Photograph Tamil Guardian The UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non‐Recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, met with the Northern Province's chief minister, C V Wigneswaran on Wednesday and held private discussions on the current situation in the region. Mr Greiff, who is currently on a six day visit of the island, met with Mr Wigneswaran in Jaffna. Photograph Tamil Guardian
Sri Lanka's Ministry of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs said 22,000 children have been born into families in Indian refugee camps, from those who have fled North-East Sri Lanka. The Sunday Leader reported Sri Lanka's Additional Secretary of the Ministry, Mohamed Naimudeen, as saying the 22,000 children were born to approximately 100,000 families. The refugees were from Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee and Mullaitivu said Mr Naimudeen. See also: Tamil refugees should stay in India - JHU (27 Feb 2015)
The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Chairman of the United Nations Development Group Asia-Pacific, Haoliang Xu, will be visiting Sri Lanka next week, according to a statement from his office. In what will be Mr Xu's second visit to the island, he is expected to meet with government officials, development partners and civil society groups. The UN said in a statement that Mr Xu “will also undertake a visit to North Central and Northern provinces, where he will meet with Government officials, representatives from Community Based Organizations and beneficiaries and gain a first-...
Photograph Tamil Guardian German's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dr Jürgen Morhard, met with the bishop of Jaffna this week, and held discussions about the ongoing concerns of the Tamil people. Speaking to reporters about the meeting, the Bishop said that Dr Morhard had discussed a variety of issues. "The ambassador asked whether the visit by the prime minster to the North happened in a way that led to distrust?", the bishop told reporters, stating that he had replied: “The visit by prime minister to North may have pleased the people. However, the lack of interest shown by the prime minister to meet with the Chief Minister of North would not have pleased the people."
Recently promoted Sri Lankan Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said he was ready to face “any inquiry” over allegations of mass atrocities which took place during the final months of the island's armed conflict, where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were reportedly killed. “My conscience is clear,” said Mr Fonseka, who was commander of the Sri Lankan army during the final stages of the armed conflict. Speaking in an interview to the Sunday Leader , he went on to say, “I commanded the troops and they were much disciplined. I insisted and was very particular about that... We follow the rules like the Geneva Convention on human rights for example.” “But if there is an inquiry with evidence they can have an inquiry so then we can clear our names. Personally I am ready for any inquiry any where in the world.”
Three members of Sri Lanka’s navy have been arrested over the killing of TNA MP Nadarajah Raviraj who was killed in Colombo, near the headquarters of the military police, in November 2006. Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara said the arrested were being interrogated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). “The three soldiers including two officers will also be interrogated over the incidents of disappearance of several youth reported in 2006,” he said . The government was accused of being behind the attacks by the TNA, diaspora organisations and the UNP. The US led international criticism of the government and urged it to conduct an investigation. Then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered an inquiry and two suspects, Nalaka Mathagaweera and Aruna Shantha Ediriweera, were arrested in 2007 . Mr Rajapaksa requested assistance from Britain’s Scotland Yard, who sent a team to work with the Criminal Investigation Department, who looked at evidence. Nothing came of the inquiry.
The leader of the Tamil National Alliance, Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, expressed confidence that the Special Presidential Commission, headed by former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, can find a suitable solution to issues concerning Tamil by the end of this year, Ceylon Today reported. "We have clarified to the former President all matters relating to the problems faced by the people of the North and East and urged that such issues be immediately addressed meaningfully. When Kumaratunga became the President in 1994, she was very keen about settling the grievances of the Tamil people and she also mooted a suitable political solution to those issues. We were however, unable to see anything come out of it" he said. "President Sirisena won the elections. Everyone should benefit from the change that the Presidential election has ushered in. We believe that President Sirisena will respect the legitimate demands of the Tamil people. We should be clearly focused on winning those demands," he added.
The Sri Lankan military still holds Tamils in secret camps, where they are still being tortured, JDS reported on Tuesday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently denied TNA spokesperson Suresh Premachandran’s assertion that the government still operated such camps. "After we took over the government, there are no secret camps. I cannot speak for the time before that," Mr Wickremesinghe said in Jaffna on Friday. However, relatives of four people who were abducted have said there are secret camps in the Vanni, including in Keppapilavu and Mullaitivu. The relatives have contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and sought its help to get those abducted released.
Photos: Security Forces Headquarters - Mullaithivu A new school building constructed at the Roman Catholic College in Puthukkudiyiruppu was opened by suspected war criminal Major General Jagath Dias earlier this month. Mr Dias, who is the commander of the Mullaithivu headquarters of the Sri Lankan army, was leading an army division during the armed conflict and is thought to be responsible for mass atrocities committed during the final phase.
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party filed a petition at Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court rejecting the proposed 19th Amendment to the constitution, which looks to devolve executive presidential powers to Sri Lankan parliament. Arguing that Maithripala had stated that no constitutional change or amendment could be made without a referendum, the JHU National organiser, Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe, said, “The latest amendment has proposed to make the Prime Minister the Head of the Government without a referendum. The people elected President Maithripala Sirisena with a mandate to curb arbitrary powers of the Presidency and not to make the Prime Minister the Head of Government, which would call for a referendum.”