“Explore federal set-up for Sri Lanka”

(The Hindu, 07 01 2009) - CHENNAI: The establishment of a federal structure in Sri Lanka is among the options that can be discussed across the negotiating table between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss.

In an interview with The Hindu on Tuesday, Dr. Ramadoss recalled that the LTTE once supported the idea of a federal model when Anton S. Balasingham was the organisation’s theoretician and political …

Government urged to punish violence against independent media outlets after new attack

(RSF, 06 01 2009) - Reporters Without Borders strongly condemned today’s pre-dawn attack by a dozen heavily-armed men that badly damaged the studios of the Maharaja Television/Broadcasting Network (MTV/MBC) in Pannipitiya, near Colombo, after charges that the network’s reporting of the war between the government and Tamil insurgents was not “patriotic” enough.

“Violence and threats against such privately-owned media outlets and journalists trying to impartially report on the conflict must stop,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “The government must quickly …

IFT Appeals to UN Human Rights Commission: Adopt a Resolution to Appoint a Special Rapporteur with a Mandate to Investigate and Monitor a Peace Process

(Tamil Insight, 09 12 2008) - The International Federation of Tamils in a statement on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has appealed to the UN Human Rights Commission to appoint a Special Rapporteur with a mandate to investigate the situation in the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka and monitor a peace process. The IFT in this statement also calls on the government of …