08/18/2011
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Al Jazeera
Two years after the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, many minority Tamils in the north say the military retains too strong a hold over their daily lives.
Al Jazeera was granted special permission by the government to travel and see how the path to peace is progressing.
Steve Chao reports from Jaffna, the capital of Northern Province.
08/16/2011
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IRIN
VAVUNIYA, 16 August 2011 (IRIN) - As thousands of students begin uninterrupted schooling after a lapse of years, education officials in Sri Lanka's former northern conflict zone are facing a shortage of teachers.
08/04/2011
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BBC
Former Sri Lankan national team fast-bowler Ravindra Pushpakumara is scouting for young cricketing talent in the war-ravaged north of the country, reports the BBC's Charles Haviland.
07/26/2011
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Kafila
In the event of the Sri Lankan Government appearing before the CEDAW committee, we would like to bring to your notice the extensive report put together by the Coalition of Muslims and Tamils for Peace and Co-existence posted earlier on kafila. We stand by all aspects of the report put together by activists, yet again, in severely adverse circumstances. Through rigorous, grassroot-level work in a sustained manner, this report has been put together in a situation where the government is actively impeding any work by humanitarian agencies and civil society organisations across the country, especially in the north and east.
We address you from our vantage point as women’s rights organisations and feminists based in India who are deeply concerned about the role of the Indian and Sri Lankan governments in Sri Lanka today, especially concerns affecting women who often bear the brunt of oppressions caused due to war meted out to them by state and non-state actors. We would like to completely support our colleagues in Sri Lanka who are often silenced by real dangers of harm to their person on a daily basis and activists working on Sri Lanka based elsewhere. We strongly urge both governments to act upon the following demands:
07/21/2011
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Reuters
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's northern cities hold local polls for the first time in many years on Saturday and though the civil war is over, fear and intimidation remain rife, poll monitors and opposition politicians say.
07/16/2011
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COALITION OF MUSLIMS AND TAMILS FOR PEACE AND COEXISTENCE, Kafila
Women in the north and the east of Sri Lanka have undergone severe hardships during the war, including the loss of loved ones, family’s support structures, livelihoods, houses and also a loss of life and dignity. While there have been numerous changes announced by the Government the situation for women on ground, however, has continued to be challenging. It is sad since the end of the brutal war women’s lives have not seen a dramatic transformation over the last two years and they have continued to face the basic challenges of safety, shelter and basic facilities. It in this light that we wish to put forward a few issues that these women have been facing within the broader context of life in the north and east for the communities living there. We have chosen to highlight these issues because of their gravity, the State’s involvement in the same and the inability of women to seek justice in such cases owing to the lack of an effective civilian administration, security threats and the lack of a concrete remedy within the local legal system. While we write of the issues relating to women, they raise broader concerns impacting the families and communities. The incidents and the report cover only the Northern and Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
03/30/2011
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www.irinnews.org
Thousands of older returnees to Sri Lanka's conflict-affected north feel marginalized and need medical care, experts say.
03/02/2011
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Sunday Times
The Defence Ministry has set up a hotline to complain on cases of corruption, abductions and cases of demanding ransom mainly in the north and east, Director General of the Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle said.
12/03/2010
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Waterworld
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide US$90 million in loans to help Sri Lanka restore water supply and sanitation infrastructure in the war-ravaged north, a statement said. The project, due for completion by February 2017, will help restore and modernise key infrastructure damaged by war or which deteriorated as a result of neglect mainly in the Jaffna Peninsula.
11/09/2010
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Groundviews
[Editors' note: Submission to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, 4th of November, 2010.]
Northern Muslims in Post Conflict Sri Lanka
The entire Muslim community of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province – numbering approximately 75,000 persons, were expelled by the LTTE in a systematic and organized manner during a two week period in October 1990.
Northern Muslims were 5% of the Population of the Province and hailed from the five districts of Jaffna Mannar Kilinochchi Mulaitiwu and Vavuniya
Today, many of them remain displaced in dire conditions in areas outside the war zone. A 2006 UNHCR survey claims that there are 63,145 individuals living in 141 separate settlements in Puttalam district alone.
October this year marks twenty years since the expulsion. And over one year since the war ended. Today the Northern Muslims are anticipating return after twenty years in displacement and the time that has passed since the expulsion has created conditions that are unique to the Northern Muslim experience.
Given that the LTTE is no longer a factor there is a real possibility of return without the threat of a repeated expulsion.
The possibility of resuming farming and fishing and moving out of a life of poverty in Puttalam and elsewhere seems an actual possibility for many.
Many are hoping for assistance to resettle and start livelihood activities and to rebuild Muslim communities in the North