What a lovely photo of Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa’s family that appears in the country’s Sunday Observer newspaper today. I wonder if they drink Tamil blood with a glass of red wine. As the UN releases its report on Colombo’s murder of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians during the country’s civil war – and…
Showing all posts tagged Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is rogue state and killed countless civilians, says UN
Damning: The authorities in Sri Lanka are under mounting pressure to agree to an independent inquiry into a military operation against Tamil rebels, after a UN panel found “credible allegations” that the government committed war crimes and offences against humanity. A leaked report by a team established by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, suggests government…
Dear TIME; are war criminals now worthy of praise?
Bless the corporate media. Here’s the 2011 TIME 100 Poll featuring Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Whoever wrote this blurb clearly doesn’t care about the serious war crimes allegations against his government: Since ending Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long war against the Tamil Tigers in 2009, and grabbing control over once independent institutions like commissions on human…
Thinking very carefully before visiting Sri Lanka
Travelling isn’t an ethics-free zone. The places we visit are imbued with political and social meaning. Tourism in repressive states should be carefully navigated to avoid giving support to the regime (as much as possible). Sri Lanka, still in the grip of a political culture that refuses to acknowledge its massacre of Tamils and ongoing…
What statement on Sri Lankan crimes does; Tamil victims not forgotten
The recent public campaign against the Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka – I signed a statement alongside Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Ken Loach and others – was aimed to highlight Colombo’s gross human rights abuses and lack of accountability after the end of the civil war in 2009. PEN is currently holding a series…
Canberra should ditch Serco and offer support for people not firms
This is what Australia has created. A militarised and privatised system to house asylum seekers. Christmas Island remains in a state of heightened tension. The Australian offers a little more information about the state of dysfunction between the federal government and British multinational Serco: While private security firm Serco has come under scrutiny for understaffing…
Another moment in Australia’s dysfunctional refugee system
A refugee activist from Western Australia writes to me: An Iraqi asylum seeker I visit at a detention centre just got a rejection letter from DIAC [Department of Immigration and Citizenship]. His brother is an Aussie citizen whom I have met while he has been visiting the Iraqi. After waiting 14 months, the government says…
If only Sri Lanka was more like Libya
Very powerful and true letter published in yesterday’s Melbourne Age: I am a Sri Lankan. In 2009, we had the same issue as Libya: Sri Lankan armed forces killed civilians during the fight against the rebels. The Australian Tamils wrote to then prime minister Kevin Rudd to help stop the bloodshed and prevent the innocents…
Tourism is not an ethics-free zone
The corporate press have little memory, so suggesting “hot” places to travel usually ignores human rights abuses in a country. Take Sri Lanka. The New York Times has written before, post the end of the civil war in May 2009, to visit this glorious nation. No comment is made about a nation run by war…
Wikileaks reveals how India helped Sri Lanka win its war against Tamils
India’s The Hindu has the exclusive documents that show the role played by New Delhi during Colombo’s brutal war against the Tamils that ended in May 2009. Nearly two years on, justice is denied to the victims: In the final stages of the war with the LTTE, New Delhi played all sides but discouraged international…