Sri Lanka’s Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Affairs told parliament that 1318 families remain displaced and live in resettlement camps across the Jaffna district on Wednesday. Addressing parliament D.M. Swaminathan said there were 4737 internally displaced persons of 1318 families, according to The Island. He went on to add there were 32 welfare camps across the Jaffna district, including in Point Pedro, Karaveddi, Kopai, Thellipalai, Uduvil, Sandipalai and Nallur divisional secretariats. The figure was disputed by the National Fisheries Solidarity Organisation, with local...
Indian fishermen and their families observed a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest against the Sri Lankan navy’s repeated arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen. Members of 11 fishing associations held the protest in Rameswaram, calling on the Indian government to help them trace Vilvaraj – a fisherman who went missing at sea last month. Colleagues of Vilvaraj told of how the Sri Lankan navy had rammed their fishing boat with the attack craft causing the boat to sink. Whilst three of the fishermen were subsequently threatened at gun point by the Sri Lankan navy not to reveal details of the incident, Vilvaraj is thought to have been trapped and drowned in the sunken boat.
The case of a Tamil woman raped by Sri Lankan military soldiers in Vishvamadu highlights the structural nature of the sexual violence against ethnic minority women in Sri Lanka, and the barriers such victims face in seeking justice, said a collective of women's groups based in the North-East, Women's Action Network (WAN), on Thursday. Saluting the bravery of one of the victims who pursued justice despite being intimidated and harassed by the military after she lodged a complaint in June 2010, WAN criticised the "insensitive manner in which the [southern] media has reported on or dealt with cases of sexual violence against women" including this case.
Two paramilitary members were detained by Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday, for questioning over the assassination of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Joseph Pararajasingham in 2005. The two men were detained in Batticaloa, the Colombo Page reported. Edwin Silva Krishna Kandaraja and Rengasami Kanyagama were two former LTTE members who broke away with the Karuna faction of the LTTE which later aligned itself with the Sri Lankan government.
The Sri Lankan military handed over bicycles to school children in Kilinochchi on Wednesday. The event took place as part of the Sri Lankan cricketer, Kumar Sangakkara's 'Bikes for Life' campaign, and happened in conjunction with a cricket tournament also organised with the assistance of the Sri Lankan military in Kilinochchi for local school cricket teams.
Two Indian nationals were arrested by Sri Lankan police in Vakarai on Wednesday for allegedly violating their visas, reports Ceylon Today . The men, aged 36 and 40 from Tamil Nadu, were accused of engaging in commercial activities.
A group of four Sri Lankan soldiers have been sentenced to 25 years in jail for the gang rape of a Tamil woman that took place in 2010. The Jaffna High Court found the men from Sri Lanka’s 572 Brigade guilty of raping the 27-year old Tamil mother of two, in Kilinochchi in 2010. The case is the first on the island of a Tamil rape victim identifying the perpetrators in court, and comes despite reports of repeated military intimidation. Whilst three of the soldeirs appeared in court, the fourth suspect had earlier absconded and remains at large. Judge M Elancheliyan said the crime was “...
Sri Lankan lawmakers called for the reinstatement of capital punishment today, in a debate ahead of interviews for a new hangman next week. The debate was started by Colombo District UNP MP Hirunika Premachandra’s motion to reinstate the death penalty in the face of “increasing anti-social and violent activities”. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha meanwhile noted the Foreign Minister told the UN Human Rights Council last month that Sri Lanka would not implement capital punishment. Mr Rajapaksha, who is also minister of the Buddha Sasana, said that the matter had to be considered carefully, and would not be implemented this year as Sri Lanka voted in favour of a UN resolution for a moratorium on the death penalty. The debate came ahead of Sri Lanka’s interviews for the post of hangman next week . The gallows at the Welikada Prison, a site notorious for the endemic use of sexual violence and torture against Tamil detainees, were also being refurbished.
Sri Lankan military personnel are actively engaged in catching shrimp in the North-East which is having damaging effects on the environment, complained the Mullaitivu district Federation of Fishermen Societies. The fishermen stated the military involvement in shrimp fishing was affecting their livelihoods and the use of boats was having detrimental environmental effects on the river. They called on Tamil National Alliance MPs and Northern Provincial Council members to help ensure the military are no longer involved in fishing activities in the North-East.
The general secretary of the Janatha Sevaka Pakshaya said that the Sri Lankan government should reject a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling for accountability for mass atrocities committed on the island. Addressing a press conference, Somawansa Amarasinghe, the former leader of the JVP who founded the JSP party earlier this year, said : “This is a clear threat to our sovereignty and integrity as we are capable of conducting a domestic probe. The US, motivated by separatists, only wants to reap certain benefits from bringing the resolution. If this resolution was implemented, it will be a victory to the separatist elements.”