Current situation of the Muslim community in the Eastern province – Discussion

The Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) organized a discussion for the Muslim community in the Eastern province to highlight issues faced by them following the liberation of Eastern province by the State.

The meeting was held on August 5, 2007 at the CHRD auditorium in Colombo. CHRD was the first organization to initiate such a meeting since liberating East. 

More than 30 Muslim members of the civil society representing the three districts of the Eastern province-- Amapara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee--were present at the discussion. Many issues were raised at the meeting, however, the main focus was on land.

Many distinguished Muslim legal personalities were present at the meeting to explain the available legal remedies that could be utilized to solve some of the land problems faced by the Muslim community in the East.

Coalition for Civil Society - Batticaloa workshop

CHRD held its seventh public seminar under the theme 'Coalition of Civil Society' on July 17, 2007 at the Public Library Auditorium in Batticaloa. A total of 132 participants representing mainly the Tamil and Muslim communities participated in programme. They were from GOs, CBOs, and civil society groups.

Evolution of Human Rights and Emergency Regulations , Prevention of Terrorism Act and its effects on the Sri Lankan Society, Fundamental Rights/ Criminal Procedure of Sri Lanka, Judiciary of Sri Lanka, Responsibility and  Rights of the Civil Society, and What should be the Civil Society Role in Sri Lanka were the topics that were covered in the programme..

N. Kandasamy, Secretary CHRD and  S. Sornalingam, attorney-at-law were resource persons. The participants were divided in 10 groups and were asked to identify positive aspects that could ensure civil society to carry out its work effectively in the current situation.

Since May 2007, CHRD, under the programme Empowerment & capacity building of the civil society to promote justice and good governance through human rights based intervention (Coalition for Civil Society) held five other public seminars in Kantale, Mannar, Hatton, Nuwaraeliya,  Ampara and Vavuniya. Nearly 400 participants were represented at these seminars.

The objective of the Coalition for Civil Society programme is to eradicate discriminative laws from the legal system &                  develop confidence of ethnic minorities over the legal system.

In comparison, the public seminar in Batticaloa recorded the highest turnout in participation. Prevailing security situation in the East did not prove to be an obstacle for the participants who are eagerly looking forward to  creating a vibrant civil society in their district.

Coalition of Civil Society: Public seminar in Vavuniya

With the objective to eradicate discriminative laws from the legal system & develop confidence of ethnic minorities over the legal system, the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) held its sixth workshop in Vavuniya on July 14. A total of 26 participants (12 male and 14 female participants) from NGOs, CBOs, and civil society groups took part in the programme. 

Core contents of the seminars were Evolution of Human Rights and Emergency Regulations , Prevention of Terrorism Act and its effects on the Sri Lankan Society, Fundamental Rights/ Criminal Procedure of Sri Lanka, Judiciary of Sri Lanka, Responsibility and Rights of the Civil Society, and What should be the Civil Society Role in Sri Lanka.

N. Kandasamy, Secretary CHRD and  H. Samarasinghe, Project Manager were the resource persons at the programme. The Government Agent of Vavuniya and a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian representing the area too addressed the gathering.

Electing a Working Committee where participants volunteered to take part was the main outcome of the seminar. The Committee will report violations of right (arbitrary arrest & detention) to the CHRD and request advice.

Since May 2007, CHRD, under the programme Empowerment & capacity building of the civil society to promote justice and good governance through human rights based intervention (Coalition for Civil Society) held five other public seminars in Kantale, Mannar, Hatton, Nuwaraeliya and Ampara. Participants totaling 264 participated in the seminars.

Compared to the earlier seminars, the one in Vavuniya marked the lowest number of participants due to the prevailing security situation in the East, where capturing the LTTE controlled 'Thopigala' area by the State forces has made the situation even more volatile.

Coalition of Civil Society - Kalmunai

Seminars held in the Jaffna District

Coalition of Civil Society - Trincomalee

Coalition of Civil Society - Nuwaraeliya

Click here to learn more about CHRD activities

TOP PAGE

Home| News Updates | About Us | Activities | Contact Us