The Chief Minister of the Northern Province, CV Wigneswaran noting that the prevalence of drug circulation in the North-East had only increased after the end of the conflict between Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), called for Sri Lanka’s military forces to be retracted from the area. “Our people feel that various sections from armed forces which have deliberately introducing various aspects of theses dangerous drugs, to stop youngsters form coming up having a good education and having their sense of freedom,” said Mr Wigneswaran. Alleging that drug trafficking within the North-East was not an issue before May 2009, he said, “Trafficking was not allowed within the Northern Province in the early days of the Tigers. Who took over after 18 May 2009? How have we allowed things that were not taking place here (North-East) to find foothold in the area when it was only the army that was in charge.” Speaking at a news conference at the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDCB) in Colombo, Mr Wigneswaran called for an impartial investigation to ascertain whether the continued deployment of the army after the end of the armed conflict in 2009 was a contributory factor in the introduction and distribution of narcotic drugs in the Northern Province. Reiterating calls for the military to be withdrawn the chief minister added, "We still have a lot of problems because of the long presence of the security forces. Our lands have been taken over by them, our cultivation, our fisheries, our businesses have been taken over by them and our women are not safe. The deployment of 100,000 army personnel is equivalent to one soldier to every four people. We will be extremely happy if the army is withdrawn. ” See full video of press brief here . Tamils still face genocidal agendas says TNA MP (07 Jun 2015)
A Sri Lankan minister has said fishermen from India would not be allowed into Sri Lanka waters, declaring any such practise “illegal”. Deputy Minister of Fisheries Dayasritha Tissera told The Sunday Leader that Sri Lanka has “a firm stand not to let Indian fishermen cross the Sri Lankan maritime boarder to poach in Sri Lankan waters”. “That is illegal,” he added. “Earlier, request had been made asking permission to let Indian fishermen enter Sri Lankan waters for a period of time which we did not agree and we continue to take that stance.”
President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday met with senior member of the Buddhist clergy, Elle Gunawansa, and discussed the UN Human Rights Council investigation into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka. Mr Gunawansa, who is the head of the Dharmayathanaya temple in Colombo, also discussed the economy with the president, the Daily Mirror reported. The monk advised the president to "prioritise agriculture" while developing the national economy, and Mr Sirisena in response agreed gift 1000 acres of land to a farm established by Mr Gunawansa, with the help of disabled Sri Lankan war veterans.
Sri Lanka's justice minister, Wijeyedasa Rajapakse said on Sunday the government would not take any action on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, which was signed by 112 MPs and handed to parliament secretary general, Dammika Dassanayaka on Saturday. “Opposition’s motion would not be taken up for Parliamentary debate, since the UNP based government was authorised to decide whether to take action on it or not,” he said according to the Daily Mirror . “Even a grade two child is able to guess the result if the motion is taken up in Parliament, where the Opposition has the majority,” Mr. Rajapaksa said. “The government has acknowledged that 20th Amendment to the Constitution would not get passed if the disruptive behaviour of some Parliamentarians, who are joined with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s political campaign continues,” he said. Ranil meanwhile defended himself against the accusations he had become prime minister "through the back door", saying he had a clear mandate.
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa said the no-motion confidence against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was signed by half of all sitting MPs because of the unethical manner the new government is conducting itself in. In a press release, Mr Rajapaksa said that he has also been at the receiving end of this and accused the new government of setting up a "Gestapo-like" police unit. “This situation is not surprising given the unethical conduct of this government of which I too have been at the receiving end," he said in the statement . "While propagating falsehoods about the misuse of funds during my tenure, the government is mired in a massive Treasury bond scam which has already caused a loss of Rs.50 billion,
Sri Lanka's foreign exchange reserves have dropped to $6,850mn in May 2015 from $7,454mn in April, Economy Next reported. The reserves are the lowest since March 2015, when total reserves fell to $6,835mn, according to data from the central bank. In April foreign exchange reserves recovered, partly helped by a $400mn swap with the Reserve Bank of India. Read more here . Reserve Bank of India signs currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka (31 March 2015)
Tamils are still having to deal with the ‘genocidal agendas’ said the Tamil National Alliance MP R Sritharan at a local civil society event in Kilinochchi last week. Highlighting a prevalence of drug sales in the region, Mr Sritharan said, “it (the government) has planted poisonous seeds in the community. As a consequence the community is continuing to face cultural calamity.” Members of the local civil society condemned the impunity in which local police allowed drug dealers to work with in the area. One member of the meeting said that there had been several instances where the details of...
A group of 65 asylum seekers have appealed to New Zealand for intervention, as their boat became shipwrecked after being pushed into Indonesian waters by Australian authorities. The group, which includes women and children, were reportedly spotted by Australian authorities, with an Indonesian official saying “according to their testimony, they were pushed back by the Australian navy and immigration after they were interrogated”. The ship then hit a reef and became shipwrecked, with the group currently being held by Indonesian authorities. Photos have emerged of the group holding signs in Tamil and English, stating “please try to understand our painful life New Zealand government” and “please save us”.
Tamil National Alliance MPs took part in a ceremony commencing the construction of a memorial shrine commemorating 21 school children that where killed in a Sri Lankan Air Force attack on a school in Jaffna 20 years ago. TNA MPs including Mavai Senathirajah and M A Sumanthiran were present at the ceremony and took party in laying the foundation stone for the shrine on Tuesday. The Nagar Koyil School was bombed on 21 September 1995 hours after the Sri Lankan government enforced censorship on press reports on the military conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil...
A committee is reviewing the ban on some diaspora groups said Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry last week. Speaking to the Colombo Gazette the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mahishini Colonne said, the review of individuals and entities on the ban occurs annually and is currently underway. The diaspora ban was widely condemned by people in the North-East and foreign governments. Not safe for Tamil diaspora to return to Sri Lanka says TNA MP (28 April 2015) Sri Lanka pledges to review proscription of Tamil diaspora groups (18 March 2015) Not safe for Tamil diaspora to return to Sri Lanka says TNA...