Latest news with #JVP
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jewish groups in US line up to oppose Trump anti-Semitism strategy
US Jewish groups are unified over the need to fight mounting anti-Semitic incidents across the country, but many are bitterly opposed to how President Donald Trump is seeking to counter the scourge. A string of incidents has targeted Jews in the United States in recent weeks. Two Israeli embassy workers were murdered in Washington, Molotov cocktails were thrown at an event in Colorado, and tensions persist on university campuses. The conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank, behind the "Project 2025" roadmap for radically overhauling and shrinking the government, published in October "Project Esther" -- a blueprint on combatting anti-Semitism. The project seeks to "dismantle" so-called "anti-Israel," "anti-Zionist," or "pro-Palestinian" organizations allegedly part of a "Hamas support network" that has "infiltrated" universities including Columbia and Harvard. The text advocates the dismissal of professors, barring some foreign students from campuses, expelling others outright, and withholding public funding from universities. Robert Greenway, a Project Esther co-author, recently told The New York Times it was "no coincidence that we called for a series of actions to take place privately and publicly, and they are now happening." The Heritage Foundation refused an interview request. Stefanie Fox, director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), said "Project Esther sets out a blueprint for the Trump administration to sharpen the legal regimes that will best advance (his) 'Make America Great Again' goals." The JVP, a Jewish organization that leads demonstrations against "genocide" in Gaza, is named in Project Esther as a member of the so-called Hamas support network. "These assumptions are baseless, paranoid, laughable," said Fox, whose group is on the left. - 'Weaponizing' anti-Semitism? - Although 89 percent of the 7.2 million US Jews say they are concerned about anti-Semitism, 64 percent disapprove of Trump's efforts to combat it, according to a recent Jewish Voters Resource Center poll. "There is anti-Semitism on those campuses... But to give the broad claim that the thrust to fight anti-Semitism is to go after higher education is just absolutely ridiculous," said Kevin Rachlin. He is a prominent figure in the Nexus Project formed in opposition to Project Esther that seeks to counter anti-Semitism without impairing freedom of speech. Trump's strategy "doesn't keep Jews safe." Rather, it seeks to separate the Jewish minority from others in the country and ignores right-wing anti-Semitism, Rachlin argues. "We as Jews are safer when we're in coalition with other groups and other minorities," he said, adding that combatting anti-Semitism through education was more viable than targeting universities. Traditional Jewish groups have aligned more with Trump's Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unlike the "majority" of American Jews, claims author Eric Alterman. "What's happened in Gaza has been very hard for most American Jews -- particularly young American Jews -- to stomach. Young American Jews are now roughly evenly divided between supporting Israel and supporting the Palestinians," he told AFP. Alterman added most US Jews are not anti-Zionist -- but don't like the war in Gaza or Israel's West Bank strategy. "They're kind of caught in the middle." Some Jewish groups warn that when Trump targets higher education purportedly combatting anti-Semitism, he is actually "weaponizing" the sensitive issue to stifle freedom of expression. In recent weeks, ten major Jewish organizations criticized the Trump administration in a letter, saying they reject the "false choice" between "Jewish safety" and "democracy." "There should be no doubt that anti-Semitism is rising" but access to "higher education, and strong democratic norms... have allowed American Jewry to thrive for hundreds of years," the letter states. One of the signatories, rabbi and former ambassador for religious freedom David Saperstein, said there was "appreciation" for Trump prioritizing anti-Semitic violence and rhetoric -- but opposed the clampdown on universities, media and judges. He added: "Ironically, they are targeting democratic institutions that have given the Jewry in America more rights, more freedom, more opportunities than we have ever known in our 2,600 years of diasporic history." gl/gw/dw/st
France 24
07-06-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Jewish groups in US line up to oppose Trump anti-Semitism strategy
A string of incidents has targeted Jews in the United States in recent weeks. Two Israeli embassy workers were murdered in Washington, Molotov cocktails were thrown at an event in Colorado, and tensions persist on university campuses. The conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank, behind the "Project 2025" roadmap for radically overhauling and shrinking the government, published in October "Project Esther" -- a blueprint on combatting anti-Semitism. The project seeks to "dismantle" so-called "anti-Israel," "anti-Zionist," or "pro-Palestinian" organizations allegedly part of a "Hamas support network" that has "infiltrated" universities including Columbia and Harvard. The text advocates the dismissal of professors, barring some foreign students from campuses, expelling others outright, and withholding public funding from universities. Robert Greenway, a Project Esther co-author, recently told The New York Times it was "no coincidence that we called for a series of actions to take place privately and publicly, and they are now happening." The Heritage Foundation refused an interview request. Stefanie Fox, director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), said "Project Esther sets out a blueprint for the Trump administration to sharpen the legal regimes that will best advance (his) 'Make America Great Again' goals." The JVP, a Jewish organization that leads demonstrations against "genocide" in Gaza, is named in Project Esther as a member of the so-called Hamas support network. "These assumptions are baseless, paranoid, laughable," said Fox, whose group is on the left. 