A domestic investigation into Sri Lanka’s war crimes and crimes against humanity would not be acceptable to the Tamil people, a Vadamaradchi Christian group has said. “We have suffered many bitter betrayals,” Vadamaradchi Christian Union said in a statement. “Therefore we cannot accept the domestic investigation put forward by the United States and Sri Lanka.” “Only an international investigation can uncover and bring justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sri Lanka.” “So an international investigation is essential. We appreciate the resolution passed by the...
China will not seek to deploy any strategic power in the Indian Ocean reiterated its Ambassador to Sri Lanka on Tuesday . Delivering a speech at the inaugural session of Sri Lanka’s defence seminar, Yi Xianliang, said, that its presence in the Indian Ocean was only for regional and UN peace missions under agreements. That envoy added that China would continue to be committed to promoting regional peace and stability through enhancing cooperation with Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries in South Asia, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa. He stressed that China would...
The Mattala Rajapaksa International airport has been used to start storing paddy, according to Sri Lanka’s Paddy Marketing Board. The airport is currently only used by a single carrier, Fly Dubai, which operates one flight into the airport. Colombo Gazette reported that several airport employees and residents in the area protested against the move. Construction of the airport began in 2009 and was completed in 2013, under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, and was largely financed through Chinese state loans . Since its opening it has remained largely under utilised.
The executive director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections has reiterated their call on the government to repeal the controversial Prvention of Terrorism Act, saying Sri Lanka can’t become a nation with a rule of law until it is abolished. In a statement released on Monday, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon said the Minister of Justice Wijedasa Rajapakshe stated that repealing the PTA is not a priority for the government, whenthe issue was raised by CaFFE. Pointing out that the repeal of the act is likely to have support in parliament, the organisation said it believes “removal of the PTA should be in the agenda of the Parliament in the coming two months”. “[Without] the removal of the PTA we can’t prevent a repeat of the tragedy because PTA leads to attacks on personal freedoms, including freedom of expression and association, which in turn leads to rebellion,” the statement further said.
UPFA MP Udaya Gammanpila says the TNA cannot be allowed to hold the opposition leader post, despite having more seats than the UPFA opposition, as it had worked against Sri Lanka. “The TNA has a separatist agenda and they have been calling for an international war crimes probe which all parties are against. And they are a regional party, only representing the north and east of the country. So despite having more seats, it cannot be the main opposition,” Mr Gammanpila said .
Sri Lanka's prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and the former president, Chandrika Kumaratunge, are to visit New Delhi soon, according to news reports. The Express News Service reported that the both Colombo and Delhi were negotiating feasible dates for the trip which would take place this month, after the Sri Lankan cabinet was formed. Meanwhile, the New Indian Express reported that Ms Kumaratunge may visit as early as this week.
The Federation of National Organisations accused Sri Lanka's UNP-SLFP unity government of doing the US' "dirty work" by prosecuting the military and political leaders, the Island reported. "The national government of a UNP-SLFP nexus would do the dirty work in the US agenda to prosecute the country’s military personnel and political leaders on trumped up charges of human rights violations and war crimes and it was the price they had to pay for liberating the country from terrorists," the FNO chairman, Dr Gunadasa Amarasekara was quoted as saying when addressing a press conference in Narahenpita. "The US backed move will get the approval and support of the Tamil National Alliance in fulfilling their separatist agenda," he further said, accusing Dinesh Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Udaya Gammanpila, of going against their conscience by joining the national unity government.
Vaiko, the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu political party, the MDMK on Tuesday urged the United States to reconsider its decision support the Sri Lankan government undertaking a domestic probe into mass atrocities against the Tamil people in 2009, the New Indian Express reported. Following a protest on Tuesday against the US' support for a domestic probe, Vaiko said that the US Consul General declined to meet with him. In a memorandum that was intended to be handed over, the MDMK said: “Tamils have been demanding an independent international investigation into the genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan armed forces. We have demanded that the forces deployed in the North and East of the island be withdrawn.”
Tamil women in Sri Lanka continue to face the risk of rape and harassment by Sri Lankan security forces and have been negatively impacted by a surge of violence against women in the North, according to a report released last week. "The Forever Victims? Tamil Women in Post-War Sri Lanka" stated the “situation remains particularly grave for Tamil women”, 6 years since the end of the armed conflict on the island. “Tamil women in Northern Sri Lanka still face the risk of rape and harassment by the security forces present throughout the region, but their lives are even more negatively impacted by the climate of fear and by a worrying uptick in violence against women within the Tamil community,” said the report. “The ever-present threat of violence by the military has led women to lead tightly circumscribed lives, limiting their daily activities in order to minimize their risk of sexual assault.” Authored by Nimmi Gowrinathan, the Director of the Politics of Sexual Violence Initiative and a Visiting Professor at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College New York and Kate Cronin-Furman, a human rights lawyer and political scientist, it is based on a series of interviews across the former conflict zones. It “uncovered a very disturbing dynamic, in which efforts to protect women from sexual violence end up undermining their political and economic agency, making them even more vulnerable to victimization”. For Tamil women “the last six years have brought lives circumscribed by the threat of violence and ever-diminishing economic opportunities”.
The Sri Lankan navy thanked the Australian government for “capacity and capability enhancement” in a speech at the second day of the Defence Seminar, currently underway in Colombo. Rear Admiral D.M.B Wettewa “underlined the importance of maritime security for the sake of national security concerns”, according to an official military website. Addressing the audience, he went on to state : “Thankfully, with the corporation and assistance by the Australian government on capacity and capability enhancement, we have been able to almost stop the Human Trafficking operations to Australia”. Last month the Australian Federal Police (AFP) was accused of providing equipment and other assistance to the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to torture Tamil civilians.