The London-based Tamil Diaspora organization, Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has expressed dismay that more than eight years after the end of war, Sri Lanka has yet to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to addressing the accountability issues occurred during the brutal armed conflict. The GTF in a statement said that despite twice co-sponsoring UNHRC resolutions calling for comprehensive transitional justice measures, the present coalition government has not lived up to its commitments and yet to take any meaningful steps in this respect.

While acknowledging that Sri Lanka has made some progress, GTF said it is far from adequate. "The lack of progress to-date in many ways is eerily reminiscent of the past when commitments made on political and governance issues concerning to the Tamil people (such as Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam or Dudley-Chelvanayakam pacts) were reneged at the slightest of political opposition," the GTF said. Tamil Diaspora organization further said that a careful comparison of the commitments made and the actions carried out unambiguously shows a glaring disparity.

"No efforts have been made by the top Sri Lankan leaders to integrate credible international participation in the local judicial processes as stipulated in the UNHRC resolutions. The report from the government's own Consultation Task Force (CTF) - set up to recommend transitional justice measures based on country-wide consultations - has remained ignored for more than six months after its official release, reinforcing the impression most Tamils have that setting up Commissions and then discarding their reports is a continuation of delaying strategy practiced by many previous governments." The Office of Missing Persons (OMP), the only transitional justice mechanism Sri Lankan Parliament enacted exactly a year ago, was signed into law by the President only recently and yet to be operationalized.

The GTF statement noted that the mothers of disappeared have been protesting for over five months crying for attention living with the agony of not knowing the fate of their children for so many years. A month has passed since President Sirisena met with the relatives of the missing, but his promise to release any existing lists of surrendered and detained within 48 hours remains unfulfilled. "We fail to understand the obstacles in bringing justice to these mothers, four of whom have died since the vigils started, and the unwillingness on the part of the government to bring closure to this highly emotive issue."

The parliamentary process to ratify Enforced Disappearances as illegal has been indefinitely postponed and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is yet to be repealed, while continuing use of torture to extract confessions is widely reported. Complete elimination of this dreadful practice from Sri Lanka needs leadership from the government which is solely lacking. The government has utterly failed to engage the majority Sinhala community about the need for true reconciliation and the indispensability of transitional justice to achieve that. In fact, a consistent narrative articulating the above and the need for ending the culture of impunity is absent in the political discourse of the country. If Sri Lanka is to enter a new era of respect for rule-of-law and good governance, resolute and consistent efforts are imperative.

Though the GTF commends Sri Lankan Government for allowing external scrutiny of the human rights situation by facilitating visits by various UNHRC Special Rapporteurs, their assessments and reports are unsurprisingly scathing. The latest (July 14, 2017) is from Ben Emmerson, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, who told reporters at the conclusion of a four-day visit: "There is little evidence that perpetrators of war crimes committed by members of the Sri Lankan armed forces are being brought to justice," "None of the measures so far adopted to fulfil Sri Lanka's transitional justice commitments are adequate to ensure real progress" and progress on meeting commitments made under a 2015 U.N. Resolution have ground "to a virtual halt."

A report tabled at the 35th session of the UNHRC (May 2017) by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Diego Garca-Sayn, was again highly critical of the Sri Lankan justice system. The report identified 'continuation of a normative framework based on PTA', 'persisting impunity for any abuses committed by the police or the security forces' and 'the lack of effective victim and witness protection' as key areas where urgent action was needed. Both Special Rapporteurs concluded that it was the Tamil community that was at the receiving end, disproportionately. Various statements released by International Crisis Group (ICG), Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Truth and Justice Project during the last six months also concur with the findings and sentiments expressed by the UN Special Rapporteurs. Clearly stating that Sri Lanka is faltering on its commitments made to its own people as well as to the international community, these institutions have called for re-energizing the process of addressing the war's legacy.

The latest report from the ICG (July 28) highlighted the plight of the Tamil speaking women in the North and East, stating that these women "have been marginalized during the transitional justice process" and called on the government to act "promptly by establishing the offices on missing persons and reparations" to prevent the emergence of "renewed grievance that damage already slim hopes of reconciliation among communities, and between the state and its Tamil citizens." GTF called upon the International Community and the Government of Sri Lanka to take serious note of the impartial assessments made by such eminent organizations and mandate holders, and to recognize that Sri Lanka is truly in danger of losing the momentum in addressing the accountability issues that are critically important at this juncture. The Tamils are seeing the same old political dynamics that has plagued Sri Lanka since Independence and are understandably becoming cynical of the Government. For our part, the GTF would like to reaffirm its commitment to assist in any meaningful initiatives to arrest this dangerous trend.