'Weaponizing' anti-Semitism? Although 89 percent of the 7.2 million US Jews say they are concerned about anti-Semitism, 64 percent disapprove of Trump's efforts to combat it, according to a recent Jewish Voters Resource Center poll. "There is anti-Semitism on those campuses... But to give the broad claim that the thrust to fight anti-Semitism is to go after higher education is just absolutely ridiculous," said Kevin Rachlin. He is a prominent figure in the Nexus Project formed in opposition to Project Esther that seeks to counter anti-Semitism without impairing freedom of speech. Trump's strategy "doesn't keep Jews safe." Rather, it seeks to separate the Jewish minority from others in the country and ignores right-wing anti-Semitism, Rachlin argues. "We as Jews are safer when we're in coalition with other groups and other minorities," he said, adding that combatting anti-Semitism through education was more viable than targeting universities. Traditional Jewish groups have aligned more with Trump's Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unlike the "majority" of American Jews, claims author Eric Alterman. "What's happened in Gaza has been very hard for most American Jews -- particularly young American Jews -- to stomach. Young American Jews are now roughly evenly divided between supporting Israel and supporting the Palestinians," he told AFP. Alterman added most US Jews are not anti-Zionist -- but don't like the war in Gaza or Israel's West Bank strategy. "They're kind of caught in the middle." Some Jewish groups warn that when Trump targets higher education purportedly combatting anti-Semitism, he is actually "weaponizing" the sensitive issue to stifle freedom of expression. In recent weeks, ten major Jewish organizations criticized the Trump administration in a letter, saying they reject the "false choice" between "Jewish safety" and "democracy." "There should be no doubt that anti-Semitism is rising" but access to "higher education, and strong democratic norms... have allowed American Jewry to thrive for hundreds of years," the letter states. One of the signatories, rabbi and former ambassador for religious freedom David Saperstein, said there was "appreciation" for Trump prioritizing anti-Semitic violence and rhetoric -- but opposed the clampdown on universities, media and judges.
Express Tribune
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Nepal after its Maoist revolution
The writer is an academic and researcher. He is also the author of Development, Poverty, and Power in Pakistan, available from Routledge Listen to article The mountainous, land-locked, never colonised nation of Nepal is getting increased international attention due to the unfolding great power competition in South Asia. Whether Nepal will be able to leverage this newfound external interest to its advantage depends on the ability of its current leftist leaders to transcend personal ambitions and demonstrate greater statesmanship. Communist ideologies have not had much luck in Bangladesh and Pakistan. While Sri Lanka has seen the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) form a government after the ouster of the Rajapaksa brothers in 2022, the JVP's historic communist leanings have been significantly compromised. Communist parties yield significant influence in Indian states like Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal, and Maoist rebels are locked in a lingering insurgency against the hegemonic national government as well. Yet, Nepal is the only South Asian country where Maoists managed to take over the reins of power. Nepal's recent political history has experienced rapid changes. The Shah dynasty unified Nepal during the 18th century, but real power soon shifted to hereditary chief ministers known as the Ranas. The Nepali Congress Liberation Army operating from newly independent India then formed an alliance with the monarchy to undermine the Ranas in 1951. After sovereignty of the crown was restored, the Nepali Congress Party worked with the monarchy to form a new government, until King Mahendra decided to suspend parliament, and turn the country into an absolute monarchy again in 1960. Increasing disgruntlement with the Hindu monarchy eventually led communist influences to gain influence. An outright Maoist revolt soon plunged Nepal into a civil war in 1996, which lasted for almost a decade. A Comprehensive Peace Accord was finally signed between the government and Maoists in 2006, which abolished the monarchy. Yet, despite the creation of a multi-party system, the political landscape of the country has remained instable. There has been significant fragmentation amongst the Maoists, and formation and dissolution of varied coalitions has led to repeated changes in governments, even within a single electoral cycle. During the last general elections, held in 2022, the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist) formed