Only through the efforts of the international community can the political problems of Tamils in the North-East be solved, said the Northern Provincial Councillor (NPC) MK Sivajalingam. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the Councillor said that he intended to table a resolution at the NPC calling on the international community and United Nations to set up a process to “solve the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka.” Mr Sivajalingam added, that he alongside the leader of the Tamil National People’s Front leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Northern Provincial Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan, had...
The Sri Lanka campaign, in an analysis of the new president’s first 100 days in power found that 21 of the 30 benchmarks that the NGO had set to judge the new regime by, had seen no substantial progress. Highlighting that issues which saw a lack of progress “disproportionately affected the Tamil community,” the report found that the Sri Lankan government was “far less willing” to deal with issues such as militarisation and accountability, adding that “elements of policy still remain in the hands of a deeply embedded security apparatus whose attitude has not changed since the days of the previous regime.” “The need for the international community to maintain its interest in Sri Lanka, and push the Sri Lankan government towards meaningful reform has never been more evident,” the Sri Lanka Campaign concluded. The report highlighted that no progress had been made in several issues, including devolving powers to the Northern Provincial Council, issues to do with de-militarisation and resettlement, whereabouts and whereabouts of the disappeared. See the full report and breakdown here . See below for related links:
A local journalist and three persons, including two university students were arrested in Jaffna on Thursday morning, reports the Uthayan . Sri Lankan police officers, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived in police vehicles to a house by the University of Jaffna were those detained had been staying.
The body of a young man was found washed ashore in the Eravur region of Batticaloa district, BattiNews reported. The man, believed to be approximately 35 years old, was found on Wednesday morning, the police said. The police have requested locals to come forward to help identify the body.
Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena today marked his hundredth day in office, claiming much was done since he was elected, including gaining the friendship and trust of the international community and restoring media freedom. In a statement, delivered only in Sinhalese, the president said his government took "many important steps with regard to the country’s economy, politics, development and international relation". Mr Sirisena reminded of the "international situation" the country was facing under the previous government, but said that he was now trusted by the international community to protect democracy and human rights. "You will remember what took place at the United Nations, the Human Rights Commission and the Security Council. However, after January 9th, because of the faith you placed in me and elected this government, the international community that was divided over us, now place their trust in this government, and me just as you did, and believe that as Head of State I would protect the freedom of this country and its Democracy, Human Rights and Fundamental Rights," he said.
The Sri Lankan High Commission in the United Kingdom demanded an apology from the leader of the UK Labour party Ed Miliband, after he sent out a message marking Tamil New Year earlier this month. Sri Lanka’s Acting High Commissioner Chanaka Talpahewa immediately sent a letter to the British opposition leader, accusing him of making a mistake in wishing only the Tamil community a happy new year, reports the Island. Some 70 million Tamils across the world had marked the occasion earlier this month. The Sinhalese New Year also fell on April 14, and the Sri Lankan High Commission reportedly “showed their displeasure” that the Sinhalese community in the UK did not receive Mr Miliband’s wishes.
Writing on the landmark hundredth day of the new government's reign, The Economist said it had wasted the period, and that President Maithripala Sirisena has "a long way to go" to fulfil his promise to build a "new country". The Economist highlighted the lack of power President Sirisena has within the government, which has blamed failure to fulfil pledges on divisions in the coalition, but also pointed out the strength of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. "His morale is high, lifted by queues of fawning fans who visit his village home. Many are provided with transport to his increasingly frequent public events. The media give him plenty of attention. His extended family still wields clout, despite the arrest by financial police on April 22nd of Basil Rajapaksa, one of his brothers, who used to be in charge of the economy," the paper said.
The Sri Lankan government may send an investigative team to Ukraine to probe reports that weapons were supplied to pro-Russian separatists through the Sri Lankan embassy in the country. Ukrainian Ambassador to India Oleksandr Shevchenko met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Tuesday to discuss the claims, amid reports that Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Russia played a key role in transfer of weapons. The Ukrainian government lodged a formal complaint with the Sri Lankan former ministry over the allegations. The Sri Lankan ambassador, Udayanga Weeratunga, has since been...
The brother of Sri Lanka’s former president and former Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa has been arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division of the Sri Lankan police, according to the latest reports. Mr Rajapaksa, who only returned to Sri Lanka yesterday after leaving the island soon after January’s presidential election, was reportedly questioned by police for 7 hours this morning. He was then arrested along with the former Secretary of the Economic Development Ministry Nihal Jayatilleke and former Divi Neguma Fund Director General R.R.K. Ranawaka, accused of corruption and misusing public funds. He is to be produced in the Kaduwela Magistrate Courts shortly. Speaking to PTI before the arrest took place, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa accused the current Sri Lankan government of “making wild allegations” of corruption against him and his family. “They have no evidence,” said Mr Rajapaksa. “This is a witch-hunt. Neither I nor any member of my family has ill-gotten money. Show us the money, where is the evidence?”
The Federation of National Organisations (FNO) warned that the present government was betraying national security by dismantling military basis in the North-East, as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe did during the ceasefire. The FNO, made up of many political organisations, businesses and civil society groups based in the south, last month warned against an "Eelam agenda" being pushed throught the 13th Amendment. Speaking at a press conference, the general secretary of the Patriotic National Movement, Wasantha Bandara, said the government was already removing the Sampur Naval Base and had handed over the lands to its first owners. However, there have been no credible reports of any displaced people resettled in Sampur. "According to our information, more than 400 sailors who were on duty at the Sampur Naval Base have already been transferred to the Boossa Navy Camp in Galle," he said adding that the same “appeasement” was made under the ceasefire agreement in 2002 and thousands of Sri Lankan servicemen died in Muttur in confrontation with the LTTE at a later stage.