US to provide $1m to resettlement efforts in North-East

The US Embassy in Colombo has announced it will provide $1 million to support resettlement efforts in Sampur, in the Trincomalee district, as part of its “continuing commitment to strengthen Sri Lanka’s peace and development”. “Our goal is to help Sri Lankans around the country overcome the effects of conflict and displacement, improve the lives of their families and communities, and live with dignity,” said the new US Ambassador Atul Keshap. The first $100,000 will be managed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide the newly-resettled communities with a range of services and means of support to meet their basic needs, the embassy said in a statement . Another $900,000 is earmarked to build two schools in the Sampur region with facilities to support and house displaced families.

Sri Lanka to hold seminar on 'non-military threats to national security'

Sri Lanka’s annual defense seminar will focus on threats to national security including “non-military threats to national security,” reports Colombo Page . The seminar is expected to discuss themes such as “nature of threats affecting the National security of a nation,” ”terrorism and challenges to national security, and “Non-military threats to national security.” A total of 20 guest speakers including 10 foreign scholars are said to have bene invited to the 2 day seminar. The former president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai will deliver the keynote address with Sri Lanka’s army commander...

Holding Tamils in refugee camps is ‘condemnable’ – Tamil Nadu outfit

Nearly 800 protestors were arrested during a demonstration against the detention of Eelam Tamils in special refugee camps across Tamil Nadu. The protestors, supporters of the Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi assembled “along the Tiruchi–Pudukottai national highway to lay siege to the Tiruchi special camp functioning inside the Central Prison premises”, before police stopped them, The Hindu reported. Leader of the party Mr T Velmurugan, told media that keeping Tamil refugees in the special camps was “condemnable” and went against human rights. "The Union and State governments should deal this...

12 Tamil Nadu fishermen attacked by Sri Lankan navy

Twelve Tamil Nadu fishermen reported being attacked on Monday night by Sri Lankan navy personnel, reported Indian newspapers. The fishermen said that the navy personnel stripped some members, before beating them with sticks and stones. The fishing equipment was damaged, and there remain unconfirmed reports that twenty boats were damaged in the attack. See here and here . Fishermen from Tamil Nadu have reported attacks by the Sri Lankan navy, who accuse the fishermen of straying into Sri Lankan waters.

Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara offered diplomatic posting

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has offered cricketer Kumar Sangakkara the post of High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, after the batsman concluded his final test match on Monday. Mr Sangakkara, a cricketer from the south of the island, had been widely tipped to go into politics, following his retirement. He said he respected the offer but has not yet accepted the role. The offer was reportedly made after former UNP parliamentarian Rosy Senanayake confirmed that she rejected offers to take up the post last week. Mr Sangakkara, who the president called "a great honour to Sri Lanka", was widely hailed for his 2011 Cowdrey lecture at Lord's in London, igniting rumours that he may enter politics after his sporting career. In his speech, the cricketer spoke out against Sri Lankan cricket administrators, whom he accused of losing “accountability and transparency in administration and credibility of conduct”. He went on to suggest the solution in tackling the sport's mismanagement may lie in international cricketing authorities “taking a stand to suspend member boards with any direct detrimental political interference and allegations of corruption and mismanagement”. Whilst his criticism of the cricketing administration drew appreciation from abroad, the call for international intervention sparked an investigation by the Sri Lankan sports minister.

Mannar villagers face eviction by conservation department

Residents of a Mannar village are facing land-grab and eviction by Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation. The 22 families of Kuruvilvaan village have complained to the civil society group, Mannar Citizen’s Committee of having long faced intimidation from department officials, including their homes being trespassed upon, with the ultimate purpose of having their lands grabbed. Villagers said that despite the land disputes awaiting a decision in the courts, signs have appeared in the village, declaring the land as ‘Giant’s Tank Sanctuary’. The villagers expressed their fear that they...

Sri Lankan president to receive OISL report this week

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is to receive a copy of a United Nations report into mass atrocities committed during the final stages of the armed conflict, which saw tens of thousands of Tamil civilians killed, according to the Daily News . Quoting diplomatic sources, it was reported that Mr Sirisena receiving the report will coincide with the visit of US Assistant State Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal. The report is expected to state that tens of thousands of Tamil civilians died predominantly due to the actions of the Sri Lankan government forces. The report was initially due to be released in March of this year, but was delayed until September. At the time of the delay, which the Sri Lankan government celebrated as a diplomatic success , UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein spoke directly to the victims and gave his “personal, absolute and unshakable commitment that the report will be published by September." “I want this report to have the maximum possible impact in ensuring a genuine and credible process of accountability and reconciliation in which the rights of victims to truth, justice and reparations are finally respected,” he had said.

'Political settlement with Tamils is most urgent' – Financial Times

The Sri Lankan government must reach a political settlement with Tamils in the North-East of the island and devolve power to the provinces as a matter of urgency, said the Financial Times. In an editorial on Sunday, the Financial Times said the new government must now deal with “several legacy issues”. It continued to say: “Most urgent is to reach a political settlement with the minority Tamils in the north and east. They must be convinced that the Sinhalese chauvinism practised by Mr Rajapaksa is over. Power is already devolved to some extent, but this may have to go further. Any settlement must also involve a credible inquiry into the final months of the civil war in 2009 when the government launched a crushing offensive against the Tamil Tigers. Its victory involved the shelling and bombing of civilians and other alleged atrocities. The UN estimates that 40,000 civilians died in the final stretch of the war.”

No legal basis for international investigation within Sri Lanka says Ranil

Sri Lanka will look to solve the Tamil national question in the North-East within the framework of Sri Lanka’s 13 th amendment to the constitution said the new prime minister. On accountability processes to deal with findings from the UN investigation into Sri Lanka's atrocities, Ranil Wickremesinghe added that there was no “legal basis” for an international investigation within Sri Lanka, stating, “But we always said, the UNP, that there was no legal basis for international investigation within Sri Lanka; it had to be domestic. We would like to put forward a domestic mechanism which would be within the four corners of our Constitution but would also be acceptable to all the communities in Sri Lanka plus the international community.” In an interview with The Hindu, Ranil Wickremeshinge, said , “Substance is what we have to look at. So let us look at how we could work this whole system out and go ahead. The formula which was accepted by India also, let’s see how we work it out within the13th Amendment, maximise it. Let’s build on this. That’s what we are talking about now.” Commenting on further devolution of power to the provincial councils, Mr Wickremesinghe added,

India plans to establish skills centre for Jaffna uni's Kilinochchi campus

The Indian government is to establish a skills centre for the University of Jaffna's faculty of agriculture, located at their Kilinochchi campus, reports the Island. The project, which was awarded to Link Engineering Ltd specifically, will include not only the building of the premises, but also the supply of equipment, training and introduction of the curriculum.

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