a coalition with the Nepali Congress Party to secure power. But this partnership lasted for just over a year, before major differences emerged. A new leftist coalition was formed between the CPN (M) and the United Community Party (Marxist-Leninist), but the political situation remained tenuous. The CPN (M) has recently formed a new coalition with the Nepali Congress Party. How long this new coalition will survive before tensions erupt between these traditionally competing parties remains to be seen. There is also a relatively small but active group demanding restoration of Nepal's monarchy, which has also been resorting to violent protests to draw attention to their cause. Amidst all the in-fighting and jostling for power, there is scant attention paid to catering to the basic needs of the citizenry, to creating responsive state institutions, achieving sustainable economic growth and improving the lives of ordinary Nepalis. Nepal has the chance to leverage its geopolitical location to funnel more Chinese investments into the country to push back against traditional Indian hegemony. The US is also keener to invest in Nepal, primarily to keep the Chinese at bay. However, Nepali politicians will need to demonstrate much greater maturity and astuteness to balance these contending external influences in a manner which maximise national interests rather than serving their personal ambitions. Thus far, neither the Maoists factions nor the Nepali Congress Party have demonstrated such foresight.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Need answers': Will Sri Lanka's Tamils find war closure under Dissanayake?
Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka – On a beach in northeastern Sri Lanka, Krishnan Anjan Jeevarani laid out some of her family's favourite food items on a banana leaf. She placed a samosa, lollipops and a large bottle of Pepsi next to flowers and incense sticks in front of a framed photo. Jeevarani was one of thousands of Tamils who gathered on May 18 to mark 16 years since the end of Sri Lanka's brutal civil war in Mullivaikkal, the site of the final battle between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist group that fought for a Tamil homeland. As on previous anniversaries, Tamils this year lit candles in remembrance of their loved ones and held a moment of silence. Dressed in black, people paid their respects before a memorial fire and ate kanji, the gruel consumed by civilians when they were trapped in Mullivaikkal amid acute food shortages. This year's commemorations were the first to take place under the new government helmed by leftist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected president in September and has prompted hopes of possible justice and answers for the Tamil community. The Tamil community alleges that a genocide of civilians took place during the war's final stages, estimating that nearly 170,000 people were killed by government forces. UN estimates put the figure at 40,000. Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which itself led violent uprisings against the Sri Lankan government in the 1970s and 1980s, has emphasised 'national unity' and its aim to wipe out racism. He made several promises to Tamil voters before the elections last year, including the withdrawal from military-occupied territory in Tamil heartlands and the release of political prisoners. But eight months after he was elected, those commitments are now being tested – and while it's still early days for his administration, many in the Tamil community say what they've seen so far is mixed, with some progress, but also disappointments. In March 2009, Jeevarani lost several members of her family, including her parents, her sister and three-year-old daughter when Sri Lankan forces shelled the tents in which they were sheltering, near Mullivaikkal. 'We had just cooked and eaten and we were happy,' she said. 'When the shell fell it was like we had woken up from a dream. The house was destroyed.' Jeevarani, now 36, buried all her family members in a bunker and left the area, her movements dictated by shelling until she reached Mullivaikkal. In May 2009, she and the surviving members of her family entered army-controlled territory. Now, 16 years later, as she and other Sri Lankan Tamils commemorated their lost family members, most said their memorials had gone largely unobstructed, although there were reports of police disrupting one event in the eastern part of the country. This was a contrast from previous years of state crackdowns on such commemorative events. 'There isn't that climate of fear which existed during the two Rajapaksa regimes,' said Ambika Satkunanathan, a human rights lawyer and former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, referring to former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brothers who between them ruled Sri Lanka for 13 out of 17 years between 2005 and 2022. It was under Mahinda Rajapaksa that the Sri Lankan army carried out the final, bloody assaults that ended the war in 2009, amid allegations of human rights abuses. 