Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena vowed to “eradicate the LTTE ideology” in calling for a separate state, in comments made to a gathering in Colombo this week. Mr Sirisena told a crowd that calls for a separate state still exist both on the island and internationally, pledging that his government will take action to "eradicate" it. “I want to eradicate the LTTE ideology (of a separate state) completely both locally and internationally,” said Mr Sirisena. “We ended the war and silenced the guns, but for long lasting peace we have not been able to eradicate the LTTE ideology,” The Hindu...
The Sri Lankan cabinet on Tuesday passed draft legislation to issue a 'certificate of absence' for people missing during the armed conflict, reported Colombo Page . "The suffering and distress of the families of those missing is exacerbated as, at this point in time, the government does not recognize the status of missing persons. This means that the families of missing persons face a range of practical issues including inability or difficulty in facilitation of property transfer and ownership, applying for compensation, qualifying for social welfare payments and pensions and accessing frozen...
Sri Lanka’s window of opportunity for reconciliation will close if it fails to act on accountability and militarisation, said the Pasumai Thaayagam Foundation in a written statement to the 32nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. In a statement endorsing the findings of an investigative report by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), Pasumaya Thaayagam said, “On this line the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) brought out a report, dated 20 April 2016 which provides details of ongoing militarization and harassment amongst the Tamil population of the...
A delegation from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to brief the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ahead of the upcoming Human Rights Council session, on progress made in Sri Lanka on the implementation of the resolution passed last year, TNA spokesperson MA Sumanthiran told Tamil journalists this week. Recalling that the Sri Lankan government was also a party to the resolution passed in UN session last year and assured implementation of the contents of the resolution, Mr Sumanthiran said the Sri Lankan government had initiated action on some aspects mentioned in the resolution, such...
The head of the British diplomatic service, Simon McDonald and the secretary at the UK Department for International Development visited Sri Lanka on Wednesday held discussions with the Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan regarding political settlement and the challenges facing Tamils in the North-East. British delegation meets OppLeader & TNA head #Sampanthan & TNA Spokesman @MASumanthiran today @britishhighcomm #lka pic.twitter.com/mgg7S5Eii9 — TNAMedia (@TNAmediaoffice) June 6, 2016 The visiting diplomats also met with the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and other government officials, discussing the government's progress on reconciliation and implementation of reforms. Meeting with the minister for prison reforms, rehabilitation, resettlement and Hindu religious affairs, MA Swaminathan, the UK diplomats discussed land-returns and the return of IDPs.
The Sri Lankan government must not “squander the good will” of those who have “waited decades for their human rights demands to be addressed” said Amnesty International, in a written statement released last week. The statement, which was submitted to the 32nd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council taking place this month, said the “vast majority of alleged abuses before, during, and after Sri Lanka’s armed conflict has not been effectively investigated”. It also called on the international community to monitor “progress and implementation” of a United Nations resolution that Sri Lankan co-sponsored, which calls for an accountability mechanism with international judges to prosecute perpetrators of mass atrocities. “Perpetrators have not been prosecuted and torture in police custody persists with impunity,” said the human rights organisation.
Two UK officials arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday, for discussions on reconciliation and human rights, as well as wider areas of cooperation between the two countries, the British High Commission said. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's permanent under-secretary, Simon McDonald and the permanent secretary at the UK Department for International Development, Mark Lowcock will meet with the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R Sampanthan.
Sri Lanka agreed to increase its defence ties with Russia following a meeting between Russia's deputy defence minister, Anatoly Antonov and Sri Lanka's defence secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi, on Sunday. Looking to the future, cooperation will extend to the training of Sri Lankan military officers at Russian institutions. "Within the meeting the Russian Deputy Defence Minister pointed out the future directions of the Russian-Sri Lankan cooperation including the one in the field of preparation of military officers in the educational institutions of the Russian Defence Ministry," the Sri...
Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Mangala Samarweera highlighted Sri Lanka’s potential to be a investment paradise during an investment meeting in Paris, reports Colombo Page. Speaking at a meeting of the French Entrepreneurs Association (MEDEF International) the biggest representative organisation of the French private sector at an international level, Mr Samaraweera suggested that the participation of French companies in development projects in Sri Lanka highlighted a new degree of confidence placed on the country. Sri Lanka’s foreign minister went on to add that the recent growth in...
The European Union is revising its development strategy for Sri Lanka, in order to assist with the implementation of a UN resolution that calls for trials with foreign judges to prosecute those accused of committing mass atrocities. A statement released following the conclusion of the meeting of the Working Group on Cooperation between the European Union and Sri Lanka last week said the two have “enjoyed diplomatic ties that span more than 40 years”. “Over the last decade, the EU has been one of the leading international donors, providing support for conflict affected people, the...