• Why Sirisena’s Victory is Not a Victory for Sri Lanka’s Tamils'

    Jan 13
    Despite Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's surprise election victory, there is little to suggest change in government policy towards the island's indigenous Tamil and Muslim communities, said Tamil Civil Society Forum spokesperson Kumaravadivel Guruparan.

    Writing in The Caravan, Guruparan said that Tamils “voted for Sirisena not because they liked his candidacy but because they wanted to oust Rajapaksa”.

    “As far as this electorate was concerned, their vote for Sirisena was the only way in which they could voice their anger against a regime that had inflicted enormous suffering on them, almost threatening their very existence,” said Guruparan.

    On Sri Lanka's new president, Guruparan added,
    “Sirisena was an integral part of the Rajapaksa regime that unleashed a horrendous war, a war that was waged not just against the LTTE, but also against the Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka. He was a part of the Rajapaksa regime that not so long ago used the military to take over vast amounts of private land belonging to the Tamils in the regions dominated by them.The regime initiated a rapid process of demographic change in the northeast in favour of the Sinhalese, and endorsed the maltreatment of ex-LTTE cadres.”
  • NGO Secretariat to be under Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry
    Sri Lanka's Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) secretariat is to be within the purview of the country's Ministry of Defense, following the election win of President Maithripala Sirisena.

    President Sirisena announced his decision,     a day after taking oath, to retain the Ministry of Defense under his remit and appointing himself as Defence Minister.

    A     gazette notification issued on January 10, confirming the move, places the Secretariat for NGOs under the Defence Ministry's 'Departments, Statutory Institutions & Public Corporations' along side the army, the navy and the air force.

  • Former key Rajapaksa ally supports 100 day programme
    The National Freedom Front (NFF), a key partner of the defeated Rajapaksa coalition, said that it fully supported the new government’s 100 day program for reform.

    Expressing commitment to the programme, the NFF spokesperson, Muhammed Muzammil, said,     “we will not pose any impediments while on their way to fulfilling the recommendations."

    "We will render our utmost support. We will not only render our support, we will also monitor whether or not the task is carried out as promised to the people,”      he added.

  • Canadian Prime Minister wishes Tamils for Thai Pongal
    Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper marked the Tamil harvest festival of Thai Pongal this week, by expressing his wishes to all Tamil Canadians celebrating the occasion.

    "I am certain that this year’s festivities will be a worthy reflection of the pride felt by Tamil Canadians and highlight the community’s important contributions to Canadian life," Prime Minister Harper said.

  • Canadian mayors praise Tamil community on Thai Pongal
    The mayors of the cities of Toronto and Brampton in Canada praised the Tamil Canadian community, wishing them a warm and happy Thai Pongal this week.

    "Thai Pongal vaazhthukkal! As you gather with your families to celebrate this traditional festival at the end of the harvest festival it is a great time to appreciate and be thankful for the many blessings we enjoy," said the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory in a special video message.

    "Diversity is one of those blessings. It is one of the reasons why Toronto is such a dynamic city, and a big of that is our Tamil community, with strong values of family and hard work. Thank you for the many ways you make Toronto a better city."

  • Pope tells Sri Lanka justice essential for peace
    Pope Francis with President Sirisena and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera


    Justice for crimes committed during the island's ethnic conflict is crucial for promoting peace, said Pope Francis after arriving in Sri Lanka for his week long visit on Tuesday.

    "Sri Lanka for many years knew the horrors of civil strife, and is now seeking to consolidate peace and to heal the scars of those years. It is no easy task to overcome the bitter legacy of injustices, hostility and mistrust left by the conflict.  It can only be done by overcoming evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21) and by cultivating those virtues which foster reconciliation, solidarity and peace," he said.

  • India hopes new govt will consider views of all sections of Sri Lanka
    The Indian government said it looked forward to good relations with the new president Maithripala Sirisena, and hope that the new government would consider the views of all sections of Sri Lanka's population.

