The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena is to travel to the UK next week followed by visit to India where he will meet the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. Mr Sirisena's visit to the UK will be on May 11 and 12. Talks with Mr Modi will commence on May 13.
The Northern Provincial councillor M K Shivajilingham stressed that Mullivaikkal remembrance events beginning on May 12th would go ahead as planned despite attempts to block them. Tamils slaughtered at the final stages of the armed conflict in May 2009 would be remembered across the week, with the main event on May 18 in Mullivaikkal. Attempts by Tamils in the North-East to commemorate the dead around that time have over previous years faced military backlash.
The United States government announced that it will ease a set of long standing trade restrictions on Sri Lanka and review all further applications on a “case-by-case basis”. The US Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) stated that “effectively immediately” it will “review applications for licenses to export or temporarily import defense articles and defense services to or from Sri Lanka”. Previous restrictions on Sri Lanka blocked the use of US assistance for defence exports, apart from services related to demining and disaster relief. The announcement comes...
A briefing note by Together Against Genocide (TAG) on the capability of Sri Lanka’s judiciary to deal with international crimes found that it was “not yet capable of justly administering a war crimes tribunal to the standard expected by victims and the international community.” The 5 page document concluded that, “the lack of independence, poor attitude towards fundamental freedoms and lack of judicial competence significantly endangers a future tribunal.” The report released on Wednesday touched on issues of, a lack of independence of the judiciary, poor judicial attitude towards the...
The Sri Lankan Navy has for the first time exported attack vessels, after winning a contract from the Nigerian government. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence boasted it was “one of the biggest defence contracts in the naval history” and called it a “milestone in the annals of the Sri Lanka Navy”. The 6 Arrow Boats and 3 Inshore Patrol Craft will be sold to Nigeria for approximately $4.2 million said the Sri Lankan Navy who said the vessels had “world-wide fame achieved through the victories in sea battle”. A study team from the Nigerian National Defence College visited the Sri Lankan Naval...
The Sri Lankan government under President Maithripala Sirisena continues to torture Tamils who have gone to Sri Lanka from the UK said Freedom From Torture, reiterating remarks made by UN Special Rapporteur Juan Mendez on Saturday. Ann Hannah, International Advocate and Researcher at Freedom from Torture, said that the organisation supports demands for “an internationalised justice process for torture and other serious human rights abuses which took place during and after the civil war”. Freedom From Torture went on to state that “while torture is still being practised any efforts towards long-term stability are undermined”. “The number of referrals Freedom from Torture has received for people tortured since the January 2015 presidential election is deeply worrying,” said the organisation. “Our clinical evidence shows that torture continues in Sri Lanka under President Sirisena,” said Ms Hannah. “Ahead of scrutiny by the Human Rights Council in June, we hope that the Government will announce a credible and effective torture prevention programme as part of efforts to fully implement its international commitments and build a sustainable peace.”
At least 28 Sri Lanka navy personnel have been injured following a bus accident in the Tamil North-East, reports News First . The Sri Lankan navy bus veered off a road in Parayanakulama in Vavuniya. The military reported that the injured troops have since been admitted into hospital. None are thought to be in a critical condition. It is not known whether any civilians were also injured.
The rise of drug smuggling in the Tamil North-East is degrading education, culture and development in a manner that seems “well planned” and aims to eradicate Tamil society, said Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran. Speaking at a teachers’ conference at Vembady Women’s College in Jaffna, Justice Wigneswaran told the audience that despite the presence of 15,000 Sri Lankan army soldiers in Jaffna, illegal drug smuggling has continued to increase. “At whose behest is this happening?” he questioned, noting that there were even greater numbers of air force, navy and police personnel. “We understand that the sale of these narcotics is mainly focussed on school children, with an aim to destabilise the education of our students,” he continued.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled his visit to Jaffna at an election rally in Tamil Nadu this week, as he showcased his efforts to help Tamils in the North-East. Addressing rallies in Chennai and Hosur, Mr Modi spoke on the issue of Tamils in the North-East, stating "I was the first PM to visit Jaffna and wipe their tears”. He also spoke of an Indian housing scheme for displaced Tamils, saying “In the last 20 years, for the homes that were lost - 50,000 houses are to be given; 30,000 houses are already given”. Mr Modi visited the North-East last year, stating he was there to help "wipe the tears from the eyes of those who suffered".
Sri Lanka’s president declared open War Heroes Commemoration Month, on Friday, at is offices in a flag raising ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony with the Ministry of Defence, Mr Sirisena said, “The present Government is committed to ensure the welfare of the war heroes’ families and to protect the privileges of security personnel.” The president opened the 'War Heroes' commemoration month as Tamil activists who had previously organised commemoration events for the massacres of 2009 in the North-East were temporarily detained, and as several former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres were...