Hundreds of Tamils from across the North-East travelled to Kanniya in Trincomalee to protest the destruction of a Hindu temple to make way for a Buddhist vihara. Several protesters were obstructed and blocked en route by Sri Lankan army and police, while some were assaulted by Sinhalese as security forces watched on.
The protest was planned for July 16 following the destruction of the ancient Hindu temple by the Kanniya hot wells, a place of spiritual significance for Tamils which has become disputed due to the Sri Lankan state’s Sinhalisation of the Trincomalee district, especially its historic and touristic sites.
Sri Lankan police had obtained a court injunction against the protest from the Trincomalee magistrate’s court, by arguing that the protest would cause communal tensions. With...
Tamil News
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The travel ban imposed on Lieutenant Commander G.Laksiri, a key witness in the case of the abduction and murder of 11 youth between 2008 and 2009, was temporarily lifted on July 17. The order was issued by Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanyake.
Meanwhile, the case filed against Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, was also postponed until October 9.
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Major General Ruwan Wanigasooriya, the new security forces commander of the Jaffna district, and Dr Suren Raghavan, the governor of the Northern Province held talks on July 16 2019.
Wanigasooriya assumed office on Monday during a simple ceremony at the Security Force Headquarters in Jaffna.
Major General Wanigasooriya served as the General Officer Commanding 59 Division...
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UN Special Rapporteur Clément Nyalestsossi Voule is visiting Sri Lanka from 18 to 26 July 2019 to assess rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the country.
Voule will assess issues related to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including their intersection with the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
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Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s prime minster said he will do his utmost to find a permanent solution to the national question in the next two years.
“I would like to say that we have reached a political settlement. The issue will be resolved in the next two years. It will create an environment in which Sri Lankans can live with pride. I like the fact that we are Sri Lankans irrespective of our nationality. Everyone here should think that way,” he said.
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Mullaitivu based pastor Fr James Pathinanthan, a priest that survived the massacres at Mullivaikkal, passed away last week.
Fr Pathinathan had sustained injuries in Valaignarmadam on Wednesday 22nd April 2009, after bombs were fired into the area by the Sri Lankan military. He was one of 17 priests...
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China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Cheng Xueyuan, warned Sri Lanka to be wary of external interference stating that China would not engage in internal affairs and that such behaviour only brings trouble, chaos and disasters.
He further stated:
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President Maithripala Sirisena has claimed that international drug syndicates orchestrated Sri Lanka’s deadly Easter Sunday bombings, although previously blaming the attacks on Islamist terrorists.
In a statement released on Monday, Sirisena said the attacks “were the work of international drug dealers.”
“Drug barons carried out this attack to discredit me and discourage my anti-narcotics drive. I will not be deterred,” he said.
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Twenty-nine years ago, Vellupillai Viyazhamma’s son, V. Ranjan, was forcibly disappeared. Viyazhamma appeared before multiple commissions and inquiries over the years, refreshing her trauma each time in a desperate attempt to find answers to her endless question — what happened to my son? Last week, Viyazhamma passed away in Keppapilavu. At least twenty-one mothers, including Viyazhamma, have died in their pursuit to learn the truth about their disappeared loved ones.
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The United Kingdom said that it holds “regular discussions” with Sri Lankan officials regarding implementing a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for mass atrocities, and that “more needs to be done” to ensure progress.
Responding to a question from parliamentarian Theresa Villiers on discussions regarding the aftermath of the armed conflict, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said the British government wanted to see Sri Lankan...
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A small commemoration ceremony was held in Sampur, in the Trincomalee district, earlier this month, to mark 29 years Tamils were killed by advancing Sri Lankan soldiers.
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On July 11, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against a motion of no-confidence in government due to concerns over a future government’s commitments to human rights.
In a statement, TNA leader R. Sampanthan condemned the government’s failure to prevent the Easter Sunday bombing but maintained that removing said government from office would lead to a lack of clarity.
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General Jagath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s former army chief, has called for military rule in Sri Lanka to resolve the “situation after April 21”, the Easter Sunday Bombing.
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A protest was held in Batticaloa last week demanding the release of all Tamil political prisoners, and calling for justice over the recent death of one such prisoner in a Sri Lankan jail.
