Colombo Fort Magistrates was told yesterday by the Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department (CID) there was evidence the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne hid a man wanted over the abduction and disappearance of 11 predominantly Tamil youths during 2008 - 2009. 

The Sri Lankan Supreme Court has ordered the Northern Power Company to compensate residents in Chunnakam, Jaffna for environmental damage caused by the Uthuru Janani thermal power plant which the court claims violated residents fundamental rights.

<p>A Sri Lankan minister claimed that president Maithripala Sirisena is not against a UN Human Rights Council resolution which mandated a hybrid court with international judges, despite his government repeatedly speaking out against such a mechanism.</p> <p>“I don’t think the President is really against the UNHRC or the setting up of OMP,” claimed Harsha De Silva in an address to Sri Lanka’s parliament.</p>

"Sri Lanka Finance Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, has released an article entitled the "Truth about the Geneva Human Rights Council Resolution" in which he called upon citizens to reaffirm commitment to the UN resolution and warned of the threats of universal jurisdiction. 

The Sri Lankan government plans to buy private land in order to resettle internally displaced families in the North-East.

The proposal was presented by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at cabinet, according to Ada Derana, citing a ‘lack of sufficient state-owned lands in the Jaffna District’ as the cause for the unresolved issue of resettlement.

However Tamil representatives and community groups have consistently called for the release of state and private lands from military occupation as a solution to several issues, including displacement and unemployment.

<p>Sri Lanka’s decision to reinstate the death penalty may disproportionately impact on Tamil speaking people on the island, said Amnesty International in a briefing released earlier today.</p> <p>Amnesty International found that “people who are from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, or belonging to racial, ethnic or religious minorities, are disproportionately vulnerable to being sentenced to death”.</p>

The Sri Lankan government is to review its Free Trade Agreement with Singapore next month, the International Trade Secretary said today. 

 

Following pressure from an ultra-nationalist Buddhist group, police have arrested award-winning Sinhala novelist Shakthika Sathkumara under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) for insulting Buddhism.

Britain’s minister for Asia and the Pacific said “much faster progress is needed” in Sri Lanka, as he responded to questions regarding accountability for mass atrocities committed almost a decade ago.

Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, asked whether “Ministers share my grave disappointment that, 10 years after the horrors of Mullivaikkal, no one has been brought to justice for war crimes in the Sri Lankan conflict?”.

In response, Mark Field said “as a penholder, the UK has played a leading role in trying to bring the parties together, but while we accept that positive steps have been taken, much faster progress is needed”.

The British Foreign Secretary has said that there will never be lasting peace in Sri Lanka without justice and accountability.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt made the remarks in response to a question about Sri Lanka in parliament on Tuesday.

Gareth Thomas MP had asked:

“The rules-based international order would be strengthened if countries were seen to be held accountable for adhering to the conclusions of the United Nations Human Rights Council. What steps are Ministers taking to hold Sri Lanka to account for its failure to bring to justice those who are guilty of perpetuating major human rights abuses?”