US State Department gets briefing on human rights situ in SL
- Monday, 11 November 2013
The US State Department has received a briefing on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
TNA parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah and M.A. Sumanthiran have returned from the US where they had reportedly participated in en event organized by the Tamil Diaspora.
At the same time, the TNA delegation has had a briefing with the US State Department on the situation in the North.
TNA parliamentarian Sumanthiran has said that among the issues discussed was the progress, or lack of it, made on the resolution adopted on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“We had also discussed the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and her oral update to the Human Rights Council. We highlighted the fact that Pillay had noted that if there is no tangible progress she will push for an international investigation,” he has observed.
The TNA is also preparing to raise human rights issues and the problems faced by the people in the North with the Commonwealth leaders during the period of CHOGM this week.
The CHOGM controversy
Monday 11 November 2013
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) got underway this week, but without the leaders of Canada and India.
Earlier today, India's Prime minister Manmohan Singh confirmed he would skip the summit. He's followed the lead of the Canadian PM Stephen Harper, amid growing pressure for a boycott of the event over alleged war crimes by Colombo.
There was renewed concern about Australia sending Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop after the Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon was detained by immigration officials in Colombo over the weekend. She and the New Zealand Greens MP Jan Logie were on a fact-finding visit to the country and had spent several days speaking to members of the Tamil community.