    "We look forward to a relation which is cordial, warm and friendly and hope for peace and stability in Sri Lanka, and hope the new government will take into account the views of all sections of the Sri Lankan population to live a life of dignity and peace,” the India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told journalists in a press briefing.

  • New administration must commit to ending discrimination' says Amnesty International
    Sri Lanka's newly led government must commit itself to respecting human rights and ending discrimination, said Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific Director in an interview to the Sunday Leader this week.

    Speaking to the Sunday Leader David Griffiths said there was “no doubt discrimination and violence against religious minorities is a serious and growing problem in Sri Lanka.”

    “Political leaders have exploited or manufactured religious tensions, and Buddhist hardline nationalist organisations have led or incited protests and attacks against religious minorities, including their places of worship and businesses, which typically go uninvestigated and unpunished,” continued Griffiths.

    “Hundreds of incidents of threats, harassment and violence against Muslims, Christians and their places of worship have been documented since the violence escalated in 2013 – although of course it was not new. The new administration must commit to ending discrimination, denounce any attacks, and crucially ensure that perpetrators are punished to end the pattern of violence”.
  • Tamil youth in hospital after politically motivated attack
    A 21 year old Tamil man has been admitted to Valaichchenai hospital after being abducted and attacked in Pesalai last week.
  • Former Sri Lankan ambassador to UN appointed as NPC governor
    The Sri Lankan government appointed a new Governor for the predominantly Tamil Northern Province on Monday, replacing former military general, G.A Chandrasiri.
  • Hold the Champagne in Sri Lanka'
    The conclusion of Sri Lanka's presidential and appointment of Maithripala Sirisena as president of the country is not yet a cause for celebration, said journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, stating that the real challenges for Sri Lanka are only just beginning.

    Writing in Foreign Policy, the award winning journalist said that whilst Sirisena has pledged to implement constitutional reforms, this will do little to assuage Tamil and Muslim concerns. Tissainayagam says,
    “Neither presidential nor parliamentary forms of government — invariably dominated by the Sinhalese, who make up roughly 74 percent of the country’s 21 million people — is satisfactory to the Tamils and Muslims. Instead, they demand greater autonomy in the north and the east. But Sirisena’s election manifesto is completely silent on the matter.”
  • Same government with a different face' in Sri Lanka says M.I.A
    The Tamil issue must be resolved to see peace in Sri Lanka said, the Oscar and Grammy award nominated rapper, M.I.A, speaking to Channel 4 on the newly elected Sri Lankan president.

    Noting that issues important to the Tamils had not been considered in the new Sri Lankan president's 100 day plan to reform the country, M.I.A said,
    "When you take Rajapaksa out, you have to take his methods out. You have to demilitarise the North-East, stop intimidating Tamils, and give back their land. Already there should be elements in this 100 day plan which address the Tamil issue....You definitely have to solve the ethnic conflict before addressing economic reform."

  • New Crossroad?
    The shock defeat of incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections has given rise, both internationally and in the island, to cautious optimism of a new era of governance that would break from the violent authoritarianism and cronyism of the past decade. Building his campaign around a pledge to end corruption, uphold the rule of law, ensure press freedom and abolish the executive presidency, the unlikely victor, Maithiripala Sirisena, successfully drew the support of a disparate array of opposition parties, including the United National Party (UNP), General Sarath Fonseka's party, the JVP and the JHU, as well as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC). Ongoing cross-overs from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have now given him the necessary parliamentary majority to make good on his pledges.

  • President assumes duties


    The newly elected president, Maithripala Sirisena, formally assumed his duties on Monday at the Presidential Secretariat.


  • Cabinet ministers appointed
    Updated 1520 GMT

    The new president Maithripala Sirisena appointed his cabinet ministers on Monday, who took oath at the Presidential Secretariat.

    The full list of cabinet minisiters, state ministers and deputy ministers have been published below.

    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and JVP had already stated that they would not be accepting ministerial positions within the cabinet.
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