'But has anything changed substantively [under Dissanayake]? Not yet,' said Satkunanathan. Satkunanathan cited the government's continued use of Sri Lanka's controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and a gazette issued on March 28 to seize land in Mullivaikkal as problematic examples of manifesto promises being overturned in an evident lack of transparency. Despite his pre-election promises, Dissnayake's government earlier this month denounced Tamil claims of genocide as 'a false narrative'. On May 19, one day after the Tamil commemorations, Dissanayake also attended a 'War Heroes' celebration of the Sri Lankan armed forces as the chief guest, while the Ministry of Defence announced the promotion of a number of military and navy personnel. In his speech, Dissanayake stated that 'grief knows no ethnicity', suggesting a reconciliatory stance, while also paying tribute to the 'fallen heroes' of the army who 'we forever honour in our hearts.' Kathiravelu Sooriyakumari, a 60-year-old retired principal, said casualties in Mullivaikkal in 2009 were so extreme that 'we even had to walk over dead bodies.' She said government forces had used white phosphorus during the civil war, a claim Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly denied. Although not explicitly banned, many legal scholars interpret international law as prohibiting the use of white phosphorus – an incendiary chemical that can burn the skin down to the bone – in densely populated areas. Sooriyakumari's husband, Rasenthiram, died during an attack near Mullivaikkal while trying to protect others. 'He was sending everyone to the bunker. When he had sent everyone and was about to come himself, a shell hit a tree and then bounced off and hit him, and he died,' she said. Although his internal organs were coming out, 'he raised his head and looked around at all of us, to see we were safe.' Her son was just seven months old. 'He has never seen his father's face,' she said. The war left many households like Sooriyakumari's without breadwinners. They have experienced even more acute food shortage following Sri Lanka's 2022 economic crisis and the subsequent rise in the cost of living. 'If we starve, will anyone come and check on us?' said 63-year-old Manoharan Kalimuthu, whose son died in Mullivaikkal after leaving a bunker to relieve himself and being hit by a shell. 'If they [children who died in the final stages of the war] were here, they would've looked after us.' Kalimuthu said she did not think the new government would deliver justice to Tamils, saying, 'We can believe it only when we see it.' Sooriyakumari also said she did not believe anything would change under the new administration. 'There's been a lot of talk but no action. No foundations have been laid, so how can we believe them?' she told Al Jazeera. 'So many Sinhalese people these days have understood our pain and suffering and are supporting us … but the government is against us.' She also expressed suspicion of Dissanayake's JVP party and its history of violence, saying she and the wider Tamil community 'were scared of the JVP before'. The party had backed Rajapaksa's government when the army crushed the Tamil separatist movement. Satkunanathan said the JVP's track record showed 'they supported the Rajapaksas, they were pro-war, they were anti-devolution, anti-international community, were all anti-UN, all of which they viewed as conspiring against Sri Lanka.' She conceded that the party was seeking to show that it had 'evolved to a more progressive position but their action is falling short of rhetoric'. Although Dissanayake's government has announced plans to establish a truth and reconciliation commission, it has rejected a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for war crimes, much like previous governments. Before the presidential elections, Dissanayake said he would not seek to prosecute those responsible for war crimes. 'On accountability for wartime violations, they have not moved at all,' Satkunanathan told Al Jazeera, citing the government's refusal to engage with the UN-initiated Sri Lanka Accountability Project (SLAP), which was set up to collect evidence of potential war crimes. 'I would love them to prove me wrong.' The government has also repeatedly changed its stance on the Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which promises devolved powers to Tamil-majority areas in the north and east. Before the presidential election, Dissanayake said he supported its implementation in meetings with Tamil parties, but the government has not outlined a clear plan for this, with the JVP's general secretary dismissing it as unnecessary shortly after the presidential election. 'Six months since coming into office, there's no indication of the new government's plan or intention to address the most urgent grievances of the Tamils affected by the war,' Thyagi Ruwanpathirana, South Asia researcher at Amnesty International, said. 'And the truth about the forcibly disappeared features high on the agenda of those in the North and the East.' Still, some, like 48-year-old Krishnapillai Sothilakshmi, remain hopeful. Sothilakshmi's husband Senthivel was forcibly disappeared in 2008. She said she believed the new government would give her answers. A 2017 report by Amnesty International [PDF] estimated that between 60,000 and 100,000 people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s. Although Sri Lanka established an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) in 2017, there has been no clear progress since. 'We need answers. Are they alive or not? We want to know,' Sothilakshmi said. But for Jeevarani, weeping on the beach as she looked at a photograph of her three-year-old daughter Nila, it's too late for any hope. Palm trees are growing over her family's grave, and she is no longer even able to pinpoint the exact spot where they were buried. 'If someone is sick, this government or that government can say they'll cure them,' she said. 'But no government can bring back the dead, can they?'
