The Paris based charity, Action Contre la Faim on Thursday called for a credible investigation into the killing of 17 of its local aid workers in Muttur in Sri Lanka in 2006. Visiting Sri Lanka on the 10th anniversary of the killing, the ACF chief executive, Veronique Andrieux told AFP that they were closely observing the government's implementation of the UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for a credible investigation into mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict. "What we hope is that this accountability mechanism will be able to deliver a credible legal and just solution...
Sri Lanka’s debt situation is so severe, over 95% of all government revenue is spent on repaying loans, reports Forbes this week. In a piece examining the government’s struggle to make repayments, Wade Shepard wrote in Forbes: “Sri Lanka’s debt situation is severe. The country is currently in $58.3 billion deep to foreign financiers, and 95.4% of all government revenue is currently going towards paying back its loans. This means that out of every hundred dollars the government brings in only $4.60 is going towards essentials like education and public services.” See more in his piece: China...
Marking this week the ten anniversary of the killing of 17 aid workers from Action Contre La Faim in Muttur, Trincomalee, Human Rights Watch reiterated the call for justice and said the massacre underscored the need for an international role in any accountability mechanism by Sri Lanka as the only means to ensuring justice. “The failure to provide justice for the ACF massacre is Exhibit A in the breakdown of accountability for serious crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war,” HRW's legal and policy director, James Ross said. “The mishandling of the ACF case shows why a war crimes court needs international involvement to shield it from political pressures.” On August 4th, 2006 masked gunmen executed the 17 local staff of the Paris based aid group who had been involved in a post-tsunami rebuilding project. No one has been brought to justice.
In the latest of its presidential commission appointments, Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government would be appointing another to investigate reported attempts to create rifts within the Buddhist clergy. "We will appoint a presidential commission to determine whether anyone tried to create divisions within the Malwatte Chapter," Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying whilst addressing a religious event at a Buddhist temple. “A person could be stripped of his civic rights if he is found to have worked towards a division within the chapters of the...
The Sri Lankan government has rejected a report by the Sunday Times that China had refused to convert debts into equity , accusing the paper of trying to disrupt the country's economic development. Colombo Page quoted the Government Information Department as saying, "a Sunday Times report that said China has declined Sri Lanka's request to convert into equity Beijing-funded projects including the Mattala Airport and the Hambantota Port was not true."
The Japanese government has granted Sri Lanka Rs 14 billion for development projects. The soft loan was aimed at ensuring the implementation of the budget proposals made by the Sri Lankan government in the 2016 budget. Sri Lanka's finance ministry said this was the first such loan from Japan, Colombo Page reported.
Sri Lanka's government has reached an agreement with Iran on its demand that Rs. 37 billion of unpaid bills are settle prior to Sri Lanka buying further crude oil. It was agreed during talks in Tehren that the bills would be offset against tea export payments, amongst other measures, reported the Sunday Times. See more here .
Sri Lanka's ministry of home affairs this week pledged to complete the issuing of 'Certificates of Absence' to families of those reported missing during the armed conflict by the end of this year. Ceylon Today quoted the ministry's secretary, J J Rathnasiri as saying the process was already under way but would be complete by December. "If anyone provides false information claiming a person is missing when in fact he or she is not missing, that person will be liable to five years imprisonment for misleading the government," he reportedly added. The certificate allows for the same rights as...
China has declined Sri Lanka's request to convert into equity the loans funding projects including the Mattala airport and Hambantota port. Chinese ambassador Yi Xianling has told the Sri Lankan prime minister that such a transfer wasn't possible within Chinese laws. However Mr Xianling has said that his government is willing to cooperate with and support Sri Lanka in overcoming its financial issues. Read more on the Sunday Times .
Residents of Valikaamam North, many of whom have been displaced for over two decades, complained this week that the Sri Lankan army not only continues to occupy their land, but is using it to play cricket. The 1 acre of land has been converted into a sports ground and is situated adjacent to Kankesanthurai Nateswara College which was recently released by the president, Maithripala Sirisena. "Do they require our own lands to play cricket?" one displaced Tamil, who wished to remain anonymous said.