Amnesty International said it was “dismayed” at how the Sri Lankan government dismissed the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, which recommended the involvement of international judges in an accountability mechanism. “The Sri Lankan government expressly asked for this report with the taskforce appointed by the Prime Minister,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director. “Now that they have done the hard work, it is dismaying that the government is not taking seriously the taskforce report and its findings.” The human rights organisation noted that...
Sri Lankan troops in Kilinochchi began a three-month long training program for Tamil farmers in Kilinochchi, to teach them farming “ farming methods”. An official military website declared the program, which commenced this week, is to be carried out by soldiers from the 65 and 66 Divisions. The teaching program takes place at two military run farms in Kilinochchi, a former LTTE stronghold. Farmers will be made “aware on scientific and innovative farming methods and practices them under supervision” (sic) said the military. See more from the Sri Lankan military here .
The University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) hopes to expand Tamil studies at the university with the help of donations by a UTSC alumnus. Scarborough businessman Ravi Gukathasan has contributed $2 million to support Tamil studies at the university. Currently, the Tamil Worlds Initiative (TWI) is a tri-campus program that hosts talks on a range of themes involving Tamil history, culture, religion and politics. TWI is also facilitating connections for students to intern in Sri Lanka. With the expansion of the program, TWI would like to offer language classes and bring more visiting...
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) to create a television channel that will showcase reconciliation programming. The project is budgeted at 180 million rupees and was initiated with the aim of improving peace and harmony between the different ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. The launch took place during the first “National Integration and Reconciliation Week” – taking place from January 8th to the 14th. Read more on Asian Tribune .
Sri Lanka is committed to implementing the most recent Human Rights Council resolution according to the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, although there is only consensus for establishing a credible domestic mechanism. The foreign minister, Managala Samaraweera, gave a talk about Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process at Chatham House in London on Wednesday night. The minister’s speech was followed by a question and answer session with the audience. The minister spoke of the “considerable strides” made by his government, in the two years since “the people of Sri Lanka courageously turned out...
Human Rights Watch urged Sri Lanka not to back-track on the commitments made by the government at the UN Human Rights Council regarding accountability and justice. Calling for the consensus UNHRC resolution to be adopted "promptly and transparently", HRW in is 2017 World Report released on Thursday said "the president and other senior officials have downplayed the government’s commitment to international involvement in key transitional justice mechanisms, and need to make justice a top priority." In a statement , HRW noted: "The government disregarded inclusive decision-making by announcing...
Sri Lanka would issue a temporary resident visa to foreigners who would be investing over US $300,000 in the country, the finance minister, Ravi Karunanayake was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. The decision comes following a proposal in the 2016 Budget which said that visas would be granted to foreign investers who were bringing a significant amount of foreign exchange.
Relatives of the disappeared held a protest in Vavuniya today expressing frustration with Minister Sathiyalingam and the TNA leadership. The protestors voiced their disappointment at the lack of progress in having their missing loved ones accounted for. They held banners criticising the TNA, in particular the leader R Sampanthan, and P. Sathiyalingam, the NPC representative for Vavuniya.
Any potential improvement in Sri Lanka’s credit profile will depend on how closely the government complies with conditions laid out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Fitch Ratings. Noting that Sri Lanka was one of five countries that Fitch took negative rating action against in the two years leading up to IMF loads – the others being Iraq, Kenya, Suriname and Tunisia – the ratings agency added that Sri Lanka “ran down foreign-exchange reserves at unsustainable rates trying to resist currency depreciation in a global environment of US dollar strength”. “IMF loans should alleviate...
The European Commission has proposed the granting of trade concessions to Sri Lanka under the GSP+ scheme, in exchange for the government’s “commitment” on human rights and labour conditions. The restoration of GSP+, which was stripped during the previous Sri Lankan government’s rule, would mean the government benefits from the full removal of duties on 66% of tariff lines, including in industries such as textiles and fisheries. The move has been proposed alongside “rigorous monitoring” by the European Commission. A press release this morning said the commissioned would restore the trade...