In brief
Award
Sunila Abeysekera, founder member of Colombo human rights agency, the Movement for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality, was awarded the 1998 UN Human Rights Prize in December.
Rejected
Some 450 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers face deportation after the Federal Court rejected their appeal on 24 November, against an Australian government decision to cancel humanitarian visas.
Coalition
The National Alliance for Peace was inaugurated in Colombo on 12 December. The National Movement Against Terrorism attempted to disrupt the meeting alleging that the coalition supported the LTTE.
Chemmani
The US NGO Forum’s Colleen Malone told the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus on 11 December, that the delay in probing mass graves at Chemmani is evidence of impunity enjoyed by the Sri Lankan military. The Human Rights Commission has written to the Attorney General again urging an investigation.
Certificates
The Presidential Commission on Disappearances says 18,136 applications for death certificates have been received, based on the findings of the three regional commissions. The current Commission has enquired into 2,500 of 10,135 complaints.
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