Elil Rajan
Father Elil Rajan is a human rights defender and Programme Director for the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, a non-profit think tank working on accountability and non-exclusionary justice and reconciliation initiatives. He is an advocate for the rights of Tamil war survivors and families of victims, and is known for his engagement and collaboration with Sinhalese activists from other parts of Sri Lanka, the international community and the Sri Lankan government. In 2016, he served as the Vavuniya district Chairperson of the Zonal Task Force of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, an initiative of the Sri Lankan government. Father Elil Rajan organises commemorative events in the North-East regions, considered to be Tamil land, and is also the co-spokesperson of the Tamil Civil Society Forum.
The situation of Human Rights Defenders has significantly improved recently. With the changes in the political spectrum, first through Presidential election in January and then the parliamentary election in August 2015 has greatly changed the landscape for HRDs in Sri Lanka. The previous years saw large scale repression of dissent and HRDs are hoping for a sustainable change with cautious mind.
