• Tamils protest in Mannar on Human Rights Day

    Dec 09

    Families of the disappeared demonstrated in Mannar on Thursday, marking Human Rights Day.

    Calling for their loved ones who are missing or forcibly disappeared to be returned to them, protesters wept as they marched through the town, holding photographs of those who they were searching for.

  • UN must secure Tamil people's rights demand NPC members on Human Rights Day


    Members of the Northern Provincial Council on Thursday called on the UN to secure the Tamil people's human rights.

  • Sri Lanka to sign the International Convention on Enforced Disappearances
    Sri Lanka will sign the International Convention on Enforced Disappearances today, marking International Human Rights Day, said the country's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera in a statement marking International Human Rights Day.

    "Today is International Human Rights Day. And as in the past, Sri Lanka will join the countries of the world in commemorating this  important event. But this year, Sri Lanka’ commemorations will not only be symbolic – they will also be substantive," he said.

    "So I am very pleased to announce that Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to
    the UN will be signing the International Convention on Enforced Disappearances later today in New York," he added.

    His statement came as Tamil families whose loved ones remain missing protested in Mannar against disappearances and the Northern Provincial Council demanded the UN to secure the Tamil people's human rights.

  • TNA calls for full devolution of powers to North-East
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called for land and police powers to be devolved to the provinces.

    Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, the leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Selvam Adaikalanathan said that the 13th Amendment must be fully implemented with powers fully devolved to the Northern provinces.
  • Sri Lanka's former foreign minister concerned about amnesty for Tamil political prisoners
    Sri Lanka’s former External Affairs Minister Prof GL Peiris expressed “serious concern” over considerations of a general amnesty for former Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres in custody.

    Mr Peiris added that the Jaffna Tamil student who committed suicide demanding the release of Tamil political prisoners was a “sophisticated plan” to influence the government’s decision making process.
  • Relatives of disappeared to boycott Presidential Commission, protest in Jaffna

    Families of missing Tamils have decided to boycott Sri Lanka’s presidential commission into disappearances, and staged a protest in Jaffna to express their disappointment with the commission.

    Photographs Tamil Guardian

    Members of the organisation representing the relatives of missing persons in the North-East agreed to fully boycott the Presidential Commission’s inquiries, demanding instead that any further investigations should be carried out by independent, international actors.

  • Sri Lankan police found guilty of breaking international law over student protests

    The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) found the Sri Lankan police guilty of violating international law in a landmark case last week, over the use of excessive force when dispersing student protestors in Colombo.

    "(The) police action is a violation of the universal declaration of human rights as well as the international covenant on civil and political rights," said the commission said in a 32-page report last week.

    Students who protested in Colombo in October were violently dispersed by police officers. "Students had been subjected to cruel and degrading treatment in violation of their rights guaranteed by the constitution as well as international human rights covenants," said the HRCSL.

  • Sri Lanka’s exports continue to fall as tea tumbles by 20%
    Sri Lanka’s exports fell for the seventh successive month in September 2015, with tea export earnings slumping 20.4%, according to the latest figures released by the Central Bank.

    Exports fell by 5.9% to US$ 850 million in September 2015, a decline that has continued since March 2015. Industrial exports were the hardest hit, falling by 4.7%, with lower shipments of rubber products, gems, diamonds and jewellery, machinery and mechanical appliances and printing industry products reported.

    Tea exports fell in particular, a 20.4% in September of this year compared to the same month in 2014, according to official data. The Sri Lankan government plans to artificially raise the price of tea by purchasing from the tea auction, in an attempt to stabilise the market, said Lanka Business Online.
  • BBS wants Asian alliance with 969 ‘to protect Buddhism’
    The leader of the Bodu Bala Sena said he wanted to create an “Asian alliance” with Burma’s 969 group, in order to protect Buddhism in the region.

    Speaking to The Australian BBS’s chief monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara said his organisation’s “struggle is to protect an innocent society from a violent group”, namely Muslims on the island.

