• US officials hold discussions with TNA

    Jul 12

    The US assistant secretaries, Tom Malinowski and Nisha Biswal met with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Wednesday whilst on their visit to Sri Lanka.

    "Met w/Opp Leader Sampanthan and TNA colleagues to share perspectives on #SriLanka and their hopes for the country," Biswal tweeted.

  • Sri Lanka's economic future inextricably linked to political - Biswal
    The US assistant secretary Nisha Biswal stressed the need for Sri Lanka to find a political solution in order to achieve its economic potential.

    Addressing an event in Colombo on Wednesday Ms Biswal said Sri Lanka "is now prime to become the economic success story it was always meant to be," but added:

    "Lee Kuan Yew talked about Sri Lanka becoming the next Singapore when the economy opened up in the late 1970s. Decades of conflict delayed that potential. But now is the time to make good on that promise.

    For that promise to be fulfilled, we must recognize that the economic future of Sri Lanka is necessarily and inextricably linked to its political future, which must reflect the needs, aspirations, and diversity of all its people."

  • Namal Rajapaksa arrested

    The son of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa was arrested on Monday on fraud charges,

    Namal Rajapaksa, MP for Hambantota, was arrested on money laundering charges, in another sign of Mahinda Rajapaksa's waning power.

  • Another high ranking US official visits Sri Lanka

    The US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour Tom Malinowski will visit Sri Lanka from July 12 to 20, where he will engage with government officials and local civil society representatives.

  • Shared responsibility to see through resolution says US
    The United States as a co-sponsor of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka last year, has a shared responsibility to see the process through, the US assistant secretary Tom Malinowski said on Tuesday during a visit to Colombo.

    "The United States was a co-sponsor of that resolution, and as such we feel we have a shared responsibility to help see this process through.  So we look forward to supporting Sri Lanka as it puts into place the remaining institutions and reforms that the resolution endorsed.  We very strongly commend the government for working closely with United Nations and High Commissioner Zeid to advance that progress,"

  • British Tamil man tortured in Sri Lanka returns to UK
    A British Tamil man who said he was detained by Sri Lankan authorities and tortured after travelling to the country last month to get married, returned to the UK earier this week, The Guardian reported.

    "I was arrested at my mother’s house and put inside a van where the men who arrested me started punching and beating me. I was taken to an empty house somewhere in Jaffna that I believe is used for torture. There was dried blood on the walls. I was beaten with wooden sticks and a metal bar on my head and face and leg and I lost consciousness," the 36 year old  Velauthapillai Renukaruban told newspaper.

    The men accused him of involvement in the LTTE.

    “I kept telling them that I had lived in the UK for many years and have nothing to do with LTTE. But they didn’t listen. I thought I was going to die," he said.

  • Batticaloa domestic airport opened
    Batticaloa's domestic airport was opened on Sunday following renovation for the past 4 years, reports the Daily Mirror.

    The airport, which includes a newly constructed passenger terminal building, was constructed partly by the Sri Lankan Air Force which was ordered to do so by the Sri Lankan Cabinet.
  • Sirisena slams media for false reporting on 'foreign judges'

    Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena has denied that foreign judges will be allowed to prtake in any accountability mechanism, the second time he has done so in two days.

  • No reduction in army in Jaffna says commander
    The Sri Lankan army said there was no reduction in security in Jaffna with the number of troops and army camps remaining the same.
  • Sirisena postpones Batticaloa event near site of Sinhala mob attack
    The Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has postponed his visit on Sunday to the opening ceremony of the a hotel in Pasikuda, Batticaloa, after the murder of a Tamil man near the hotel by a Sinhala mob, the Sunday Times reported.
  • Sri Lanka's Sinhala joint opposition to table no confidence motion against Mangala Samaraweera
    Sri Lanka’s ‘Joint Opposition’ has announced that they intend to table a motion of no-confidence against the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera, reports Adaderena.lk.
  • US Assistant Secretary Biswal to visit Sri Lanka

    The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal will be visiting Sri Lanka next week.

  • Sri Lanka's president reiterates rejection of international judges in presence of prime minister
    Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday reiterated that there will be no foreign judges in an accountability mechanism reports Ceylonews.

    Addressing a Buddhist religious event in Panadura in the presence of Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mr Sirisena said,
  • Exiled victims cannot testify in Sri Lanka's embassies says ITJP

    The International Truth and Justice Project  (ITJP) welcomed media reports that Sri Lanka’s cabinet had recognised that  “exiled victims and witnesses have a key role in terrifying to the country’s future transitional justice mechanisms” adding concerns that Sri Lanka had not addressed “genuine concerns of witnesses and victims abroad who fear reprisals ei

  • International element needed in accountability process stresses UK govt
    Addressing a UK parliamentary debate on Sri Lanka on Thursday, the minister of state, Hugo Swire, stressed the need for an international element to any accountability mechanism in order for it to be a credible process.

    "To reassure the communities in Sri Lanka and to show the international community that this is a credible process, there needs to be an international element," Mr Swire said in response to the Labour MP for Ilford North, Wes Streeting's question regarding statements by the Sri Lankan president and prime minister rejecting international involvement.

    "That is what we continue to stress with the Government, with Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister, with Mangala Samaraweera, the Foreign Minister, and through Prince Zeid. I am hopeful that the message is getting through and think that something will happen in that respect."

    "The British Government have always been clear that any accountability mechanism needs to be credible and meet international standards. We therefore welcomed Sri Lanka’s co-sponsorship of UNHRC resolution 30/1. We have reiterated our commitment to its full implementation on a number of occasions, most recently in Geneva last month."

Subscribe to Tamil Affairs

Most-Read Articles

Velupillay makes history as first Tamil at a FIFA World Cup
Photograph: @Socceroos Nishan Velupillay has been selected in Australia's squad…
Tamil rapper arrested for ‘terrorism’ over TikTok video
A Tamil rapper from Kilinochchi has been arrested and remanded under Sri Lanka's…
Supreme Court challenge filed as Tamil artist remains jailed under PTA
A fundamental rights petition will be filed before Sri Lanka's Supreme Court seeking…
Catholic divide deepens as North-East clergy defend Tamil genocide recognition
A Tamil woman mourns in Mullivaikkal on Tamil Genocide Remembance Day, May 18. A…
Sri Lankan police halt Eelam song at Jaffna concert, summon singer Kokulan
  Three Tamils, including singer Kokulan, the son of late musician S.G. Santhan,…