Sri Lanka’s Security Forces Commander-West, Major General Ubaya Medawela has been appointed as the Military Adviser at the Office of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York. The commander is set to join the mission by the end of this month reports Daily Mirror . He has previously commanded 554 Infantry Brigade in Jaffna and was the General Officer Commanding of Sri Lanka's infamous 53 Division. The 53 Division is accused of the summary execution of prisoners on May 18 2009, during the final hours of the armed conflict. Amongst those thought to have been killed by the troops include Tamil journalist Isaipriya (See more from Channel 4 here and Human Rights Watch here ). The former military spokesperson has staunchly denied accusations of human rights abuses by Sri Lankan troops, having previously declared "the Sri Lankan military did not commit any war crimes". He has also rejected video footage shown by Channel 4 News of summary executions of Tamils committed by Sri Lankan soldiers, stating that there were “malicious intentions behind the doctored documentary of Channel 4".
The hunger strike of over 200 Tamil political detainees ended on Saturday after the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena pledged to the TNA leader R Sampanthan to establish a mechanism to process and release prisoners who had committed "minor offences". Speaking to BBC Sandeshya on Friday, Mr Sampanthan said the Sri Lankan president had called and made the pledge after meeting with Sri Lanka’s justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. The minister had earlier said “there are no political prisoners in the country’s prisons”. There are unconfirmed reports that some prisoners detained in Anuradhapura are yet to end their hunger strike.
The Sri Lankan MP and general secretary of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), Udaya Gammanpila, accused the country's opposition leader, R Sampanthan of only being concerned with the North-East. “It seems the Opposition Leader is only concerned about the whats happening in the North and East though he is responsible for taking up matters connected to the whole country. It is clear that he is not going address these issues even in the future,” Mr Gammanpila was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying at a news conference on Friday.
The head of operations for South Asia at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Anthony Daizel and the delegation head in Sri Lanka, Claire Meytraud, met with the Sri Lankan military's commander in Kilinochchi on October 15.
The Sri Lankan air force deployed in Iranamadhu held a medical and dental clinic in Kilinochchi on October 14 for local people and school children.
The European Union called for new election laws that allowed for domestic and international observers to observe all stages of the electoral process. The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) Chief Observer Cristian Preda in a press conference on Saturday said, “The electoral law could be reviewed to allow direct campaigning; to develop parties finance rules to ensure a level field between candidates; and to require that the parties nominate candidates for the national list seats before elections, so that voters can anticipate the result of their votes.” Presenting the EUEOM’s...
A police station in Jaffna has been surrounded by military forces who are demanding the release of Sri Lankan military soldiers recently arrested for stealing materials belonging to locally owned businesses. Tensions around the police station in Chavakacheri Jaffna are rising after it was surrounded by military personnel demanding the release of the detained soldiers this evening. The military soldiers, who are attached to Kopai military camp, were arrested after being caught cutting and stealing metals used to support the billboards of local businesses. Their arrests took place amidst...
The Sri Lankan government is cracking down on illegal practices by local fishermen, ahead of a EU inspection in November, in the hope that the ban on EU imports will be lifted. Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told the Sunday Times that the government had taken action to ensure that the fishermen adhered to the conditions set by the EU. “The two vessels which had been found violating the conditions should have been fined Rs. 2.5 million each, but the Government had fined them only Rs. 1 million each, because it was their first offence,” he said. The minister said the EU had put forward 57 conditions and the government was ensuring these were all complied with. "I took up the issue with EU officials during a recent visit to Spain. I also briefed them on how Sri Lanka was fast tracking the implementation process. We are waiting for the inspection by an EU delegation due on November 13,” Minister Amaraweera said.
The report on the president's commission on missing people, also known as the Paranagama Commission, was given to parliamentarians on Friday. The commission was widely discredited, with Tamil victims groups boycotting it and the recent OISL report also criticising it. Nevertheless, there have been widespread calls for the release of its final report. The Nation reported that the government released the report to MPs in order to give them adequate time to study it ahead of the upcoming Parliamentary debate into the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution passed at the beginning of this month.
Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen was supporting the illegal clearance of pristine forest in the Mullaithivu area, with his supporters using the cleared land to build settlements, Northern Provincial Councillor Thurairajah Ravikaran charged. Mr Ravikaran said the occupation of land in the region has been ongoing for years, with the complicity of state officials and warned that locals would protest if this did not stop. The councillor said that 60 acres of forest had already been cleared and the land given to Minister Bathiudeen's supporters. Mr Ravikaran stressed that the...