The Sri Lankan army prepares for another UN peacekeeping deployment this week, at the behest of an accused war criminal and with another soldier who was convicted over gesturing death threats to Tamils at the helm, despite repeated calls to suspend all deployments of Sri Lankan troops following the release of the UN human rights chief’s damning report.
Tamil politicians from the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have expressed their opposition to receiving the Covid-19 vaccination from military hospitals.
Selvarajah Kajendran, a TNPF parliamentarian, said that politicians from their party will not be vaccinated at hospitals run by the Sri Lankan military, who are responsible for the genocide of the Tamil people.
Writing in advance of the official state visit of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, to Sri Lanka, Amnesty International has called on Pakistan’s leader to urge Sri Lanka to end its draconian policy of forced cremations and bring an end to the on-going discrimination faced by Muslims in Sri Lanka.
Following Sri Lanka’s withdrawal from the $500-$700 million-dollar ECT agreement, a second deal has been scrapped as Sri Lanka has reclaimed 99 World War II-era oil storage tanks leased to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in the eastern port district of Trincomalee.
In advance of the 46th UN Human Rights Council session, a number of former UN officials and international experts have called for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court; for UN member states to “to pursue justice through universal or extraterritorial jurisdiction”; and for “targeted sanctions against credibly alleged perpetrators of international crimes”.
The families of at least sixteen Tamil men that were arrested last year have expressed fears about their whereabouts and safety, after being unable to locate them following their arrest by Sri Lanka’s Terror Investigation Division (TID).
Former Northern Provincial Council member, Thurairasa Ravikaran, was summoned by Mullaitivu police on Monday over his participation in the Pottuvil to Polikandy (P2P) march earlier this month.
India has offered a $12 million grant to Sri Lanka in an attempt to displace a contract with a Chinese company to install three renewable energy plants on islands just off the Jaffna Peninsula and around 50km from Tamil Nadu.
Following claims by Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, that Sri Lanka would repeal its international condemned policy of forced cremations, government minister, Udaya Gammanpila, has confirmed that there will be no changes and has claimed that the final decision will be made by Director General of Health Services Dr Asela Gunawardena.
