New .
@JDSLanka
report with
@itjpsl
on the command responsibility case against Gotabaya Rajapaksa for 700+ enforced disappearances in Matale from June 1989 - Jan. 1990 when he was the Military Coordinator in charge of the district.
@JDSLanka
Mrs Kamalawathi holding pictures of her 17 year
old son Rohana Nishantha & 18
year old Susantha Janaka both of whom disappeared - "Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa admitted my sons were in their custody &said that they will be released in 3-4 days. But they did not come back."
#torture
survivors express joy after .
@PresRajapaksa
&
@GotabayaR
are sanctioned by
#canada
- “It is a big victory for survivors seeking justice & this sanction announcement gives us hope for our future,” said a man tortured in Joseph Camp in 2012 in
#SriLanka
.
Good news that neither Mohan Peiris of
#srilanka
not Harry Roque of
#philippines
were elected to the UN International Law Commission today, thanks in large part to superb campaigning by groups led by .
@iDEFENDhr
background:
Thank you
#canada
for asking
#srilanka
delegate major general Kulatunga about Joseph Camp & his role in a military inquiry that denied war crimes!
#lka
🙏
Uk MPs meet families of disappeared from
#srilanka
in London to receive a copy of our new report jointly written with .
@JDSLanka
CHRD and FOD by
@MassageIngrid
Recieved hundreds more names & photos of
#disappeared
from
#srilanka
from 2009. It's absolutely heartbreaking to see their faces - this is Rasaiya Chandrakala who is said to have surrendered to the Army on 16 May 09 and disappeared. It's heartbreaking to see these photos.
15 years after the
#srilanka
war ended we are still hard at work trying to bring alleged war criminals to justice - like this universal jurisdiction case we filed in 2017 in Latin America.
We filed a civil damages case in California against Gotabaya Rajapaksa for
#torture
on behalf of a
#canadian
#tamil
victim detained from 2007-10 by
#lka
TID police. Other relevant victims can join the suit. Notice served on Sun pm in Pasadena in Trader Joes' parking lot.
ICYMI - MAP of half a century of
#torture
sites in
#srilanka
(prepared with .
@JDSLanka
).
#lka
Law faculty, cinemas, golf clubs, schools & tea factories.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of
#SriLanka
has appointed an alarming collection of alleged perpetrators of war crimes & bureaucrats previously accused of corruption to his new
#lka
government. See: for links to dossiers on them.
Reupping this photo exhibition on
#srilanka
2009 war on civilians from 10th anniversary reminding ppl that it’s not just corruption that’s a problem in
#lka
but impunity for mass killing.
@JDSLanka
Worth noting
#lka
army chief Shavendra Silva, Sumedha Perera & Jagath Dias were among Gotabaya's commany commanders in Matale in 1989 (acc to GR's biographer now made Ambassador in Geneva!) & ex
#srilanka
IGP Mahinda Balasuriya (deceased) was also there in 89.
We have made two submissions to the UN Working Group on Disappearance (WGEID) which meets end Jan. in Geneva, on
#srilanka
-
1. on end of war surrenders in May 2009;
2. on the JVP era disappearances in 1987-90.
1. May 2009: we submitted a list of photographs of Tamils who
@JDSLanka
"In at least one case, Mahinda Rajapaksa wrote in late 1989 to his brother, Gotabaya, to ask about the whereabouts of a supporter of his political party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), who had been detained, but whose location had not been confirmed."
New report says an estimated 500 Tamils disappeared on/around 18 May 2009 after surrendering to
#srilanka
army - our joint press release with statisticians at .
@hrdag
joint press release: -
full article at
A brief note (in English &
#Tamil
) on LTTE uniforms, dog tags & burials - as background to assist Mass Grave exhumations in
#srilanka
. Compiled with the invaluable help of ex cadres abroad who wanted to support those in
#lka
bravely seeking the truth.
Our new report on
#srilanka
's ex President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's war time role published today - first in Jaffna in
#tamil
- released in English on Tuesday.
[design by .
@T_E_M_P_L_O
]
Thread.
1.This is
#tamil
doctor .
@drvarathan1
giving a TV interview on 23 April 2009 in the war zone in
#srilanka
. He spoke to BBC, Al Jaz. & many others. His team saved thousands of lives.
[He was later forced to flee his country & is now treating Covid patients in the USA].
The
#lka
Tamil community has been an extraordinary case study for tireless community activism in the UK supporting
#humanrights
sanctions submissions & now has organised a parliamentary debate on
#srilanka
for 5 Dec 1430-1600
Our exec director Yasmin Sooka on the need to name, count & remember the dead from the
#srilanka
war a decade after fighting ended.
#lka
Please get involved - more at
Pls collect & send data to the scientists at .
@hrdag
59 cigarette burns on her body -
#tamil
woman among those tortured after Gotabaya Rajapaksa in power - but let’s be clear 178 documented cases of abduction & torture under the ‘good governance’ government too +22 more tortured AFTER .
