Thursday 19 February (at 8pm):The future of Sri Lanka and why Kalpana is more important today - a two-pronged talk on Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Jerry Allen, AIUK's Country Co-ordinator for the region, will be talking on campaigning for human rights in Sri Lanka and the prospects for change following the surprising result of the recent Presidential election. and about the case of Kalpana Chakma. Kalpana was the organising secretary of the Hill Women's Federation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. She was abducted in 1996 aged 23 by plain-clothes security officers and has never been seen since. The Bangladesh government has failed to honour an agreement signed 15 years ago to restore traditional lands in the eastern Chittagong Hill Tracts.