“UPFA Admits To Massacres And Use Of Cluster Bombs In The Last Phase Of War” by Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

“Both Douglas Devananda and EPDP MP Chandrakumar, during public speeches, virtually admitted to the massacres of and use of cluster bombs on civilians during the last phase of the war in Mullivaikal.

Responding to President Rajapakse’s claim to fame for ending the war, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga had countered that she had been the one to capture 70% of LTTE territory. Claims of being responsible for winning the war have also been made by General Sarath Fonseka who had been army commander during the last phase.

via: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/upfa-admits-to-massacres-and-use-of-cluster-bombs-in-the-last-phase-of-war/

“From jungle to urban labratories” by Sinthujan Varatharajah

“While watching Al Jazeera English’s coverage of the bombings in Shujaiya, Gaza, together with my father, we saw tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. My father had tears in his eyes at the sight of an older Palestinian father who was evidently in shock, unable to walk, and in need of being carried by his son in order to flee from Israeli bombs. “They are like us”, my father said. It’s the same bombs and jets, I replied.
The military-industrial complex is international, transnational and multilateral. It connects oppressed peoples all over the world through arms trade, military co-operations, and engineered forms of violence that are replicated all over the globe, as well as informed by each other. These aren’t isolated and discrete events, which fail to carry global repercussions. The bombs dropped upon Tamil people five years ago were carried by jets and pilots trained by the very army that occupies and oppresses the Palestinian people. While Sri Lanka rendered the villages and jungles of the Vanni into a military laboratory, Gaza has similarly become a global testing zone for urban mass-violence and the legal impunity of Israel. Indeed, Gaza and the Vanni lie politically and militarily much closer together than one would suppose, much closer than geography would allow.”

via: http://diasporaland.tumblr.com/post/93223988627/from-jungle-to-urban-labratories

“Sri Lanka, retour sur un massacre oublié” par Mark Bradley

“La semaine dernière à Genève, le Conseil des droits de l’homme des Nations unies a adopté une résolution visant à faire la lumière sur des crimes de guerre commis entre 2002 et 2009 au Sri Lanka. Entre autres, l’extermination de 40 000 à 70 000 civils, selon les estimations de l’ONU, très majoritairement des Tamouls, par l’armée gouvernementale durant les derniers mois d’une guerre qui a ensanglanté ce pays de l’océan Indien durant plus de vingt-cinq ans, un massacre que le gouvernement de Colombo a toujours nié.”

via: http://www.ledevoir.com/international/actualites-internationales/404152/sri-lanka-retour-sur-un-massacre-oublie

source: www.ledevoir.com

“Tamil doctor ‘was pressured to recant war reports by Sri Lanka'” by Saroj Pathirana

A doctor who worked in Sri Lanka’s combat zone in the final days of the civil war has told the BBC he was forced by the government to recant his claims about casualty figures.

Via http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26670691?SThisFB

source: www.bbc.com

“Fury in Sri Lanka at U.S. Embassy Tweet on Killing of Tamils” By Robert Mackey

The Sri Lankan ministry of defense expressed shock and anger on Friday at what it called a “baseless allegation” against the nation’s military in a photo caption posted on the official Twitter feed of the United States Embassy the day before.

Via http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/fury-in-sri-lanka-at-u-s-embassy-tweet-on-killing-of-tamils/?emc=edit_tnt_20140110&tntemail0=y&_r=0

source: thelede.blogs.nytimes.com

“From Sri Lanka, questions about wars” by Praveen Swami (The Hindu)

The real question in the debate over India’s Sri Lanka policy isn’t whether it is pragmatic or ethical. It goes, instead, to the heart of the ethics of the wars our country fights, and will fight in years to come”

via: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/from-sri-lanka-questions-about-wars/article5368610.ece

source: www.thehindu.com

“Do you approve of this?” by Shiromi Pinto (Livewire)

Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict in 2009. Civilians were caught in the deadly conflict with nowhere to run. When the injured tried to get help they found hospitals deliberately shelled.There’s still been no independent investigation into these alleged war crimes.
Sri Lanka is hosting Commonwealth leaders this November – make sure they speak out and don’t approve of Sri Lanka’s actions with their silence: http://bit.ly/1866Y89

source: Amnesty International