@UNHumanRights
investigated.
@raad_zeid
Eleven brave
#srilankans
(
#tamil
&
#Sinhalese
) brought a
#torture
case against Gotabaya Rajapaksa in California in 2019 that could be reactivated if he looses his head of state immmunity - read the court dox here - (nb amended complaint in 3 languages).
Our report on
#torture
& sexual violence by
#srilankan
police (including TID) & army - some of it in known police stations - in the last 2 years under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
#lka
.
@UNHumanRights
@JDSLanka
Look at the sites in the town where detention occurred - Gotabaya was based at the Kachccheri building within walking distance of the Vijaya College army camp where disappearances occurred & where he was seen.
Just some of the many detention sites in the district then.
Coalition of leading South African
#humanrights
groups question their government's invitation to
#srilankan
individuals with links to alleged war criminals for study tour on reconciliation & transitional justice.
@FHRRights
A third of
#SriLankan
cabinet ministers were appointed to office this year while they still stood accused of corruption or murder.
#InternationalAntiCorruptionDay
#lka
For more information see Press Release:
Remembering & honouring the role played by .
@iqbals37
in investigating these crimes in the presidential commissions - a true civil servant & patriot who still serves
#lka
in his 80s teaching ppl in the vanni English on zoom! Noting also work of
@MassageIngrid
4
@amnesty
then.
In May 1989, a small district with 357000 population was put under
@GotabayaR
for 8 months.
20 torture & detention sites
700+ disappearances &
1 mass grave with 154 skeletons
What do we know about his past life?
READ the joint report by JDS &
@itjpsl
REINVIGORATING THE FIGHT AGAINST IMPUNITY
#lka
Tuesday 15 Feb 2022 1400 UK, 1930 SL
Join us to discuss the way forward for accountability in
#srilanka
.
Hoping to livestream on .
@JDSLanka
Facebook page in English & the audio in
#tamil
on ITJP twitter feed too.
Huge thanks 🙏🏼to the 7
#tamil
senior doctors who gave up their day & earnings to treat approx 60 recent
#torture
survivors today in London. They were shocked to see ppl tortured as recently as 2018 & said what they heard thru the day was draining with some patients in tears.
@JDSLanka
".. consider the gravity of the atrocities committed under his command within 8 months ..&the fact he was 30 years later elected to lead the entire country, this indicates a serious lack of historical literacy among the Sinhala masses.” says .
@JDSLanka
#srilanka
army commander Shavendra Silva sanctioned by US Government for credible allegations of gross violations of human rights!
Evidence was gathered by ITJP here building on UN investigations -
Alleged war criminal in the National Sports Council for
#srilanka
- & another in the Sports Selection Cmtte. - Does this mean all sports teams from
#lka
are now considered tainted under Leahy Law?
The story of how we & .
@theACIJ
tried to have a
#srilankan
General arrested in
#australia
- the world is shrinking for alleged war criminals - Latin America, the USA, Australia - & other places we won’t reveal yet!
ITJP's 6 briefing notes for Geneva on
#srilanka
#lka
compiled jointly with .
@JDSLanka
now online in
#french
,
#tamil
& English - yet to come in full in
#sinhala
.
1. system crimes, 2. ongoing violations 3. disappearances 4. institutional reform 5. & 6. emblematic cases.
@JDSLanka
The legal section of the report argues the 2nd JVP Uprising was an Internal Armed Conflict - ie IHL applies, which means a universal jurisdiction case could be filed against Gotabaya abroad for his command responsibility role in 1989 disappearances in Matale.
At least 36 Commissions of Inquiry and still counting -
#srilankan
victims say they've had enough - fear & the latest Truth Commission won't be any better.
One third of past inquiries didn't even publish their reports. Many are not available today.
Victims say if he's
#srilanka
Mullivaikkal & Boosa
#torture
survivor: "My wife thought that I had died in the Vanni until she found my name on a list of detainees put together by the ICRC."
Thank you .
@ICRC
once again we hear this story.
Joint research by us & .
@JDSLanka
on the past career of the
#lka
military attache who 3 times made throat slitting gestures at
#tamil
protestors in London.
First photo we have seen from on board one of the ICRC ships evacuating injured from
#srilanka
war zone on 22 april 2009.
#lka
Approx 14k ppl were evacuated this way but many more couldn't get on a ship.
Correction for those in
#lka
who believe the
#whitevans
are now returning in
#srilanka
- they've been there all along abducting
mainly NE
#tamils
who go unnoticed by elite - auto driers, students, labourers, fishermen.
#Torture
.
@UNHumanRights
: “
#SriLanka
remains in a state of denial about the past, with truth-seeking efforts aborted and the highest State officials refusing to make any acknowledgement of past crimes.”
Read the ITJP
@JDSLanka
3-pager on
#lka
systems crimes & failed institutions.
