Human Rights Watch

Stories from Human Rights Watch

Tiger by the Tail
Human Rights Watch
Thursday, May 21st, 2009

I met Neelan Tiruchelvam, a prominent activist who had entered Sri Lankan politics, on my first trip to the island nation 15 years ago. Over several cups of tea he patiently explained the complexities and risks for ethnic Tamils who were critical of both the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He believed that as a member of parliament, he could help bring peace to the country, mired in a brutal civil war since the mid-1980s. In 1999, a Tiger suicide bomber blew him up outside his Colombo home.

HRW May 12
Satellite Images, Witnesses Show Shelling Continues
Human Rights Watch
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

(New York) - New satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts contradict Sri Lankan government claims that its armed forces are no longer using heavy weapons in the densely populated conflict area in northern Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said today.    

Local sources have reported that more than 400 civilians have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded since May 9, 2009, as a result of artillery attacks on the thin coastal strip where fighting continues between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Mahinda Rajapakse and Yasushi Akashi
Japan: Back UN Action on Sri Lanka
Human Rights Watch
Sunday, May 10th, 2009
(New York) – Japan needs to “play a more active role” in confronting the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka, four international organizations said in a letter today to Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan. Ahead of today’s ministerial-level meeting at the United Nations Security Council, the groups urged Japan, as a council member, to support urgent formal action on the situation.
HRW Feb
Repeated Shelling of Hospitals Evidence of War Crimes
Human Rights Watch
Friday, May 8th, 2009
In a scathing report released on May 8, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented 30 individual attacks by Sri Lankan military forces on hospitals in the northern war zone, including medical facilities located in the so-called "no-fire zones" declared by the government, and indicated that those who ordered these attacks could face a future war crimes tribunal after the conflict has concluded.
An Urgent Need for UN Action on Sri Lanka
Human Rights Watch
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

More than 6,000 civilians have died in Sri Lanka in the past few months as government forces seek to end the 25-year-long war with the separatist Tamil Tigers. More than 90 civilians are reported to have died over the weekend in the shelling of a hospital inside the government's tragically misnamed "no-fire zone." And still the killing continues. The international reaction to this spiraling disaster can be summed up as: don't bother us now, we're a bit busy.

Sri Lanka: Government Admission Shows Need for UN Inquiry
Human Rights Watch
Monday, April 27th, 2009

(New York) - The Sri Lankan government's admission that it has been using heavy weapons in an area crowded with displaced civilians underscores the need for an international commission of inquiry into violations of the laws of war by government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Human Rights Watch said today.

HRW Boat 2009 April 27
We cannot Ignore Sri Lanka
Human Rights Watch
Monday, April 27th, 2009

War is an exquisite breeding ground for euphemism. In Sri Lanka, a government announced "no-fire zone" in the northeast of the country is instead one of the most dangerous places on earth.