HRW have launched a report based politically motivated sexual assaults in custody continue in Sri Lanka. the report was lounchin in the HRW office in London today calls

Full article attached Thanks HRW

Sri Lanka: Rape of Tamil Detainees
Politically Motivated Sexual Assaults in Custody Continue Since Conflict
(London) – Sri Lankan security forces have been using rape and other forms of sexual violence to torture suspected members or supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. While widespread rape in custody occurred during the armed conflict that ended in May 2009, Human Rights Watch found that politically motivated sexual violence by the military and police continues to the present.
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The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is hosting a Conference to mark its 3rd anniversary with a cross-section of international speakers, who will share their perspectives highlighting the ground realities in Sri Lanka. We hope the conference will provide the much needed support for an International Independent Investigation into War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and genocide against Tamils, and a venue change for CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka.

GTF was founded in 2009 by the British Tamils Forum (BTF) along with 13 other country organisations around the World; since then GTF has drifted from its founding principles and a collective decision making approach. At present only 5 country organisations are part of GTF;Nine country organisations are excluded from decision-making process for over 18 months.
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Independent has published an article based on the new channel 4 documentry awiting to be release this week with the 22nd United Nations human rights council session in Geneva. The photos and article supports the affidefit by a senoior army official who is in US seeking political asylam.

Please find attached full article from Independent
Handed a snack, and then executed: the last hours of the 12-year-old son of a Tamil Tiger
Photographs show boy was held before he was killed at close range.

Warning: Some may find the second image in the accompanying gallery distressing

New photographs have emerged which raise fresh questions about the conduct of Sri Lanka’s armed forces during the final stages of the operation against Tamil rebels and have led to claims the 12-year-old son of the militants’ leader may have been summarily executed.

A series of photographs taken a few hours apart and on the same camera, show Balachandran Prabhakaran, son of Villupillai Prabhakaran, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). One of them shows the boy sitting in a bunker, alive and unharmed, apparently in the custody of Sri Lankan troops. Another, a few hours later, shows the boy’s body lying on the ground, his chest pierced by bullets.
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London/Toronto/Washington D.C.

The British Tamils Forum, the Canadian Tamil Congress, and United States Tamil Political Action Council acknowledge the Report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which emanates from United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 19/2. While welcoming High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay’s continuous commitment to human rights in Sri Lanka, the use of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) as a framework against which to measure progress is a grave mistake. The LLRC’s fundamental and well-documented flaws preclude its position as the authoritative institution regarding accountability in Sri Lanka.

High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay reaffirmed: “her long-standing call for an independent and credible international investigation into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, which could also monitor any domestic accountability process.” The strength of the High Commissioner’s recommendations underscores the seriousness of the human rights situation, and adds to the volume of credible reports undertaken by the United Nations, including the Secretary Generals Panel of Experts Report and the UN Internal Review on the failings of the UN in Sri Lanka.

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65Years since independence – who benefited?

The British Tamils Forum (BTF) and the Tamil Solidarity (TSol) jointly organised a campaign launch at the Queen Mary University in London on the 4th of February with students, activists, Tamil organisations and trade unionists targeting Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) 2013 in Sri Lanka, and multinational companies investing in Sri Lankan state’s structural genocide of Tamil Nation.

The two parts sessions, with discussion and action plan to bring together enthusiastic youngsters, Trade unionists, Tamil organisations and other progressive thinkers, all under one roof. All the delegates and attendees were highlighting the current disastrous political situation in Sri Lanka, where a hidden form of genocide has been executed for decades, since the independence in 1948. Read More

British Tamils Forum deplores the statement by Rt Hon Alistair Burt, Minister in charge for Sri Lanka, intimating that the conflict has ended.

On his highly controversial trip to Sri Lanka, Minister Burt is seen giving an interview on the    beaches of Mullivaikkal, with John Rankin, the British High commissioner in Sri Lanka, in which he repeatedly states that the conflict has ended in Sri Lanka.

