The former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunge on Thursday called for a federal and 'semi-secular' constitution. "Sri Lanka should learn a lesson from number of countries which have resolved their issues by formulating federal and secular constitutions," she was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. Calling for what she termed a "semi-secular" state, Ms Kumaratunge said, "Buddha said that everyone is equal. So why are we against giving equal rights to everyone in the nation?. Our effort is to compile a constitution which gives priority to Buddhism and gives equal rights to all other...
Officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Sri Lanka on Wednesday to review the $1.5 billion loan given to the country. The representatives, Jaewoo Lee and Eteri Kyintradgze met with the Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake, and the secretary to the treasury, R.H.S Samaratunga. “We had a budget deficit of 6.7 percent of the GDP last year and this year’s target will be 5.4 percent. it will be further reduced to 4.7 percent in 2017,” Mr Karunanayake said at the meeting, thanking the IMF for its assistance. “The government was very clear in gradually reducing the overall...
The Indian coast guard on Tuesday detained a 41 year old Eelam Tamil man who was fleeing his home town of Mullaitivu "fearing harassment by the Sri Lankan armed forces", reported The Hindu . The man, Arul Jayarathinam, alias Rajan, was reported by the paper to be a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He was stranded on the third islet of the Gulf of Mannar when he was found by the coast guard and detained.
Three men were arrested by CID officers in Jaffna over an attack against the Jaffna court house building in May. The men, Akilan, Jegadheesan and Ajanthan are alleged to have attacked the building as hundreds protested against the gang-rape and murder of the school girl, Vidhiya in Pungudutivu island. The men have been arrested for further investigation over the incident, the police reported.
Sri Lankan parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa called on chief Buddhist monks this week, warning them of a “highly dangerous constitution” for the island, which he claims has been drafted by a non-governmental organisation. The National Freedom Front (NFF) leader called on the Mahanayake Theras of Malwatte and Asgiriya to express his fear that a new constitution will harm the status of Buddhism across the island, which currently enjoys “foremost place” according to the constitution. The monks however, reassured the MP. ColomboPage reports the Chief Prelate of Malwatte as telling him that he was...
Sri Lankan soldiers involved themselves in yet another religious festival in the Tamil North-East, as they facilitated devotees praying at a Christian festival in Jaffna last week. Over 1000 people attended the feast of St Mary's Church, which is located inside the Sri Lankan military controlled High Security Zone in Palali. The Sri Lankan military “provided all infrastructure facilities, including installation of sanitary and drinking water facilities” declared an official government website . Troops were also deployed during the festival to “ensure the safety of the devotees,” it said. St...
Photograph: BBC Sinhala Tamils in Kilinochchi who had launched a hunger strike demanding the return of their lands from the Sri Lankan military have ended their protest, after a Sri Lankan government minister pledged they would be returned to their homes within three months. Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran met with the protestors this week, who are demanding the army vacate over 140 acres of land that belongs to 45 Tamil families in the area, according to BBC Sinhala. Ms Maheswaran told the protesting families that she had held discussions with military...
The body of an unidentified man was found in Kilinochchi on Tuesday. The body was discovered by a local girl who reported the finding to local police. Kilinochchi police are reportedly investigating the incident.
Suspected war criminals from Sri Lanka are amongst the 135 people that Britain has failed to deport, reports the Daily Mail . The suspects have reportedly been involved in “bloody conflicts in Rwanda, Afghanistan, Libya, Serbia and Sri Lanka”. Despite having their application for British citizenship rejected, they have managed to avoid deportation from the UK. None of the cases have been referred to Britain’s war crimes investigation unit. “On the face of it, it’s hard to understand how all these individuals could have raised such serious concerns during a citizenship process yet apparently...
Photograph: NewsFirst.lk Two school children have been reported missing from Trincomalee, according to latest reports . The children, aged 9 and 11, from Uppuveli, were last seen attending an after school tuition class. Sri Lankan police are reported to be carrying out investigations. UPDATE: Daily Mirror reports that the two missing children have been found on a train bound to Batticaloa. Further details are yet to be released by Sri Lankan police.