Sri Lanka's Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the government will conduct a credible, domestic inquiry, in response to a statement by Human Rights Watch earlier this week, demanding an international process for accountability. "I must say that our domestic inquiry would definitely be a credible mechanism acceptable to the international community. We are in constant touch with the relevant global agencies and organizations in constituting this panel for a credible investigation. “Sri Lanka has also sought the advice of eminent persons like Sir Desmond De Silva of UK who has a thorough knowledge on International Humanitarian Law. The term of reference, formation and the composition of the inquiry panel would be known by before the UNHRC report releases in September," the minister told the Daily Mirror .
Sri Lanka’s President Maithripla Sirisena met with senior members of the SLFP today, in order to resume the dialogue with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The president stressed the need to preserve unity in the party and appointed a six member committee to reach out to the Mahinda-faction of the party. “The President had a meeting with SLFP MPs, Provincial Council members and electoral organisers in Colombo today. He said the party’s unity was of paramount importance. He said whenever SLFP was riddled with division the United National Party (UNP) had electoral advantage,” sources said...
The Tamil National Alliance will not accept ministerial portfolios in the government, out of respect for the “immense sacrifices” made by the Tamil people during the armed conflict, the party’s MP for Batticaloa, MP C Yogeswaran said . The MP said the party was not “greedy” for such posts in this or the next government and would only consider the portfolios once the political aspirations of the Tamil people are fulfilled. "We should respect the immense sacrifices made by our people during the three decades of civil war. Therefore, we cannot accept the portfolios for prestige reasons," Mr Yogeswaran said, while addressing a public meeting in Kiran, Batticaloa last Friday. "Thousands of Tamil people in the past had sacrificed their lives to fulfil the political aspirations of the Tamil community. We are still negotiating with the government in power to achieve the political target of the Tamil people. Not a single cent had been allocated for the development of the Kiran village,
Tamils who were displaced during the armed conflict in Amparai remain destitute and have not been resettled in their native villages, T Kalaiarasan, a councillor for the TNA in the Eastern Provincial Council said to media. A total of 771 families from Sagamam, Kanchirankuda, Kanchikudicha Aru and Thangavelauthapuram villages in the Thirukkovil DS division are living in tents and huts and are yet to be resettled, the councillor said. A further 178 families from and 48 families from Navithanveli are also waiting for resettlement. “I brought a motion in 2013 requesting the EPC to resettle the...
Sri Lanka’s minister of higher education and research declared China will be assisting Jaffna University in science and technology, as part of a drive to help develop the sector on the island. Dr Sarath Amunugama made the declaration after attending the China-South Asia Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation Forum in Kunming, stating that Moratuwa University would also be receiving assistance. Details of the reported deal are yet to be released.
The Canadian Tamil Congress called on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to ensure an upcoming report on mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka “reveals the full force and mandate” of the UN Human Rights Council resolution that commissioned it. “As the HRC sits June 15, 2015 for its 29th regular session, Tamils from Sri Lanka and around the world are hopeful that this session will be used to strengthen the report,” said a CTC statement released earlier today. Noting that the release of the report has been deferred from March earlier this year, CTC said that “since...
The leader of the Transitional Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and former legal adviser to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) V Rudrakumaran questioned the motives of recent talks held between Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera and select Tamil representatives. Drawing on previous experiences in political negotiations with the Sri Lankan government and questioning the timing of the talks, Mr Rudrakumaran said, “The present government is to be a short lived one with parliamentary elections likely to happen soon. Nothing much will eventuate in terms of long term outcomes for Tamils with this interim government structure. Therefore, the urgency surrounding these talks brings up questions whether the talks are genuinely in the interest of the Tamils.”
The government’s plan to dismantle military camps in the Tamil majority areas will lead to the split of the country, leading monk Medagoda Abayathissa said, according to Ada Derana . Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the monk also condemned the new government for planning to adopt a decorative version of the Sri Lankan flag. “The cabinet has approved a proposal to appoint a committee to prepare an officially accepted decoration flag. This is something we never wanted to happen,” Mr Abayathissa said.
Sri Lanka’s army denied reports that 59 army camps in Jaffna had been closed since January 2015 after the new government was established. The Army Headquarters, in a statement issued today, “categorically denied” reports that 59 army camps had been closed in Jaffna since January 2015. The statement added that the 59 camps had been closed under the old regime. The statement came in light of allegations by Sri Lanka’s former president that the new regime had closed army camps and were catering to a secessionist agenda. Sri Lanka denies allegations of closing down army camps in North-East (14 Jun 2015)
Civilian houses in the High Security Zone of Valikamam North are being demolished by the army. According to Tamil National Alliance MP, A. Vinayagamoorthy, reports have emerged of homes being demolished and wells being covered within the Valikamam North High Security Zone. Meanwhile, thousands of residents of Valikamam North, displaced since June 1990, marked 25 years since being forced to flee their homes. Displaced residents were threatened by the military in January and told not to complain about their plight during the visit of British Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister, Hugo Swire.