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Hundreds of Tamils from across the North-East travelled to Kanniya in Trincomalee to protest the destruction of a Hindu temple to make way for a Buddhist vihara. Several protesters were obstructed and blocked en route by Sri Lankan army and police, while some were assaulted by Sinhalese as security forces watched on.
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Tamil families of the disappeared who have been demanding information regarding the whereabouts of their loved ones, marked 868 days of protest last week, with a rally through Vavuniya town.
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Tamil National Alliance leader, R. Sampathan, stressed in a speech in southern Matara, that a political solution to the ethnic tensions which has plagued Sri Lanka is needed to attract economic investment and promote a better quality of life. -
Kurunegala Magistrate's Court remanded a Muslim doctor who was falsely charged of sterilising Sinhala women after protests by Buddhist monks and lawyers.
Buddhist monks and lawyers claimed that releasing the doctor, Mohamed Shafi, could lead to violence in Kurunegala.
Despite the State saying it had no objections to bail, the court ordered that Shafi be remanded for another two weeks.
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Sri Lanka’s president vowed never to allow “foreign forces” to challenge the sovereignty of Sri Lanka, as he voiced his opposition to signing a status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) with the United States.
“I will not allow the SOFA that seeks to betray the nation,” Maithripala Sirisena said at a rally earlier this month. “Some foreign forces want to make Sri Lanka one of their bases. I will not allow them to come into the country and challenge our sovereignty.”
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Tamil diaspora organisations are dismayed at the reports that 13 Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) and police personnel charged with executing five Tamil youths in Trincomalee on 2 January 2006 were acquitted of all charges last week.
The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), the British Tamils Forum (BTF), the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) and the US Tamil Action Group (USTAG), believe that last week's ruling on the 'Trinco 5' case is emblematic of Sri Lanka not delivering justice for...
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The EU and Sri Lanka held an informal counter-terrorism dialogue today, chaired by Gilles de Kerchove, the EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator. .
Challenges relating to violent extremism and terrorism were discussed. The EU delegation underlined the importance of efficient coordination of counterterrorism effortts with a focus on the prevention of violent extremism and the importance of counterterrorism responses to be in line with human rights obligations.
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A 22-year old Tamil student from Batticaloa passed away from injuries sustained in the Easter Sunday attacks this week, as the death toll from the bombings rose once more.
Karunagaran Umasankari, a second year arts student at Eastern University, was attending a service at the Zion...
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India has granted a 300 million rupee grant to support the renovation of the Jaffna Palaly airport which is expected to be a centre for business and tourist traffic between Sri Lanka’s North and India.
Earlier, the Indian ministry of external affairs (MEA) had stalled the development of the airport due to concerns over political instability.
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The villagers of Keppapilavu who have been calling for the released of their occupied land for more than 863 days criticised Tamil politicians, stating that they have been “forsaken”.
Speaking to reporters in Mullaitivu, where the Sri Lankan security forces have continued to occupy private Tamil land, protestors slammed leaders...
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Reports have emerged that the Sri Lankan army is building a vihara on occupied land in the so-called 'High Security Zone' of Valikamam North, leading residents to fear that they will not regain their lands.
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A Sri Lankan soldier has died and eight others were injured in an accident in Keppapulavu, Mullaitivu on Sunday.
The military vehicle’s driver lost control after speeding round a bend in the Keppapulavu army camp area.
Three of the injured were admitted to Mullaitivu district hospital, while five were admitted to...
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The Indian government is pushing Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitments to Tamils, according to a minister responding to a question in the Lok Sabha concerning the protection of Tamil interests.
In his written response on June 10, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan emphasised that India has consistently called upon SL to fulfil its commitments and that the end of the civil war a decade ago brought a unique opportunity to provide a last peace to the island.
In...
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The Sri Lankan army continued with its militarisation of the Tamil North-East as it handed out wheelchairs to disabled Tamil civilians in Jaffna last week.
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Facebook has increased its investments in Sinhala and Tamil language experts in order to curb online hate speech and other malicious content from Sri Lanka, as attacks on Muslims have risen since the Easter Sunday bombings earlier this year.
In a press statement, a Facebook spokesperson said:
“We have invested heavily on Sinhala and Tamil language expertises as we have promised. We significantly ramped up our language expertise in Sri Lanka through hiring more...
