Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the remark in a meeting with a UN envoy in the capital, Colombo. Steps would be taken to issue death certificates for those missing, a statement from his office said.
Hundreds of families of the missing have been attending rallies demanding to know where their loved ones are. Many had held out hope that their relatives were still alive and in the hands of the security forces, a view rejected by the government.
The war divided Sri Lanka along ethnic lines - pitting the majority Buddhist Sinhalese-dominated government against Tamil rebels who wanted a separate state.
The fighting killed an estimated , people and left about 20,, mostly Tamils, missing. President Rajapaksa was Sri Lanka's defence secretary at the time and played a leading role in crushing the rebels. He is hailed as a hero by many in the Sinhalese population but deeply distrusted by the Tamil community. At the end of the war, the United Nations accused both sides of atrocities, especially during the conflict's final stages.
There were numerous accounts of Tamil forces being killed as they tried to surrender, or after being taken into custody. The government strenuously denied such claims despite compelling video evidence. Enforced disappearances continued in the years after the war as businessmen, journalists and activists seen as opponents of Mr Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda, who was then president, were rounded up and never seen again.
A Tiger suicide squad attacked two naval vessels in the eastern port of Trincomalee, killing 12 soldiers. The Tigers are reported to be the only insurgent group in the world that has its own navy. Also, a military base was ambushed in eastern Batticaloa district; 25 troops were killed while rebel casualties are unknown. The Tigers claim they broke the ceasefire because the government had not met their demands by the April 19th deadline.
For the first time in the year civil war, Tamil rebels used anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down two air force transport plans. All 94 people on board died. Since the LTTE broke a ceasefire, over troops have been killed. Small political parties and those that represent ethnic minorities are worried that proposed electoral reforms could reduce their presence in Parliament. A parliamentary committee is currently considering reforms such as a mixture of proportional representation and the first-past-the-post system.
Government and military sources indicate that in the month since the LTTE broke the ceasefire, well over people have been killed. The military has lost over troops. Three human rights commissions appointed by President Kumaratunga when she took office last November are trying to heal old wounds by acknowledging the disappearances of tens of thousands of people. They are now focusing on mechanisms to punish the guilty and compensate relatives.
At least 30 soldiers, 20 LTTE members, and three civilians were killed in three separate incidents in Batticaloa during the past week. Sri Lanka plans to establish a human rights task force that will monitor arrests and detention facilities. The move follows criticism from Western governments and human rights groups about abuses perpetuated by the country's security forces. The independent human rights group, The Law and Society Trust, states that gross human rights violations e.
A year old girl died when at least nine homes belonging to Indian Tamils on a tea estate in Galle district were torched. A curfew had been declared in Galle the previous day after a mob attacked Tamil shops.
Tamil residents have taken refuge in temples; a Tamil MP contends that the police only responded once most of the damage had been done. Army and navy reinforcements have been called in. The attacks against the Indian Tamils are reported to be in response to last week's murder of a leading Buddhist monk who was an active opponent of the LTTE.
Military sources state that a two-day offensive against a Tiger hideout near Trincomalee resulted in the deaths of rebels. Tourism to Sri Lanka is on the rise, despite a recent bombing at the country's international airport. President Kumaratunga has issued special instructions to the police and armed forces to respect human rights.
Twenty-five unidentified bodies were discovered in Bolgoda Lake and northwestern Kurunegala district during a three-week period in May and June. Amnesty International is calling on the Sri Lankan government to investigate claims that at least 19 civilians were murdered by security forces in the northeast in May.
Some killings reportedly occurred during search operations while others were allegedly retribution for Tiger attacks. The Eelam People's Democratic Party EPDF , a former militant group, is threatening to quit Parliament and thus withdraw its support of the People's Alliance unless the military halts a major offensive in the north. The EPDF's threat follows the recent bombing of a church at Navali, just north of Jaffna, in which civilians were killed.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has announced a new devolution proposal aimed at ending the Sri Lankan Tamil insurgency. Under the plan, the country would be divided into eight administrative regions which would have control over key areas such as land, finance, and law and order. The north and eastern areas, where the indigenous Tamils are concentrated, would be merged into one region, fulfilling a demand long pressed for by the Tamil Tigers.
