Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera met with UN human rights chief Zeid Al Hussein in New York this week, where the two discussed the “reconciliation” on the island, according to a government spokesperson. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit, currently underway in New York. Mr Samaraweera also reportedly met with ministers from Sweden, Serbia and Ethiopia during his visit. Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena also arrived in New York for the summit under heavy security this week.
The secretary of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) said the Sri Lankan government is confusing its electorate by giving contradictory statements on federalism and the prominence of Buddhism on the island. Udaya Gammanpila, a Sinhala nationalist MP, said whilst Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister have pledged to ensure Buddhism still holds prominence across the island as in the current constitution, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has contradicted them. “She recently said she wanted to create a federal yet a semi-secular State in Sri Lanka,” said Mr Gammanpila. “This contradicts...
Four members of the Sri Lankan military’s intelligence unit have been released on bail, after being arrested over the disappearance of cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda. The suspects were released on a cash bail by the Avissawella Provincial High Court and will have to report weekly to Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department.
The commander of the Sri Lankan Army’s 53 Division said secrets from the war “will go with him to his grave,” as he battled off claims that he revealed military secrets in his newly published book. Major General Kamal Gunaratne was speaking to reporters outside the Seethawakapura Urban Council when he made his comments, according to Colombo Gazette . The 53 division, which he led during the final stages of the armed conflict, is accused of committing massive violations of international humanitarian law. He personally stands accused of overseeing the execution of Balachandra, the son of LTTE...
A 30 year old Tamil man was found dead whilst under police custody in a Sri Lankan prison in Kandy. The man, Kaviraj Ravichandran, who was arrested on Saturday, was reportedly found hanging in his cell. The subinspector and police constable on duty that night have been suspended pending investigation, the Daily Mirror reported.
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister has proposed the hiring of a US-based management consultancy firm to set up a “Central Programme Management Unit,” on a US$2.3 million contract, reports the Sunday Times . The aim of the unit will be to create “integrated and accelerated economic development across the country and restructuring and transformation of the economy to a vibrant and sustainable social market economy,” said Ranil Wickremesinghe. To that end, US firm McKinsey and Company would be awarded to contract to work for a period of just 3 months. The proposed unit is set to function under the prime...
Sri Lanka’s Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene told an international peacekeeping summit in London that his government would not bow down to international pressure and would protect Sri Lankan troops. Mr Wijewardene met with members of the British Sri Lanka Forum on the sidelines of the United Nations Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Meeting in London last week. He told members of the forum that the summit, where 80 other ministers and military officials from across the world discussed peacekeeping operations, were informed of how the Sri Lankan government would “protect the valiant...
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister told Tamils in Jaffna that his government would enact a political solution to the island’s ethnic conflict which would solve porlbems faced by the Tamil people. Speaking at the opening of a new administrative building of the Jaffna District Secretariat, Ranil Wickremesinghe said that many had expected the implementation of the 13th amendment and a further devolution of powers to the North-East following the end of the armed conflict in 2009. Though the previous government did not implement the amendment, the prime minister pledged that this government would address...
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Geneva said his government looks to obtain “expertise and technical assistance” from the United Nations after a report by the Working Group of Enforced Disappearances called for international judges to be involved in an accountability mechanism. Responding to the report, which reiterated the importance of including international actors in any accountability mechanism, Ravinatha Aryasinha told the UN Human Rights Council that Sri Lanka would “work closely and in consultation with the United Nations system and the OHCHR as well as other international experts”. However...