The newly appointment British non resident defence advisor, Captain Stuart Borland visited Sri Lanka last week, where he met with the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and commanders of the army, navy and air force. Captain Borland, who was appointed last year following a meeting between the British prime minister, David Cameron, and the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM). "I very much look forward to working with all three Services of the Armed Forces through defence engagement activities designed to support the Sri Lankan...
The Sri Lankan army has accused the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader, R Sampanthan of entering an army camp in Kilinochchi without prior permission. The army's commander, Lt. General Chrishanta De Silva lodged a complaint over the alleged incident. “This should not have happened," the minister Mahinda Samarasinghe was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying to press on Monday. "If and when a VIP wants to visit a camp of the Armed forces, he or she must get prior approval from the Head Quarters of the respective force and the base commander makes necessary arrangements on the advices of the Head Quarters,” he added.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA)'s spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran on Tuesday rejected the Sri Lankan army's accusation that the TNA leader had entered an army camp in Kilinochchi without permission , stating the land belonged to the people. "There was no camp there. That is people's land. The Army is occupying it forcibly," Mr Sumanthiran told the BBC, adding that Mr Sampanthan had visited the site following a complaint made by local residents over the military's continued occupation of land.
Today marks the death of SJV Chelvanayagam QC, who is remembered across the Tamil nation for spear heading the Vaddukoddai resolution, which was overwhelmingly ratified by the Tamil votes in the 1976 parliamentary elections. After representing the Tamil people for five general elections, experiencing repeated disappointments in over 3 decades of negotiation with the Sinhala majoritarian government, Chelvanayagam QC formulated the Vaddukoddai resolution , which remains a cornerstone of the Tamil movement for self-determination in Sri Lanka. In the late fifties, Chelvanayagam QC signed the first ever pact between the Sinhala and Tamil community to resolve the issue of Tamil political demands. The Bandaranaike-Chelvanayam pact, signed in 1957, was abrogated by the then President due to vehement opposition by Sinhala parties. Following another decade of civil disobedience and negotiations, Chelvanayagam QC signed a pact to settle Tamil political demands with the then UNP leader Mr Dudely Senanayake. The 1965 general elections, which preceded the signing of the Chelva-Dudely pact, saw no Sinhala political party obtain an absolute majority in parliament. Despite having the support of the Tamil political parties in parliament Mr Senanayake abrogated the pact as vehement opposition arose in the Sinhala South.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights annoiunced that the Special Rapporteurs on the Independence of the Judiciary and Torture would visit Sri Lanka from the 29 April to 7 May. In a joint statement Monica Pinto and Juan E Mendez said, “We look forward to engaging with the authorities and key actors on the challenges faced by country to ensure the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession, due progress and fair trail guarantees, and access to justice, and to eradicate torture and other ill-treatment, while promoting accountability and fulfilling victims right to reparations.” The UN experts added, “Sri Lanka is at a crucial moment in its history and we hope that our recommendations will contribute to setting out a path for the future that will be fully aligned with the international human rights obligations of the country.” Mr Mendez was formerly the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and Special Adviser to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Sweden pledged maximum support to Sri Lanka’s efforts of regaining the European Union GSP+ trade concession reports Colombo Page. Following a meeting with Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena, Sweden’s visiting Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom assured that Sweden would provide every possible assistance to reinstate the GSP+ facility. Clear evidence of progressive measures on human rights are needed before GSP+ return - EU (16 Mar 2016) Sri Lanka confident in restoring GSP+ trade concessions (03 June 2015) ‘An awful lot remains to be done’ on human rights in Sri Lanka says EU envoy (10...
A third former Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) commander, Kanathippillai Sivamoorthy (known as Nagulan) was abducted in Jaffna today, before being found hours later in custody of Sri Lanka’s infamous Terrorism Investigation Division. Following his abduction, Nagulan's mother filed a complaint with Sri Lanka's human rights commission.
Last updated 25/04/16 21:51 A former LTTE commander who was earlier reported as abducted in the Eastern province, has been detained by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), the police spokesperson revealed on Monday. The commander, identified as Ram, was abducted at Thambuluvil in Amparai on Sunday after. He had already been through the Sri Lankan government’s ‘rehabilitation’ program after the end of the armed conflict on the island in 2009 and was only released 4 years later. His wife had lodged a complaint with the police, but no further information has been released regarding his whereabouts.
A Sri Lankan minister said that his government would not allow the arrest of former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for overseeing mass atrocities during the final phase of the armed conflict, which saw the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Enterprises Development Kabir Hashim said that any allegations raised against a Sri Lankan citizen will only be dealt with using local legislation. “We will not allow a domestic issue to be dealt with internationally owing to outside pressure,” he added .
The leader of Sri Lanka’s Pivithuru Hela Urumaya party called on Sri Lankan police to arrest Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan, as investigations began against the Tamil politician. Speaking to media in the Sinhala south, Udaya Gammanpila accused Mr Sampanthan and other TNA members of threatening national security, after they reportedly attempted to enter a Sri Lankan army camp in the Kilinochci, earlier this month. "This should be nipped in the bud before it reaches alarming proportions," said Mr Gammanpila, calling on Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Inspector General of Police to act...