• India concerned at China's presence in Sri Lanka - The Hindu

    Oct 24
    India has told Sri Lanka that is is concerned at china's presence in Sri Lanka, according to The Hindu.

    The paper reported that during a visit by Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to Delhi last week, Indian officials made their concerns known.

    “The meeting was held to raise the issue of a Chinese submarine calling at a Sri Lankan port last month. It is of serious concern to India's national security,” a senior official told the paper anonymously.

  • China to loan money for another Hambantota project
    The Sri Lankan government has asked Chinda for a "massive" loan from China to fund another project in Hambantota, reports the Sunday Times.

    According to the paper, government officials were seeking a loan for an extension on the Southern Expressway, and China's EXIM bank has agreed.

    See more here.

    Related articles:

    China’s loans to Sri Lanka reach nearly $4 billion (04 May 2014)

    9th round of consultations with China 'highly successful' says Sri Lanka (03 May 2014)

  • SL navy commander holds 5 day talks with Indian counterpart
    The Sri Lankan navy commander, Vice Admiral Jayantha Perera is to travel to India on Sunday, for a five day meeting with his Indian counterpart, the Colombo Page reported.

    Sri Lanka is to buy two navy ships from India, as well as two offshore patrol vessels and military equipment, said the navy spokesperson, Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya.

  • Sri Lanka hires another American lobbying firm
    Sri Lanka hired its eighth American public relations firm this year to reach out to US media, officials and policy makers.

    Levick, an organisation subcontracted to the Liberty International Group, has been hired to speak on behalf of the Sri Lankan central bank.
  • Sri Lanka warns of increased 'LTTE rump' activity after EU ruling
    The Sri Lankan military spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said they would be vigilant of "acts of [LTTE] rump groups" following the decision by the General Court of the European Union to annul the anti-terror measures against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on procedural grounds earlier this month.

    "The LTTE through its network of 'Sencholai' schools promote their doctrine of separatism and inculcate a negative image of the country, especially in the minds of the children of the Tamil expatriate community," he told journalists at a press conference on Thursday, reports Colombo Page.

    "Although there are no more armed terrorists in the country authorities are always vigilant on the acts of rump groups," he added.

  • Body found in Nuwara Eliya plantation
    The body of a 41 year old Tamil man was found floating in a pond in Meraya plantation, in Nuwara Eliya, this week.

    The man, identified as father of two, Ramasamy Ramachandran, went missing after leaving his home one morning, reports Uthayan.

    His body was recovered by Lindula police, and handed over to the Nuwara Eliya district hospital for post mortem.
  • Tamil Civil Society Forum endorses North-East councillors' call for genocide inquiry
    A network of Tamil civil society groups in the North-East, the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF), endorsed the call by councillors in the Northern and Eastern provinces for an international inquiry into the crime of genocide.

    Defending the councillors' right to state make such a call, the TSCF disputed an earlier statement by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which argued that a draft NPC resolution which argued the mass killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan state was a genocide, would prejudice the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) currently underway.

    "Tamils and their representatives have the right to form a legal opinion that the atrocities that were committed (and continue to be perpetrated) against them amounts to Genocide. There are sufficient, reasonable grounds to form such a legal opinion, such that this is not a spurious claim," the TSCF statement, published on Friday, read.

  • The people's budget

    Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his last budget presentation before the presidential election in January, granted several concessions and handouts to the people of Sri Lanka.

    Rajapaksa pledged that families of military personnel and police officers would receive Rs. 1000 per a month, as well as a guaranteed a 17.6% rise in rice prices, and pledged to provide farmers with free rice for the next season.

    Journalists will be given interest-free car loans and school teachers and university lecturers will receive a rise in allowances, his budget further proposed.

    The president also promised free health check-ups for all citizens and a pension scheme for garment sector employees.

  • Body of missing mother found in Vadamarachchi
    The body of a mother of two children was found on Friday morning in the Mulli region of Vadamarachchi, reports Uthayan.

    The 36 year old mother, who was from the Nagarkoyil area of Jaffna, went missing on October 20th after visiting a friend's house in Point Pedro.


  • Budget besties
    TNA MP Maavai Senathirajah and leader R. Sampanthan delighted to shake hands with President Rajapaksa. (Photographs BBC Sinhala)


    The leadership of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) celebrated the 2015 budget with the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday.

    TNA MP Suresh Premachandran smiles on at Sampanthan-Rajapaksa exchange.

    The opposition party, UNP, JVP and JHU meanwhile, were not in attendance, according to BBC Sinhala.

  • Commonwealth secretary general to visit Sri Lanka on 5 day trip
    The Commonwealth secretary general will visit Sri Lanka tomorrow to brief the Sri Lankan president on Commonwealth goals and review progress made by Sri Lanka in their national development plan and post-conflict plans, reports Colombo Page.
  • TNA leadership distances itself from NPC genocide resolution as case filed against councillors
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) issued a statement on Wednesday, apparently distancing itself from a draft resolution tabled within the TNA led Northern Provincial Council (NPC) which calls on the international community to recognise the genocide committed against the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state.

    The draft resolution, tabled by the NPC councillor M. K. Shivajilingham, said that the NPC "wished to inform the international community of its strong belief that the Tamil people have been, and continue to be subjected to genocide by the Sri Lankan government and its forces" and "requests the international community and United Nations to create a mechanism to protect the Tamil people from the ongoing genocide of the Tamil people".

    Whilst stating that "acts specified in article 2 of the Genocide Convention of 1948 have undeniably been perpetrated on the Tamil people by functionaries of the Sri Lankan state over several decades", the TNA leadership said it would be "improper and inappropriate for the Northern Provincial Council or any other political body to make pronouncements in the form of resolutions or otherwise on matters of evidence and law currently being considered by the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL).

  • Tamil Nadu parties urge Modi not to form closer defence ties with SL
    Political parties in Tamil Nadu urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to form close military ties with the Sri Lankan government on Wednesday, following meetings between the Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Indian counterpart.

    Describing such a move as a "diplomatic blunder", the head of the National Committee of the Naam Tamilar Party (NTP), Ayyanathan, asked what how this would benefit India's security given Sri Lanka's close ties with China.

    "Now, what is the point in saying that this is for our security. Are you sharing your southern security with the Sri Lankan Government and China? This is ridiculous, it is a diplomatic blunder," he told ANI.

    "You [the Indian government] have decimated Tamils and you are going with Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka is going with China. This is the mockery of southern security of the country," he said.

  • Canadian Tamils condemn Ottawa attack
    Updated 17:40 GMT

    Tamils across Canada expressed shock and outrage at the attack on Canadian parliament on Wednesday, posting messages of condolence to the family and friends of the Canadian soldier killed.

    Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC):



    Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance (CTYA):



    NDP Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge River, Rathika Sitsabaiesan:


  • Govt and opposition vie for Sinhala votes over EU Court ruling on LTTE
    In an ongoing political spat, the Sri Lankan government and opposition party, UNP, sought to blame each other for the decision by the General Court of the European Union to annul the Council's anti-terror measures taken against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on procedural grounds earlier this month.

    Following the ruling, posters were displayed in Colombo with a picture of a tiger and the words, "Who is the opposition MP behind lifting the ban on the LTTE", written in Sinhala, in an apparent reference to the UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe who recently travelled to UK where he sought to meet with Tamil diaspora groups.


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