The Colombo government's repression, detention and evasion in the wake of Sri Lanka's civil war highlight the need for an international inquiry into its last days.
In voting last month to approve a $2.6 billion (U.S.) IMF loan to Sri Lanka, the government of Canada squandered an opportunity to press the government of Sri Lanka on its treatment of war-affected civilians following its military victory over the rebel Tamil Tigers in May.
After 25 years of conflict, the defeat of the brutal Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) brought hopes that Sri Lanka’s government would embark on serious efforts to work with moderate Tamil leaders to address the long-standing grievances of the Tamil community, which the LTTE claimed but failed to represent.
More than 6,000 civilians have died in Sri Lanka in the past few months as government forces seek to end the 25-year-long war with the separatist Tamil Tigers.
Death and destruction is replaying like an unending nightmare in the lives of ordinary Tamil people as fighting between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) intensifies in the northern region of the Vanni.
The advance of Sri Lanka's army into the northern strongholds of the Tamil Tigers marks the end of a chapter in Sri Lanka's long civil war. But the conflict's human-rights toll is heavy, says Meenakshi Ganguly.
The Colombo government's repression, detention and evasion in the wake of Sri Lanka's civil war highlight the need for an international inquiry into its last days.
In voting last month to approve a $2.6 billion (U.S.) IMF loan to Sri Lanka, the government of Canada squandered an opportunity to press the government of Sri Lanka on its treatment of war-affected civilians following its military victory over the rebel Tamil Tigers in May.
Today more than 280,000 Tamil civilians displaced from the war zone during the last brutal months of the fighting are locked up in detention camps.
After 25 years of conflict, the defeat of the brutal Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) brought hopes that Sri Lanka’s government would embark on serious efforts to work with moderate Tamil leaders to address the long-standing grievances of the Tamil community, which the LTTE claimed but failed to represent.
I met Neelan Tiruchelvam, a prominent activist who had entered Sri Lankan politics, on my first trip to the island nation 15 years ago.
More than 6,000 civilians have died in Sri Lanka in the past few months as government forces seek to end the 25-year-long war with the separatist Tamil Tigers.
The last stand of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger insurgents appears to be nearing its horrific end.
Instead of applying pressure, the international community has dithered over Sri Lanka. As a result, civilians continue to die.
Death and destruction is replaying like an unending nightmare in the lives of ordinary Tamil people as fighting between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) intensifies in the northern region of the Vanni.
The advance of Sri Lanka's army into the northern strongholds of the Tamil Tigers marks the end of a chapter in Sri Lanka's long civil war. But the conflict's human-rights toll is heavy, says Meenakshi Ganguly.