Students in a school in the North-East resorted to holding umbrellas while writing their exams. Heavy rains meant that the roofs of the makeshift classrooms at the Iraanaipalai Roman Catholic Maha Vidhiyalayam, in Mullaithivu, were unable to keep students dry.
Sri Lanka’s 2016 budget fails to tackle risk of further deterioration in the fiscal deficit said Fitch Ratings last week. The ratings agency found that Sri Lanka’s new budget relied on the presumption of a strong global trade environment, warning that Sri Lanka’s growth assumptions may be overly optimistic. Noting structural weakness in Sri Lanka’s tax and administration processes, the ratings agency added that Sri Lanka’s new budget provides no clear plan for fiscal consolidation over the medium term. Fitch stressed that the absence of such a framework allows the risks of further...
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has criticised the involvement of foreign governments in Sri Lanka's affairs, including visits and demands to demilitarise the North-East. Mr Rajapaksa criticised the government for allowing the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to visit military facilities. "Officials of foreign organisations have been permitted unfettered access to Sri Lanka’s military installations such as the Naval base in Trincomalee. This has resulted in an immediate danger posed to members of the intelligence wing of the Navy, "Officials of foreign governments have visited our country and made demarches to Sri Lanka’s leadership about withdrawing the military from the Northern province. Decisions with regard to the deployment of troops are matters that should solely be within the sovereign jurisdiction of Sri Lanka. I cannot approve of officials of foreign governments declaring that they will remain ‘cautious and vigilant’ with regard to military matters in Sri Lanka," he said in parliament.
Villagers in Mullaitivu marked 31 years since the massacre of 32 young Tamils by the Sri Lankan Army in Othiyamalai. Photograph: Tamilwin.com On the 2nd December 1984, men in the village of Othiyamalai, Mullaitivu were rounded up by the Sri Lankan Army, dragged to the village community centre and stripped naked and tied up by their clothes.
Photo: FirstPost Incessant rainfalls have continued to swell reservoirs and rivers in Tamil Nadu, with the capital Chennai among the worst affected area. Large parts of the city are under water, and its international airport has been closed for a second day. Rains have caused the closure of schools for 17 days now, with electricity and communication lines suspended. More rain fell on the city in one day than in the UK in an entire year, with a record 49 cm of rainfall in Tambaram in 24 hours, from 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday.
A Tamil political detainee, held in a rehabilitation camp under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, was robbed by police while he on day release to visit his sick daughter at their home in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, Sri Lanka Mirror reported. Subramaniam Nidikesan made a complaint to the Jaffna Human Rights commission, saying that police men from the Chavakachcheri police station, broke open the gate, stormed his house and took away a motorcycle belonging to his wife, Rs8,000 in cash and the family’s personal documents. He told journalists in Jaffna that police had wanted him to give them five...
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has 'accused' former president Mahinda Rajapaksa of making "secret deals" with the LTTE and the diaspora, The Island reported. Mr Samaraweera brought pictures to the parliament, which showed Mr Rajapaksa with some diaspora Tamils. "I would like to give these photographs to my friend in the opposition, MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena. I have heard that Dinesh Gunawardena has a Rajapaksa shrine at his home and he is worshipping the Rajapaksa’s pictures. So, Dinesh can take these, too, and put them up there in that shrine," he said.
Former Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, who was detained for the murder of former Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham, was remanded until December 16 by the Batticaloa Magistrate Court today. Mr Pillayan was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in October, when he arrived at the CID office in Colombo to give a statement over the killing of Mr Pararajasingham. The former paramilitary leader was a member of the LTTE before he left the organisation with his then-superior Karuna, to join the government's side. The party that they formed, the...
A Sri Lankan court on Thursday extended the detention of 14 Indian fishermen until December 17, reports the PTI . The men, who were arrested on November 19, were charged with violating the International Maritime Boundary. The ongoing arrest of fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy has caused alarm in India. Earlier this week, Lok Sabha members expressed concern over the detentions. See here .
The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday lauded the government's efforts within the international community, telling parliament that it was able to bring the international community together on Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka had in the past caused a split in the international community over the human rights issue. But after the January 08 democratic revolution, the new Government was able to build good relations with all countries and the UN and ensure the international community took one stand on Sri Lanka," he was quoted by the Colombo Page as saying. "Even the UN Human Rights Council was split on the Sri Lanka issue but that situation had now changed," he added.