• UK Tamil student detained in Sri Lanka

    A UK Tamil student travelling on summer vacation to Sri Lanka was detained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday, reported Tamilwin.

    The student, Thuwakaran Nagenthirarajah, is currently completing his higher education in London.

  • The big bad CEPA

    Sri Lanka is reluctant to sign the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) with India, with many officials expressing a fear that CEPA would give India too much say in Sri Lanka's markets, work force and political affairs.  

  • FCO ignores SL and adds further warnings to travel advisory

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has ignored protests by the Sri Lankan government about its recent updates to travel advice over security on the island and has added further warnings.

    After the recent convictions of French tourists over pictures that were taken with statues of Buddha, the foreign office advice now warns against posing in front of statues.

  • Gotabhaya instructs military to convince world of their ‘magnanimity’

    Addressing the occupying military in Vanni, secretary of defence Gotabhaya Rajapksa, noted that their foremost responsibility was to “ensure that all measures are adopted to win hearts and minds of the Northern civilians and prevent the recurrence of terrorism".

  • Land laws to be amended to 'exclude conflict period'

    The land laws are to be amended to exclude the past 30 years, citing the armed conflict.

    Justifying the move, Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem said,

  • Chinese hit back at power plant criticisms
    The Chinese engineers who constructed the faltering Norochcholai power plant have struck back at criticism of the plant, stating the Sri Lankans have not been following proper maintenance practice.

    Zhao Wenxue, from the Northwest Electric Design Institute that designed the plant labelled the accusations as unfair, stating,
    "The Norochcholai coal power plant is not as bad as one makes it look. It is just overused, tired and needs a break to rest like any other equipment does."

    "The plant was forced to work beyond its required limits and keep supplying electricity to the whole country.”

    "Questioning the quality of the equipment used in the project and pointing fingers at China Machinery Engineering Corporation is without basis.”

    "According to normal practice in China, a thermal plant should undergo a one month maintenance period annually… Only then can the unit be more reliable and efficient and expected to perform well."
  • Sri Lanka to receive over $1 billion in loans from China

    The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved proposals by the government to obtain loans from China totalling over $1 billion.

    Minister of Finance and Planning Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also President, Minister of Defence, Minister of Ports and Aviation, and Minister of Highways and Road Development, forwarded the proposals to the cabinet.

  • Sri Lanka’s ‘glorious’ revival

    Delivering the keynote address at a university symposium, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa claimed that Sri Lanka was experiencing a “national revival that will restore it to its rightful place on the world stage” and that the government’s challenge was to “facilitate this resurgence”.

  • Indian fishermen – ‘Government has let us down’
    The South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association has lamented the lack of action by the Indian government, after 6 more Indian fishermen alleged that they were attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday.

    K.Bharathi, President, South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association told India Today,
  • UN - ‘Significant unmet humanitarian needs in North’
    Marking World Humanitarian Day, the United Nations has stated that there is still much more that needs to be done in the North, at a ceremony in Sri Lanka.

    UN Humanitarian Resident Coordinator Subinay Nandy told an audience,
    There remain significant unmet humanitarian needs among communities in the north.

    These range from basic assistance such as clean water, shelter and food security in resettled areas to more sophisticated issues such as sustainable assistance to obtain livelihoods, rights and return to more normal life as part of durable solutions on par with international standards”.
    Acknowledging that Sri Lanka received more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance from 2006, and $89.9 million from the UN in 2011, Nandy said that contributions were now beginning to dwindle and called for more.

    However, simply throwing money at the problem will not make it disappear.

    See our comment from Dec 2010: '
    The state is the main obstacle to developing Tamil areas'
  • Government shuts down universities

    The Sri Lankan government has shut down most universities on the island, after an ongoing row over government interference saw widespread strikes by teachers.

  • Claiming the moral high ground

    The actions of the French tourists posing with a statue of the Buddha, have led to much outcry.

    The police spokesperson, Ajith Rohana told AFP:

    "If we had not arrested them and prosecuted them, they would have taken the pictures abroad, published them and gloated."

    "They had not only broken Sri Lankan law, but they have also violated universally accepted norms of respecting religious symbols of others. We condemn this and urge tourists not to make religious offence."

  • GL Peiris briefs Japan on the ‘reconciliation’ process

    The representative of the Japanese government for peace building, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi, held discussions with External Affairs minister, GL Peiris, to review the progress of the reconciliation process and other issues related to the conflict.

  • Tourists convicted for insulting Buddhism
    Three French tourists have been handed down suspended jail terms for taking allegedly insulting photographs with a Buddha statue.
  • Over 1,000 asylum seekers arrested by Navy this year

    Sri Lanka arrested 69 asylum seekers on Tuesday, pushing the total number of people arrested by the navy this year to over 1,000.

    The latest arrests took place off the town of Negombo, with those on board being handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

    Out of the 69 arrested on the fishing trawler, 48 were Tamils.

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