Sri Lankans and MPs to gather in London to mark end of civil war and renew calls for inquiry into war crimes allegations

The Tamils’ vigil in Trafalgar Square marks the second anniversary of the end of the 26-year civil war. Both sides of the conflict have been accused of rights abuses. Photograph: Reuters

Thousands of Tamils will hold a vigil in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday evening to mark the second anniversary of the end of the civil war in Sri [...]

Sri Lankan forces tortured and executed detainees, while their Tamil Tiger enemies killed those trying to flee violence and used civilians as human shields, according to a leaked UN report into the last weeks of the long-running civil war.

The panel of inquiry report, which was commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, found there was credible evidence of war crimes in the last weeks of the conflict in the first half of 2009, in which tens of thousands of [...]

Sri Lankan Tamil refugees flee LTTE-controlled territory in 2009 (Photo: Reuters)

In February 1945, British and American aircraft dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs on Dresden. “People were caught in fires as hot as 1000° C”, Britain’s National Archives record. “The city was devastated.” Investigations conducted by Dresden authorities concluded that between 22,700 and 25,000 people were killed.

Five thousand miles and six decades separate the conflict in Sri Lanka from Second World War Germany – but [...]

Sri Lanka’s president has become the latest foreign leader to drop out of a planned visit to Britain out of fears that dissident activists could engineer his arrest under the UK’s liberal human rights laws.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has become the latest foreign leader to drop out of a planned visit to Britain Photo: EPA

Mahinda Rajapaksa called off a visit to address the Oxford Union after lawyers raised fears that a court would issue an arrest warrant [...]

The photographs, which showed blood stained bodies of young men and women who had been blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs, were released by the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a group which includes former supporters of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Their release was timed to coincide with the visit of Professor G.L Peiris, the Sri Lankan foreign minister, who will meet William Hague on Wednesday. A foreign office spokesman said Mr Hague will reiterate Britain’s demand [...]

Can there be unity without reconciliation or reconciliation without accountability in Sri Lanka, asks Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu.

A year to the day, after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lanka faces profound ongoing challenges in terms of establishing lasting peace, reconciliation and unity. Demonstrable progress in these fields is essential in order for the country to move from the current post-war situation, where fractions and resentments remain, to one where there is a marked progress in [...]

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa speaking to the media after casting his vote for the parliamentary elections at Madamulana in Hambanthota Photo: EPA

With more than one fifth of votes counted, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had secured 62.1 per cent of the vote, with the main opposition United National Party a distant second with 27.32 per cent.

"We have won the election," said Dullas Alahaperuma, transport minister and UPFA spokesman, who predicted the collated results would [...]

Discussions of Sri Lanka’s political futures – in international media, policy thinktanks and human rights groups – have been for some time now been cast in simple terms. They present an uncompromising, militaristic "Sinhala-dominated regime" and a "marginalised Tamil minority", once authoritatively represented by Tiger rebels, now routed militarily. Given this framework, "a political solution" with "autonomous self-rule" for the Tamils is urged.

Framing non-European societies as collections of prescriptive communities has been for several centuries now been a persuasive and [...]

Pathmanathan, formerly the LTTE’s chief fundraiser and arms supplier, was reported to have been seized from a hotel in Kuala Lumpur by a Sri Lankan intelligence team acting with support from Malaysian officials. His capture has dealt a serious blow to the LTTE’s hopes of regrouping as a political force.

Diplomats in Colombo said Pathmanathan had not faced an extradition hearing while human rights campaigners said they feared he could be tortured in detention. They compared his arrest with [...]

“International legal systems have so far failed to bring the Sri Lankan War Criminals to justice. It is time for the average Joe, an ethical shopper to say No to “Holiday Packages to Sri Lanka”, No to “Sri Lankan Airlines”, No to “Sri Lankan Cricket”, No to “Ceylon Tea”, No to “Garments or any other products made in Sri Lanka” and No to any “Organisations having commercial interests in Sri Lanka” until Sri Lanka stop the killings of the innocents [...]

"The time has come for the whole Sinhala race which has existed for 2,500 years, jealously safeguarding their language and religion, to fight without giving any quarter to save their birthright. I will lead the campaign."

Former Sri Lankan President J R Jayawardene

"I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese”

General Sarath Fonseka, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army

Knowingly or unknowingly, we have all been witnessing one of the darkest chapters in humanity, now being written by the [...]

The Sri Lankan navy seized a ship carrying medical and food aid donated by British Tamils on Thursday, claiming the vessel was carrying military equipment to support the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels.

The Syrian-registered ship, the Captain Ali, set sail from Ipswich on April 20, carrying nearly 900 tons of food, medicine and other aid donated by British Tamils, according to Mercy Mission to Vanni, the group that sent the supplies.

However, the Sri Lankan navy said the ship had set [...]

Weapons including armoured vehicles, parts for machineguns and semiautomatic pistols, were sold to the Sri Lankan Government by Britain and other EU countries after 2006, despite concerns about human rights abuses.

The sales contravened the 1998 EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports that restricts business with countries facing internal conflicts or with poor human rights records and a history of violating international law, the Times reports.

The EU called for peace talks after the collapse of the 2002 ceasefire and stated [...]

India has been accused of complicity in the deaths of 20,000 civilians in the final stages of Sri Lanka’s war against the Tamil Tigers

Human rights groups have claimed India did not do enough to protect civilians in the war zone and a former commander on Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka has said India’s role in the conflict was "distressing and disturbing".

"We were complicit in this last phase of the offensive when a great number of civilians were killed," Major [...]

By Dean Nelson in Vavuniya

Refugees from Sri Lanka’s war with the Tamil Tigers have spoken of their terrifying escape from the ‘no-fire zone’ and pleaded for help to find missing relatives.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph at Vavuniya, where 210,000 people are being held in five camps for "internally displaced people", ragged Tamils said they had come under attack from both sides as the 26-year civil war reached its conclusion last week.

Many clutched a razor wire fence, desperately searching [...]