character of the American intervention. Beginning with the cover of Time magazine, showing a young woman mutilated by her Taliban husband, the media blitz now focuses on the killing of 10 medical aid workers Friday in the northeastern province of Badakhshan. Six of the ten were American citizens. Read more>>>

A call on Muslims to strengthen call for Khilafah in Pakistan

Pakistan is beset by crises. Floods have devastated the north and west. Thousands have been killed and millions have been made homeless. The threat of disease is impending. This is on top of the existing poverty and hardship for ordinary people. Read more>>>

Secularism (Vs Islamic Ideology)

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Sri Lanka Kataragama Muslim's Temple (Devalaya) Annual Function & ‘Shame’ for the Sri Lankan Muslims

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Obama and the Politics of Troop Withdrawal

On Wednesday 3rd August 2010 Barack Obama in a speech to a packed audience at the national convention of the Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta, Georgia, confirmed the end of all combat operations in Iraq by the end of August 2010. The thrust of Obama's speech was the fulfilment of his campaign promise to end the Iraq war, which was a defining feature of his 2008 candidacy. Read more>>>

Obama threatens Iran

The US campaign against Iran’s nuclear program is a political fraud. Washington has mounted no such campaign against nuclear-armed India, because it views the Indian army as a US strategic asset in the region. In the case of Iran—seen by Washington as a strategic adversary—the country’s nuclear industry, which Iran insists is for only for energy, becomes a pretext for a US campaign to isolate and beat it into submission.



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Opposition to Afghanistan war mounts as US intensifies offensive

Popular hostility to the Afghanistan war among the American people has hit a record high, even as the US military launches a major new offensive and the Obama administration warns that few US troops will be brought home next year.

The latest Gallup opinion poll released by USA Today shows support for the Obama administration’s war policy has fallen to 36 percent, down from 48 percent in February. Moreover, a record 43 percent say that it was a mistake to launch the war, which began in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington DC and was sold to the American people as retaliation against terrorism. Read more>>>

US-China tensions over South China Sea

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s provocative stance at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) security forum last month, where she voiced opposition to China’s claims in the South China Sea, has inflamed another global flashpoint. Her comments came just after the Obama administration announced it would proceed with a major US-South Korean naval exercise off the Korean Peninsula, despite strong protests from China. Read more>>>

US naval exercise heightens tensions in Asia

A large-scale US-South Korean naval exercise that begins Sunday in the Sea of Japan near North Korea has inflamed tensions in what has been for more than half a century a dangerous flashpoint in North East Asia. Both North Korea and China have voiced their opposition. Read more>>>

Drums of War: Israel and the “Axis of Resistance”

The Israeli-Lebanese border is exceptionally calm and uniquely dangerous, both for the same reason: fear that a new round of hostilities would be far more violent and could spill over regionally. ''Drums of War: Israel and the “Axis of Resistance”, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines developments since the indecisive 2006 confrontation. It focuses on the de facto deterrence regime that has helped keep the peace: all parties now know that a next conflict would not spare civilians and could escalate into broader regional warfare. However, the process this regime perpetuates – mutually reinforcing military preparations; enhanced military cooperation among Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hizbollah; escalating Israeli threats – pulls in the opposite direction and could trigger the very outcome it has averted so far. Read more>>>