The British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said there remains “much to be done” in Sri Lanka after a resolution was passed at the UN Human Rights Council, mandating an accountability mechanism for violations of international humanitarian law committed during the armed conflict. “I’m hopeful that the next stage of this process will be accompanied by further progress on some of the other commitments President Sirisena has made – from demilitarisation, to anti-corruption work, to the release of political prisoners, to reducing tensions between communities and disengaging the military from commercial activities,” said Hugo Swire, in a blog post earlier this week. “There is much to be done, and we in the UK are keen to offer support wherever we can. We’ll be discussing this with the Sri Lankan government in the coming weeks.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Sri Lanka 6th in its 2015 Global Impunity Index, which “spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free”. Published this week , ahead of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2, the index examined journalist murders across the world that took place between September 1 2005, and August 31 2015. “Sri Lanka moved to sixth place from fourth on this year's Index, its improvement due not to prosecutions-the island nation still maintains a perfect record of impunity in journalist slayings-but to the fact that no journalists have been murdered for their work since the end of civil war in 2009,” said the CPJ.
Sri Lanka's parliament is to debate the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report and the subsequent UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution on October 20 and 21, reports the Daily Mirror . The Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe said the reports of the commissions of Udulagama and Paranagama will also be debated on those days.
The opposition United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will stage “massive countrywide protests” to raise awareness about the dangers of the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Sir Lanka’s atrocities, warned an MP on Saturday. The leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a coalition member of the (UPFA), said, “The first of the protest campaigns will be held at the VIhara Maha Devi Park open air theatre on Monday 19 October.” MP Dinesh Gunawardena added, “We will stage the countrywide meetings which will apprise the people of the danger of the implementation of these...
The European Union agreed to provide a Euro 43.7 million grant for development projects in Sri Lanka. 30 million of the grant will go to the Central and UVA Provinces reports Colombo page. The program will look to improve the livelihood, income level, health and nutrition of low income receivers in the two provinces and strengthen social and economic services. The grant was acquired by Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe in his capacity as Minister of National Policy and Economic affairs.
The US Ambassador to Colombo Atul Keshap, announced an additional $1.745 million to add to the demining initiatives of international and domestic organisations working under the National Mine Action Committee (NMAC) Reiterating US support for demining in Sri Lanka, Mr Keshap said, “As the world’s largest donor of global demining efforts, the United States is committed to addressing the land mine problem in Sri Lanka. The United States will continue to work with President Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, Minister Swaminathan, and the people of Sri Lanka to help clear remaining areas.”...
Police summoned and questioned a Christian pastor after four Buddhist monks forcibly entered a church in Bandaragama, in the Kalutara District, on September 6, and claimed the church was not a registered place of worship. The Officer in Charge of the police station ordered the pastor to register the church with the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs in order to continue operation, and was made to sign a document stating he would not continue with his religious activities until this was done. The incident was reported in the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka , in its periodic incident report. The church was initially visited by officials on August 31, when 2 officers from the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs informed the pastor that they were investigating a petition submitted against him and his religious activities.
The general secretary of the People's Servants' Party, Somawanse Amarasinghe, said the resolution passed at the UN Human Rights Council last week was a betrayal of Sri Lanka. Mr Amarasinghe, who formerly led the JVP said he would form "the widest front" against imperialist, as they had not given up their agenda of dividing the country, the state-owned Daily News reported. "The country has been betrayed through the UNHRC resolution," he said, adding that it mandated a hybrid judicial mechanism. He further said his party can join with the National Freedom Front and the JVP to fight separatism,...
Japan has agreed this week to lend Sri Lanka $375 million in order to build a new terminal at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). The agreement is part of the 'Partnership for Quality Infrastructure' and follows the Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to Japan this week. See here for more.
Seventy-three refugees who fled Sri Lanka during the armed conflict and sought asylum in India left on Thursday to return home, reports The Hindu. Together with the assistance of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the refugees intend on returning to their homes in the North-East. Many of those were young children when they fled and grew up in refugee camps across Tamil Nadu, where according to the paper, 1.02 lakh refugees remain.