The building and expansion of two Buddhist shrines in close proximity to Hindu temples in Point Pedro has left locals fearing further Sinhalisation of their area.
India's minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj held a meeting on Friday with Sri Lanka's State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vasantha Senanayake in Kathmandu. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Mr Senanayake represented Sri Lanka after the country's foreign minister was forced to resign over corruption allegations. According to Colombo Page , "both ministers exchanged views on mutual relations but have not discussed regional issues."
Three Indian nationals were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy and the Special Task Force on Friday for allegedly violating immigration laws. All three people arrested are from Tamil Nadu and aged 27, 36 and 41, Colombo Page reported. They had been harvesting a paddy field in Nindavur where they were arrested, the paper added.
The Eastern University has been ordered to be evacuated as tensions remained high following the attack on security staff by Sinhala students on Tuesday. The order was issused on Saturday by the Eravur Magistrate Court, the Daily Mirror reported. Two security staff, including one female member of staff, were hospitalised following the attack. Sinhalese students, who had been protested demanding accommodation and for academic suspensions to be revoked, blockaded the administration building and attacked the staff, claiming they had been ignored by the administration. Security staff continued to...
Criticising the failure of the Sri Lankan government to make significant progress on implemented the UN Human Rights Council resolution it co-sponsored, the Global Tamil Forum reiterated the need for accountability, stating the "the present coalition government has not lived up to its commitments and yet to take any meaningful steps in this respect." "No efforts have been made by the top Sri Lankan leaders to integrate credible international participation in the local judicial processes as stipulated in the UNHRC resolutions," the organisation said. See full statement here . Extracts...
The Tamil National Alliance met with Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther on Friday. The TNA was represented by its leader, R Sampanthan and TNA spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran.
Tamil preschool children were given a tour of Palaly air base by Sri Lankan soldiers on Friday. The base is inside a high security zone, military-occupied land which is usually inaccessible to locals. 48 children from the Karaveddy Child Jesus Pre-School, along with their parents and 5 members of staff were given the tour.
Fencing activity by the Ceylon Electricity Board on paddy lands in Sampur has angered the land’s recently resettled owners. Trincomalee MP K. Thurairetnasingam wrote to President Sirisena following outcry by the owners of paddy land in Kilalveli that their livelihood lands were being encroached upon. “These paddy lands have been ploughed, levelled and made ready for paddy cultivation. At this stage it is being taken by CEB without the concern of the owners of such land. This action is seen by the people as a highly inhuman action,” Mr Thurairetnasingam wrote. The CEB are attempting to fence...
A former Major General in the Sri Lankan army who was accused of murder and torture and has since been ordained as a Buddhist monk was in Jaffna this week, delivering a lecture to Sri Lankan soldiers.
Sri Lanka’s public debt is expected to rise to 85% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with the current account deficit widening to 2.5% of GDP warned the International Monetary Fund. The IMF's second review of Sri Lanka under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF)., released on Thursday, further found that though progress on structural fiscal reform had been made “political resistance” was stalling some processes including energy pricing reform. Stressing that public debt continued to remain unsustainably high, the report said, “Public debt is expected to rise slightly to 85 percent of GDP in 2017 due...