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Tamil families of the disappeared protested in Mannar and Jaffna on Thursday, demanding justice for their forcibly disappeared relatives.
In Mannar, families were joined by civil society members including religious leaders, in a demonstration outside the district secretariat.
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Several thousand Sri Lankan soldiers attended a military talent show held at the occupying military base in Jaffna this week, as the army continued its decades-long militarisation of the region.
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World News
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India’s Supreme Court has ordered a citizenship tally in Assam after concerns were raised that thousands of illegal muslim immigrants from Bangladesh had produced false documents for citizenship.
This order follows years of ethnic tensions and campaigns against Bangladesh immigrants who natives claim are stealing resources and taking their land. Prime Minister Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharat Janata Party has further contributed to this tension by vowing to expel illegal immigrants and...
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Representatives of both Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido are holding negotiation in Barbados to resolve the political crisis in Venezuela.
The discussions in Barbados are extension of the first round of negotiations in Oslo in May. Last week both sides had agreed to negotiations and for Norway to act as an impartial mediator.
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A Turkish diplomat was killed yesterday after three assailants opened fire at a restaurant in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region in Iraq.
The attackers also fired at Iraqi nationals who were sat at adjacent tables to the diplomat, killing one and seriously wounding another.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called the incident and “atrocious attack against our consulate employees in Erbil.”
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Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance have signed a political accord to form a power-sharing body, following months of divisions and protests calling for civilian rule after President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in April.
The 22-clause accord was signed today to solidify an agreement between both sides. The two sides have agreed to rotate control of the sovereign council for just over three years.
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Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Marise Payne, expressed “deep concern” over China’s treatment of the Uighur minority and the use of forced labour, detention centres and the blocks on consular assistance to dual citizens.
On Monday, Payne responded to questions concerning the cases of 10 Australian permanent residents who have been allegedly detained, including a two-year-old Australian citizen. The Minister maintained that Australia has sought information and offered consular...
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The US State Department announced that it has barred several senior military officials in Myanmar from entering the United States, over a lack of accountability for atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims since a 2017 crackdown.
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Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, has asserted that he will never be tried for human rights violation he is accused of during his war on drugs and vowed to see his crackdown through “to the very end”.
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The United Nation special rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, has told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, that Myanmar security forces and separatist rebels are engaged in human rights violations in the western states of Myanmar.
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The United States Treasury announced that it has imposed sanctions on the son of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, in the latest set of embargoes placed on the country.
The US accuses Nicolasito Maduro Guerra of playing a key role in maintaining the current government and president, with Washington having now imposed sanctions on more than 100 Venezuelan officials.
Opposition leader Juan Guadio has been recognised by the US and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela’s...
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A senior military commander in Sudan has reportedly hired a Canadian lobby firm for $6 million, reports the Financial Times, the latest in a series of deals between African leaders and North American companies.
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United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has demanded that Sudanese authorities must end its repression of protesters; the shutdown of the internet; and grant human rights monitors access to the country.
Bachelet said that her office has received reports that detail the deaths of over 100 protestors and many more were injured by security officials during a peaceful sit-in on July 3.
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Luis Enrique Mendoza has been arrested by Guatemala police and is facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1982 massacre of Maya Ixil people.
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Amnesty International has called for an impartial inquiry into the death of former Egyptian President, Mohamed Morsi, who died in court on 17 June.
In a statement Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa said:
“The Egyptian authorities must immediately order an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his death, as well as his detention conditions and his ability to access medical care”....
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Myanmar’s most prominent nationalist group has condemned sedition charges brought against one of its leading members, Ashin Wirathu, after he had made defamatory remarks about State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the government.
Wirathu had previously been arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2003 for preaching ultranationalism and anti-Muslim ideas but was released in 2012. Since the defamatory remarks on the 5 May, he has been able to avoid arrest.
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A suspected separatist attack has killed four police and wounded six in Cameroon’s English speaking region.
The attack follows another attack in the south-west district of Eyumojock on Saturday. No group has claimed responsibility for the most recent attack. The most recent attack marks the first deadly strike using a bomb.
The government released a statement which stated:
“The government condemns in the strongest terms this criminal act, perpetrated by...
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An unidentified group killed 19 people and wounded 13 in and around the town, Arbinda in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday, the government reports.