"It is essential that Sri Lanka take urgent concrete measures that will assure confidence to all its people, and most importantly to the victims, that achieving justice that has been denied for so long is possible." The GTF said.

The Sri Lanka Army has decided to appoint a special investigation committee consisting of 07 senior officers chaired by a Major General to probe the accident that occurred during the Diyatalawa Fox Hill Supercross.

Vice Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Sun Haiyan, is set to arrive in Sri Lanka today for a two-day official visit, as reported by The Thinakaran Newspaper.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that their Consular Affairs Division will be relocated to the new premises at the 16th floor of “Suhurupaya”, Sri Subhuthipura Road, Battaramulla with effect from May 02, 2024.

Two persons have died after police fired at a three-wheeler that was driving in defiance of orders to halt at Millawa in Moragahahena.

A 78-year-old man, Gopal Rao, of Bengaluru, Karnataka, died of a heart attack while he was swimming from Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka to the Dhanushkodi islet in Rameswaram, T.N., on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

The National People's Power (NPP) has officially notified the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) yesterday that they are prepared to hold the proposed debate between NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa on one of the following days: May 7, 9, 13, or 14.

The Catholic Church is planning to present a proposal to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) through several foreign governments and international organizations to initiate an international investigation into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks with a view to mete out justice to the victims of those attacks.

Seven individuals, including a child, lost their lives, and 23 others sustained injuries in a tragic accident at the “Fox Hill Super Cross 2024” racing event in Diyatalawa on Sunday (21). The casualties included four racing event officials serving as flag marshals and civilians who were spectators.

The latest iteration of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) training exercise – CARAT Sri Lanka 2024 will commence with participation by the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and Sri Lanka Navy in Trincomalee today (22).

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who took up the position as the Acting Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) could lose his parliamentary seat, according to the party constitution of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), SLPP MP Tissa Kuttiarachchi said today.

Two racing drivers who participated in yesterday's Fox Hill Super Cross 2024 racing event have been arrested by the police over the accident which killed seven people. The arrested are a 36-year-old racer from Matara and 47-year-old from Mahakanda, Peradeniya.

Fmr Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda met with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval last Friday (19) in New Delhi. Moragoda, the founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, was on a short visit to India and has had discussions with several senior government leaders and heads of think tanks

The Fox Hill Super Cross 2024 racing event, held in Diyatalawa, turned tragic as a race car veered off the track, resulting in the deaths of five individuals and leaving 21 others hospitalized with injuries.

There is a total shortage of 40,000 teachers in schools in the country, General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers' Union, Joseph Stalin said. Addressing the media, he said the shortage of teachers in schools is reported in the Western, Eastern, North-Central, Southern and Uva Provinces.

Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe was appointed as the Acting Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) by the Maithripala Sirisena faction.The appointment was made during an executive committee meeting held at a hotel in Kotte with the participation of former President Maithripala Sirisena.

Prayers were offered at the St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade, led by the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, to mark the fifth anniversary of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks and in commemoration of those whose lives were lost in the terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, another mass was held at the Tewatta Church in Ragama.

A tense standoff unfolded outside the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headquarters on Darley Road in Colombo 10, as a group attempting to enter the party building was met with resistance from the police.

Claiming that people will not vote as a gratitude for goods distributed by politicians, Minister Prasanna Ranatunge said people have already selected Ranil Wickremesinghe for Presidency as he can rescue the country from the economic crisis.

Nalini Kirubakaran, a 38-year-old at the rehabilitation camp for Sri Lankan Tamils in Tiruchi, became the first naturalised Indian citizen from the Kottapattu camp to vote in a general election on Friday.

The Catholic Church has not accepted proposals of the National Peoples Power (NPP) or the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) over the probes into the Easter Sunday attacks, Member of the Communications Committee of the Archdiocese of Colombo, Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando said today.