British MPs from the 3 main parties gathered at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) annual dinner, organised by British Tamils Forum on Thursday, to celebrate the contribution of the Tamil community to the UK and reaffirm their commitment to seeking justice and normalcy for Tamils in Sri Lanka. Speakers at the event, which was attended by members of the British Tamil community, representatives from overseas Tamil diaspora organisations, British ministers, MPs, international journalists, human rights activists and local councillors, reaffirmed their resolve towards pressuring the new Sri Lankan government to co-operate with the United Nations inquiry into Sri Lankan atrocities and de-militarising the North-East. Representatives of Tamil community organisations from the UK and abroad were present, including the British Tamils Forum, Tamils for Labour, British Tamil Conservatives, Tamil Information Centre and the United States Political Action Group (USTPAC).
Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera says the GSP+ trade concessions, currently withdrawn from Sri Lanka, are likely to be reinstated. Speaking to the Sunday Times after his visit to Brussels, Mr Samaraweera said the EU had provided advice to the government on measures to be taken, before Sri Lanka's request to reinstate the concessions can be considered. The EU suspended the GSP+ tariff in 2010, due to the government's failure to adhere with the fundamental human rights conventions, as expected of all recipients of the concession.
The new Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has pledged to investigate "LTTE activities" over the past few years. Mr Wickremesinghe said the old government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, had links to the LTTE. “This is part of our probe on corruption. The former Government always accused us of having links with the LTTE but it was they who had links with the Tigers,” he said to media . The prime minister claimed that there was an attempt by the "LTTE" to prevent Tamils from voting at the presidential elections.
Experts from the European Union will visit Sri Lanka to assess measures taken by the government in its attempt to overturn an EU ban on imports of fishery products from the island. “The aim of the delegation will be to review the implementation of EU recommendations. The former Government failed to do it, but we are doing it promptly,” Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ajith Perera said according to the Sunday Times. The minister said he was "hopeful" that the ban will be lifted within months as the government was taking "immediate and effective" steps to implement recommendations made by the EU.
A senior Sri Lankan judge, K Sripavan, was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Sri Lanka on Friday, by the president, Maithripala Sirisena. Justice Sripavan, who is of Tamil ethnicity, replaces the former chief justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, whose impeachment during the former government's rule led to the appointment of Mohan Peiris. The appointment of senior judicial posts in Sri Lanka has faced criticism through the years, with critics arguing the appointments should be conducted by an independent commission, than by the president for political reasons.
The UK's Foreign Office minister, Hugo Swire, called on the new Sri Lankan government to "work together with the international community at the UN Human Rights Council, and will co-operate with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ investigation into alleged war crimes during the final stage of the Sri Lankan conflict", following a three day visit to the island, where he met with the new president, Maithripala Sirisena, and Tamil representatives and refugees in Jaffna. In a statement on the conclusion of his visit on Friday, Mr Swire reiterated that long-term peace on the island "will need to include the establishment of a long-term political settlement in the North, and credible processes for reconciliation and accountability to tackle the issues that remain following Sri Lanka’s long conflict."
Sri Lanka's new government introduced this week a special loan scheme for disabled Sri Lankan soldiers via state owned banks. The 'Viru Daru' scheme, which was presented to parliament on Thursday, has a budget of upto Rs. 500,000, the state news agency reported. The Sri Lankan military, which stands accused of carrying out mass atrocities against the Tamil people during the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009, as well as ongoing human rights violations of murder, rape, and torture of Tamils, consists almost entirely of Sinhala personnel.
The Sri Lankan military, under the directions of Major General Jagath Dias, recruited 34 Tamil youths from Mullaitivu as tradesmen this month, the military said. The training, which will be in Tamil and Sinhala, will last 16 weeks, following which the recruits will be placed to serve as mechanics, electricians, welders, plumbers and masons to the army. The military's hold on employment and economy in the Tamil areas has been heavily criticised. This week, the Northern Province's chief minister, C V Wigneswaran, said the militarisation of the Tamil areas was the most important issue facing the Tamil people.
British Prime Minister David Cameron reiterated his call for Sri Lanka’s new government to address matters of international concern and hold perpetrators of abuses of international law to account for their actions. Wishing the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils his best wishes at their annual dinner on Thursday evening, the British prime minister said that he has “long believed that establishing the truth is a crucial step to help families understand what happened to their loved ones, and help heal the scars of war.” Stating that he was “incredibly proud of the instrumental role [Britain] played in delivering the March 2014 UN Human Rights Council resolution that mandated” an international investigation into mass atrocities, Mr Cameron added that there was still more to be done in Sri Lanka. “The OISL investigation in itself is not reconciliation or accountability,” said Mr Cameron. “It is important that the report is considered by the new Sri Lankan Government as they seek to reconcile and hold perpetrators to account for their actions.”
The leader of the UK Labour Party Ed Miliband repeated his call for an independent international investigation into mass atrocities, stating it would be the first step towards satisfying Tamil grievances around the world. In a video message to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils annual dinner, Mr Milband called on Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to “fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation” being carried out by the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights. “I am very clear,” said the UK opposition leader. “Only a full and transparent independent international investigation into allegations of war crimes can be the first step towards satisfying and allaying the deep hurt and grievances of Tamils in Britain and around the world.”