Full interview YouTube video link attached [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKBMSeO2Uyc]

Mullivaikal, a coastal village in the north east corner of the Island of Sri Lanka was where over 40,000 Tamils were massacred in just the final few days of the war in 2009. Gordon Weiss, a UN spokesman during the war described this as the “Srebrenica Moment”

British Tamils forum’s Parliamentary Coordinator Nad Mylvaganam conveying the feelings of the Tamil people said “The insensitivity at the choice of the place for his interview and the manner, in which he refers to the conflict as a thing of the past, has incensed Tamil people who are still mourning their loved ones massacred on those beaches. Minister Burt’s untimely visit undermines the efforts of Human Rights defenders who are working hard to hold the regime to account”

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Following are the excerpts of a telephone interview by Oru Paper with Ravi Kumar coordinator of British Tamils Forum.

Oru Paper: Your recent conference which was held in the British parliamentary complex was attended by some leading figures in the Tamil Polity, both in our homeland and abroad. However, there were mixed reactions about the conference from the diaspora. Are you satisfied with the outcome of the conference and the progress on the follow ups?

Ravi: It has been organised on a timely manner as part of our strategic initiative. We want to be proactive on pushing the struggle forward rather than reactive. Since May 2009 BTF’s human rights team in partnership with other country organisations has made significant inroads globally and in UNHRC Geneva. We understand that there will be a review process in the 22nd session of UNHRC which will give us an opportunity to expose further the Genocidal Sri Lankan state. We want to win friends for our struggle all around the world and elevate our just cause into the important global institutions. We have special relationship with Tamils in Tamil Nadu and other countries. A united call by the global Tamils through various responsible organisations representing 75 million Tamils would help to refocus our call for Justice.

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UK deeply concerned by move to impeach Sri Lankan Chief Justice, MPs raised question in the parliament on Jaffna University Students’ arrests, UK’s representation in CHOGM 2013 and Alistair Burt’s visit to Sri Lanka:

Published: 11 January 2013, Policy: Promoting human rights internationally, World location: Sri Lanka.

United Kingdom calls on Sri Lankan government to respect democratic principles and safeguard Chief Justice and legal profession. Commenting on the Sri Lankan Parliament’s vote today to impeach the Chief Justice, a Foreign Office spokesperson said:

“The British Government is deeply concerned by the impeachment proceedings against Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. We share the concerns already expressed by many people in Sri Lanka over both the process and related reports of the intimidation of members of the Sri Lankan Bar Association. The motion to impeach the Chief Justice runs contrary to the clear rulings of Sri Lanka’s highest courts and the proceedings appear to contravene basic principles of fairness, due process and respect for the independence of the judiciary and the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles.
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Sri Lankan State is systematically suppressing the defiant voice of Tamil people in the Island of Sri Lanka. Continuous attack on University Students, Press and systematic suppression of Tamil political leadership must be stopped immediately.

Jaffna University Students arrests, recent attack on Uthayan Daily News distributer, Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division’s (TID) summons to the leader of Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and raid on Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian S Shritharan’s constituency office were systematic and calculated attacks to suppress the last remaining defiant voices of Tamils in the Island of Sri Lanka.

The British Tamils Forum urges Her Majesty’s Government to exert serious diplomatic pressure on Sri Lanka. The last week’s impeachment of chief justice has once again highlights the grave dangers of evolving Sri Lankan dictatorship.
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Ahead of the March 2013 UNHRC session Lee Scott MP calls for ‘justice for Tamil people’ on widely cerculated newspaper in London. please see the full text from the Ilford Recorder.

Ilford North MP Lee Scott spoke in a debate on Tuesday over how the UK can encourage the government to start a full inquiry. The United Nations has estimated that up 40,000 civilians were killed during the last few weeks of the conflict, which ended in 2009.

The Sri Lankan army has been accused of war crimes against the Tamil population during the conflict between the government and separatist group the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers, classified by some countries as a terrorist group, were also accused of atrocities including using child soldiers, ethnic cleansing, executions and using civilians as human shields.
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