Reuters notes that over 150,000 have been forcibly displaced due to Islamist violence and hundreds of people have been killed in the last few months across the Shel region.
In December, the government declared a state of emergency in several northern provinces bordering Mali. This was extended by six months after jihadists attacked...
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A top US diplomat for Africa, Tibor Nagy, was due to arrive in Khartoum, Sudan, to join an international push to salvage a deal between Sudan’s opposition groups and the military council.
Talks between the transitional military council and the civilian opposition broke down when Sudan’s security forces attacked a sit-in protest.
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Police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in Hong Kong as protests turn violent.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets, surrounding the Legislative Council, ahead of the scheduled debate, to express their anger against government plans to allow extraditions to China.
Police officers have used tear gas, rubber bullets, batons, pepper spray and water hoses against the demonstrators. 22 people are reported to have been taken to hospital for...
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India’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of a journalist, Prashant Kanojia, who had posted controversial tweets about Yogi Adityanath, the leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Utter Pradesh current Chief Minister.
According to a petition his wife sent to the Supreme Court; Kanojia, age 26, was detained by plainclothed police after he tweeted about a woman claiming to be in love with Utter Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
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According to local officials, at least 95 Fulani villagers have been killed in an attack on Sobane-Kou, by suspected ethnic Dogon villagers in central Mali, and 19 are reported missing.
The attackers also burned down houses and killed livestock. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet but there have been rising tensions between the Dogon and Fulani ethnic groups.
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Canada’s National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (NIMMIWG) has found the country is complicit in “race-based genocide” against the Indigenous People.
The report identified that indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be killed or to disappear than other women in Canada. In total, the inquiry cost over C$92 million and heard over 2,300 testimonies which included survivors of violence and family members.
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The Indian government has revised a controversial draft bill following strong opposition from the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The education bill that looked to make Hindi a mandatory third language across the country, removed specifying Hindi as the third language.
The removal has not completely quelled tensions in Tamil Nadu, as the introduction of a third compulsory language is stills seen as a method to impose Hindi.
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Security forces in Sudan have used live ammunition to disperse protesters in the capital, Khartoum.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, a medical group affiliated with the protesters said 13 people have been killed and hundreds injured.
Protesters have been staging a sit-in for several weeks now, demanding an end to military rule since the fall of Omar al-Bashir in April.
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Former foreign secretary and Ambassador to the US, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has been appointed as India’s foreign minister, in what marks the first time a diplomat has been appointed as foreign minister without running for election.
Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is not officially affiliated with any party, previously served as India’s ambassador to the United States, China and Singapore. During his time as ambassador to the US, under the Obama administration, he played an...
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Carles Puigdemont, an exiled Catalan leader, has been denied access to the European Parliament after he was successfully elected as an MEP in the recent European election.
Puigdemont told his supporters on Twitter that he, as well as Catalan minister Toni Comin, were prohibited access to the parliament by the secretary-general.
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Amnesty International has found that Myanmar's army is committing new war crimes against ethnic Rakhine rebels.
Photograph: Amnesty International
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Human Rights Watch (HRW) say that Egyptian security forces and militants in the Sinai governorate, Egypt are responsible for crimes against humanity.
Photograph: Human Rights Watch
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The British Prime Minister has announced that she will step down as Conservative leader on June 7th, in a press address today.
In a statement made in front of 10 Downing Street the Prime Minister said that it was with ‘deep regret’ that she had made the decision to step down after failing to secure parliamentary backing on her Brexit deal.
The Conservative Party said that a new leader could be in place by the end of July.
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The bombing of a mosque on Friday in Pakistan’s western city, Quetta, has killed 3 people and wounded 28, leaving three in a critical condition.
Abdul Razzaq Cheema, Quetta’s police chief, told reporters that the attack occurred before Friday prayers. The local police officer, Tauseef Farman, reported that an explosive device went off next to the prayer leader, who was among the killed.
Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan, a region of Pakistan that has suffered from cycles of...
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Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is to secure a second five-year term with a resounding majority.
Results so far project that the BJP is set to win over 300 of the 543 seats in parliament, while the main opposition led by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress Party is expected to win fewer than 100.
Modi’s victory is certain but results are still being declared. Rahul Gandhi has accepted defeat and congratulated Modi on his win during a press conference.