The former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa has been cleared of all charges of corruption by an Indian court on Monday. "Truth and justice have prevailed," said Ms Jayalalithaa in a statement after the court decision. "I am immensely satisfied, the verdict has paved the way for me to emerge as tested pure gold," she added. Ms Jayalalithaa maintained that there was no wrongdoing and that the charges were “foisted (on me) by political enemies.” The ruling now clears the way for her to return as chief minister.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has denied the existence of secret detention camps, where Tamils are thought to have been sent during and after the armed conflict. "Last week, I had an opportunity to meet a group of mothers still looking for their missing children. The issue of secret detention camps came up and assured them such facilities do not exist. I assured them of a thorough inquiry in case they could reveal secret detention camps," the minister said to media . Thousands of Tamils remain missing, 6 years after the end of the armed conflict, including those taken captive by the Sri Lankan army in front of their families.
Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake confirmed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was prepared to double its annual funding to Sri Lanka, raising the figure to US$1.2 billion. Mr Karunanayake said that the credit grant was due to independent reviews that placed confidence in Sri Lanka’s economy and not requests by the Sri Lankan government. The funds are to be directed towards government development initiatives, budgetary allocations, capacity development and debt relief reports Colombo Page . The credit increase comes in the wake of the ADB’s recent decision to downgrade Sri Lanka’s 2015 GDP growth forecast by 0.5%.
Former Foreign Ministry Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena was arrested earlier today, on charges he misused vehicles belonging to the presidential secretariat. The Criminal Investigation Department summoned the MP to record a statement this morning where he was arrested and remanded until May 20. Mr Gunawardena is facing several charges of corruption and fraud, committed during his tenure under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The MP is the former CEO of the government owned airline, Mihin Lanka and also served as coordinating secretary on trade and foreign affairs to the former president. Former Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando was also remanded until May 25, earlier today.
The Sri Lankan government will incorporate regulations on the Sri Lankan flag into common law, criminalising acts that violate the new rules. The new laws would target printers and distributers of distorted flags. “Legal action will be taken against those who print and distribute these flags,” a government source told the Daily Mirror . Several individuals were arrested on charges of ‘maligning’ the national flag by displaying a version without the colours representing Tamils and Muslims, during a protest held in support of the former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month.
The new government under President Maithripala Sirisena has not done anything to alleviate the grievances of Tamil people, including on political prisoners, and resettling internally displaced persons, Batticaloa’s TNA MP P Ariyanenthiran charged . Speaking at an event in Kaluthaivalai, the MP said the current government pledged to solve the humanitarian problems of the people in the North-East, before coming into power, but that the Tamil political prisoners are still in detention. "The relatives of those political prisoners have pinned their hopes on the new Government. But the Government has not done anything within its 100 days programme to alleviate their grievances such as the releasing of Tamil political prisoners, finding the disappeared persons and resettling the Internally Displaced Persons," Mr Ariyanenthiran said.
The European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka said Sri Lanka still has an “awful lot” to do to strengthen human rights on the island and warned that the underlying issues to the ethnic conflict need resolving. In an interview to the Sunday Leader, EU Ambassador David Daly said “we have consistently urged SL to do a number of things of which firstly to strengthen the rule of law and the question of governance and respect human rights across Sri Lanka which we think is fundamental”. “If you don’t tackle the underlying issues and if you leave issues festering then history has a horrible way of coming back to bite you, sometimes unexpectedly later on,” he added. “If the past reveals any violation of the humanitarian law or international human rights law, then there must be a proper judicial process that deals with the perpetrators of these violations so that these issues can be put to rest.” Calling for a “genuine effort toward reconciliation”, Mr Daly welcomed pledges made by the Sri Lankan government, stating “we hope that this government has not only made commitments but have started to make concrete changes”. “There is always a challenge to transform commitments into actual reality on the ground,” he said, adding “the commitments made and the concrete measures already been taken while being duly recognised must be completed and we will encourage Sri Lanka on that area and are happy to work with Sri Lanka.”
The Sri Lankan government will be holding an event entitled “Armed Forces Day” on May 19, marking 6 years since the end of the armed conflict and the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians. A government official told the Sunday Times that the event had been renamed from the previous “Victory Day Parade” and would be held “in remembrance of all those who died during wars in Sri Lanka.” Sri Lankan armed forces reportedly carried out mass atrocities in the final stages of the armed conflict, where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed, and an investigation by the United...
The Sri Lankan government will propose a business plan to develop the China Bay oil storage facility in Trincomalee with Indian assistance, with the aim to make the town a regional petroleum hub. The secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, Dr. B.M.S Batagoda told the Business Times that a ten member task force currently formulating the business plan, aimed at harnessing the full potential of the facility. The Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) have agreed to jointly develop the Upper Tank Farm at China Bay in Trincomalee "on mutually...
The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka will be held under the current proportional representation system, the JVP said on Sunday. Speaking after a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said to the Sunday Times this will be the case, even if an agreement on the 20th amendment, on electoral reforms, was reached. “President Sirisena told us that if it is not possible for the political parties to reach common agreement on electoral reforms, he would dissolve Parliament and call general elections,” he said.