Tamils are a persecuted nation said the Canadian Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge Park in his maiden parliamentary speech on World Human Rights Day. What an Incredible First Week!It was an absolute honour to serve my first full week at Parliament Hill as the first elected Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge Park. I was able to rise for the first time on Tuesday Dec. 8th to make my Maiden Speech in the House of Commons, as well as make a statement on Thursday Dec. 10th on the United Nation's Human Rights Day. I'd like to thank my constituents again for putting their trust in me. There is much work ahead and I look forward to working with each and every one of you.Yours very truly,Gary Posted by Gary Anandasangaree on Friday, December 11, 2015 In his maiden statement at Canadian parliament Gary Anandasangaree MP, speaking on the experiences of Tamil refuges, said, “The Tamil people are a persecuted nation. Over 100,000 Tamils have died in a bloody war. The UN HC for human rights has found that war crimes and crimes against humanity took place in Sri Lanka in the last phase of the war. Tamils are seeking justice. An international independent criminal investigation into war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Although the war ended in 2009 peace has evaded the island. Reported cases of sexual violence, military occupies land traditionally owned by Tamils and Tamil political prisoners linger in jail, in some cases for decades. It is in this context that people fled seeking a safe secure place to raise their family. In 2010 I had the opportunity to meet some of the Tamil refugees who came on the MV Sun Sea… I met countless men women and children. I will never forget the stories of one of the women. In the last days of the war she was hiding in a bunker with her husband and there children. She left the bunker to get water for her family. Has she left the bunker a shill hit and destroyed her life. her three young children and husband vanished in seconds. This mother had the courage to get on ship with strangers risk her life in order to put her life back together. This is one refugee experience.”
A senior US official will visit Sri Lanka between December 14 and 16 and will visit the North-East. Ambassador Thomas Shannon, Counselor of the Department of State, will travel to the island with Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia Manpreet Singh Anand. The counselor will meet with senior government and parliamentary leaders, business leaders, and civil society, as well as tour a USAID-funded livelihoods project in the Eastern Province. During his visit, Ambassador Shannon will reaffirm U.S. support for Sri Lanka’s reform agenda and explore greater cooperation in development, security,...
The Sri Lankan government has given clearance to resume the Chinese funded Colombo Port City project reports Colombo Page. Speaking to Chinese press on Friday, Sri Lanka’s finance minister Ravi Karunanayake said, “On our part, the government is happy with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the project. It is now under public consultation.” The Colombo Port project was temporarily suspended in March 2015 by the new government. I twas valued at a total of US $1.4 billion at the time. China unhappy at Port City suspension order (08 March 2015)
A Tamil language centre was opened by the Indian High Commission on Indian history, cultural heritage, Tamil art and culture in Jaffna Library on Friday. A statement released by the Indian High Commission , read, “The "India Corner" has been set up in partnership with the Jaffna Municipal Council, with the objective of offering access to a variety of books, DVDs, periodicals and other entertainment material to the people of Jaffna. The "India Corner" would house books procured from India, mainly in Tamil language, on Indian history, cultural heritage, fiction, children's books, mythology,...
Thousands have been affected by ongoing heavy rainfall in Kilinochchi in a new round of floods. Sri Lanka’s met department found that the highest amount of rainfall during the monsoon period had occurred in Kilinochchi. The Kilinochchi Secretariat estimated that over 7000 people may have been affected by the most recent floods. The North-East of Sri Lanka was hit by severe flooding last month. Over 100k affected by severe floods in North-East Sri Lanka (16 Nov 2015)
Sri Lanka must no accept offers by any country to reform its own armed forces said former Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs minister Professor GL Peiris. A country with “self respect” no accept offers given by any country to reform its own military he told press. Commenting on a recent announcement by the British prime minister of £6 million aid to Sri Lankan security sector reform, Mr Peiris said , “A government should spend for the requirements of its own armed forces. Accepting funds to reform armed forces from other countries without any prior request is very dangerous. Apart from the offer, the...
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said there was continued weakness in the structure of Sri Lanka’s public finances and cited “reasons for concern” as it concluded the Fourth Post-Program Monitoring. In a press release on Wednesday the IMF said Sri Lanka’s “economic outlook remains uncertain, and will depend to a large extent on the course set for economic policies in the coming months”. “Deterioration in the overall balance of payments, the loss of central bank foreign exchange reserves, the weak state of public finances, and growing public debt are reasons for concern,” said the statement. “Despite continued access to international debt markets, these trends suggest that financial risks for Sri Lanka have increased,” it added. “To mitigate these risks, the authorities should take appropriate corrective actions to safeguard macroeconomic stability and lay the foundation for durable and inclusive growth. Improvements in the business climate, reform of state owned enterprises, and a more open trade regime are key to boosting competitiveness and growth.”
Dozens of Sri Lankan soldiers and their families were taken on a ‘holiday tour’ of Jaffna, where they visited Buddhist temples and stayed at army-run holiday resorts last weekend, stated a military website . “On directives of Commander Security Force Jaffna (SF-J) Major General Nandana Udawatta, a three day programme with visits to places of interest in Jaffna and entertainments had been arranged by Headquarters [Security Forces – Jaffna],” declared the Sri Lankan military. On their visit, the soldiers and their families stayed at the ‘Thalsevana Holiday Resort’, which was expanded last month . Situated inside the Valikamam North High Security Zone, where Tamil villagers are still denied access to their homes, the military said the resort “provided delicious meals throughout, and musical show, calypso music and sea bath in the northern shallow sea included other entertaining events”.
Indian soldiers who died during an operation as part of the country's disastrous peacekeeping mission in 1987, were remembered at a ceremony in Jaffna earlier this month. Consul General of India in Jaffna Shri A. Natarajan and Commander Security Force Jaffna Major General Nandana Udawatta placed wreaths at the monument in the Palali high security zone, occupied by the military. The soldiers died during Operation Pawan, an attempted landing in Jaffna's main stadium, which was beaten back by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, then in control of the town. The Indian Peacekeeping Forces (IPKF) are accused of committing several atrocities and war crimes against the Tamil population, during their occupation of the region. They ultimately withdrew after sustained resistance by the LTTE.
Sri Lanka is committed to international human rights law and there is renewed political commitment and will in the country, to strengthen human rights law compliance mechanisms, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka in Geneva, Ravinath Ariyasinhe said at an ICRC conference. The envoy said Sri Lanka was also committed to advancing measures to prevent and respond to all forms of violence including sexual and gender based violence. See more here .