Economic growth in Sri Lanka fell to 4.8 per cent in 2015 from 4.9 per cent in the previous year, with the slowdown attributed to a slowing export sector and foreigners taking away their funds from Sri Lanka owing to a stronger US economy, according to the Central Bank’s annual report for 2015 released on Tuesday. “The impact of these developments was offset to some extent by lower international commodity prices,” the 2015 annual report said, according to The Sunday TImes . Year-on-year headline inflation by end 2015 was recorded at 2.8 per cent, compared to 2.1 per cent at the end of 2014, the report further said.
Tamil National Alliance MP Shanthi Sriskantharajah criticised the Sri Lankan government's attempt to launch new Sinhala residential villages in the Tamil North-East, stating it was part of a colonisation project. The parliamentarian said two new residential villages have been opened up in the Mullaitivu district in the North-East, named Sampathnuvara and Isurupura. The villages were opened on April 11th by Sri Lanka's Minister of Housing, with a total of 24 houses unveiled. “The Manalaaru area is an ancient settlement of the Tamil people,” said Ms Sriskantharajah. “Under the guise of Mahavali Development Zone, land grabs are still happening here,” she added calling for a halt to further colonisation.
Sri Lanka's rehabilitation ministry has ordered former LTTE cadres to present themselves to Colombo on April 30th. The former cadres received no information on what the purpose of the summons is or the location of the meeting. They have been instructed to gather in the city and await details regarding the precise location. The summons has caused many of the cadres to express fear over their safety. The order came as four former LTTE cadres, including senior commanders were abducted and detained by the Terrorism Investigation Division in the space of one week. The detained include the former...
Hundreds of Tamil pre-schools in the North-East continue to remain under the administration of Sri Lanka's Civil Security Department, despite pledges to reduce the military presence in the Tamil homeland. Approximately 270 pre-schools in the Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts remain under the Civil Security Department, which also provides 512 pre-school teachers. A total of 9422 children are reported to be studying in those pre-schools in both districts. Despite calls for the schools to handed back to civilian administrators the Civil Security Department remains in control, a role that the...
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson and MP, M A Sumanthiran on Wednesday reiterated his rejection of the Sri Lankan army's accusation that the TNA leader leader R Sampanthan entered an army camp illegally. "It is the army that is forcibly occupying private land," he told a press conference in Colombo on Wednesday. "Fifty-four families in Paravipaanjaan are displaced because of illegal, unauthorised army occupation. The opposition leader and TNA MPs entered the Paravaipaanjaan area with the property owners, on their invitation," Mr Sumanthiran said. "What is illegal is the army occupation of private lands. [There is] nothing illegal about the opposition leader's visit."
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström met with Tamil civil society activists in Jaffna on Tuesday, as part of her visit to the North-East. Accompanied by Harald Sanberg, Sweden's Ambassador to India, Ms Wallström visited Kopay in Jaffna to inspect houses that have been built as part of the Sri Lankan government’s much criticised housing project. Tamil activists also called on the foreign minister, who previously held the post of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to help alleviate problems faced by Tamil female headed households in the North-East.
The leader of ITAK's youth wing, Subramaniyam Sivakaran was arrested on Wednesday morning by the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID). Mr Sivakaran, who is also the editor of a Tamil newspaper called Puthiyavan, was detained at the paper's offices in Mannar and taken to Vavuniya. The activist, in a recent interview to TamilNet, had condemned the recent arrests and abductions by the TID and compared the Sirisena-regime to that of Mahinda Rajapaksa for its deployment of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Mr Sivakaran organised last year's Mullivaikkal commemoration event in Mannar on May 18,...
A former Sri Lankan police officer who migrated to London and worked as a masseuse was jailed after sexually assaulting a female client. The former Sri Lankan police officer's defence lawyer, told the British court that “While he was in employment of the military police he was required to deal with opponents of the Sri Lankan government, which involved the organised sexual assaults and humiliation of the opponents of the regime.” See full report here.
People for Equality and Relief in Lanka PEARL, expressed deep concern at Sri Lanka’s latest set of arrests and detentions under its draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). In a statement released on Wedneesday Pearl said, “PEARL is deeply concerned by Sri Lanka’s latest arrest and detention under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of Subramaniyam Sivakaran, a Tamil activist and journalist from the North-East. Sivakaran was arrested in Mannar by the Terrorism Investigation Department on Wednesday, April 27.The arrest came days after he publicly criticized the PTA and the continued detention of Tamils under the Act. “Abductions and arrests of many Tamils across the North-East, although commonplace for decades, have been greatly increasing in recent weeks. The Sri Lankan state continues to deploy its notorious “White Vans” to abduct Tamils, who in some cases later turn up in police or military custody. Although the current government recognized the flawed nature of the PTA and pledged to review and repeal it, the law remains in force and security forces continue to use it to detain Tamils. The existence and application of the PTA also facilitates abuses in custody, like torture and sexual violence.”
The Tamil National Alliance condemned the arrest of Sivakaran, the leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi's (ITAK) youth wing, after he was detained by TID officers. "This is not the only case, in the past few days, many arrests have taken place," the TNA said in a statement in Tamil . "Many of these arrests were not conducted properly, but were of the kind that the persons are kidnapped and later arrested. This is the most serious matter regarding these arrests." "Condemning such arrests in an improper manner, the Tamil National Alliance, requests that concerned authorities should take...