• Sri Lanka says no secret detention camps

    May 10

    Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has denied the existence of secret detention camps, where Tamils are thought to have been sent during and after the armed conflict.

    "Last week, I had an opportunity to meet a group of mothers still looking for their missing children. The issue of secret detention camps came up and assured them such facilities do not exist. I assured them of a thorough inquiry in case they could reveal secret detention camps," the minister said to media.

    Thousands of Tamils remain missing, 6 years after the end of the armed conflict, including those taken captive by the Sri Lankan army in front of their families.

  • Asian Development Bank to double funding says Sri Lanka

    Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake confirmed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was prepared to double its annual funding to Sri Lanka, raising the figure to US$1.2 billion.

    Mr Karunanayake said that the credit grant was due to independent reviews that placed confidence in Sri Lanka’s economy and not requests by the Sri Lankan government.

    The funds are to be directed towards government development initiatives, budgetary allocations, capacity development and debt relief reports Colombo Page.

    The credit increase comes in the wake of the ADB’s recent decision to downgrade Sri Lanka’s 2015 GDP growth forecast by 0.5%.

  • Another former minister arrested

    Former Foreign Ministry Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena was arrested earlier today, on charges he misused vehicles belonging to the presidential secretariat.

    The Criminal Investigation Department summoned the MP to record a statement this morning where he was arrested and remanded until May 20. Mr Gunawardena is facing several charges of corruption and fraud, committed during his tenure under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

    The MP is the former CEO of the government owned airline, Mihin Lanka and also served as coordinating secretary on trade and foreign affairs to the former president.

    Former Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando was also remanded until May 25, earlier today.

  • Regulations to protect Sri Lankan flag to be passed into law

    The Sri Lankan government will incorporate regulations on the Sri Lankan flag into common law, criminalising acts that violate the new rules.

    The new laws would target printers and distributers of distorted flags. “Legal action will be taken against those who print and distribute these flags,” a government source told the Daily Mirror.

    Several individuals were arrested on charges of ‘maligning’ the national flag by displaying a version without the colours representing Tamils and Muslims, during a protest held in support of the former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month.

  • Government failing to address Tamil grievances – TNA MP

    The new government under President Maithripala Sirisena has not done anything to alleviate the grievances of Tamil people, including on political prisoners, and resettling internally displaced persons, Batticaloa’s TNA MP P Ariyanenthiran charged.

    Speaking at an event in Kaluthaivalai, the MP said the current government pledged to solve the humanitarian problems of the people in the North-East, before coming into power, but that the Tamil political prisoners are still in detention.

    "The relatives of those political prisoners have pinned their hopes on the new Government. But the Government has not done anything within its 100 days programme to alleviate their grievances such as the releasing of Tamil political prisoners, finding the disappeared persons and resettling the Internally Displaced Persons," Mr Ariyanenthiran said.

  • ‘An awful lot remains to be done’ on human rights in Sri Lanka says EU envoy
    The European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka said Sri Lanka still has an “awful lot” to do to strengthen human rights on the island and warned that the underlying issues to the ethnic conflict need resolving.

    In an interview to the Sunday Leader, EU Ambassador David Daly said “we have consistently urged SL to do a number of things of which firstly to strengthen the rule of law and the question of governance and respect human rights across Sri Lanka which we think is fundamental”.

    “If you don’t tackle the underlying issues and if you leave issues festering then history has a horrible way of coming back to bite you, sometimes unexpectedly later on,” he added. “If the past reveals any violation of the humanitarian law or international human rights law, then there must be a proper judicial process that deals with the perpetrators of these violations so that these issues can be put to rest.”

    Calling for a “genuine effort toward reconciliation”, Mr Daly welcomed pledges made by the Sri Lankan government, stating “we hope that this government has not only made commitments but have started to make concrete changes”.  “There is always a challenge to transform commitments into actual reality on the ground,” he said, adding “the commitments made and the concrete measures already been taken while being duly recognised must be completed and we will encourage Sri Lanka on that area and are happy to work with Sri Lanka.”
  • ‘Armed Forces Day’ to be held on May 19 in Sri Lanka

    The Sri Lankan government will be holding an event entitled “Armed Forces Day” on May 19, marking 6 years since the end of the armed conflict and the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

  • Sri Lanka to develop Trincomalee oil storage facility with Indian assistance

    The Sri Lankan government will propose a business plan to develop the China Bay oil storage facility in Trincomalee with Indian assistance, with the aim to make the town a regional petroleum hub.

  • Forthcoming elections to be held under current system - JVP

    The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka will be held under the current proportional representation system, the JVP said on Sunday.

  • BJP urges Sri Lanka to devolve powers to Tamils
    Leaders of the Indian government's main party, the BJP, urged the Sri Lankan government to ensure devolution of powers and equal rights to Tamils occurred without delay, reports the Times of India.

    A delegation of BJP leaders from Tamil Nadu met with Sri Lankan government officials during a visit to Colombo on Thursday.

    "The issue of giving equal rights to Tamils was discussed with Sri Lankan minister for health Rajitha Senaratne and minister for resettlement D M Swaminathan," the BJP national executive member, L Ganesan, was quoted by TOI as saying.

  • Sri Lankan MPs say they will go to Geneva over harassment
    The UPFA MP, Bandual Gunawardane, said him and other UPFA MPs would be going to Geneva in order to tell the international community about the harassment by state police and seek international protection.

    Mr Gunawardane said on Saturday that they would be lodging a complaint with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva within two weeks.

    "It was important to inform the international community about Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ‘police government’," he was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying.

  • Valikaamam residents oppose Sri Lankan military building roads on their lands
    Residents of Valikaamam North and East have raised objections to the Sri Lankan military's attempt to build roads through their private lands.

    Voicing their opposition to the local government agent, N Vethanayakan, the residents called for the military's actions to be brought to halt.

    Responding to the public outcry, Mr Vethanayakan has urged the military to abandon their attempt to build the roads, which cut through private lands.
  • Sri Lanka shifts navy camp in Sampur, pledges to release land
    The Sri Lankan government announced it would be shifting a navy camp in Sampur and blocking Sri Lankan Board of Investment projects, in order to release land to resettle displaced villagers in the East.
  • Farmers warn of 'drastic action' of Sri Lankan government fails to pay subsidies
    The All Ceylon Farmers' Federation warned it would be “forced to take drastic action” if the Sri Lankan government fails to pay subsidies as has been pledged, reports the Sunday Leader.
  • Journalists in North-East continue to face attacks - IFJ

    The International Federation of Journalists said in its latest report on press freedom that journalists in the North-East of the island continue to face threats and harassment.

    The detailed report on press freedom in South Asia, focused on attacks in the North-East and impunity for the killings of journalists who were murdered over the past few decades.

    "Even six years after the end of the war, the media in the Northern and Eastern Province of the island continue to face attacks and harassment," the report said.

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