Rural Industrial Development Minister S. Thondaman, an Indian Tamil, has, however, criticized the plan. He demanded that power in the northeast be given to the LTTE who should be given five years to restore democratic institutions. An Indian Tamil was identified as the suicide bomber who set off a cartload of explosives near Columbo's landmark Independence Memorial Hall.
Police indicate that the target of yesterday's suicide bombing was a motorcade either carrying the President or her Deputy Defense Minister. An international coalition, the NGO Consortium on Relief and Rehabilitation, has called for a political solution to the Tamil insurgency.
The organization also says that many European states, including Russia, and those in the EU, have condemned the recent bombing in Colombo. Authorities report that the financial center of the LTTE has been destroyed. Eight people, including the funds manager of the Tigers, have been arrested by police. The Tigers are one of the world's best equipped groups. They have a makeshift navy, an air wing, mobile radar, anti-aircraft missiles, and a supply of members willing to engage in suicide missions.
Sources indicate that up to 50 Tigers were killed during their assault on a police post just south of Batticaloa. The LTTE is still holding hostages, a week after it hijacked a ferry. The International Committee of the Red Cross is attempted to mediate. For the first time since , Sri Lanka has imposed censorship on military news, in response to what it calls "irresponsible" reporting.
Around Buddhist monks demonstrated in the town of Kandy urging the President to withdraw her devolution proposal. The monks and many other Sinhalese fear the plan could be a stepping stone to an independent Tamil homeland.
At least 20 children were reportedly killed following heavy shelling and aerial attacks in northern Jaffna region. Authorities denied the civilian claims.
The leaders of four Tamil parties in Parliament have expressed serious concern following the recent deaths of 70 people as a result of airforce bombings against the LTTE in the northern Jaffna area. Sri Lanka is amassing tens of thousands of troops, backed by tanks and artillery, in the northern Jaffna region.
The army's latest offensive, Operation Thunder Strike, is being hailed as a decisive effort to end the year Tamil insurgency. Thousands of people in Colombo have fled their homes as two oil depots continue to blaze following an LTTE bombing attack. Tamil Tigers have reportedly hacked 66 people to death in three villages in eastern Sri Lanka. The government states that it will reactivate civil defense forces in order to counter the LTTE threat.
Tamil Nadu has a population of 50 million Tamils. Thousands of civilians have reportedly fled the Jaffna area southward since the launching of Operation Riviresa. The leader of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist party, has thrown his support behind the Tamil Tigers. The Sri Lankan military has captured control over the northern Tiger stronghold of Jaffna.
Around , civilians have fled the area and the city is reported to be in ruins with no power, water, or basic urban infrastructure. The government has pledged to provide funds for demining and reconstruction of the region. Authorities indicate that the army capture of Jaffna signals the end of the Tamil rebellion.
More troops have been deployed in the region to pursue the LTTE which has fled to the east. Government figures show that the Tigers are now down to fighters from their original 12, Some , Tamil civilians who fled the army takeover of Jaffna are now residing in camps in the LTTE-controlled eastern Vanni region.
Meanwhile, some Tamils who remained in Jaffna are now leaving the area, indicating that the LTTE ordered them to leave and regroup at its new headquarters in Vanni. The Tigers assert that they are building 80, houses for the refugees.
In an effort to force refugees to return to Jaffna, the government has halted the payments of state employees. It hopes that Tamil civilians will return once they run out of money. Authorities state that Tamil refugees will be able to return to Jaffna by next April.
Military sources report that more than 60 rebels were killed. Thailand asserts that it has found no evidence to support the Sri Lankan government's claim that the LTTE was using a remote Thai island to smuggle guns and narcotics.
The first police station in 10 years opened in Jaffna. Government sources report that only residents remain in the town. The organization has helped the army in its campaign against the LTTE. An army officer and a civilian were wounded when a member of the Tiger's suicide squad blew himself up. The army confirms the attack but does not indicate the number of casualties. The government officially releases its proposals for devolution. They will be put before a parliamentary select committee on constitutional reforms.