Al Jazeera
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘Need answers': Will Sri Lanka's Tamils find war closure under Dissanayake?
Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka – On a beach in northeastern Sri Lanka, Krishnan Anjan Jeevarani laid out some of her family's favourite food items on a banana leaf. She placed a samosa, lollipops and a large bottle of Pepsi next to flowers and incense sticks in front of a framed photo. Jeevarani was one of thousands of Tamils who gathered on May 18 to mark 16 years since the end of Sri Lanka's brutal civil war in Mullivaikkal, the site of the final battle between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist group that fought for a Tamil homeland. As on previous anniversaries, Tamils this year lit candles in remembrance of their loved ones and held a moment of silence. Dressed in black, people paid their respects before a memorial fire and ate kanji, the gruel consumed by civilians when they were trapped in Mullivaikkal amid acute food shortages. This year's commemorations were the first to take place under the new government helmed by leftist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected president in September and has prompted hopes of possible justice and answers for the Tamil community. The Tamil community alleges that a genocide of civilians took place during the war's final stages, estimating that nearly 170,000 people were killed by government forces. UN estimates put the figure at 40,000. Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which itself led violent uprisings against the Sri Lankan government in the 1970s and 1980s, has emphasised 'national unity' and its aim to wipe out racism. He made several promises to Tamil voters before the elections last year, including the withdrawal from military-occupied territory in Tamil heartlands and the release of political prisoners. But eight months after he was elected, those commitments are now being tested – and while it's still early days for his administration, many in the Tamil community say what they've seen so far is mixed, with some progress, but also disappointments. In March 2009, Jeevarani lost several members of her family, including her parents, her sister and three-year-old daughter when Sri Lankan forces shelled the tents in which they were sheltering, near Mullivaikkal. 'We had just cooked and eaten and we were happy,' she said. 'When the shell fell it was like we had woken up from a dream. The house was destroyed.' Jeevarani, now 36, buried all her family members in a bunker and left the area, her movements dictated by shelling until she reached Mullivaikkal. In May 2009, she and the surviving members of her family entered army-controlled territory. Now, 16 years later, as she and other Sri Lankan Tamils commemorated their lost family members, most said their memorials had gone largely unobstructed, although there were reports of police disrupting one event in the eastern part of the country. This was a contrast from previous years of state crackdowns on such commemorative events. 'There isn't that climate of fear which existed during the two Rajapaksa regimes,' said Ambika Satkunanathan, a human rights lawyer and former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, referring to former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brothers who between them ruled Sri Lanka for 13 out of 17 years between 2005 and 2022. It was under Mahinda Rajapaksa that the Sri Lankan army carried out the final, bloody assaults that ended the war in 2009, amid allegations of human rights abuses. 'But has anything changed substantively [under Dissanayake]? Not yet,' said Satkunanathan. Satkunanathan cited the government's continued use of Sri Lanka's controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and a gazette issued on March 28 to seize land in Mullivaikkal as problematic examples of manifesto promises being overturned in an evident lack of transparency. Despite his pre-election promises, Dissnayake's government earlier this month denounced Tamil claims of genocide as 'a false narrative'. On May 19, one day after the Tamil commemorations, Dissanayake also attended a 'War Heroes' celebration of the Sri Lankan armed forces as the chief guest, while the Ministry of Defence announced the promotion of a number of military and navy personnel. In his speech, Dissanayake stated that 'grief knows no ethnicity', suggesting a reconciliatory stance, while also paying tribute to the 'fallen heroes' of the army who 'we forever honour in our hearts.' Kathiravelu Sooriyakumari, a 60-year-old retired principal, said casualties in Mullivaikkal in 2009 were so extreme that 'we even had to walk over dead bodies.' She said government forces had used white phosphorus during the civil war, a claim Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly denied. Although not explicitly banned, many legal scholars interpret international law as prohibiting the use of white phosphorus – an incendiary chemical that can burn the skin down to the bone – in densely populated areas. Sooriyakumari's husband, Rasenthiram, died during an attack near Mullivaikkal while trying to protect others. 