Sri Lanka will push for a free trade agreement with the Untied States and China to further economic benefits the Deputy Economic Development Minister, Harsha De Silva told press. Speaking at a forum of exporters in Colombo, De Silva said, “The US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is something we need to aggressively push. We have already started talking to some people on it.” De Silva added that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy should be tied to trade, “Foreign policy and trade policy cannot be in two separate silos. We cannot say the Europeans and Americans are conspiring to throw the government over...
The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) and Welfare Organisation for the Forcibly Disappeared Persons, announced that they would be boycotting Sri Lanka’s presidential Commission on Missing Persons, stating that a “credible inquiry” can “only be achieved through international means.” Questioning the credibility of previous sittings at the Presidential Commission, the statement , released on Thursday, said, “no results whatsoever have been forthcoming from such inquiries. Recent reports suggest that one of the international experts so appointed was also hired by the then Sri Lankan Government to advise them on how to handle international community pressure on human rights issues, clearly pointing to a conflict of interest in his appointment as an expert.”
The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday defended its decision to defer the release of the report on the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka as a "very rational" decision taken in a "relatively unique" case, reported Outlook India . Speaking ahead of the 28th session next week, UNHRC president Joachim Rucker pointed out that both the stepping down of the Chairperson of the Commission of Enquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, William Schabas, and deferral of the OISL report by 6 months were "relatively unique cases" and warned against drawing conclusions of a general nature about them.
Sri Lanka's new president, Maithripala Sirisena will travel to the UK on March 7 on an official visit, Minister of Justice Wijayadasa Rajapakshe told the BBC Sinhala service. President Sirisena, who was acting defence minister during the bloody final stages of the war in 2009, will have lunch with Queen Elizabeth on March 11, said Mr Rajapakshe. The justice minister further said Sri Lanka had not yet decided whether it would start a new domestic probe into mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict. "We will do an internal inquiry if it is necessary. As a step towards this, the...
The body of a young Tamil man was found on Thursday in Eerakulam, Batticaloa, reported Battinews . Nallathambi Vijikaran, 20, who hails from Siththandi, was reported missing by his family three days ago. Mr Vijikaran, whose brother Nallathambi Nithiyananthan is a journalist, was staying at his family's house in Eerakulam when he went missing. His parents identified the body, which was found at Idakkaali riverside in the town. As police failed to arrive in time to inspect the crime scene, the body had to be left at the riverside overnight and will only be removed on Friday.
The New York based rights group, Human Rights Watch, urged Sri Lanka's new president to "advance a reform agenda to address past and ongoing human rights problems in the country" and stressed the need for accountability for violations of international law during the armed conflict in a letter sent to the president on Thursday. Stating that the government had undertaken important new initiatives, HRW said in a statement accompanying the letter, "however many important human rights concerns still need to be addressed". "Among them are the use of torture by police, the protection of minority communities, the independence of government oversight committees, and the repealing of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Holding accountable those responsible on both sides for violations of international law during Sri Lanka’s long civil war is crucial for the country’s future," the rights group added in a statement on Thursday.
The JVP this week said it would oppose any move towards a national government ahead of Sri Lanka's parliamentary election, stating that such a move was an attempt to deprive the electorate of the right to vote. On Sunday, the president's media office announced that the opposition party, SLFP had agreed to form a national government. "If there is a real need for a national government that may be formed after the next general election. We won’t be party to any such move. We also oppose any move to deprive the people of their right to elect a new government at a general election," JVP leader,...
Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera left for China on Thursday, for a two day visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries. Mr Samaraweera is expected to meet with his counterpart in China. The visit comes ahead of the Sri Lankan president's expected visit next month. "The expectation of this visit is to strengthen relations," the deputy minister for Policy planning and Economic Affairs, Harsha de Silva was quoted by Colombo Page as saying.
The head of the Bodu Bala Sena, a Buddhist group led by monks, says he is considering entering politics and contesting the general elections in summer. Speaking to Colombo Gazette , BBS General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara said he had been requested several times to enter politics. In January the Buddhist organisation announced it would form a party to “protect Buddhism form minority threats”.
The UN’s Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman will visit Sri Lanka on Saturday, his first visit to the island. Mr Feltman will meet with senior officials of the government, political parties and civil society groups. The spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Stéphane Dujarric, said the under-secretary “looks forward to discussing with Sri Lankan leaders various issues of mutual concern.” The diplomat, who is an American national, is currently in his way to Myanmar, where he will take part in an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-UN workshop focusing...