This image drawn by a young
#tamil
student
#tortured
when he went back to
#srilanka
2 years ago - at one point he was so traumatised he very nearly jumped under a tube train in London - now he’s producing pure beauty to counter the evil he faced. Respect!
@JDSLanka
A former detainee, held
at the Vijaya College army camp for eight days, also confirmed in a letter that Kamalawathi’s two sons were detained there.
#srilanka
ex Navy chief designated by USG for gross violations of
#humanrights
.
ITJP did a dossier on him in 2019:
using
#lka
police investigation, victim testimony & insider witnesses.
"I was never told anything as to why I was being detained or for how long. None of us knew any information as to our detention, the reasons for it and its duration." Young Tamil man detained in
#srilanka
's so called 'rehabilitation' camps in 2009 after toenails pulled out.
We & several activists have written to UN experts urging them TODAY to question Major Gen Kulatunga - the
#srilanka
government delegate to the Human Rights committee ICCPR review - who ran an army camp where torture was alleged. He’s now an intelligence chief. .
@UNHumanRights
"When I tried to move away from him he got angry and said ‘You Tamil dog, you are an arrogant Tamil dog, whatever we do to you, no one is going to ask about it’. “ January 2020 male
#torture
victim describing soldier while he was in detention this year in
#srilanka
#lka
Our
#srilanka
photo exhibition "war on civilians" going up tomorrow at Wolfson Gallery at .
@SOAS
. Please come and hear Yasmin Sooka on Friday at 1800 at the Khalili Leacture Theatre and see the exhibition.
Just published - our 100-page dossier on
#srilanka
's new secretary of defence Maj Gen Kamal Gunaratne who was 53 Div commander in 2009
#lka
war & later in charge of "IDP's" & notorious
#torture
site. Also Gajaba Regiment like President & Army Chief.
Top brass
#srilanka
2009 war -
58 Division - Shavendra (pointing) sanctioned today by US Gov.
Jagath Jayasuriya - 2017 case in Latin America by ITJP.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa - 2019 case in USA (withdrawn).
57 Div - Jagath Dias complaint by
@Trial
net closing slowly.
Civil case served on Gotabaya Rajapaksa while on holiday in California.
#Canadian
#tamil
Roy Samathanam filing for compensation for
#torture
. See our press release here:
Families of Disappeared in
#srilanka
call on
#lka
parliamentarians meeting Tuesday to publish names of alleged perpetrators (including the President) from past Commissions of Inquiry that examined JVP Uprising.
See .
@JDSLanka
report with us at
Another ITJP infographic summarising the various information sources regarding estimates for the death toll in the 2009 war in
#srilanka
:
ENGLISH
#TAMIL
#SINHALA
#lka
So much 4 the families of the 11 ppl who disappeared from the
#torture
dungeons at Trincomalee naval base in 2009 under Karannagoda's watch. Acc. 2 court dox, ex Navy Chief Travis Sinniah testified that Karannagoda knew of the Torture site & ordered him NOT to investigate.
Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, the first five-star Admiral produced by the country, receives the ceremonial sceptre form His Excellency the President at the state investiture ceremony held in Colombo today.
@SMODSriLanka
@infodprtsl
#FleetAdmiral
#SriLanka
#lka
This
#mannar
#disappeared
book compiled in
#lka
is a really important piece of work. Kudos to those who put in all this painstaking & heartbreaking work.
#srilanka
#Srilanka
’s new sec of defence Kamal Gunaratne commanded 53 Div. in 2009 - which he called "the very lifeblood of the Army”. They fought from Elephant Pass to Mullivaikkal, where UN says they were involved in accepting surrenders in May when Tamils disappeared or were executed.
Our press release on Shavendra Silva's appointment as
#lka
COAS. “
#SriLanka
now has a chief of army staff who risks arrest every time he travels abroad, if any country is foolish enough to give him a visa,” says Yasmin Sooka. ITJP soon 2 release substantial dossier on Silva.
Our Press Release responding to
#srilanka
President’s decision to appoint alleged war criminal Shavendra Silva as
#lka
Army Chief. Full 137-page dossier at
Instead of lining up 2shake hands with politicians & generals to express their support 4the new government, diplomats in Colombo shd be photographed with the Families of the Disappeared & their brave lawyers to champion their quest 4 the truth &show their continued support.”
The Navy case in
#srilanka
- why do the 11 victims constantly get mischaracterised as 'young men" as here by .
@FT_SriLanka
?
There were two pairs of fathers AND sons abducted. Someone born in 1958 is hardly a youth, even in 2009.
@JDSLanka
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was named by a later presidential commission of inquiry as an alleged suspect in a disappearance case (number 16 of 24 in Matale) & yet no action was taken.
Noting that we have sent a submission to the UN Working Group on Enforced & Involuntary Disappearance for its current session about the role of the
#srilanka
president in hundreds of disappearances in Matale in 1989.
@UNHumanRights
@mbachelet