The Chinese government defended the practise of extending loans to Sri Lanka on Monday, stating that they were granted at the request of the Sri Lankan government. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also said the docking of Chinese submarines in Colombo was “normal and transparent”, noting that Sri Lanka “welcomes the docking of submarines from the friendly countries”. The statement comes after Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera concluded a visit to Beijing, where he reportedly raised “concerns” regarding Chinese loans. “The people of Sri Lanka raised many questions, about the interest rates especially, and in certain cases about the manner in which these loans were raised,” said Mr Samaraweera. Ms Hua however defended the loan arrangements, telling reporters that "the loans are extended at the request of Sri Lanka and based on consensus through consultations." "The loan arrangements are for the whole nation and people and have played a positive role in the economic and social development of Sri Lanka," added Ms Hua.
A passenger who, in protest of what was happening, disembarked from a flight set to deport a Tamil asylum seeker from Australia, has been banned from the airline. A 25 year old Tamil asylum seeker, known as Puvaneethan, was being flown from Melbourne to Darwin to be deported to Sri Lanka after the Refugee Review Tribunal rejected his asylum case. Paul Leary, who works for a social justice organisation, said he and his colleague had no links to asylum seeker groups, and left the flight after finding out about the situation from asylum seeker advocates a handing out information about the man on...
All photographs Tamil Guardian Mothers stormed the Jaffna district's office for the secretariat of the governor this morning, demanding the Sri Lankan government takes action over the ongoing detention and disappearance of their children.
A forty-five year old restaurant owner was shot dead last night in Vavuniya. The man, identified as Vadivelu, was shot in Maharambaikkulam by unidentified gunmen as he left his restaurant, situated in Vairavapuliyankulam, at around 10:30pm local time, the Uthayan reported. "He did not return to home all night, we were waiting expecting him, but he did not come. Only in the morning we informed that he was shot dead, we are not even sure why he was in Maharambaikkulam," Mr Vadivelu's relatives said. Mr Vadivelu previously contested the 2000 parliamentary elections with the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO).
Further effigies of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, M A Sumanthiran were seen across Jaffna, the local newspaper, Uthayan reported on Wednesday. Last month, protesters burnt an effigy of Mr Sumanthiran at a protest, accusing him of having colluded with Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera to defer the publication of the findings of a UN inquiry investigating mass atrocities against the Tamil people.
A 16 year old girl died after being gang raped by at least 10 men in Vavuniya, reports the Uthayan . Members of the Northern Provincial Council and the Tamil National Alliance visited the home of the teenager to pass on their condolences to her family. The teenage girl was from the village of Kanakarayankulam, in the northern district of Vavuniya.
Sri Lanka will abolish the executive presidency only if unconditional support is extended by all parties, cabinet spokesperson and health minister, Rajitha Senaratne said. Speaking to The Island , the minister said the government would submit its constitutional reform draft to parliament and intends to abolish the executive presidency by April. Mr Senaratne said Sri Lanka was committed to the 100-day agenda but that it should not be forgotten that far-reaching constitutional changes cannot be made without the unconditional support of the opposition.
Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena said some countries are attempting to "rule" the country, through attempts at signing various economic deals, Colombo Gazette reports. Mr Sirisena noted that Sri Lanka has always played it safe since it gained independence in 1948 and will not allow itself to be ruled by a foreign country again, adding the country should be mindful of such attempts. The president said major countries now take control of smaller ones through bilateral agreements, including development assistance, defence deals and trade and economic agreements. “They use new...
Photographs: Tamil Guardian Protestors gathered for a fourth consecutive day in Trincomalee, rejecting the presidential commission probing disappearances. The commission is currently sitting in the town on the eastern coast of the island, but has had very few people participate after the Tamil Civil Society Forum, who organised the protest, and the Welfare Organisation for the Forcibly Disappeared Persons said they would boycott the commission.
The chief minister of the northern province, C V Wigneswaran told the Sri Lankan president that whilst there was a need for adequate devolution across the island, the problems facing the North-East were different to the rest of the island, and required an urgent needs based assessment. "It must be remembered that we are different in the North and East. We are a war affected region. Our problems are different, serious and needs adequate handling. I have yesterday impressed upon the Resident Co-ordinator of the UN in the presence of the Under Secretary General Mr Feltman that a needs’ based multi lateral assessment is a crying necessity for us to properly address our special problems," Mr Wigneswaran told the Sri Lankan president, who was chairing a provincial coordinating meeting at the District Secretariat Auditorium in Jaffna on Tuesday.