@economiaoil Hola Señor Pech, soy periodista y me gustaría mucho hablar con usted para un proyecto que estoy haciendo. Me podría seguir para que le pueda mandar un mensaje por favor?
For @AJEnglish, I spoke to professor Raj Somadeva leading the Chemmani excavation.
He revealed to us that *three babies* were among the 19 bodies found in the mass grave.
And he has not been paid "a single cent" for working on an excavation in Mannar. https://t.co/Vdrd2ier37
“Raj Somadeva, the archaeologist leading the excavation, told Al Jazeera that the 19 bodies discovered so far include three “neonatal” skeletons, or babies younger than 10 months old.” - @jeevanravindran reports
https://t.co/j9MT6SuL8p
https://t.co/65fS0ZiCTj
Calls for int’l oversight are “entirely legitimate”… “there’s not been a single instance where exhumations have been seen through to the end – where remains found in mass graves have been identified and returned to family members for a dignified burial.
Discovery of new mass grave near Jaffna reopens old wounds for Sri Lanka’s Tamils, many of whom were forcibly disappeared - apart from tens of thousands killed - during a 26-year war with LTTE for separate homeland. @jeevanravindran reports @AJEnglish
https://t.co/AdkJvF00CY
Sri Lanka: As authorities have begun excavations in the second Chemmani mass grave, this could be an important step towards delivering truth and justice to the victims and families, provided the excavation process is carried out in line with relevant international standards.
@amnesty urges the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure:
1) Sufficient funds and resources are allocated to complete the excavation process;
2) The process around the excavations is transparent, providing sufficient access to relatives of suspected victims and the media, and they are kept informed of the progress and interim findings of the investigations, given the urgent need to build trust between victims and the process;
3) All necessary steps are taken to guarantee the integrity of the site including that the site be protected.
#SriLanka
The Jaffna University Students’ Union held a protest today in front of the university, demanding the release of farmers arrested in Kurunthoormalai and condemning #landgrabbing by the Department of Archaeology and state-backed Sinhala settlements, which they say aim to alter the demographics of the Tamil homeland.
“We need answers. Are they alive or not? We want to know.”
Tamils commemorating the loved ones they lost, or who were ‘disappeared’, during Sri Lanka's civil war that ended 16 years ago are still waiting for answers ⤵️ https://t.co/uuGwZKU30R
Sri Lanka’s leftist president swept to power last year riding a wave of discontent. But in the country’s current political landscape, there is little room to maneuver, meaning he’ll have to show results soon, @jeevanravindran writes.
https://t.co/G5lFROVnHr
When we spoke, Galkande Dhammananda denounced the 1983 pogrom as “terrorism, nothing else.” But he also said he was surprised by how some Buddhist monks reacted during a time of volatility. @jeevanravindran: https://t.co/U4nxM4uWie
Galkande Dhammananda wants to heal Sri Lanka’s ethno-religious divisions, but can he change a long tradition of hardline Sinhala-Buddhist monks stoking hatred against Tamils and Muslims? @jeevanravindran writes https://t.co/U4nxM4uWie