Officers from Sri Lanka's forest department broke into and destroyed the homes of former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres before assaulting them in the Kailveli area of Puthukudiyirippu, Mullaitivu today. 45 families of the LTTE were settled in Kaiveli in 2000 under a housing scheme but after the armed conflict when they tried to resettle in the area in 2012, the forest department erected stone boundaries to prevent this. Despite this, 20 families have resisted the forest department's actions and have been trying to settle in the Kaiveli area where they previously lived by...
State Minister of Defense Premitha Bandara Tennakoon speaking at a conference said that attention should be focussed on students from the North-East to join the 'National Cadets Corps'. During a press conference held at the Presidential Media Center last week, titled 'Collective Path to a stable country, the Defence minister noted that stricter laws should be implemented to curb illegal human and drug trafficking. L The minister also claimed that following the end of the war, measures were taken to "right-size the security forces" and that "soldiers won't be evacuated in this circumstance"...
The Poralihal Welfare Association, an organisation dedicated to the welfare of former cadres, officially opened its office in a ceremony held on Saturday. The establishment of this office aims to provide essential services and support for former cadres, ensuring their well-being. Former LTTE cadres are often subjected to intimidation and surveillance by the state's security forces. Tributes were made to key Tamil figures who dedicated and gave their lives in the struggle for Tamil liberation. The lives of the first martyr Sivakumaran and Thileepan, the political wing leader of the LTTE...
The St. Peter's Church solemnly marked the 28th anniversary of the Navaly church massacre on July 9th to remember the victims that were killed by the Sri Lanka'a Air Force. The Navaly church massacre took place on July 9th, 1995, when three Sri Lankan Air Force jets dropped 13 bombs on St. Peter's Church, along with St. Paul's Church and the Murugan Kovil in Navaly. The victims had sought refuge in these places of worship, seeking shelter from the ongoing shelling in the Valikamam area during the military offensive to recapture the Jaffna peninsula. Read more on the massacre here: 'Bombs...
Retired admiral and former Minister of Public Security, MP Sarath Weerasekara, lashed out at Mullaitivu Magistrate Court following the court's ruling that the construction of a Buddhist vihara, without the approval of local residents, must cease. "Do not forget that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala- Buddhist nation" warned Weerasekara. Despite the court's order, the police, military, and Department of Archaeology have all been involved in the construction of the Buddhist monument". Weerasekara further exclaimed: “We cannot accept the Mullaitivu Magistrate Court Judge removing us from the Kurunthumalai...
On this day 28 years ago, the Sri Lankan air force dropped 13 bombs on St Peter’s Church in Navaly. More than 140 sheltering Tamils, who were encouraged by the military to seek refuge at the church, were killed on the spot. At least 13 children were amongst the dead, with many more succumbing to injuries later as the local hospital was swamped with the wounded.
Tamil families of the disappeared in Mannar held a protest today, voicing their deep-seated distrust in the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) and the government's processes surrounding the enforced disappearances of their relatives. Protestors made their dissatisfaction clear through powerful slogans, particularly highlighting their rejection of the 200,000/= compensation offered in exchange for accepting the certificate of death issued by the OMP. Their chants echoed, "We don't want the OMP nor their 200,000/=." During the protest, the families of the disappeared demanded the involvement...
13 dead bodies were uncovered in a mass grave in Mullaitivu during excavation efforts on the 6th of July. The remains were found in an area falling under the jurisdiction of the Kokkilai Police division. The bodies were both female and male. They were initially discovered on 29th June by construction workers from the National Water Supply and Drainage Board prompting excavation efforts. The recovered uniforms found around the site suggest that the remains belong to former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres. The Mullaitivu Magistrate Court and Judicial Medical Officer oversaw the...
The Magistrate court in Mannar has ordered a comprehensive report to be submitted on the Sathosa mass grave in the Mannar district. A total of 318 bodies, including that of 18 children, were discovered at this mass grave in May 2019, when construction work was being carried out at the local supermarket Sathosa, near the A14 highway by construction workers. Subsequently, excavations were carried out with the Officer of the Missing Persons acting as an independent observer. According to the report on mass graves and failed exhumations by the International Truth and Justice Project “among the...
Fitch Ratings have warned of continued risk despite Sri Lanka's domestic debt restructuring plan, as the agency doubts external creditors' approval. Highlighting the risks, the agency pointed out that it is still unclear whether the government’s proposal has received the support of the country’s external creditors. “If not, the risk of further domestic debt restructuring could linger, resulting in further instability for the banking sector.” The DDO plan approved by parliament last Saturday excludes banks’ holdings of Sri Lankan rupee-denominated treasury securities, which according to Fitch...