|
New Page 1
|
 |
Home
About ICES
Directors
|
| |
|
|
Neelan Tiruchelvan |
| Founder Director ICES |
|
WIkipedia |
| |
| |
|
| |
About Neelan..
DR NEELAN TIRUCHELVAM, who was killed by a suicide bomber in
Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 29 July, was a leading scholar and
activist in the field of human and particularly
ethnic-minority rights, both internationally and in his
native Sri Lanka. A Tamil, he represented the Tamil United
Liberation Front (TULF) as a `national list' Member of
Parliament and at the time of his death was working with the
Sri Lankan government on constitutional reform and
devolution.
Born in 1944, Neelan Tiruchelvam was educated at the
University of Ceylon Law School and Harvard Law School where
he completed his doctorate. He was a Fullbright Fellow in
1969-71 and held academic appointments in Sri Lanka and at
the universities of Yale and Harvard during the 1970s and
1980s. His distinguished scholarship and steadfast
commitment to social justice led to his appointment as a
member of international observer and expert missions to
Pakistan (1988), Chile (1988), Kazakhstan (1992), Ethiopia
(1992) and South Africa (1993). Within Sri Lanka he held a
series of legal and constitutional appointments, including
membership of the Presidential Law Commission and the
Presidential Commission on Democratic Decentralisation and
Devolution.
The son of a former local government minister who was also a
TULF politician, Neelan married Sithie, herself a
distinguished lawyer actively involved in human rights and
development work. He devoted much of his energies over the
years to the dominant political question in Sri Lanka of the
rights of minorities, in particular of the Tamil population.
In response to the widespread violations of human rights and
inter-ethnic unrest and conflict between the majority
Sinhalese and the Tamils, he dedicated himself to peaceful
constitutional changes that would accommodate the needs of
both communities. He knew the dangers but was unflinching in
his efforts. His work would begin well before dawn - he
enjoyed those early quiet times of reflection - and continue
late into the night. He had a relentless schedule.
In 1994 the People's Alliance (PA) government, led by
Chandrika Kumaratunga, came to power with a mandate for
peace. Her own commitment to reconciliation raised hopes
that the long-running conflict would be settled. Sri Lanka's
first woman President, Kumaratunga presented a plan for
constitutional reform and devolution in 1995. Neelan
Tiruchelvam was one of the key architects behind this
devolution package that gave devolved powers to eight
regions including the predominantly Tamil areas. It did not
meet all his desires and it took immense energy on his part
to win over reluctant Sinhalese politicians. After two
decades of violent conflict and a history of repression
against the Tamil community in the 1970s and 1980s, these
proposals for peace were controversial. The opposition
United Nationalist Party wavered from support to opposition,
while the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) eventually opposed dialogue
with the government and threatened all who maintained or
sought dialogue. The Tigers kept to their demands for total
independence and continued their violent struggle.
The proposals are due to go before Parliament in August 1999
month but have lost a dynamic champion.
Neelan was a senior partner in the law firm Tiruchlevam
Associates and director of the highly regarded International
Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) in Colombo, a
non-governmental institute that promotes public
understanding of ethnic issues and researches innovative
approaches to the reduction and resolution of ethnic
conflict. He was also closely associated with the Law and
Society Trust. In 1994 he became a member of the
International Council of the London-based human rights
organisation Minority Rights Group (MRG). Following
publication of MRG's report on Sri Lanka in 1996 Neelan
presented the report's recommendations for resolving the
civil conflict to the Sri Lankan parliament. In April 1999
he succeeded Sir John Thomson as chair of MRG's Council.
Slight of build, quiet and thoughtful, Neelan held a
deep-seated commitment to human rights. His unassuming
appearance and manner belied an incisive intellect and firm
convictions that lasting redress to injustices suffered by
ethnic minorities had to be sought through peaceful yet
radical change. He was rarely if ever aroused to anger with
his opponents but always sought to reconcile differences. He
was considered a major human rights figure in international
circles, including the United Nations. Because of his
unswerving commitment to constitutional solutions to Sri
Lanka's inter-ethnic conflict, he was in constant personal
danger in his own country and had received police protection
for some years.
Neelan had close links with the Faculty of Law at Cambridge
University and had shared experiences and insights on
conflict resolution with scholars and practitioners from
Northern Ireland. He had a deep affection for Britain, where
his sons completed their university education. He had
recently spent a month in Bellagio, Italy, reflecting on his
work, and was looking forward to a visiting professorship at
Harvard in the autumn. In the margins of the UN Working
Group on Minorities he had established an annual academic
debate on key minority issues. As news of his death broke at
one of the UN human rights committees he was spoken of as
one of Asia's outstanding figures, who sought to put human
rights into human lives.
- MRG International
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
Right Side Menu
|
Management
