UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed alarm at the clampdown on freedom of expression in Sri Lanka during the coronavirus pandemic.

The UN Chief said that “arrests for expressing discontent or allegedly spreading false information through the press and social media” were reported in Sri Lanka, a press release stated.

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on ‘Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province’ is to conserve all archaeology heritage sites in the East irrespective of religion, says Kamal Gunaratne, Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary.

Former Chief Minister of Northern Province in Sri Lanka and Secretary-general for Thamizh Makkal Thesya Kootanii (TMTK), C.V. Wigneswaran, has written an appeal for the 91 Tamil political prisoners who have been detained for the past 10-15 years under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Sri Lankan police banned Tamils from commemorating those who were killed by the Sri Lankan air force in Sumanthirapuram on June 10, 1998. 

Twenty-two years have passed since the tragic massacre that left 33 dead and 52 injured, when a temple was struck by Sri Lankan air force. 

Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice has released a statement warning against Sri Lanka’s slide into authoritarianism and calling for the international community to push back against the increasing militarisation of Sri Lanka.

Once upon a time, a common man made history. Nelson Mandela, alongside the thousands of Black South Africans that fought against Apartheid by his side, changed the course of history. In fact, he built the foundation upon which many liberation struggles around the world stand on today. Without this man’s perseverance and determination, South Africa and the world could be very different as we know it. However, he did not make history for his name to be tarnished as an accompaniment to modern-day politics and oppression. This is in the context of reports emerging last month that a statue of Nelson Mandela will be hoisted in Sri Lanka. The statue of a freedom fighter in a land where Tamils still have no freedom.

Bodu Bala Sena’s (BBS) secretary general, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara claimed the North-East was “not Tamils homeland” and instead said Sri Lanka is a Buddhist Sinhala country, according to comments reported in the Uthayan last month.

The United States 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom said Sri Lankan government officials “continued to engage in systematic discrimination against religious minorities,” according to reports received from religious communities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The report highlighted how during 2019, “local government officials and police reportedly responded minimally or not at all to numerous incidents of religiously motivated violence against minorities”.

A former senior Sri Lankan front line commando has been announced as the new Commandant of the Special Task Force (STF), a police unit accused of widespread atrocities.

Waruna Jayasundera, an STF officer with frontline combat experience during the armed conflict, was appointed the new Commandant in a reshuffle this week.

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to implement a “Presidential Task Force for Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province” is a move that “threatens minorities” and puts their “inclusive democratic rights into question,” said Rev. Fr. Rajan Rohan, the secretary of Inter-Religious Forum in Batticaloa.

Sri Lankan police have been registering the details of occupants in households across Colombo according to reports emerging from the city, with at least some forms also asking for the ethnicity and religion of any occupants.

Sri Lanka’s Elections Commission has announced parliamentary elections will be held on August 5, 2020, after at least two delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mahinda Deshapriya, chairman of Sri Lanka’s Elections Commission, said members had reached a unanimous decision on the scheduled date.