China has agreed to assist Sri Lanka evacuate its citizens from Yemen, the Daily Mirror quoted the Chinese embassy in Colombo as saying on Thursday. According to the paper, the offer of assistance was in response to a request from the Sri Lankan government. The Indian government has also responded favourably to Sri Lanka's request for assistance.
Just met w/ #SriLanka FM @MangalaLK ; Agreed that success depends on accountability & reconciliation pic.twitter.com/k0lsvVvxIL — Tom Malinowski (@Malinowski) April 2, 2015 The United States Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor met with Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister today, emphasising the importance of accountability and reconciliation. Tom Malinowski met with Sri Lanka's Mangala Samaraweera in Colombo where the issue of accountability was discussed. Mr Malinowski also addressed a forum on 'Women's Role in Post-War Reconciliation', telling the audience, “thanks to your dedication, Sri Lanka has a chance now to achieve reconciliation, justice and true peace.”
Sri Lanka's justice minister, Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa this week dismissed reports of the mass detention of Tamil political prisoners, stating that only 210 persons were detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The Island newspaper, quoted Mr Rajapaksa as saying 134 people had been remanded, and 25 held under the PTA. Nine have been released on bail.
All Photographs:Naangal A local civil society group called ‘Naangal,' which operates in the North-East of Sri Lanka, over past weeks has carried out a series of welfare activities across North-Eastern districts. On the 28th of February, activists in Jaffna handed out school stationary and shoes to students from families that were detrimentallly affected by the ethnic conflict.
The government lacks political will in pursuing truth and justice and has done virtually nothing to consult victims in the design of an internal mechanism to establish these, the Tamil Civil Society Forum said today. In a memo to the visiting Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non‐Recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, the TCSF said the current regime’s characterisation of final phase of the armed conflict as a humanitarian operation, does not bode well with the government’s promise to conduct a credible inquiry. “The UN Human Rights Commissioner in his address to the Council on the 5th of March 2015 insisted that GoSL should consult the victims in designing this internal mechanism. To date no such process has been initiated,” the memo said. “We submit that it is more than clear from the above that the current Government has done very little or nothing to consult the victims in the design of its internal mechanism. The entirety of the process is being designed in secrecy. From what has been made public GoSL is attempting to show progress by rehashing the previous regime’s strategy of talking to the South Africans and using the services of a person whose credibility and standing are highly suspect.”
The Chinese ambassador to India, Le Yucheng said China is planning to open a consulate in Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai soon, The New Indian Express reported. Speaking to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Paneerselvam on Monday, Mr Yucheng said Beijing was keen on strengthening relations between state-leaders in India and provincial leaders in China and invited the chief minister to visit his country. Mr Paneerselvam highlighted the key projects China was engaged with in his state, including the supply of laptops to students and utensils to families. Mr Yucheng noted that China is also collaborating in developing a high-speed rail link between Delhi and Chennai and that a Chinese company is engaged in the construction of the Chennai Metro Rail project.
Sri Lanka's new army commander, Lieutenant General Crishantha De Silva, reiterated that no troops or military camps would be withdrawn from the Tamil area in the North. According to Colombo Page , in an interview with a Sinhala language newspaper this week, Lieutenant General Silva "stressed that safeguarding territorial sovereignty was of paramount importance and assured to take all measures to prevent the resurgence of militancy in the North." "We will do our best to prevent any threats being posed to our national security and challenge our territorial integrity. The Army is maintained by public funds and is duty-bound to protect the people and the country," Lieutenant General Silva was quoted as saying. Colombo Page further quoted him as saying: "no military camps have been withdrawn to release land to the original owners in the North and East [and] neither troops nor camps will be withdrawn from the North."
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s Office said that clashes between university students and police officers in Colombo was “regrettable,” in a statement released a day after the event. Sri Lanka’s police on Wednesday launched a probe into the clashes which left several protestors injured and hospitalised after tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse crowds on Tuesday. Seven police officers and ten students were admitted to hospital.
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)