A Buddha statue is being erected on Thalladi Main Street in Mannar. Construction work is being carried out to build the Buddha statue in front of Thalladi army camp. The soldiers were previously reported to have decorated the Main Street to celebrate the Buddhist festival of Poson. Selvam Adaikalanathan, an MP for Vanni district, said that the sudden commencement of the construction was a means of inciting racial tensions.
Tamil asylum seekers on the boat (Photos SMH) T he Australian government is alleged to have paid thousands of dollars to people smugglers on a boat carrying asylum seekers, who were then returned to Indonesia, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wendesday. The boat carried 65 people, including Tamils and people from Burma fleeing persecution. Indonesian police chief Mr Hidayat, said six crew members, who were arrested when they arrived at Rote, said they had been given $US5000 each by Australian officials. Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton denied the allegations and refused to comment further, citing the government's policy of not commenting on "on-water matters". A letter to the New Zealand government signed by the asylum seekers says Australian officials paid the six crew members at least $A7000 each.
Anti-apartheid activist and former South African judge, Albie Sachs, attended a special discussion on truth, reconciliation and justice in Jaffna on Tuesday. Meeting with civil society activists, Mr Sachs said that the end of the war had not given rise to humanity, self-esteem or dignity and that the crucial need for freedom in the war-affected areas had not been fulfilled. Sharing experiences from his own country, Mr Sachs said that for reconciliation to come about in South Africa, the perpetrators themselves came forward and admitted their crimes, but no such thing had happened in Sri Lanka. Tamil civil society activists maintained that despite a change in regime, victims were no closer to justice.
Tamil villagers in the North-East have criticised the continued building of Buddhist temples by the Sri Lankan military, reports AsiaNews . Local residents in Kokkilaay, Mullaitivu were arrested last week after protesting against the building of a Buddhist vihara on their land by the military. Tamil Catholic human rights activist Anthony Jesudasan told AsiaNews that "even if they are backed by the military, they should not build permanent Buddhist places of worship, and removed those who own the land”. “Thousands of people have not yet received land, but they are being used to build places of worship different from their own,” said Mr Jesudasan. “What is the meaning of this?" "We are not against Buddhists. We do not bother them,” local residents told AsiaNews. “So why is the army doing this to us? When will we have some peace again?"
The ‘ No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka ’ documentary was screened in Irish parliament (Dail) on Wednesday. Member of Parliament Paul Murphy hosted the event with the attendance of Irish MPs, the film’s director Callum Macrae, exiled journalist Bashana Abeywardena and investigative reporter on Sri Lanka Phil Miller. A discussion seminar was held after on the need for an international investigation into the actions of the Sri Lankan state. Sri Lankan minister dismisses ‘No Fire Zone’ documentary (18 Mar 2015) International judicial mechanism needed to serve justice for all in Sri...
TNA MP S Sritharan said the increase in the pedalling of drugs to youths in the North was part of a "genocidal agenda", while speaking at the launch of an anti-narcotic campaign in Kilinochchi, Ceylon Today reported. "In the post-war atmosphere, anti social activities such as the drug pedalling, alcohol, prostitution and child abuse have been systematically planted to erode the values of the Northern society. Therefore, for the past several years the Northerners face a cultural calamity", the MP said. Members of the civil society, who were also present, condemned the impunity with which drug...
The Tamil National Party (TNA) spokesperson Suresh Premachandran denied the party was aware of a meeting between TNA MP MA Sumanthiran, the GTF's Suren Surendiran and representatives of the Sri Lankan government, alongside "other stakeholders" in London. Speaking to the Colombo Mirror , Mr Premachandran the secret nature of such meetings “has resulted in creating a fear whether these people are working against the Tamil people”. “I am the official spokesman of the TNA and I state with full responsibility that the TNA leaders have neither discussed about this meeting nor approved anyone to attend it on its behalf. Sumanthiran may have attended this meeting in his private capacity or as the member of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), but certainly not as a representative of the TNA. It is a blatant lie,” he said. Mr Sumanthiran, in an interview with Deepam TV, said the TNA leadership was aware and sanctioned the meeting. A press release sent from an official TNA email address on Monday also stated it was the TNA that participated in the meeting.
Leader of the Opposition Nimal Siripala de Silva, flanked by SLFP General Secretary Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and President Maithripala Sirisena, sleeping during an SLFP rally on 20A on Monday (Pic by Saman Abeysiriwardena/The Island) Sri Lanka’s cabinet agreed to draft legislation to implement electoral reforms as the 20th amendment to the country’s constitution by Friday, at a special meeting last night. The number of MPs will remain at 225, despite attempts by some parties to increase the number to 255. It was proposed to elect 125 MPs from the constituencies, 75 according to the Proportional Representation System by district, and the remaining 25 from the National List, under the new system, the Daily Mirror reported. On Monday President Maithripala Sirisena called on all parties to declare their positions on the reforms, saying the passing of the amendment was “the need of the hour”.
Sri Lankan Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe slammed calls for the release of political prisoners, stating that all those held in government custody were “convicted members of the LTTE, suspected members of the group with indictments or cases pending”. The minister’s comments were in response to an appeal by US Secretary of State John Kerry, and repeated calls from Tamils, to release political prisoners who are being held in custody. Mr Rajapakshe told The Island the new government had immediately compiled a list of all political prisoners once they came into power earlier this year, and found only a few hundred people were imprisoned. "Fifty four persons who had been convicted on terrorism charges were serving prison terms; indictments were being prepared against 85 persons; cases were pending against 134 persons; eight given bail and 45 convicts released through courts after rehabilitation," said Mr Rajapakshe. There was “absolutely no basis for accusations pertaining to operation of secret detention camps over six years after the conclusion of the conflict” he reportedly told the Island adding that “detainees’ families were aware of the whereabouts of their loved ones”.
The Sri Lankan government’s rejection of a report detailing military occupation of the Tamil North-East “reeks of defensiveness and reflects the lack of political will to be honest to the victims and the international community”, said the executive director of the Oakland Institute. In a statement to JDS , Oakland Institute's Executive Director Anuradha Mittal said Sri Lanka’s response had reinforced the report’s findings on the Sri Lankan military deployment in the Tamil homeland – “under President Sirisena's government, it is déja vu”. “The attitude of “we know better” denies the day to day loss and suffering of the communities in the North and the East of the country, as reported to the researchers of the Institute during the course of our field work,” said Ms Mittal. “More important, Mr. Perera fails to back up his statement with facts and evidence that would prove our findings wrong or make a strong case for the “strong rejection.” Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Ajith P Perera had earlier said the report was compiled by an “outside organisation” with “only a limited knowledge”. He went on to say that Sri Lanka had “every right to decide how many soldiers need to be deployed”.