• Sri Lankan foreign ministry meets with defence to 'correct misimpression' of military

    Sri Lanka's foreign ministry met with defence officials on Monday to discuss the security forces exchange of 'expertise and experience' with other countries, Colombo Page reported. 

  • Tamil widow files complaint with Northern Ireland police ombudsman over RUC links to Sri Lanka

    A Tamil widow has filed a complaint with the Northern Irish police's ombudsman over the Royal Ulster Constabulary's links to the Sri Lankan police force which was responsible for the massacre of 10 of her relatives in 1986, the Irish Times reported. 

  • Sri Lankan PM considers regulation of social media

    The Sri Lankan prime minister on Saturday raised the possibility of introducing regulation of social media sites such as Facebook, arguing that the time had come for the government to consider such legislation. 

  • APPGT chair pledges to raise human rights concerns in Sri Lanka internationally

    Human rights concerns remain in Sri Lanka said the newly elected as the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, Paul Scully, who pledged to continue to raise the issue internationally.

    In a statement released on Monday Mr Scully said he would “support the interests of the Tamil community here in the UK”.

  • Sri Lankan president tells UN official of ‘extreme elements in the North’

    Sri Lanka’s president blamed “extreme elements” in Tamil areas of the island for refusing to accept housing allocated by his government and of instead backing a “demand [for] lands from other areas”, in a meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman.

  • SL foreign minister criticises ‘erroneous’ UN report and speaks out against ICC tribunal

    Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake criticised a United Nations Special Rapporteur report on ongoing and systemic torture on the island, stating they were “erroneous remarks”, as he reiterated Sri Lanka’s political and military leaders would not appear before an international war crimes tribunal.

  • Bar Associations boycott courts over Jaffna shooting

    Bar Associations across the North will be boycotting court proceedings on Monday, in protest against a shooting in Jaffna in which a policeman was killed protecting a High Court judge.

    “We underline the necessity for a speedy and professional investigation to instil confidence in the law and order machinery,” said the Bar Associations of Jaffna, Point Pedro, Mallakam, Chavahacheri, Kayts, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

  • Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe marks 40 years as Member of Parliament

    Prime Minister Ranil WIckremesinghe at a ceremony in March 2017 where his credentials are presented to a newly appointed chief Buddhist prelate. Photograph:dailymirror.lk

  • Remembering Black July 1983

    Today we mark thirty-four years from the horrors of the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, when Tamils were killed by Sinhala mobs backed by the then UNP government and state forces.

    Armed with electoral rolls, Sinhala mobs targeted Tamil homes and businesses looting and ransacking property. Driven from their homes, particularly in Colombo, over 3000 Tamils were massacred, whilst thousands more were effectively deported by the state to the North-East.

    Eye witness reports described mobs chasing Tamils down the street with knives and setting them alight alive. Many hundreds of women were raped. Tamil political prisoners locked up in Welikada jail, deep within the island's south, were also targeted as prison guards allowed Sinhala inmates to slaughter them.

  • Law and Order Minister pressures Sri Lanka police to wrap up high profile murder and corruption investigations

    Sri Lanka’s police has been given its final warning to speed up investigations into high profile murder and corruption charges levelled against the former regime, reports island.lk.

  • Accountability needed in Sri Lanka – Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

    Canada’s Prime Minister reiterated the need to establish a process of accountability in Sri Lanka, in a message released to mark the Black July pogrom of 1983, in which thousnads of Tamils were killed.

    ““Between July 24 and 29, 1983, anti-Tamil pogroms were carried out in Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka resulting in thousands of deaths and the displacement of countless victims,” said Justin Trudeau.

  • ‘We cannot indefinitely wait’ - TNA tells senior UN official

    The Tamil people are “not satisfied” with progress made by the Sri Lankan government Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan told the United Nations Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, as they met in Colombo earlier this week.

  • Eastern Provincial Council nominations in Oct 2017

    Nominations for the Eastern Provincial Council will be called on 2 October 2017, the National Elections Commission announced on Saturday. 

    The Council's term will end 26 September 2017. Thirty-seven councillors will be elected for the Eastern Provincial Council. 

    The last election for the EPC was held on 8 September 2012. 

    Nominations for the North-Central and Sabragamuwa Provincial Councils will also take place in October. 

  • US calls for 'swift justice' in Jaffna judge shooting

    Condemning the suspected assassination attempt of a Jaffna High Court judge, Ilancheliyan, the United States embassy in Sri Lanka called for the perpetrators to face "swift justice". 

    "Deeply concerned by shooting involving #Jaffna High Court Judge Illancheliyan. We call on govt to ensure perpetrators face due,swift justice," the US embassy tweeted on Sunday. 

  • Two suspects arrested over Jaffna judge shooting

    Two men were arrested on Sunday over their suspected involvement in the shooting of a Jaffna High Court judge on Saturday. 

    Judge Ilancheliyan managed to escape unharmed but one police officer was killed in the incident. 

    The identities of the suspects remains unknown. 

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