UN chief appoints Sri Lanka war crimes panel
UN chief Ban Ki-moon Tuesday set up a panel to investigate allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka during the government’s war against the Liberation Tigers, a UN spokesman said. The three-strong panel would be chaired by Marzuki Darusman from Indonesia, the UN’s special envoy for North Korea, and hoped to complete its work in four months, AFP reported. The other two members of the panel are human rights expert Yasmin Sooka from South Africa and Steven Ratner, an expert in international law of war from the United States. Mr. Ban launched the investigation “to advise him on the issue of accountability with regards to any alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka.”
Floods threaten camp detainees: SL Govt’s failure to free them Worsens Situation
“The government bears full responsibility for the situation in the camps, locking families up in squalid conditions and then blaming aid agencies for their plight is downright shameful,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Who will fill K.P.’s vacuum?
The Tamil diaspora does not appear to be much perturbed over the arrest of K.P alias Kumar Pathmanathan. There are also no signs of chaos and confusion among them going by the announcements made from time to time. It is indeed something intriguing and baffling why the Diaspora which stages demonstrations on even trifles is keeping silent on this issue.
Monsoon onset raising fears for Sri Lanka war‐displaced – Reuters
The onset of monsoon rains in Sri Lanka is raising fears for the safety of thousands of war‐displaced Tamils after rain flooded camps, ruined shelters and caused sewage to overflow, aid workers said on Tuesday.
Around 280,000 Tamils are being held in Manik Farm camp in the Indian Ocean island’s north, after government forces defeated Tamil Tiger separatists and ended a 25‐year civil war.
Vaiko wants children named Prabhakaran
Seeking to virtually challenge the State government on its ‘no support to banned outfits’ notification, MDMK supremo Vaiko on Tuesday appealed the people of Tamil Nadu to name the newborn babies as Prabhakaran.
Sri Lanka to maintain defence budget – Gotabhaya
The Sri Lankan government plans to keep up record defence spending despite its recent victory over Tamil rebels that ended nearly four decades of fighting, Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse has said. Adding that the military needed to be modernised and payments made on hardware bought on credit.
UN Chief failed during Lankan visit – Norwegian diplomat
Norway’s UN Ambassador Mona Juul has criticized United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s leadership style including his role during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, where she maintained he had failed in his capacity as UN leader, the Oslo daily Aftenposten reported Wednesday.
TRO honors the memory of humanitarian workers
On this, the inaugural “World Humanitarian Day”, Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) honors the memory of humanitarian workers throughout the world who have laid down their lives in selfless service to those affected by war or natural disaster, said a press release by TRO on Wednesday.
USTPAC honor the humanitarian workers killed by the Sri Lankan government since 2005
Today is the first Commemoration of World Humanitarian Day; USTPAC, US Tamil Political Action Council issued a media release in rememberance and to honor the 105 humanitarian workers who have been killed by the Sri Lankan government since 2005.
This year, on August 19th, the international community will pay tribute to the brave humanitarian workers who devote their time and energy to come to the rescue of innocent victims of war and natural catastrophes across the world. (2009 Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation.)
None left to take over LTTE ‐ Karuna
Rebel turned politico Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan aka Karuna Amman, speaking to Daily Mirror online, said that there is no one left to take over the reigns of the LTTE, following the capture of Kumaran Pathmanadan (KP) and that now the outfit was virtually extinct.
