The government coalition partner and party consisting of Buddhist monks, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) on Wednesday called for the Sri Lankan security forces to take action against Tamil demonstrators in Jaffna who are protesting against the rape and murder of a school girl in Pungudutivu, accusing them of threatening the lives of Sinhalese residents. The 18 year old Advance Level student, Vithiya, is believed to have been raped and murdered by local Tamil men last Wednesday, who are being held in remand at Jaffna police station by court order. The incident has sparked protests across the region, with Tamils demanding that the perpetrators face justice. The JHU's media secretary, Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe, said that the demonstrators were "threatening the Sinhalese in Jaffna and forcing them to leave that area", the Daily Mirror reported. "Racist, separatist and terrorist groups were trying to raise their heads again by hiding behind this incident and added they were resorting to violent acts as well," he added, urging that legal action be taken against those found responsible for the violence.
Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is to take over the investigation into the rape and murder of a Pungudutivu school girl last week, the police spokesperson, Ruwan Gunasekara said during a press conference on Wednesday. The decision was made by the Inspector General of the Sri Lanka police who visited Jaffna yesterday, and ordered the CID to take over.
Photographs Tamil Guardian Sri Lankan police officers were deployed outside the Jaffna court complex on Thursday morning, as protesters gathered expecting three suspects, accused of the rape and murder of a Pungudutivu school girl last week, to be produced before court. The police have denied this however, telling demonstrators that the suspects were not due to be produced before court today.
Photograph: Colombo Mirror Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court cancelled its stay order that prevented the government form handing back approximately 818 acres of land in Sampur that had been kept away from Tamil families for over 9 years, reports ColomboMirror . Speaking to Colombo Mirror, The Tamil National Alliance spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran said, “The Supreme Court has not only cancelled the stay order but also allowed over 1250 families to be resettled there. I hope there would no longer be any impediment for these people to be resettled in their native places after nine years of long...
Protesters in Jaffna were pursued and assaulted by Sri Lankan police on Wednesday after dispersing from a demonstration outside the Jaffna court complex. A video obtained by IBC Tamil shows Sri Lankan police calling out an individual from a property and beating him on the street. Protests calling for justice for the rape and murder of student S Vithiya turned violent yesterday, resulting in police and special task forces being deployed.
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa urged police to act against the protestors in Jaffna, as the LTTE also "began in a similar fashion." “Stones were pelted at police stations and the courts in Jaffna. The LTTE too began in a similar fashion. This is a dangerous situation. Therefore the police should act immediately. The law should take its course in a similar manner whether it is the North or the South of the country,” he said speaking after attending religious observances at the Samadhi Buddha statue in the Mahiyangana town, the Daily Mirror reported. “Everyone should be equal before the law, whether it is in the north or the south. Law and order should be maintained. The prevailing situation must change soon. It is obvious that the ongoing incidents are well organised,” he said.
The Tamil Civil Society Forum, in a statement said a post-war environment of heavy militarisation, lenience towards drugs and alcohol abuse and damaged social networks were contributing factors to rape within the society. Expressing condolences to the family of the recently murdered Vithya, the TCSF note that this was not an isolated incident and that gang rapes had happened before in post-conflict Jaffna. The TCSF called on the people of Jaffna to continue to take peaceful democratic action through protests to ensure that Sir Lanka’s police took unbiased action and brought justice. The...
Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday denied the state was holding any political prisoners, Ceylon Today reported. Speaking to journalists during a press brief, the president said the government had no list of political prisoners to release as there were no such prisoners. "We don't have political prisoners or a list of names", he said to a question posed by Ceylon Today. Tamil politicians have long complained that the government is not addressing the issue of political prisoners. The TNA leadership raised this with US Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit earlier this month.
Over one thousand people gathered in Toronto on Monday to mark 6 years since the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils in the final phases of the armed conflict. Marking 'Tamil Genocide Day' in Albert Campbell Square, Canadian Tamils gathered and laid flowers in remembrance of those killed.
Photographs Tamil Guardian The Sri Lankan military, special task force and riot police were deployed in Jaffna on Wednesday, citing the ongoing protests over the murder and rape of a Pungudutivu school girl last week. Riot police fired tear gas into the crowds of protesters who had surrounded the Jaffna court house and threw stones towards it, calling for those responsible to face justice. The violence has been condemned by the chief minister of the northern province, who said that outside elements were trying to exacerbate the longstanding distrust that existed between the Sri Lankan police and the Tamil people.