Archive for Human Security
April 28, 2008 at 8:54 pm · Categories: English, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Mannar, Peace and Conflict | by CHA
My mother in law, age 55 is from Kalliyaddy, Mannar, (an LTTE controlled area) came to live with her daughter, who is married to me in Sinnakarishal, Pesalai on 15.01.08. Kalliyady is in LTTE controlled area with around 500 families. Life there has been extremely difficult for her and during the latter stages even more difficult. It is mandatory that a member of a family join the LTTE in their struggle. However, my mother in law managed to get her daughter out of the LTTE controlled area and gave her in marriage to me.
She was adamant that she will not give her other daughter to join the LTTE and thought it was best to flee Kalliyaddy with her 25 year …
April 19, 2008 at 8:15 pm · Categories: English, Human Rights, Human Security, Peace and Conflict, Politics | by Ruki
If we knew the government will put us in an open prison, we would not have come, it would have better to die in the Vanni” Man being held in Kallimoddai after fleeing Vanni to “cleared” areas
Last year, I had helped a boy from Killinochi who was arrested in Pettah and kept in inhumane conditions, worse than a caged animal, in Welikada Prison. Treatment that should not be given to even a convicted criminal, though in this case, the boy was a suspect, the basis for suspicion being him being a Tamil and coming from Killinochi. He had fled the Vanni, as he feared recruitment by the LTTE. But only to fall prey to Sri Lankan security forces and suffer …
April 9, 2008 at 8:51 am · Categories: English, Human Rights, Human Security, Mannar, Peace and Conflict | by Ruki
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Ruki Fernando of the Law and Society Trust speaks about the present situation in Mannar, Sri Lanka.
Click here for the video in Sinhala and here for more videos from Vikalpa Video.
For more articles by Ruki on the embattled North and East of Sri Lanka, click here.
April 8, 2008 at 2:21 pm · Categories: Colombo, English, Human Rights, Human Security, Peace and Conflict, Politics | by Benita Sumita
By Benita Sumita
“Beware of suspicious looking objects” – this is a commonly heard public announcement these days in airports, markets and metro stations from New Delhi to London to downtown Chicago. One cannot escape the voice of the sweet lady reminding us of the volatile and precarious times we live in. There is a sense of constant caution. However in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the reminder is more personal with a visit from your friendly neighborhood cop (mostly to offices and commercial establishments). I have quietly sat through one of these sessions. In a 45-minute talk in Sinhala by your friendly neighbourhood cop you are also reminded of the terror and backlash that led to the bloodletting of the 1983 anti-Tamil …
March 30, 2008 at 8:27 am · Categories: Batticaloa, English, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Peace and Conflict, Politics | by CHA
By K. Ratnam
It is as if the city of Batticaloa has become a red hot furnace due to the scorching sun. Yet at high noon there is a pall of gloom that hangs over the city. People who have come to attend to their requirements are wandering about hither and thither in a mighty hurry to get back as if a storm were expected any time.
It is likely their only objective is to achieve their needs and leave the city as fast as possible.
What is happening in Batticaloa these days?
If the Government is asked this question, a probable response would be: “these days we are sowing the seeds of democracy.” In other words, they hope to widen the limits of …
March 28, 2008 at 1:05 pm · Categories: Colombo, English, Human Security, Mannar, Peace and Conflict | by CHA
An armed group abducted my younger brother this month. He was 25 years old. They came in a van in early February at around 8.30 in the night.
I am the eldest son in my family and I returned to Mannar after my marriage. After one year I told my parents to come down to Sri Lanka since a ceasefire agreement was signed between LTTE and the government. They returned to Mannar after 12 years from India.
As soon as he was abducted I informed the ICRC, FCE, Citizen Committees and CHA. My abducted brother is the youngest in our family. He neither knows nor has any connection with any militant group.
Yet he was abducted.
We searched all over but we could not …
March 28, 2008 at 7:51 am · Categories: English, Human Security, Jaffna, Peace and Conflict, Politics | by CHA
Puthiyavan
A recent survey conducted by a social organisation in Savatkadu, Anaikodai Jaffna under a the supervision of a psychiatrist, revealed the silent suffering of generations who’ve witnessed the war first hand.
The killings, abductions and disappearances that take place daily have contributed to decades of mental agony which are finally taking its toll in the manifestation of an aggressive society.
The survey revealed that the majority of young widows had lost their husbands due to killings or abductions. All the young widows were with mental depression.
Their children in the age group of 1- 10 years displayed signs of stubbornness, urinating in the bed, and pain in the limbs. However it was indicated in the survey that these disorders were purely psychological impacts …
February 28, 2008 at 8:33 pm · Categories: English, Human Security, Jaffna, Peace and Conflict, Politics | by groundviews
The current socio-economic, political and ground situation in Jaffna from a resident in the embattled region in the North of Sri Lanka as captured by Vikalpa Video.
Also see Present situation in Jaffna: A video interview in English and Sinhala.
February 22, 2008 at 7:16 pm · Categories: Colombo, English, Human Rights, Human Security, Peace and Conflict | by groundviews
Member of Parliament and Convener of the Civil Monitoring Committee, Mano Ganeshan, speaks about the rising abductions of Tamils in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
For this interview in Sinhala, click here.
For this interview in Tamil, click here.
For more videos, please visit the Vikalpa Video Channel here.
February 14, 2008 at 5:51 pm · Categories: Colombo, English, Human Rights, Human Security, Media, Peace and Conflict, Politics | by Nalaka Gunawardene
13 February 2008, Colombo: Earlier this week, a leading Sri Lankan photojournalist was detained, questioned and released by police for taking photographs near a well-known Colombo school.
According to news reports, Associated Press (AP) photographer Gemunu Amarasinghe was apprehended by a group of parents who formed the school’s civil defence committee. They had handed him over to soldiers on duty near by, and he was briefly detained by the Narahenpita police.
It is not clear exactly why the experienced and credentialed photojournalist had to undergo this treatment. This might seem a minor incident in the context of highly dangerous conditions in which Sri Lankan journalists operate today. It was only a few days earlier that the World Association of Newspapers ranked …
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