Search Results for: LTTE

Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]

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The Sri Lankan government announced Friday the establishment an independent Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation through an act introduced in Sri Lanka’s Parliament. The government stated that the commission is intended to “ensure an inclusive process in developing legislation that strengthens and safeguards national unity through truth, transitional justice, reconciliation, reparation and social cohesion.” The [...]

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Last week, Tamils in Sri Lanka and across the globe observed Maveerar Naal, an annual commemoration honoring fallen Tamil separatist soldiers of the Sri Lankan Civil War. In the aftermath of their observance, the Sri Lankan government conducted widespread arrests against Tamils who had participated. By November 30, the government had arrested at least 10 [...]

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In the summer of 1983, ethnic violence swept the island nation of Sri Lanka. Known as Black July, the outbreak of communal violence between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority communities left thousands dead and hundreds missing. Four decades later, the legacy of the violence lives on, searing Sri Lanka‘s social and political landscape. This [...]

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For years, Sri Lanka has occupied the international spotlight for one of its contentious laws—the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The PTA was introduced in 1979 during the Sri Lankan Civil War using the emergency law provisions in Part II of the Public Security Ordinance. While similar laws exist in other nations, showing widespread acceptance [...]

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Australia’s new interim Home Affairs minister Friday announced that a Sri Lankan family detained by immigration authorities since 2018 will be granted new visas and be permitted to return to their home in the Australian town of Biloela. The Murugappan family was detained by the Australian Border Force after their asylum application was rejected and [...]

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The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) on Wednesday released a report detailing incidents of torture by Sri Lankan police and military against political prisoners, just days ahead of a UN summit on human rights. The ITJP took statements from 15 ethnic Tamilians who were illegally detained and tortured since the government of former defense [...]

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For hundreds of years, India has been a refugee haven. It has provided asylum to Jews who have been persecuted around the world, as well as to thousands of Sri Lankan-Tamils who have fled their homeland owing to the army-LTTE conflict. Apart from them, India has taken in Tibetans, Afghans, and migrants from various other [...]

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