Tamil Nadu fishermen have condemned Sri Lanka's new fishing law which bans bottom trawling as "draconian", and urged Delhi to put pressure on Sri Lanka to repeal the law. “This is draconian and aimed at crushing the livelihood of the fishers once for all,” the leader of the mechanised boat fishermen association, P Sesu Raja, was quoted by The Hindu as saying. “Indian fishermen enjoyed traditional fishing rights in the Palk Bay for several centuries and their rights could not be taken away in this fashion,” U. Arulanandham, president of the Alliance for the Release of Innocent Fishermen (ARIF...
Jaffna University has signed a collaboration agreement with the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences worth over US $900,000, reports Colombo Page. The agreement which will span a period of 3 years will be utilised to upgrade laboratory faculties for technical assistance and capacity building of the Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Technology at the Kilinochchi campus and at the Faculty of Science at the Jaffna campus of the University of Jaffna. One of the main drivers of the collaboration is to seek the establishment of a consortium of clean energy technologies, which includes...
Sri Lanka will immediately import 200,000 metric tons of rice from India, Pakistan and Myanmar confirmed the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on Friday. The Sri Lankan government has also commenced government level talks on the possibility of purchasing rice from Thailand. The latest announcement comes after the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen on Monday said that the country was not facing any shortage in rice stocks. See more here and here.
Sri Lanka’s navy is set to receive its largest vessel in a longstanding agreement with India. Sri Lanka’s navy officials are currently in India to learn to operate a new Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ahead of an official handover in August. A spokesperson from Sri Lanka’s navy said the officials were in India to validate that the ship met their requirements. See more here.
The Government of Sri Lanka and Japan have agreed a concessionary loan of approximately $273 million was reports Colombo Page. The agreement was signed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a water supply expansion project in the Western Province. The Chief Representative of JICA Sri Lanka Fusato Tanaka, told press said the “project will contribute to improve the water situation in Western Province in line with rapid urbanisation.” See more here.
The 54 acres of land around Myliddy harbour which were announced for release from military occupation have not entirely been released. In particular a historic tuberculosis clinic, built by British colonialists, based in around 6 acres of land announced for release remains occupied by military forces. Further, the released lands do not comprise any residential lands but only crop field lands, along with the land of two Saiva kovils. While the release of the Myliddy jetty was hailed as a revival of fortunes for the fishing community, military road blocks and continued occupation of surrounding...
Sri Lankan troops took part in a military exercise on Vaharai beach in Batticaloa this week. Over 100 Sri Lankan Marines, 30 commandos and 30 Special Forces personnel took part in the exercise, which according to the Daily News was held to “amplify the operational readiness, in collaboration with allied forces, to withstand any form of threat posed by an enemy both from the sea and land”.
Several senior members of the Sri Lankan army have been summoned to appear before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Serious Acts of Fraud (PRECIFAC), over the theft of metal in Kankesanthurai in Jaffna. PRECIFAC has called for Former Army Commander General Daya Ratnayake and other senior military members, including from the Defence Ministry, to appear before the commission on July 13. The commission is investigating the theft of metal machinery parts from a cement factory in Kankesanthurai from 2012-2013. See more from Daily News here .
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe assured his parliament that any new constitution for the island will continue to grant Buddhism “first and foremost” place, pledging that amendments would not be implemented. Responding to claims from the opposition that there have been attempts to scrap Article 9 of the Sri Lankan constitution – the clause that grants Buddhism primacy on the island – Mr Wickremesinghe said that the steering committee which he heads would not allow such a change to take place. "The steering committee has not come up with any draft,” he stated. “I will not allow...
The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappdi K Palaniswami, wrote to the Indian premier, Narenda Modi on Friday, expressing his concern about Sri Lanka's new fishing legislation which bans bottom trawling. Describing the legislation, which was adopted on Thursday, as a “harsh step to undermine the diplomatic efforts”, Mr Palaniswami said it was “aimed at preventing our fishermen from exercising their traditional fishing rights in the fishing waters." His letter is the latest in a long series of letters from chief ministers of Tamil Nadu to Delhi on the issue of fishing and the arrests of...