Sri Lanka wants a longer time-period to negotiate a free trade agreement with China, to make sure stakeholders are satisfied with the agreement, said Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China on Sunday. Speaking to Reuters on the side-lines of an independence day event, Ambassador Karunasena Kodituwakku, said, “We’d like to have the process a little longer, China would like to have it faster. Because Sri Lanka being a small economy, we have to get consensus from stakeholders. Therefore the delay is due to the time period. But we will eventually sign the agreement.” There have been rising protests in...
Tamil Diaspora organisations across the world marked Sri Lanka’s Independence Day by sending a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Chief. In the letter to Rights Chief Zeid Al Hussein, the organisations outlined Sri Lanka’s failure to progress on its commitments to accountability and reconciliation, adding, “Tamil dignitaries and politicians did not attend ceremonies celebrating the event from 1972 to 2014 in protest for the exclusion of the Tamil population from the political, economic, and cultural life of the country and the elimination of protections for non-Sinhalese Buddhist...
Sri Lanka’s 70 th Independence Day was marked by the state's tri-forces deployed in Jaffna today. A parade was organised by the military in Jaffna, with dozens of Tamil children being asked to join the parade. Several Tamil children fainted during the parade after being made to stand in the sun for too long. The day was also marked by the military at the Jaffna district secretariat, with Sri Lanka’s flag being raised first to Sri Lanka’s national anthem in Sinhala and then Tamil. Representatives attending the ceremony from all religions stood as Buddhist monks sat for the raising of the flag.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind praised his government’s expanded relations with Sri Lanka, in a message to mark Sri Lanka’s Independence Day this month. “India and Sri Lanka are neighbors, who share common heritage, interests and values,” said the message. “Our bilateral relations are based on age old civilizational links and have been built upon a legacy of close intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic interaction.” He went on to praise recent developments in relations between the two governments, stating that “recent high level visits have expanded the bilateral agenda to further...
The Sri Lankan army warned that “certain elements with malicious and vested interests and hidden agendas” were engaging in “organized vilification” of the military in a press release last week. The military claimed that a campaign was being carried out against the army “with the motive of demoralizing, and misleading its soldiers and tarnishing its image”. “In the most recent past, it has been done by way of spreading or publishing unfounded and fabricated stories of vicious nature in all types of media when it relates to foreign allowances, rations, payments for disabled War Heroes,” it...
Sri Lanka was ranked among the worst 10 states in the 2017 Human Freedom Index just released, which looks to measure personal freedoms. The country was ranked 150, after Zimbabwe at 149 and Pakistan at 148, and ahead of Cameroon, Congo and Saudi Arabia. India ranked 103. Read here for full report.
Sri Lanka's former acting OIC of Mount Lavinia Police was arrested this week by the CID over the assassination of the Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha Wickramatunga. Mount Lavinia chief magistrate remanded Tissa Sugathapala until February 16. He was accused concealing and destroying evidence. Mr Wickramatunga was assassinated on January 8, 2009.
The Tamil National Alliance said it would not be participating in Sri Lanka's Independence Day celebrations as it was too busy with its election campaigning. The TNA spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran said they had informed the committee responsible for organising the celebrations of their decision. The announcement comes as the party seeks to woo voters in the North-East, whilst maintaining its close links to the unity government.
The transfer of three Tamil political prisoners from Vavuniya to Anuradhapura has been halted by the Court of Appeal. The three detainees, Sulakshan, Mathiarasan and Dharshan had protested against the planned transfer by hunger striking for 40 days. The Attorney General department had previously ordered the transfer of the cases to Anuradhapura in the island's south.
The Tamil National Alliance has this week threaten legal action against the Vanni MP, Sivasakthy Ananthan. Lawyers acting on behalf of the ITAK leader, Mavai Senathirajah sent a letter to Mr Ananthan warning him that legal proceedings would be initiated over defamatory comments he allegedly made against Mr Senathirajah. "We are instructed that you have made and that you continue to make false and defamatory statements with regard to our client. These statements have been made several times from on and or about 19th December 2017," the letter, forwarded to the press by the TNA Media Office,...