• British judge orders halt in deportation of Tamil asylum seeker

    May 30
    A British judge has halted the removal of a Tamil asylum seeker who was due to be deported today (31st May), after evidence from a Human Rights Watch report released earlier this week.
  • Deportation halt widely welcomed

    Welcoming the High Court ruling halting the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers from the UK on Thursday, David Mepham, the UK director of Human Rights Watch said,

  • Protest in Colombo calls for release of political prisoners
    A protest was held outside Welikada prison in Colombo earlier Tuesday, calling for the release of political prisoners, some jailed for years without charge.

    A group called the Movement to Free Political Prisoners staged the protest, with relatives holding photographs of those detained and placards calling for their release.
  • TNA MP responds to Gotabaya's remarks
    Responding to comments made by Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, TNA MP Suresh Premachandran has stated that the government is in the midst of changing the demographics of the Northern Province.

    Commenting that the government has an agenda in place, the parliamentarian said,
  • Jaffna students speak on military intimidation
    Students at Jaffna University have spoken out at the recent attack on the Secretary of the Student’s Union and the ongoing military intimidation in Jaffna, which attempted to prevent them from holding a remembrance event for those killed in Mullivaikkal earlier this month.

    In a piece by Young Asia TV, a student who concealed his identity said,
  • Heavy military presence around Jaffna University

    According to reports there has been a heavy military presence surrounding Jaffna University since Monday night.

    See here and here.

  • British Tory MPs due to visit Jaffna – Daily Mirror

    A delegation of British Conservative MPs is expected to visit Jaffna to look at concerns about high levels of military personnel, reported the Daily Mirror.

  • HRW: UK should 'immediately suspend' deportations

    In a statement released on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the UK government to "immediately suspend deportations of ethnic Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka and review its policies in assessing these claims" and highlighted that the next scheduled deporation is due to take place on Thursday.

  • Iran invites Mahinda to Tehran for NAM summit

    Iran invited Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa to Tehran on Tuesday, to attend the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in August 2012, reported the Colombo Page.

  • Peiris 'summons' British High Commissioner - The Island

    The pro-government newspaper, The Island, reported on Monday, that the external affairs minister, G.L. Peiris "summoned" the British High Commissioner John Rankin, to "protest against the UK envoy contradicting President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Victory Day speech".

    The newspaper added,

  • World Bank lending to Sri Lanka set to double

    The World Bank will lend more than twice as much to Sri Lanka over the next 12 months from July, reports Bloomberg.

    Sri Lanka will receive $500 million during that period. Bloomberg reports that currently, Sri Lanka borrows $200 million annually under concessionary terms.

  • Gotabaya talks strategy
    The Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denied allegations of human rights abuses, refused to devolve police powers, justified increased militarisation  and stated that the North of the island should not be viewed as a predominantly Tamil area, in interviews to both the BBC and Sunday Leader.

    When asked by the BBC about the North being a mostly Tamil area of the island, the defence secretary replied,
    "Why should be that? Why should be that? If you are a Sri Lankan citizen you must be able to go and buy the properties from anywhere."
    Slamming reports of abductions and disappearances as “wrong allegations”, the defence secretary accused BBC’s Charles Haviland of reading “some website, no?”

    When Haviland responded that “They’re not wrong allegations, because I’ve met the victims”, Rajapaksa replied,
    “Don’t get angry! Usually I get angry, so you don’t get angry. Ok don’t get angry. I am the secretary of defence, I have investigated this. You don’t take the words from these people, take the word from me.
    Further stating Sri Lanka had defeated terrorists, Rajapaksa went on to say,
    "All this we have stopped... but you don't talk about that. You are supporting the terrorist cause!"
    See the full report from the BBC here.

    Being interviewed by the Sunday Leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa also talked about the possibility of Tamil militancy and  refused to answer any questions on released former army commander Sarath Fonseka, and when questioned responded,
    “I don’t know. You have to ask the President. I am not interested! I have not known any of these things. I have a lot of work to do… you can see I am not sleeping…"
    “I don’t know … I don’t know! I don’t want to comment! I will stop the interview if you continue with this!”
  • Major Tamil party calls for North-East merger

    The largest party in the Tamil National Alliance, the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, has called for the merging of the Northern and Eastern provinces into one administrative unit at its annual General Council meeting.

  • Just one story…
    The Sunday Times has reported on the plight of a 16-year old child, born to a widowed mother who was repeatedly raped as she was forced into sexual slavery in a holiday resort in the South of the island.

    The girl was trafficked from Batticaloa after a smuggler promised to send her abroad, but instead she was sent to a holiday resort in Hikkaduwa, where she was repeatedly raped by a tourist.
  • Son of Indian consulate officer abducted in Jaffna
    The son of the cultural officer of the Indian Consulate in Jaffna was abducted by unidentified men on Friday afternoon, before being released the next day.
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