Survivors of torture in Sri Lanka feel they will not receive impartial justice unless international judges and lawyers are involved, writes the founder of Survivors Speak Out (SSO). “The message is clear: a strong, credible justice process for Sri Lanka requires independent international participation. It is up to the international community to be vigilant in ensuring that Sri Lanka fulfills the commitments it made to the UN Human Rights Council by allowing this to take place,” said Kolbassia Haussou. See full opinion below.
The European Union Foreign Affairs Council said it will closely follow Sri Lanka’s efforts in addressing human rights issues. During a meeting in Brussels on Monday, the council reiterated its commitment to United Natiosn bodies tasked with the protection and promotion of human rights. The Council added that the EU will closely follow efforts in Sri Lanka in establishing a credibly process for transitional justice, accountability and reconciliation, reports Colombo Page . The statement came as Sri Lanka’s president visited Germany in efforts to reinstate the GSP+ trade concession. Sri Lanka’s...
The government has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bail out facility to resolve the current balance of payments crisis. A loan facility is urgently needed owing to the critical state of the balance of payments. This crisis in the external finances has been brought about by the mismanagement of the economy over several years. Previous requests In similar situations in the past, governments resorted to a rescue package from the IMF. In 1977 the government obtained a Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF) to undertake trade liberalisation and economic reforms. In July 2009 the IMF approved a 20-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) of approximately US$ 2.6 billion, as a Balance of Payments (BOP) support. Macroeconomic weaknesses Once again the severe difficulties in external finances have made the government request the IMF for a loan facility to resolve the critical balance of payments situation. This situation arose owing to fundamental macroeconomic weaknesses: high fiscal deficits, large foreign debt, and widening of the trade and balance of payments deficits. Recent capital outflows that accentuated the balance of payments problem were due to these weaknesses as well as international factors.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned media on the island that his government would take action against those that “insult religions and some sections of the society,” reports Daily Mirror . The prime minister told a meeting at the Heritage Hotel in Badulla that his government would be consulting with the officers of Telecommunication Regulatory Authority and would be taking action against those that engaged in insults. The prime minister referred to remarks made regarding a Sinhala vocalist, who sang the song ‘Danno Budunge’ at the Independence Day military parade earlier...
The spokesperson of the Tamil National Alliance, M A Sumanthiran, said the party would support the Sri Lankan government's accountability mechanism. "We will support accountability mechanism to make it effective," he said, addressing the launch event of the consultations process. "The government had not only given some guarantee to the international community but also to us, and we are giving our support in matters with regard to accountability," he was quoted by Tamil Diplomat as saying.
The Sri Lankan air force on Friday recommenced the construction of a runway at the Batticaloa base.
Tamil journalist Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, who was killed by a Sri Lankan artillery barrage inside the ‘No Fire Zone’ in February 2009, was remembered in Jaffna this week. A ceremony held at Jaffna Hindu College saw the Editor-in-Chief of the Jaffna daily ‘Valampuri’ N. Vijayasuntharam speak alongside the director of Jaffna Hospital Dr Sathiyamoorthy. Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, a journalist of Vanni based Media House wrote the military column for the 'Eezhanaatham' daily. He was reporting from inside the ‘No Fire Zone’ when Sri Lankan artillery shells landed in the area. “Several Tamil media reports said Sathiyamoorthy did not die immediately,” said the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). “They cited relatives who said a lack of proper medical attention contributed to his death.”
Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) said it has launched an investigation into a song by Iraj Weeraratne, over claims that it is “defaming Buddhism,” reports The Sunday Leader. Following a court order pursued by the CID, Sri Lankan police have been ordered by the Colombo Fort Magistrate to investigate the song ‘Manusatha’. The music video to the song features clips of Buddhist monks from Bodu Bala Sena making speeches about Muslims on the island, to cheering rallies. See the video here . The singer has previously made songs praising the Sri Lankan armed forces.
The German government has initiated a resolution at the parliament of the European Union in support of Sri Lanka regaining the GSP+ trade concession, reports Colombo Gazette. Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany Karunatilaka Amunagam said that Germany is satisfied with latest developments in Sri Lanka, adding that the German government feels Sri Lanka must be rewarded for the progress made on several issues. Speaking to journalists in Sri Lanka that had travelled to Germany to cover President Sirisena’s visit, he said, the reinstatement of the GSP+ could result in Sri Lankan exports increasing...
The Australian Navy told Sri Lankan asylum seekers to go back to Sri Lanka and die during interviews with asylum seekers, reports Colombo Gazette. Two Tamil asylum seekers who were interviews by investigative journalist Phil Miller said that they had been told to go back to Sri Lanka and die, by Australian navy officials, who payed people smugglers to turn back. One of the asylum seekers who was secretly interviews whilst being held at an Indonesian detention centre, in West Timor, said the message relayed to them was, “don’t come back this way, go and die.” UN warns Australia asylum policy...