The mayors of the cities of Toronto and Brampton in Canada praised the Tamil Canadian community, wishing them a warm and happy Thai Pongal this week. "Thai Pongal vaazhthukkal! As you gather with your families to celebrate this traditional festival at the end of the harvest festival it is a great time to appreciate and be thankful for the many blessings we enjoy," said the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory in a special video message. "Diversity is one of those blessings. It is one of the reasons why Toronto is such a dynamic city, and a big of that is our Tamil community, with strong values of family and hard work. Thank you for the many ways you make Toronto a better city."
Pope Francis with President Sirisena and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera Justice for crimes committed during the island's ethnic conflict is crucial for promoting peace, said Pope Francis after arriving in Sri Lanka for his week long visit on Tuesday. "Sri Lanka for many years knew the horrors of civil strife, and is now seeking to consolidate peace and to heal the scars of those years. It is no easy task to overcome the bitter legacy of injustices, hostility and mistrust left by the conflict. It can only be done by overcoming evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21) and by cultivating those virtues which foster reconciliation, solidarity and peace," he said.
The Indian government said it looked forward to good relations with the new president Maithripala Sirisena, and hope that the new government would consider the views of all sections of Sri Lanka's population. "We look forward to a relation which is cordial, warm and friendly and hope for peace and stability in Sri Lanka, and hope the new government will take into account the views of all sections of the Sri Lankan population to live a life of dignity and peace,” the India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told journalists in a press briefing.
Sri Lanka's newly led government must commit itself to respecting human rights and ending discrimination, said Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific Director in an interview to the Sunday Leader this week. Speaking to the Sunday Leader David Griffiths said there was “no doubt discrimination and violence against religious minorities is a serious and growing problem in Sri Lanka.” “Political leaders have exploited or manufactured religious tensions, and Buddhist hardline nationalist organisations have led or incited protests and attacks against religious minorities, including their places of worship and businesses, which typically go uninvestigated and unpunished,” continued Griffiths. “Hundreds of incidents of threats, harassment and violence against Muslims, Christians and their places of worship have been documented since the violence escalated in 2013 – although of course it was not new. The new administration must commit to ending discrimination, denounce any attacks, and crucially ensure that perpetrators are punished to end the pattern of violence”.
A 21 year old Tamil man has been admitted to Valaichchenai hospital after being abducted and attacked in Pesalai last week. Jeyakanthan Jeyaratnam from Maruthanagar, Kalkuda was at Pesalai fish market when a group of 7 people abducted him. He was later admitted to hospital due to his injuries. According to Eastern province based website Battinews.com the attack was believed to be a revenge attack that was politically motivated. News of the attack comes as the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), a paramilitary group aligned to the previous government, claimed that several of its members...
The Sri Lankan government appointed a new Governor for the predominantly Tamil Northern Province on Monday, replacing former military general, G.A Chandrasiri. The newly appointed governor, H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, was a permanent Sri Lankan ambassador to the UN, during the final stages of the war against Tamil militants, where over 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed amidst Sri Lankan army operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Northern Provincial governor, which is the only unelected position within the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), has the power to overrule...
The conclusion of Sri Lanka's presidential and appointment of Maithripala Sirisena as president of the country is not yet a cause for celebration, said journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, stating that the real challenges for Sri Lanka are only just beginning. Writing in Foreign Policy , the award winning journalist said that whilst Sirisena has pledged to implement constitutional reforms, this will do little to assuage Tamil and Muslim concerns. Tissainayagam says, “Neither presidential nor parliamentary forms of government — invariably dominated by the Sinhalese, who make up roughly 74 percent of the country’s 21 million people — is satisfactory to the Tamils and Muslims. Instead, they demand greater autonomy in the north and the east. But Sirisena’s election manifesto is completely silent on the matter.”
The Tamil issue must be resolved to see peace in Sri Lanka said, the Oscar and Grammy award nominated rapper, M.I.A, speaking to Channel 4 on the newly elected Sri Lankan president. Noting that issues important to the Tamils had not been considered in the new Sri Lankan president's 100 day plan to reform the country, M.I.A said, "When you take Rajapaksa out, you have to take his methods out. You have to demilitarise the North-East, stop intimidating Tamils, and give back their land. Already there should be elements in this 100 day plan which address the Tamil issue....You definitely have to solve the ethnic conflict before addressing economic reform."
The shock defeat of incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections has given rise, both internationally and in the island, to cautious optimism of a new era of governance that would break from the violent authoritarianism and cronyism of the past decade. Building his campaign around a pledge to end corruption, uphold the rule of law, ensure press freedom and abolish the executive presidency, the unlikely victor, Maithiripala Sirisena, successfully drew the support of a disparate array of opposition parties, including the United National Party (UNP), General Sarath Fonseka's party, the JVP and the JHU, as well as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC). Ongoing cross-overs from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have now given him the necessary parliamentary majority to make good on his pledges.
The newly elected president, Maithripala Sirisena, formally assumed his duties on Monday at the Presidential Secretariat.