New Sri Lankan government run by 'western lackeys' says Rajapaksa

The former Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the new government was run by western lackeys. "The country had entered an era of ‘mega deals’ under the new government which was run by the lackeys of western powers," Mr Rajapaksa was quoted by The Island newspaper as saying, whilst addressing crowds at a May Day rally on Friday, organised by a splinter group of the UPFA.

Assassinated Tamil journalists commemorated in Jaffna

Photographs Uthayan Tamil journalists who have been assassinated by Sri Lankan state forces during the ethnic conflict were remembered in Jaffna on Saturday, at an event organised by the Uthayan newspaper. Families of the deceased journalists, as well as the head of Jaffna University's Teachers' Union, E Rasakumaran, the chief editor of the Uthaya, M V Kanagamayilnathan and the manager of the Jaffna based Thinakkural newspaper, S Kesavaraj were present, lighting candles of remembrance.

TNA to request US support to solve Tamil political question

The Tamil National Alliance says it will urge the US to support them to find a solution to the Tamil question on the island, when meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday. Speaking to Ceylon Today , TNA MP MA Sumanthiran said the party's delegation, which will include NPC Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran, would focus on humanitarian issues. "The TNA delegation led by R. Sampanthan will focus on the humanitarian issues such as the release of Tamil political prisoners, resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons and the release of lands still in the possession of the Security Forces in the North and East," Mr Sumanthiran said, adding that Mr Wigneswaran will be able to explain in detail all post-war issues in the Northern Province.

National flag should not have colours for ethnic groups - BBS

The Bodu Bala Sena has called for a change in Sri Lanka's flag, saying it was "extremist" as it differentiated between the different communities that lived on the island. Speaking to the Lanka Herald , BBS General Secretary Gnanasara said, “If a national flag tries to assign colours for communities living in a country, then multi-ethnic countries like India would never have been able to have a flag.” Sri Lanka's national flag, is dominated by a lion, the Sinhala national symbol, holding a sword facing two small strips, which were added to represent the Tamil and Muslim communities. In 1972,...

Ambassador accepts personalised copy of No Fire Zone documentary for Sri Lanka's president

The Sri Lankan High Commission in London accepted a personalised copy of the Sinhala language version of the, Emmy nominated, No Fire Zone documentary on behalf of Sri Lanka’s president this week. In his personal message to Maithripala Sirisena, the No Fire Zone director, Callum Macrae, on Wednesday, said, “The truth is coming out. I appeal to you not to obstruct the process, but to encourage it. To be on the side of truth.”

Tamil national question remains unresolved in Sri Lanka - GTF

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) called on Sri Lanka’s government to “accelerate” initiatives addressing issues of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, adding that further steps were needed to resolve the Tamil national question. Highlighting that "above all, the Tamil national quesiton remains unresolved," in a statement that welcomed Sri Lanka's passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution, the Global Tamil Forum called for further steps to address a list of Tamil issues. The organisation noted that several issues affecting the Tamil community had not been resolved, including the appropriation of Tamil lands, intense militarisation of the North-East, prevalence of sexual violence in the North-East, issues of arbitrarily detained political prisoners, draconian anti-terror laws and justice for alleged war crimes. See extracts from the statement below.

Five Dutch Tamils jailed for fundraising for LTTE

Five Dutch Tamils were jailed, by a court in The Hague, for raising money for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reports Dailymirror.lk . The court ruled that, the 5 individuals had been involved in raising money for the proscribed organisation between 2003 and 2010 and sentenced the individuals to up to six years in prison. The individuals in question had been previously found guilty of being members of a criminal organisation in 2011.

NPC marks May Day in Jaffna

Northern Province councillors marked May Day in Jaffna on Friday, with a march through the town calling for the Tamil people's traditional livelihoods to be allowed to flourish. The Chief Minister, C V Wigneswaran, and councillors Ananthy Sasitharan, M K Shivajilingham, Siddarthan and Kajatheepan where joined by people from across the North, including Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar and Kilinochchi.

President vows not to allow any interference in Sri Lanka's 'sovereign affairs'

Sri Lanka's new president, Maithripala Sirisena, vowed on May Day "not to allow any interference in Sri Lanka's sovereign affairs", reported Colombo Page . Addressing his party's May Day rally in Colombo, Mr Sirisena "vowed not leave any room for international community or other countries to raise any issues regarding the human rights in Sri Lanka".

Tamil parties hold May Day rallies in North-East

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) held their parties' May Day rallies on Friday, calling for greater rights to Tamil workers.

Pages