Sri Lanka accused of supplying weapons to pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine

Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, who has been accused of selling weapons to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, has had his diplomatic passport withdrawn, reports ColomboPage . Mr Weeratunga, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, was accused of playing a key role in supplying the separatists with weapons, including assault rifles and other small arms during his tenure. The Ukrainian government had lodged a complaint with the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry in Colombo, reported the Sunday Times , with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera pledging “a full investigation into this matter”.

Land return in North-East must not compromise national security warns Hambantota MP

The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Namal Rajapaksa, drawing on his constituent's concerns about weakening national security, urged the new government to consider national security when returning lands in the North-East. Expressing concern over returning land in High Security Zones (HSZ) to their original owners, the son of the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, and UPFA MP, said, “Handing back private lands to their owners is important. But the question is whether the government intends on eliminating all high security zones in regions that were dominated by LTTE activates not too long ago.” Speaking on the feeling of the people in the Hambantota district, Namal added, “Positive steps are being taken toward strengthening national reconciliation, but the concern of the people I spoke to was that not enough is being done to also strengthen national security.” See our earlier articles:

BBS criticises legislation to prevent hate speech

Recent laws passed in Sir Lanka to combat hate speech would endanger the people’s right to freedom of expression, said the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). The chief executive officer of the BBS Dr Dilanthe Withange, said that the new laws were passed by the new government to gain political benefits, reports Ceylon Today . See our earlier articles: Buddhist groups slam government move to allow Sri Lankan anthem in Tamil (23 Mar 2015) New gov, old BBS (13 Feb 2015) Sri Lankan monks to launch party to protect Buddhist culture from ‘minority threat’ (20 Jan 2015)

Sri Lanka's president suggests talks with Tamil Nadu over fishermen issue

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sririsena said that the Northern Provincial Council should work with a government delegation to negotiate a solution with the Tamil Nadu government with regards to the fishermen issue. Speaking in a meeting with fishing industry representatives from the Northern Province and the Tamil National Alliance, Maithripala Sirisena, said that he would like to visit Tamil Nadu, to reach a solution to the fishermen issue. Sirisena further added that until a solution was released, the Sri Lanka navy would continue to arrest and detain Tamil Nadu fishermen that they considered to encroach Sri Lankan waters.

TNA MP hails Prabhakaran as leader, Modi as role model

“My leader is Velupillai Prabhakaran, but my political model is Modi,” said the Tamil National Alliance MP form the Jaffna district, speaking to the New Indian Express on Friday. Commenting on how the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Jaffna had inspired him, MP Sritharan said, “it’s his clear thinking , sense of mission and his rise from the very bottom of the social ladder to the very top.” Adding that India needed a stable Jaffna for its own security, Mr Sritharan said, “Given geopolitical realities, we cannot solve our problems without India’s help, and India needs us for its...

Ranil pledges welfare centre for former Tamil families in Kilinochchi

Sri Lanka's new prime minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe, pledged a new welfare centre would be set up for Tamil families, particularly women headed households, in the former LTTE administrative centre of Kilinochchi, reports Asian Mirror . "It is a well known fact that most suffered persons due to a war are women and children. In the north alone there are nearly 50,000 families that are headed by women. They are made destitute due to their inability to provide food, accommodation and educational needs to their children," the prime minister's office was quoted by the paper as saying in a statement on Sunday.

Sri Lankan government introduces guaranteed price for tea leaves

The new Sri Lankan government has decided to pay a guaranteed price for raw tea leaves, the cabinet spokesperson, Rajitha Senaratna, said on Friday. A price of Rs. 80 per kilogram produced by small scale tea estates will be introduced.

We have no faith in Sri Lankan govt's war crimes inquiry says TNA

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) stressed to the visiting UN Special Rapporteur for Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence, Pablo de Greiff that they had no faith in the Sri Lankan government's internal investigation into war crimes and human rights violations. A delegation of the TNA led by R Sampanthan and including MPs Suresh Premachandran, Selvam Adaikalanathan and M A Sumanthiran, met with Mr Greiff in Colombo on Thursday. “We do not have faith in the internal investigation due to be launched by the [Sri Lankan] government into war crimes and human rights abuses in Sri Lanka," the TNA delegation told Mr Grieff, reported the Jaffna based newspaper, Uthayan . “We are expecting the UN investigation report this coming September,” the TNA said, adding that "war criminals should be punished based on the UN report."

Sri Lanka Pakistan to sign shipping agreement

Sri Lanka and Pakistan will sign a mutual shipping agreement, when Sri Lanka’s new president makes his first visit to Pakistan this week. A proposal for the shipping agreement between the two countries was approved by Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers reports Colombo Page. Maithriapala Sirisena is due to visit Pakistan on April 5-7 next week. Sri Lankan president to visit Pakistan next week (03 Apr 2015)

Women in Jaffna protest against TNA for inaction over sexual attacks

Photographs Tamil Guardian Women in Jaffna protested on Saturday against the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leadership, accusing it of not taking any action over the ongoing sexual attacks against Tamil women in the Northern province. Over 25 women held placards and held a protest march beginning from Jaffna public library. “You have no capacity to help our livelihood; You have failed to protect our honour and dignity," one placard read.

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