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Joint Tamil Civil Society Statement: Sri Lanka’s Political and Economic Crisis
July 14, 2022 Jaffna – On July 13, 2022, Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka leaving the island in political chaos. Many among the island’s Sinhala majority and the international community have heralded this moment, a culmination of months of protest, as a potentially revolutionary moment. And indeed, the departure of a president who has overseen…
Situation Briefing No.6: Deteriorating Security Situation for Families of the Disappeared in the North-East of Sri Lanka
May 16, 2022 The full briefing in English is available for download here. The world’s attention is now on Sri Lanka as it confronts its worst economic crisis ever. As the island sees record numbers of Sinhalese protesting in recent weeks, the excessive force used by police and security forces has rightly sparked international outrage….
Situation Briefing No.5: Deteriorating Human Rights Situation in Sri Lanka
March 1, 2021 The full PDF of this briefing can be downloaded here. Since the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019, Sri Lanka has seen an alarming regression in respect of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy. As noted by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in her report on…
Situation Briefing No.4: Sri Lanka’s Repression of the Tamil Polity’s Right to Remember
January 12, 2021 The full briefing can be downloaded in English here. On Friday January 8, Jaffna university authorities on direction of the government destroyed a memorial commemorating Tamil civilians killed in the final phase of the war in Mullivaikkal on the Jaffna university campus. Their actions were a brazen attempt by the government to…
Eleven years on, still no justice
ACPR Statement May 18, 2020 Today we commemorate all those lives that we lost during the war, especially the tens of thousands of Tamil lives that were taken by horrific atrocities perpetrated during the final phase of the war and as a result of the numerous massacres and atrocities committed during the Sri Lankan state’s…
Situation Brief No.3: COVID-19: Sri Lanka’s militarised response poses grave threats to human rights
Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) Situation Brief No. 3 COVID-19: Sri Lanka’s militarised response poses grave threats to human rights April 30, 2020 Available for download in English here. Tamil translation coming soon. As the world struggles to deal with an unprecedented global pandemic, it is imperative that states choose an approach that respects…
Pardon of Ratnayake reinforces Sri Lanka’s Culture of Impunity for Military Crimes
ACPR Statement March 30, 2020 The Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research condemns the decision of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to grant a presidential pardon to Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake. Ratnayake was convicted for killing eight unarmed Tamil civilians including three children on the 19th of December 2000 in Mirusuvil, Jaffna. As described by the…
Launch of website commemorating Mullivaikkal atrocities 10 years on
(Jaffna/London: May 17th, 2019) As part of a collaborative project marking the 10th year since the end of the war in Sri Lanka, today the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Tamil Guardian and 47 Roots, launched: www.RememberMay2009.com. The website aims to provide a resource that maps out the atrocities that took place during the final months of…