The changes must then be approved by a two-thirds majority of parliament and finally be subject to a referendum. The devolution proposal would change Sri Lanka from a unitary state to a "union or regions" and will be part of a new constitution that also includes the abolition of the executive presidency. The proposal was unofficially released in August and it garnered the support of moderate Tamil political parties.
The major change in today's proposal is that the president would be able to dissolve regional councils if they promote rebellion or violate the constitution. This was likely added to pacify Sinhalese concerns. Sri Lanka has banned imports of the book "Buddhism Betrayed", written by a Tamil scholar. A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber drives a truckload of explosives into the Central Bank building in the heart of Colombo. Over 80 people are killed and some wounded. President Kumaratunga promises to seek a peaceful solution to the Tamil separatist conflict.
The leader of the TULF contends that at least 24 Tamil civilians were killed by soldiers in the village of Kumarapuram in Trincomalee district. The attack was reportedly in response to the LTTE's killing of 2 soldiers earlier in the day. The government says it will launch an inquiry into the incident.
Fearing a possible LTTE attack, the government orders the closure of all schools until further notice. Around Buddhist monks denounce the government's peace proposal. Some Tigers reportedly kill 23 security force members after luring them out of their post in Batticaloa district. President Kumaratunga contends that moderate Tamil politicians are only "half-hearted" in their efforts to sell the peace plan.
Two crude bombs explode in India's southern Tamil Nadu state. No casualties are reported. The government says that some , Tamil civilians have returned to their homes in the northern Jaffna peninsula after the army launched a new offensive in the east. The civilians fled during the army's assault on the Jaffna peninsula in the second half of The LTTE asserts that the army is bombing civilians who are fleeing the east.
Officials indicate that the current campaign, Operation Riviresa II, has resulted in rebel deaths. Switzerland bans some 23,, mainly Tamil, Sri Lankans in its country from buying or carrying guns. India extends its ban on the LTTE for another two years. Currently, there is a state-run Human Rights Task Force that monitors abuses by security forces involving in fighting the Tamil rebellion.
Last year, the government arrested several members of a paramilitary police commando unit that has been accused of abducting, torturing, and killing Tamil youths. It has also curbed the powers of the security forces. A rebel suicide bombing in Jaffna town last week resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers and civilians. More than troops and 34 rebels die. Seven rebel boats are destroyed.
The Tamil Tigers sink a navy gunboat with 40 sailors onboard. The rebel assault on the Mullaitivu army base continues. This was done during the cover of night with a strong military presence.
Additionally, in Mullivaikkal this year, a Hindu temple — Hinduism being predominately worshiped by Tamil people — was demolished to be replaced by a Buddhist temple, which is the primary religion of the Sinhalese majority. These acts are proponents of cultural genocide, as the destruction of Tamil artifacts aims to deemphasise the significance of Tamil Hindu monuments and overstate the importance of Sinhalese Buddhist landmarks.
The best way to encapsulate the Sri Lankan situation for Tamil people in the homeland can be ascertained by how freely Sri Lankan government officials speak about Tamil oppression. The Sri Lankan public security minister Sarath Weerasekera has been very vocal about teargassing and arresting Tamil protesters. We can sue them and confiscate all their vehicles and put them in prison. During the national liberation struggle for Tamil Eelam, Mahinda Rajapaksa was the president and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa — the current president — was the defence secretary.
Back then, under the brothers' term, many war crimes and genocidal acts were committed by the Sri Lankan government. These included the intentional shelling of civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations.
All these war crimes have never been accounted for and there hasn't been any real consequences imposed for these war criminals. So, the re-election of Mahinda and Gotabaya gives Tamils increased fear, as these war crimes have been ignored and there's a continuing implicit threat.
Furthermore, many people in the prime minister's cabinet are war criminals. Some of them have been denied entry into countries — such as Australia and the US — so they've been recognised as war criminals by other nations. Essentially, the highest positions of power in Sri Lanka are occupied by war criminals, who are dogmatically opposed to Tamil rights. The ease of violent speech against Eelam Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka, the arrest of Tamil public figures — such as the mayor of Jaffna — and the continued persistent destruction of Tamil culture has been reflected in Tamil protest in the homeland.
The protest, whilst peaceful, still resulted in police brutality with a year-old participant being arrested and interrogated for six hours. The increasing repressions have essentially caused more civilians to take to the streets and protest for their rights.
