The construction of a Buddhist vihara in the Tamil North-East has continued to take place, despite the Mullaitivu District Secretariat ordered a halt to further proceedings. Footage obtained by TamilNet shows an expansion in the vihara’s construction from previous video footage obtained in April of this year. A Sinhala Buddhist monk was seen in the April video, assisting directly with the construction. The construction is taking place on private land owned by Mr Manivannadhas, who stated that Buddhists monks initially began occupying his land in 2012. Though a 2015 complaint by him calling...
The Sri Lankan military oversaw a Hindu festival inside the Palali High Security Zone this week, with devotees still requiring a military escort to attend the temple festival. The Palali Rajarajeshwari Temple remains off limits to Tamil civilians, located inside the Sri Lankan military designated High Security Zone. The annual festival was allowed to take place with permission from the Sri Lankan Headquarters Security Force (Jaffna). An official military website said the festival was “divinely and delightfully completed” as Sri Lankan soldiers provided “transport, water, medical and basic...
The Sri Lankan government says it faces no pressure from the UN Human Rights Council. Speaking at an event in Kandy, Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella said the government had been able to implement most of the recommendations of the resolution passed in Geneva last October. As Sri Lanka is hardly discussed at the UNHRC anymore, there is no pressure, Colombo Gazette reported the minister as saying. Only last month, President Sirisena said there was absolutely no pressure from world leaders on the UNHRC resolution, while he was attending the UN General Assembly.
Sri Lanka’s commander of the Security Forces in Jaffna met with the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues this week, where the military delegation spoke of how it was “evolving to uplift the livelihood of Jaffna people,” reports an official website. Major General Mahesh Senanayaka met with Rita Izsak-Ndiaye and a United Nations delegation this week, as part of Ms Izsák-Ndiaye’s visit to the island. According to the official website of the military in Jaffna, the military delegation “described the military involvement in nation building project such as national security, prevention of...
A former Sri Lankan intelligence officer has been found dead in his home, with note by his body allegedly claiming responsibility for the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge. The officer, identified as Indirage Jayamanth, was found in his home in Kegalle. Reports indicate that he had hung himself in his kitchen. In a letter found by his body and allegedly written by him, the former officer claims responsibly for the 2009 assassination of the journalist in Colombo. The letter goes on to call for the release of Sri Lankan intelligence officers who are currently being investigated for...
The Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena this week condemned the prosecutions against former military figures in the country, stating "military commanders who led the successful campaign to crush separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 should not be humiliated in such a way." Speaking at a meeting in Colombo he criticised the government commissions investigating former military figures on charges of corruption as political. “I condemn the actions of FCID (Financial Crimes Investigations Division), the CID (Criminal Investigations Division) and the Bribery Commission,” Mr Sirisena was...
The Sri Lankan army is failing to cooperate with the police over the investigation of the disappearance of the Sinhala journalist, Prageeth Ekneligoda, the Attorney General told the Supreme Court on Friday, reported Colombo Page. The Solicitor General was also reportedly told the Court, the brigadier leading on military intelligence had failed to produce information requested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). See here for more.
Students at the University of Jaffna were on Friday the latest group to come out in support of plantation workers who have launched a campaign demanding fairer wages. Earlier this week a smaller demonstration was held by locals in Jaffna also demanding wages were increased. The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) and the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) this week released statements fully endorsing the plantation workers campaign.
An officer in Kodikamam was arrested on Friday in relation to the death of a suspect in custody of Chunnakam police. The suspect was found dead in a police cell in November 2011, reported Daily Mirror .
A United States judge has reduced the sentence handed down to three Tamils for allegedly conspiring to buy weapons for the LTTE due to the “injustice” of the case, reports the New York Daily News. Federal Judge Raymond Dearie said that the case has “ just taken over my head... To say that I’m troubled is to put it mildly ”. He went on to tell prosecutors and defence lawyers earlier this year: “Now that we’ve become a little bit more sophisticated in our thinking about what is and is not terrorism, now that we know a lot more about the conflict in Sri Lanka and the horrors visited upon these...