Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been refused a prime ministerial portfolio in the upcoming general elections, said the government cabinet spokesperson on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference after Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena met Mahinda Rajapaksa, Rajitha Senaratne said, "The President stands by his opinion on the former President. First a committee was appointed to manage discussions between the two. The committee initially requested the Prime Ministerial portfolio for Mahinda Rajapaksa; that was refused. Then he wanted a national list position, which...
Shanthi’s Story The following account is based on interviews to Tamils Against Genocide. Personal details of Shanthi (not her real name), place names and dates have been changed to protect her identity. “The smell of blood was so strong, [there were] flies everywhere, there were puddles with bodies lying in them.” This is how Shanthi describes the final two weeks of the war in May 2009. In an interview interspersed with deep sobs, she describes how she, her mother and her 4 year old daughter cowered in makeshift shelters, avoiding the bombs that were falling all around them. On the move constantly, they hid during the shelling and ran to different places in the lulls before new waves of shelling began. There was no food or water. People were injured and dying around her. The picture she paints is of a panicked populace, on the move constantly, strangers joining with other strangers to tend to the wounded, the dying and each other. This is her story.
Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry, on Wednesday, announced that commodity levies on lentils would be reduced. A spokesperson from the Ministry told DailyMirror.lk that the decision was taken to reduce the burned on the people to counter a price hike for the commodity in the global market. Past years have seen Sri Lanka heavily subsidies farmers to protect them form the global markets. Farmers warn of 'drastic action' of Sri Lankan government fails to pay subsidies (09 May 2015)
The Sri Lankan government has denied it is operating secret detention camps for Tamil political prisoners. Speaking to The Island , foreign ministry spokesperson Mahishini Colonne asked for individuals with information on any such camps to come forward, so investigations can be made. "[T]the Government has assured that there are no secret detention camps. However, since concerns continue to be raised, persons who may have information pertaining to such secret detention camps are urged to bring such information to the attention of the authorities or persons at high-level so that arrangements could be made to investigate and even arrange for unannounced visits," she said. "The Government is committed to investigate and therefore, seek the support of all who may have any information to share such information," the spokesperson added. The government already handed a list of all detainees to the families and the ICRC, she further said, adding that this list will not be made public.
A man who is being held on suspicion of having murdered Tamil National Alliance MP Nadarajah Raviraj, has filed a fundamental rights violation petition in Sri Lanka's Supreme Court. MA Sampath Munasinghe, alleges illegal detention by the CID and cited the IGP and the CID as respondents in the case. He requested the court to declare the violation of his personal liberty, The Island reported. Mr Raviraj was assassinated in Colombo in November 2006, at a time when the capital was heavily fortified by Sri Lanka's military. The government was accused of being behind the attacks by the TNA, diaspora organisations and the UNP. The US led international criticism of the government and urged it to conduct an investigation.
Parliamentarians from the Mahinda-faction of the UPFA claimed the former president had more support than ever and would be appointed the prime minister after the elections. Speaking to media on Thursday, former minister and Colombo District MP Bandula Gunawardena said the masses were demanding the return of the former president and the current wave of support in the country for him was much bigger than at the 2005 and 2010 presidential elections. Former external affairs minister G. L. Peiris and Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga also addressed the media. Mahinda Rajapaksa...
The Sri Lankan government has decided it will reconsider restarting the 'Port City' project, a Chinese-funded development. Cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne said the government will consider an Environmental Impact Assessment report, before deciding whether to go ahead with the $1.5bn project. The project was reviewed by the new government along with several others initiated by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Right after the election, the government announced it would cancel the project.
The United States State Department announced it is accepting submissions for project proposals that will “support the bureau’s policy priorities of promoting reconciliation and advancing transparency and accountability in Sri Lanka”. Announcing two projects, to advance “reconciliation and cooperation across religious and ethnic lines” and for “advancing transparency and accountability and countering corruption”, a total of approximately $1,750,000 of funding would be made available said the State Department.
Civil society organisations and activists from across Sri Lanka and the North-East expressed their “deep disappointment and outrage” at the failure of South African authorities to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir earlier this week, stating it raised “serious concerns” over their involvement in Sri Lanka’s accountability process. Noting that Mr Bashir is wanted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, 60 organisations signed a statement saying Mr Bashir’s visit “visit to South Africa presented a real opportunity to bring an international fugitive to justice”. “Given the involvement of the government of South Africa in the design of truth and reconciliation processes in Sri Lanka, we the undersigned wish to reiterate the centrality of the rule of law and victims’ right to justice in any efforts aimed at truth-seeking and reconciliation,” said the statement. “We also note that the shameful circumstances surrounding President al-Bashir’s visit to, and departure from South Africa will inevitably raise serious concerns over the propriety of the South African government’s involvement in the pursuit of truth and reconciliation in Sri Lanka and elsewhere,” the organisations added.
The Sri Lankan government said it has begun “internal consultations” on the prospect of a domestic prove to investigate mass atrocities committed during the final phase of the armed conflict on the island, more than 6 years ago. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maheshini Colonne told journalists that the “relevant authorities” have commenced “high level” talks on the subject, reports Colombo Gazette . Her comments were in response to remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussain at the opening of the 29th UN Human Rights Council Session this week, where he called for Sri Lanka to consult with the victims and their families to ensure support for an accountability mechanism.