    He defended his organisation’s links with Burma’s 969 and radical monk Wirathu, who has been accused of inciting ethnic violence in the country, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of Muslims. “I know I am not a terrorist and I know Wirathu is not a terrorist, though unfortunately the western media has categorised him as such,” said Gnanasara.

    “We want to create an Asian alliance to protect Buddhism and keep the region peaceful,” he continued. “People think Buddhists are very innocent, that even if you hit them from behind or shoot them in the head they should keep quiet and accept… Is that what the world is expecting from us?”
  • ‘Is Sri Lanka’s Fiscal House in Order?’ – IMF mission chief
    Proposals put forward in Sri Lanka’s budget “raise questions” said the International Monetary Fund's mission chief for Sri Lanka, in an op-ed published this week.

    Todd Schneider outlined concerns in both Sri Lanka’s revenue and spending targets, saying “the direction of policies and the lack of a medium-term context”.

    Stating Sri Lanka’s targeted rise in public revenue “seems ambitious—perhaps overly ambitious”, Mr Schneider said “apart from being an unprecedented increase, the main underlying measures—for the most part—are likely to work toward lowering revenues”.
    Sri Lanka’s proposed spending raises “the concern is whether the overall targets can indeed be met”, he said. 

    Noting that “spending for other goods and services almost doubles, and the reason for this has yet to be clarified,” Mr Schneider added “the risk is that capital spending could be slashed in the event of revenues falling short—which has been the case for the past several years”. “This underscores the need for realistic revenue estimates which would then provide greater certainty to the path of critical expenditures.”
  • Release of Tamil political detainees poses 'serious threat' - Gotabhaya

    Former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the release of Tamils detained for political reasons posed a serious threat to national security.

    Claiming the Tamils were "hardcore LTTE members", Mr Gotabhaya said that some of those on the list to be released were involved in major attacks on Colombo.

  • ‘Delay on part of Attorney General’ in reviewing prisoners cases says minister

    Sri Lankan Minister D.M. Swaminathan said the Attorney General was reviewing the cases of 20 former LTTE cadres who have been detained under the government’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act.

    Daily Mirror quoted the minister as stating the Attorney General was deliberating on whether the former cadres would be prosecuted or cleared for “release or rehabilitation”, adding,

    “There is a delay on the part of the Attorney General’s Department in clearing these cases”.

  • ‘Our government will never sign the CEPA’ says Ranil

    Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government would “never” sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) deal with India, in a speech delivered to parliament on Wednesday.

    “Our government will never sign the CEPA agreement under any circumstance, and that it won’t be signed under another name,” said the prime minister. “This harmful CEPA agreement has been removed completely from our nation.”

    Also see our earlier feature: Sri Lanka’s Indophobia (07 Aug 2015)

  • UK defence adviser will work with Sri Lankan troops on accountability and human rights
    Britain said that the appointment of a Defence Adviser will allow the UK to work with the Sri Lankan military on issues of accountability and human rights, in order to address the legacy of the armed conflict.

    A British High Commission spokesperson told The Island that the Defence Adviser in New Delhi will concurrently function as non-resident military representative for Sri Lanka.

    "The Sri Lankan government has committed itself to addressing the legacy of its long conflict, including through co-sponsorship of a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council this year,” said the spokesperson. “The military have a crucial role to play in this process and in fulfilling the commitments Sri Lanka has made on long-standing issues of reconciliation, accountability and human rights. The appointment of a Defence Adviser will enable the UK to work with the Sri Lankan armed forces on these issues, just as we are supporting the Government and civil society.”

    However former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who was credited with masterminding the final Sri Lankan government offensive which saw tens of thousands of civilian deaths, expressed his concern over the move.
  • India says it is committed to building 50K houses for Tamils in Sri Lanka

    The Indian government on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to building 50,000 houses for internal displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka, the Economic Times reported.

    Addressing the Lok Sabha, India's minister of state for home, Kiren Rijiju said the 50,000 homes project would include the building of new homes, as well as repairing ones that were damaged. The project would be driven via agencies as well as through beneficiary owners.

    "The beneficiaries of the housing project are identified through a consultative process," Mr Rijiju said.

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