However, attempts to simply voice experiences of injustice have been met with brutality and silencing sponsored by the government of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government is using video footage to identify protesters, and this hinders people's right to protest and further escalates the repression of Tamils and other minority groups.
Therefore, these drones are a means to discourage people from protesting and discourage them in fighting for their rights in the future. On the more severe end of the spectrum, they will be used to inflict violence or permanently silence activists and journalists. Primarily, the Australian government should not be supporting the increased surveillance of Tamil people, as it adds to the genocidal process against Eelam Tamils, in particular, making it easier to persecute those who oppose the narrative put forward by the Sri Lankan government.
In regard to the Australian government's track record in dealing with the Sri Lankan government, and, in particular, the Eelam Tamil situation, this country has time and again supported a political relationship for its own vested interest, instead of holding a modicum of value towards human rights and dignity. An example of this was in , when the Australian High Commission denied a visa for General Jagath Dias on the basis of war crimes, because of the documentary Sri Lanka's Killing Fields.
However, the Australian government still supports the Sri Lankan state with these gifts and also works with the regime to stop people seeking asylum. Their narrative is constantly flipping. This quote fundamentally juxtaposes the acknowledgement of war crimes committed by the government in This obvious turnaround in position reflects the superficiality of commitment to the oppressed people of Sri Lanka: Tamil people.
It rather depicts the pandering nature of the Australian government to ensure their border policy is safe. Essentially, Tamil refugees, amongst other ethnic groups, are being treated as if they aren't refugees at all by the Australian government.
Australia has denied visas to Sri Lankan war criminals in the past, however ministers change their narrative to suit their core detention policies. The Australian government has proven that they're willing to promote false narratives about the situation regarding Tamil refugees to ensure that they cannot seek refuge.
So, rewriting the narrative about the situation faced by Tamils helps maintain the Australian state's strong relationship with the Sri Lankan government. From a geopolitical agenda, it serves Australia to have access to the Trincomalee Harbour — a historically valuable port for trade and military purposes — as well as having an ally that will maintain Operation Sovereign Borders.
Therefore, the harsh treatment of Tamil refugees by dehumanisation begins at the narrative level, which, ultimately, leads to more brutality faced by any refugee entering Australia. Of course, this kind of policy and whitewashing of history is to be expected of a government that cannot acknowledge the ongoing genocide and colonisation in this country, as well as the calls for self-determination from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
So, as this country continues to endanger and oppress the voices of First Nations people, the Australian government continues to exercise brutality towards other marginalised voices, in the hope of serving their own geopolitical interests. In , there was an internationally mediated and brought peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the de facto Tamil government run by the LTTE.
It offered the best chance for peace in more than 50 years, one in which both the Tamil-speaking communities and Sinhalese-speaking communities could live together on the island in peace. However, the US, the UK and Australia gave the green light for the Sri Lankan military to carry out their final offences against the de facto Tamil state in by way of arms and diplomatic support. According to the UN's internal review report on Sri Lanka , the credible estimate of Tamils killed in is more than 70, The most precise estimate listed in the report was , Another UN report from , acknowledged that most of these deaths were caused by the government announcing a series of no-fly zones, of which they encouraged Tamil civilian populations to shelter in, and then they were subsequently bombarded by land, air and sea.
Currently, Amnesty estimates that there are as many as , Tamil people who are missing, with their families still not knowing if they have been killed or imprisoned by government forces. The national and international lack of response primarily indicates to them that the extent of this brutality can re-emerge as justice has not been sought.
As mentioned before the P2P movement beautifully highlighted the current reforms Eelam Tamils, Muslims and Malaiha Tamils — the hill tribe Tamil people — are seeking. These include stopping land grabs in Tamil areas to form Sinhalese settlements that are sponsored by the government, demanding accountability of war crimes, inquiries and answers to the enforced disappearance of civilians and activists. Further they're calling for the stop to the persistent militarisation of Tamil lands, the intimidation of activists and journalists, the using of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to detain political prisoners without trial, forced detention of the Muslim population during COVID and a guarantee of a liveable wage for the Malaiha Tamils working in the tea estates in the mountain country.
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