'He was sending everyone to the bunker. When he had sent everyone and was about to come himself, a shell hit a tree and then bounced off and hit him, and he died,' she said. Although his internal organs were coming out, 'he raised his head and looked around at all of us, to see we were safe.' Her son was just seven months old. 'He has never seen his father's face,' she said. The war left many households like Sooriyakumari's without breadwinners. They have experienced even more acute food shortage following Sri Lanka's 2022 economic crisis and the subsequent rise in the cost of living. 'If we starve, will anyone come and check on us?' said 63-year-old Manoharan Kalimuthu, whose son died in Mullivaikkal after leaving a bunker to relieve himself and being hit by a shell. 'If they [children who died in the final stages of the war] were here, they would've looked after us.' Kalimuthu said she did not think the new government would deliver justice to Tamils, saying, 'We can believe it only when we see it.' Sooriyakumari also said she did not believe anything would change under the new administration. 'There's been a lot of talk but no action. No foundations have been laid, so how can we believe them?' she told Al Jazeera. 'So many Sinhalese people these days have understood our pain and suffering and are supporting us … but the government is against us.' She also expressed suspicion of Dissanayake's JVP party and its history of violence, saying she and the wider Tamil community 'were scared of the JVP before'. The party had backed Rajapaksa's government when the army crushed the Tamil separatist movement. Satkunanathan said the JVP's track record showed 'they supported the Rajapaksas, they were pro-war, they were anti-devolution, anti-international community, were all anti-UN, all of which they viewed as conspiring against Sri Lanka.' She conceded that the party was seeking to show that it had 'evolved to a more progressive position but their action is falling short of rhetoric'. Although Dissanayake's government has announced plans to establish a truth and reconciliation commission, it has rejected a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for war crimes, much like previous governments. Before the presidential elections, Dissanayake said he would not seek to prosecute those responsible for war crimes. 'On accountability for wartime violations, they have not moved at all,' Satkunanathan told Al Jazeera, citing the government's refusal to engage with the UN-initiated Sri Lanka Accountability Project (SLAP), which was set up to collect evidence of potential war crimes. 'I would love them to prove me wrong.' The government has also repeatedly changed its stance on the Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which promises devolved powers to Tamil-majority areas in the north and east. Before the presidential election, Dissanayake said he supported its implementation in meetings with Tamil parties, but the government has not outlined a clear plan for this, with the JVP's general secretary dismissing it as unnecessary shortly after the presidential election. 'Six months since coming into office, there's no indication of the new government's plan or intention to address the most urgent grievances of the Tamils affected by the war,' Thyagi Ruwanpathirana, South Asia researcher at Amnesty International, said. 'And the truth about the forcibly disappeared features high on the agenda of those in the North and the East.' Still, some, like 48-year-old Krishnapillai Sothilakshmi, remain hopeful. Sothilakshmi's husband Senthivel was forcibly disappeared in 2008. She said she believed the new government would give her answers. A 2017 report by Amnesty International [PDF] estimated that between 60,000 and 100,000 people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s. Although Sri Lanka established an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) in 2017, there has been no clear progress since. 'We need answers. Are they alive or not? We want to know,' Sothilakshmi said. But for Jeevarani, weeping on the beach as she looked at a photograph of her three-year-old daughter Nila, it's too late for any hope. Palm trees are growing over her family's grave, and she is no longer even able to pinpoint the exact spot where they were buried. 'If someone is sick, this government or that government can say they'll cure them,' she said. 'But no government can bring back the dead, can they?'
