Schoolchildren from the Erlalai Sri Murugan Vidyalayam in Jaffna were rushed to hospital after consuming water from their school tank that was reportedly contaminated. A total of 27 students were hospitalised at the Thellipalai Base Hospital in Jaffna, before 26 of them were transferred to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for further treatment. "The school well has been kept closed due to suspicion of oil contamination,” said a teacher from the school. “Therefore, the students consumed water from the water tank kept there by the Pradesha Sabha.” “This morning after the morning athletic exercises and prayers, the students have as usual drunk the water,” continued the teacher. “It was only at about 9am that we realized the water had been poisoned.”
Photographs: Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka A Tamil asylum seeker who suffered from torture at the hands of the Sri Lankan government has won a last minute reprieve from deportation to the island, after his lawyers successfully passed an emergency injunction against his removal. Kannan Kalimuththu, a 36 year old former Tamil Eelam policeman from Puthukudiyirippu escaped to the UK in 2014, after suffering from extensive torture and sexual violence by Sri Lankan security forces. Mr Kalimuththu had witnessed the final days of the armed conflict, where he saw the shelling of unarmed Tamils by the Sri Lankan military – making him a key witness to the mass atrocities that took place, says Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka said on Wednesday that it would review the proscription of 16 Tamil diaspora groups and over 400 individuals by the previous government last year, shortly after the UN Human Rights Council mandated a resolution calling for an international investigation. “The previous government used the UN Regulation No. 1 of 2012 under UN Security Council resolution 1373 to list 424 individuals and 16 entities under Extraordinary Gazette 1854/41 of 21 March 2014 in the run up to the Presidential election. This was done to build up the hysteria about the LTTE regrouping,” the foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera told Sri Lanka’s parliament. “They banned several Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora groups under these provisions for their alleged links to the LTTE. However, most of the organisations listed may have merely been vocal proponents of Tamil rights. There was hardly any tangible evidence to link them to the LTTE. Some of the individuals listed had even been dead for some time.” “Reviewing this list of individuals and entities is an important exercise at this juncture when the Government of President Maithripala Sirisena is seriously committed to expedite the reconciliation process. In doing so, the Sri Lankan diaspora whether it be Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, has am extremely important role to play not only in taking the reconciliation process forward but they have an important role to play in taking Sri Lanka forward as a nation.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussain, will visit Sri Lanka in June, according to Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the minister said Mr Hussain's visit was in line with the UN's focus on Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror reported. “Failure to carry out a domestic investigation will lead to an international investigation which might in turn lead to foreign intervention,” the minister said. “One must not treat the upholding of human rights as a western value. It should be treated as a universal value,” he added.
A high-level delegation fro the European Union is due to arrive in Sri Lanka next week to discuss the suspension of GSP+ trade concessions, withdrawn due to Sri Lanka's human rights record. Industry and Commerce Minister Rishard Bathiudeen quoted EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka David Daly as confirming the EU Trade Working Group's visit on March 23, according to Xinhua . "Recovery of GSP Plus would be a great step forward for our competitive apparel sector and its global image. As a result of losing GSP Plus, we have lost considerable apparel revenues in the last few years," the minister said.
Sri Lanka’s Deputy External Affairs Minister Ajith Perera has dismissed the award winning documentary ‘No Fire Zone’, which details massacres committed during the final days of the armed conflict on the island, stating that it will not seriously affect the country. The Sunday Leader spoke to Mr Perera who said the documentary director had “a hidden agenda”, dismissing the launch of the Sinhala version of the film earlier this month. “They will not get any positive or any additional publicity by showing this,” said Mr Perera adding that the video had no credence.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka had underlined calls for “equality, justice, peace and dignity” for Tamils on the island. “The visit expressed India’s strong support for democracy and reform in Sri Lanka,” said Ms Swaraj. “Prime Minister noted in his address to the Parliament that recent elections reflected the collective voice of the nation – the hope for change, reconciliation and unity.” Addressing the Lok Sabha, Ms Swaraj further added “India stands with Sri Lanka in its efforts to build a future that accommodates the aspirations of all sections of society, including the Sri Lankan Tamil community, for a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity in a united Sri Lanka.” “Prime Minister also declared that we believe that the early and full implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond it would contribute to this process,” she continued.
A panel discussion by Tamil politicians and rights activists took place in Geneva today, on the 'Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka and the international community's responsibility to protect'. Watch the video here:
The Sri Lankan government is attempting to block the release of a section of land in Jaffna, that was to be released back to civilians, said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs, as they met with displaced Tamils in the Northern province. Mavai Senathiraja and E. Saravanabhavan, both parliamentarians with the TNA, met with displaced Tamils in Mayiliddi, Jaffna, where the discussed the issue of resettlement in with the villagers, reports the Uthayan . The parliamentarians informed the villagers that former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has been undertaking activities related to resettlement, and pledged to raise the issue with her. The government has been making efforts to block any release of land from Palali and Mayiliddi, added the TNA members.
Switzerland called on Tuesday for Sri Lanka's new government to ensure "open and broad dialogue with all parties involved in 25 years of civil war", stating that this was key to rebuilding confidence. The statement by the Swiss foreign ministry followed a visit by the minister Didier Burkhalter on Tuesday to Sri Lanka, where he met with President Sirisena and his counterpart, Mangala Samaraweera, and held discussions regarding the possibility of increasing bilateral trade ties between the two countries.