The granting of GSP+ trade concessions and the lifting of a ban on Sri Lanka’s fishing exports by the European Union has opened up access to a market worth Rs. 7 billion claims a Sri Lankan minister. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Primary Industries Daya Gamage made the claim whilst speaking to shrimp farmers in Puttalam who have come under pressure due to ongoing dry weather. Last week, Sri Lanka’s president boasted of how the moves by the EU were a result of his government’s ability to defuse pressure over war crimes and a sign that “the entire international community is friendly and respects Sri...
Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeals has said it will hear the case on the murder of Tamil National Alliance MP Nadarajah Raviraj in December of this year, more than 11 years after his assassination. The appeal, lodged by Shashikala Raviraj, the wife of the murdered parliamentarian, challenges the Colombo High Court's judgment on the case last year. An all Sinhala jury had acquitted three navy intelligence officials and two members of the Karuna group accused of the murder after a month long trial. The case will be heard before Sri Lanka's Court of Appeals on December 12, who will make a judgement on...
The Sri Lankan government is seeking foreign assistance in order to curb illegal drug trafficking on the island, after it emerged that it was becoming a transit hub to transport cocaine across Asia. Sri Lanka’s Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka admitted that the island had become a ”transit point for mass scale drug dealers”. Speaking to reporters in Colombo, he went on to add, "We have a responsibility to prevent and stop this." See more here.
A former Sri Lankan military commander who stands accused of overseeing war crimes has backtracked over claims of responsibility for the military during the final stages of the armed conflict, and instead blamed Sri Lanka's former army commander Sarath Fonseka. Speaking in an interview to Ceylon Today, Jagath Jayasuriya who fled his post as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Brazil last week after a law suit accusing him of war crimes, contradicted previous public statements on his role. A senior UN official also reassured him that he would not come under fire over the reports of war crimes, he stated...
The new constitution being drafted for Sri Lanka must not be allowed to fail, TNA leaders told the visiting Assistant Secretary of State of the United States. TNA leader R. Sampanthan met with the assistant secretary, Alice Wells, at the residence of US Ambassador Atul Keshap on Friday. The constitution should protect and preserve the dignity of all living on the island, Mr Sampanthan said, adding that the opportunity to pass a new constitution through parliament, while the two main Sri Lankan parties were united, should not be allowed to slip. Those that think they will lose out from the...
The Sri Lankan navy on Friday arrested three Indian nationals for allegedly attempting to smuggle in the banned weedicide glyphosate via boat. The men were arrested off the coast of Kudiramalai by navy officers attached to the Thalaimannar base, Colombo Page reported. They have been handed over to Thalaimannar police for further investigations.
Sri Lanka's Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka should be stripped of his portfolio over his comments which betray the army, the leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) Wimal Weerawansa said on Sunday. Mr Fonseka this week said he would be prepared to testify against the former military general Jagath Jayasuriya who has been accused of committing war crimes in the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009. Describing Mr Fonseka's statement as "traitorous", Mr Weerawansa called on the government to act. "If the government failed to do so one could then assume that the statement made by Mr...
The Sri Lankan government is to strengthen its Special Task Force officers in order to combat "extremist" threats and "foreign terrorists", the Minister of Law and Order, Sagala Ratnayake said. "The officers should be provided with modern technological training to face new forms of terrorist threats that country could face in future, even though the Government is certain there is no LTTE threat," the minister was quoted by Ceylon Today as saying. "When we say to combat riots, we are not indicating the day to day protests or unruly behaviour by university students or employees who take to...
A Buddhist ceremony was held by the Sri Lankan military in the East earlier this month to mark the appointment of a new Brigadier General Staff.
The United States will hold its first ever joint naval exercise with Sri Lanka in October, announced US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells at the Indian Ocean Conference this week.