Sri Lanka's cabinet has approved a national development organisation which will include the military. Co-Cabinet spokesperson Minister Gayantha Karunathilake said the knowledge and resources of the tri-forces could be used in nation building, the Daily Mirror reported. “The proposal made by President Maithripala Sirisena as the Defence Minister to establish an organization in this regard was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers,” he said. He said the contribution of the military forces, with their "resources, training and strength in national development and peace process" would be sought...
Farmers in Mullaitivu have urged the Sri Lankan government to push the army to release agricultural tanks currently under its occupation, Ceylon Today reported. The demand comes after requests to date have proved futile, with no action taken. “Southern fishermen are poaching in our waters," the farmers were quoted by the newspaper as saying. "Ancient lands of farmers have been occupied under the Mahaweli Zone. This had now extended up to the borders of our ancient lands. Thousands of acres of prime land have been taken over such as the Kent and Dollar farms,” the farmers added.
Tamil internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Paravipanchan, Kilinochchi this week requested government to take action to allow them to be settled into their own homes. The Sri Lankan military continues to occupy 17.2 acres of land owned by the 52 families, who remained displaced since the end of the armed conflict. Paravipanchan, an area within Kilinochchi town, was previously the site of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) political headquarters, including the organisation's peace secretariat as well as media and educational offices.
Since the armed conflict ended in 2009, the Sri Lankan military has occupied thousands of acres of land for Sinhalese settlements stated Northern Provincial Council member T Ravikaran. Approximately 4712.5 acres of land has been grabbed by the military in the district alone, said the NPC member, with 9 Buddhist viharas constructed and 794 Sinhalese families settled in the region.
Photograph: ColomboPage The Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne attended a military symposium at California last week, at the invitation of the US military. Accompanied by the Naval Secretary Commodore Udaya Hettiarachchi, ColomboPage reports the Sri Lankan commander as having called on the Commander US Marine Corps and Pacific Commanding General Fleet Marine Force Lieutenant General John A Toolan at the sidelines of the Pacific Command Amphibious Leaders Symposium (PALS) 2016. The two reportedly “held discussions on matters of mutual interest and bilateral...
A Sri Lankan military intelligence officer has been arrested over the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunge. The officer, identified as P Udalagama, is reportedly a sergeant attached to the military intelligence unit. He is due to be produced before an identity parade, reports Hiru News .
A 14 year old Tamil school child who was raped last month was beaten by Sri Lankan police officials as she tried to report the crime, reports Colombo Telegraph. The girl, who was reportedly abducted and raped by her school bus driver on June 19th, attempted to report the crime to Haputale police on the 7th of July. A woman police constable proceeded to beat the child, warning her not to reveal details of the rape to the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO). If the child spoke, the constable “threatened to kill the victim’s parents and everyone else in the family,” according to reports. Despite the...
The Chinese Government said it will assist Sri Lanka in any way possible, claimed Sri Lanka’s Ministry of National Policy and Economic affairs on Friday. Quoting the commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy Wang Yingqi, Siri Lanka’s Minister of National Policy and Economic Affairs Niroshan Perera, said China was fully involved in the development of the country. The Minister added that Sri Lanka had opened Chinese language training centres to help assist the tourism industry deal with Chinese visitors. The minister added that the highest number of tourists to visit Sri Lanka come from...
A Tamil man who feared for his life after facing deportation from the United Kingdom has won the right to stay in the UK, after residents in his Welsh village rallied around him. Rakuvaran Parameswaran, a 25 year old man who fled the island in 2005, has been in the UK since he was 13. Originally from Puthukkudiyiruppu, his parents sent him from the island as fighting began to intensify, with the Sri Lankan military preparing to launch a major offensive in the Tamil North-East. “My parents sent me to the UK when I was 13 to keep me safe,” said Mr Parameswaran. “I never heard from them again.”
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told a crowd in Colombo that his government “will never bring down foreign judges” to prosecute for violations of international humanitarian law, reports the Sri Lanka Mirror . Speaking at the inaugural session of the mayors’ conference in Colombo, Mr Samaraweera was reported to have said that “war crimes allegations will be investigated and resolved through a local mechanism”. Sri Lanka Mirror went on to add that the foreign minister said this was the “firm stance of both president Maithripala Sirisena and prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe” and that “certain media and groups were painting a wrong picture when the government was acting with transparency”.