The Tamil Refugee Council (TRC) has condemned the Australian government for the removal of four Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka earlier this month, stating the situation remains dangerous for those who are deported despite the change in government on the island. “This is another shameful act by a callous Australian government,” said Tamil Refugee Council convenor Trevor Grant, after four Tamil asylum seekers were intercepted by Australian authorities at sea and deported. Commenting on the change of government in Sri Lanka earlier this year, Mr Grant added that Maithripala Sirisena taking office has led to “no perceptible change for these people”. “[Sirisena] has made a point of saying he will maintain the military occupation in the north and east and the draconian Prevention of Terorrism Act,” said Grant. “These are the main drivers of the terror that sends these people, who are mostly Tamil, fleeing from the island.”
The Sri Lankan army gave 15 houses in Vavuniya to Tamil people displaced from the Vanni in a ceremony on Wednesday, led by the commander of the army, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake.
Tamils in Amparai protested on Wednesday demanding that the Tamil paramilitary leader, K Pushpakumar (alias. Iniya Bharathi) should face justice for crimes committed during his time as Amparai's UPFA district coordinator, when hundreds of Tamil youths were reported missing. "Iniya Bharathi, where are our children abducted by you?," read placards held mothers, who also held photographs of their missing children. Calling for an investigation into the arrests and abductions made by Iniya Bharathi during his time as coordinator, protesters also demanded that the bodies and the remains of missing people to be excavated from his premises and sent for investigation.
Sri Lanka Campaign stressed on Wednesday that the delay in publishing the findings of the UN inquiry into mass atrocities against the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, must not become a denial of justice. On Monday the UN Human Rights Council decided to deferred the publishing of the report by the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka by six months to September, citing promises made by the new government of "broad cooperation" with the OISL and thus the hope of further information. "The news will doubtless come as a disappointment to the survivors of Sri Lanka’s civil war, who have waited patiently for justice for over six years, with little other cause for hope," Sri Lanka Campaign said.
Sri Lanka's Missing Persons Commission, set up by the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa in response to international calls to investigate the allegations of mass atrocities at the end of the armed conflict is start a new round of sittings in Trincomalee at the end of the month, the president's media unit said on Thursday. The commission is to begin its hearings on February 28, and will continue until March 3. "The Commission says it has held regular meetings with the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has obtained their views and experiences gained in other parts of the world particularly on matters relating to missing persons at the end of a conflict," the state news website said.
Sri Lanka's police arrested 35 suspected Tamil asylum seekers off the coast near Weligama, in the south of the country, Xinhua reported. The Tamils, aged between 30 and 40, are all resident in the Northern Province towns of Jaffna, Mankulam, Chavakacheri, Olumadu, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Oddusuddan and Mallavi. According to Xinhua, the arrests on Wednesday were the first of Tamils attempting to flee the country since the new government of Maithripala Sirisena came into power in January. Police said the Tamils were preparing to sail to another country when they were spotted by the navy.
The US said it welcomes the nuclear agreement signed between India and Sri Lanka during President Maithripala Sirisena's visit to Delhi earlier this week. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told a press briefing on Tuesday the US was aware of the announcement and welcomed regional cooperation. "We welcome regional cooperation on nuclear energy that is consistent with IAEA safeguards and other international standards and practices," she said. The deal will see India assist Sri Lanka to build its nuclear energy infrastructure, the Indian foreign ministry said on Monday.
The TNA's MA Sumanthiran called for a strong report on the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), on its delayed release in September. Speaking to media on Tuesday, the MP said the deferral of the report caused disappointment to the victims, but that UN officials had expressed their confidence that the delayed report will be stronger than if it was released in March. Mr Sumanthiran said it was important the report is "solid and strong and should liberate our people from their worries".
The Chinese government welcomed the growing partnership between India and Sri Lanka and expressed hope that it can develop its own relationships with both countries. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media on Tuesday , both Sri Lanka and India are "important and friendly neighbours of China," and good relationships between the three countries will benefit regional stability. "We hope to work with India to further develop the strategic cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity. We also look forward to fostering the strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and long-lasting friendship with the Sri Lankan side," she said.
The Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council will not be attending an event due to be held in Jaffna, because of the 'insidious political undertones' of the meeting The event, entitled 'The Change – Jaffna Youth Conference', was scheduled to be held on 22 February at Jaffna Hindu College's Kumarasamy Hall. In a letter sent to the organisers, CV Wigneswaran stated, “Unless the Central Government and Provincial Government Ministers or proper officials discuss initially about the purpose of the meeting and its use to the general public in the Northern Province and jointly come to a conclusion and decide to have a meeting of this sort, it is inappropriate for you to expect me or my ministers to attend such a meeting.” See his full letter, published on Uthayan , below.