Monthly Archives: May 2012

Judges sentence Charles Taylor to 50 years for supporting Sierra Leone rebels in civil war

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands— Judges at an international war crimes court sentenced former Liberian President Charles
Taylor to 50 years in prison Wednesday, saying he was responsible for “some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history.”
The 64-year-old warlord-turned-president is the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World […]

By Washington Post | Published on May 30, 2012 at 8:36 pm

SRI LANKA: Former Tiger fighters battle for a normal life

BATTICALOA, 28 May 2012 (IRIN) – Three years after Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war ended, thousands of former fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) face an uphill battle in re-establishing themselves, despite government efforts to
rehabilitate them.
“I’m struggling a lot economically. I don’t regret the loss of the LTTE, but I wish there […]

By | Published on May 29, 2012 at 6:55 am

Govt must build on Ranil’s initiative to bridge gap with TNA and revive dialogue

Black mark
When assessing the government’s post-war performance it is the issues of accountability on human rights issues and a political
solution to the ethnic conflict that take the international centre stage. On both of these counts the Government of Sri Lanka would fare poorly in international estimation. The governmental decision to reject a request by the […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on May 29, 2012 at 6:41 am

Wars are not gentlemanly affairs: Sri Lanka shouldn’t fear int’l probe

Wars are not gentlemanly affairs. They are won by the most ruthless and aggressive side. Surely, no army has ever triumphed
without some acts of savagery perpetrated in the heat of battle by frightened soldiers who know they must kill or be killed.
War crimes are less about such slayings, deplorable though they are, but more about […]

By | Published on May 26, 2012 at 9:41 pm

Amnesty International Human Rights Report 2012

The government continued to arbitrarily detain, torture or ill-treat people and subject people to enforced disappearance. It failed to address most instances of impunity for violations of human rights and humanitarian law. The government rejected repeated allegations of war crimes committed by both sides of the conflict that ended in 2009, prompting Amnesty International to […]

By Amnesty International | Published on May 25, 2012 at 7:44 am

US State Department Human Rights Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Sri Lanka is a constitutional, multiparty republic. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was reelected to a second six-year term in January 2010, and the parliament, which was elected in April 2010, share constitutional power. The government is dominated by the president’s family; two of the president’s brothers hold key executive branch posts as defense secretary […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on May 25, 2012 at 6:39 am

The Fonseka release, Rajapakse strategy and international pressure

The news of the presidential pardon for former army commander Sarath Fonseka which could see him free from prison would be welcomed by most Sri Lankans regardless of their political persuasions. At the time of his imprisonment it was scarcely possible to
believe that the former army commander who had been hailed by the government as […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on May 21, 2012 at 7:50 pm

Let the army make it next time

In bigger barracks
2 JUNE 2011: IN THE run-up to Vesak, the holiest day in the Buddhist calendar, which this year coincided with the second anniversary of its victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels, Sri Lanka’s armed forces had plenty to do. The throngs who clogged Colombo’s streets on May 18th for the festival of light […]

By | Published on May 19, 2012 at 8:34 pm

US praises ‘very serious’ Sri Lanka reconciliation plan

The United States said Sri Lanka had on Friday put forward “a very serious” reconciliation …
The United States said Sri Lanka had put forward “a very serious” plan Friday for reconciliation after its 27-year war, and urged the island to move forward on protecting human rights.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris met with Secretary […]

By AFP | Published on May 19, 2012 at 8:25 pm

U.S. “encouraged” by Sri Lanka moves on Iran oil

WASHINGTON– The United States is encouraged by Sri Lanka’s drive to cut its oil imports from Iran, the U.S. State Department said on Friday in a positive assessment of the island nation’s efforts to escape potential U.S. sanctions.
Sri Lanka’s oil minister, Susil Premajayantha, said this week his government expected to avoid U.S. sanctions after cutting […]

By | Published on May 19, 2012 at 8:23 pm