Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe defended comments he made stating that Indian fishermen could be shot by the Sri Lankan navy, whilst on a visit to India this weekend. Speaking to reporters after visiting the Sreekrishna Temple, Mr Wickremesinghe was pushed on his earlier comments, where he justified the shooting of fishermen from Tamil Nadu. “The Sri Lankan government primarily represents the interests of Sri Lankans,” said Mr Wickremesinghe. Last week former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga said Mr Wickremesinghe was only “joking” when he made the statement.
Over 60 MPs in Sri Lanka staged a protest against the summoning of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa by the bribery commission in parliament today. The MPs, including Mr Rajapaksa's son Namal Rajapaksa, sat on floor and disrupted proceedings, causing the adjournment of parliament until Tuesday. We are protesting in Parliament today against the Bribery Commission summoning @PresRajapaksa . #SriLanka pic.twitter.com/74mbmFT18t — Namal Rajapaksa (@RajapaksaNamal) April 20, 2015 They handed over a petition urging a written assurance from President Maithripala Sirisena that the former president will be safe. The UPFA MPs objected to the bribery commission's summoning of Mr Rajapaksa to appear before it on April 24, on charges he promised a ministerial post to former UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake for his cross over.
The first planned transfer of asylum seekers on Nauru to Cambodia has been cancelled due to "logistical errors" Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said. However, activists say the refugees refused to sign the transfer documents. Under a $40mn deal, refugees rejected by Australia, who are being detained on the island of Nauru, are being offered between AU$10,000 to AU$15,000 to accept a transfer to Cambodia. Only 5 refugees, three Tamils, one Rohingya and one Iranian, are said to have agreed to the transfer.
A Turkish business delegation looking to invest in Sri Lanka will be visiting the island soon, reports the official news portal of the Sri Lankan government. The Turkish Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Iskender Okyay, said that the delegation would look to invest in the manufacturing, tourism and other sectors, speaking at a press brief hosted last week. Current trade volumes with Turkey are at $128 million reports news.lk .
The Tamil National Alliance MP MA Sumanthiran says the party has no allegiance to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and is not committed to their ideology, adding the TNA is not in favour of "terrorism". Speaking to the Sunday Leader , Mr Sumanthiran said: "[W]e do not have any allegiance to the LTTE nor are we committed to their ideology. We stand up for the rights of the Tamil people but we are not in favour of terrorism nor do we encourage it and everyone knows this." Mr Sumanthiran also said there is no truth in rumours that the LTTE may return, saying the people are steadfast in not allowing "terrorism" to return. "This is just an attempt by certain parties to create fear among the people. There is absolutely no truth in the claims that the LTTE is attempting to regroup. But even if there is such a move the people will not allow it or support it as it is they who have suffered the most during the war. Therefore the people are quite steadfast in not allowing such terrorism to begin again as they know that they will be the ones that are worst affected," he said. The TNA, formed in 2001, officially backed the LTTE until 2009. Since the end of the armed conflict, the party leadership has offered contradicting views on its support for the organisation.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence has issued over 3,000 licenses to individuals to bear firearms in the country and training on the use of weaponry, reports the Sunday Leader . “Politicians, security force personnel and leading businessmen” were amongst those who received the licenses, with around 200 of those people reportedly receiving training at the Special Task Force (STF) camp in Katukurunda.
A group of fishermen from Tamil Nadu were injured after attackers on board a fast craft vessel coming from the island of Sri Lanka, boarded their boats and assaulted them. The Deccan Chronicle says that 5 attackers, alleged to be sea pirates from Sri Lanka, boarded the fishing vessels as they were fishing off the coast of Point Calimere on Friday night. The fishermen were attacked with wooden logs, with two of them sustaining serious head injuries. The attackers then made off with the fishing catch and nets, as well as GPS equipment from the fishing boats. See more from the Deccan Chronicle...
Sri Lanka and Japan plan to formulate and sign a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries to enhance bilateral trade, reports Colombo Page . Sri Lanka Japan Business Co-operation Committee said that it is preparing for a future Free Trade Agreement, during a meeting between in Colombo with the Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Nabuhitho Hobo. In a press release after the meeting, the committee said, “In preparation to ensure that we look after the interests of our membership to further enhance their trading activities with Japan, we will be carrying out comprehensive study on the...
A report by the World Bank on South East Asia, noting structural barriers to competitiveness in Sri Lanka, predicted a decline in Sri Lanka's growth to 6.9 percent due to several factors including slowing down in the construction industry. The report added that part of the decline in growth would be due to previous growth being artificially propped up by consumption due to increased public sector wages. With competitiveness still remaining a challenge in Sri Lanka, due to the actions of the previous government, the growth of Sri Lanka will decline as the new government looks to make changes...
Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe travelled to India on Friday morning, reports Colombo Page . Though details of his trip are yet to be announced, it was confirmed that the prime minister went to India with a delegation of 4 people.