The COVID-19 pandemic has affected torture survivors disproportionately “while exposing the fragility of a flawed welfare and asylum system in the UK” the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) said in their new report.

The report, ‘Coping with COVID-19: The Experience of Torture Survivors in the United Kingdom', highlights the ways in which the pandemic has exacerbated problems faced by Tamils who survived detention, torture and sexual violence in Sri Lanka and are now seeking asylum in the UK.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated Sri Lanka on its efforts to fight COVID-19 in a telephone conversation with Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week, where the two leaders discussed a range of issues including debt relief and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.  

Sri Lankan Prime Minister and war criminal, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has given a speech warning people not to be distracted by comments made by Karuna Amman and to focus on what is “politically important” to defeat “foreign conspirators” who prevailed in the 2015 elections.

Rajapaksa further stated that “Karuna may have given up murdering people, but the yahapalana cabal has not given up trying to divide the country”.

Over a decade on since the end of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict in 2009, the occupying Sri Lankan state police and military forces in the North-East continue to carry out ongoing human rights violations, surveillance, intimidation, police brutality and extensive militarisation against Tamils and Muslims, under the semblance of national security concerns.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, and accused war criminal, Kamal Gunaratne vowed during a meeting that he would eradicate Sri Lanka’s drug menace by going after corrupt officials and supporting victims of drug addiction.

This statement follows the establishment of a Presidential Task Force (PTF) that provides Sri Lanka officials with a worryingly broad mandate to tackle the drug menace whilst also failing to illustrate clear lines of accountability.

A Tamil father died today after spending 14 years searching for his son, who was abducted in Wellawette, Colombo.

Sri Lankan president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, stressed the need for correct media practices in order to “help preserve Sri Lankan identity and cultural values” during a meeting with the Independent Television Network (ITN) last week.

The meeting, which also examined the current position of ITN and its future strategies, was attended by a number of Board Directors and high ranking ITN representatives.

Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed his government “has not received a single dollar from the World Bank and other organisations”, despite hundreds of millions of dollars being pledged internationally for Colombo amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Rajapaksa made the comments during a meeting with officials of the Sri Lankan film industry and cinema owners at Temple Trees.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister and war criminal, Mahinda Rajapaksa appealed for a moratorium on debt from international lenders during a meeting with the United Nations and UNICEF.

During this meeting, Rajapaksa was reported to have discussed strengthening Sri Lanka’s social security system to reduce the economic impact of the on the most vulnerable communities including those differently abled, the elderly, and children. Rajapaksa claimed that the Government of Sri Lanka has always prioritised the rights and needs of children.