Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has criticised the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) for their support of opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the upcoming presidential polls, labelling it a “conspiracy”. “This conspiracy which has international overtones is a threat to national security and our hard won peace and freedoms gained by defeating terrorism,” said General Secretary of the BBS, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera. “Non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations too are involved,” he added. Speaking on the JHU decision to align itself with the opposition candidate, Gnanasara added...
Sri Lanka's Higher Education Minister SB Dissanayake has advised girls to "maintain their beauty" while also focusing on their physical fitness and education, reported Colombo Gazette . The minister, speaking at an event at the Kandy Badurdeen Muslim College, said that girls may face issues before and after marriage if they failed to maintain their beauty. He said parents should ensure that daughters are brought up well by ensuring they are physically fit while maintaining their "outer beauty".
Common opposition candidate Maithiripala Sirisena and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) jointly declared that they would oppose any investigation into war crimes and mass atrocities on the island, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding this week. General Secretary of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Patali Champika Ranawaka told reporters in Colombo after signing the agreement, “We have agreed to oppose efforts to prosecute our military authorities, including the President as Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Defence Secretary, Service Commander and other senior military officials in international war crime tribunals.”
The United Kingdom has updated its foreign travel advice for British tourists travelling to Sri Lanka, warning of political violence ahead of next month's presidential elections. “Political rallies and election campaigns in Sri Lanka have occasionally turned violent,” said the advisory, adding, “Several meetings organised by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have also been disrupted in a violent manner recently.” Noting that Sri Lanka's military”maintain high security in many districts in the north and east,” the advisory recommended that visitors “carry a form of official photographic identification with you at all times.”
(Pictures: @ananthysasi) Flooding has hit low-lying and coastal areas on the Jaffna peninsula, after several days of torrential downpours. Several camps for internally displaced people, who were displaced by military high security zones and the tsunami, are affected by the floods and residents have been temporarily resettled in schools, churches and other public buildings. Hundreds of families from Kaarainnagar, Kalaiboomi, Sethengulam and Valithoondal, and IDP camps in Alavetti South, Konappulam, Sapabathipillai, Kankani have been moved to shelters in the regions, reported the Uthayan .
Hundreds of Tamils gathered in Melbourne and Sydney to mark Maaveerar Naal last week, a day of remembrance for the lives lost in the Tamil struggle. Held at the Springvale Town hall in Melbourne, lamps were lit and flowers laid at the portraits of Tamil cadres, as dances, poems and songs were performed in remembrance. Meanwhile, hundreds also gathered in Syndey to pay their respects to those who sacrificed their lives. See more photos from the events below.
The common opposition's candidate for the presidential elections next month Maithripala Sirisena says he will restore all military decorations and civic rights of former army commander Sarath Fonseka, who was arrested and stripped of his honours after he ran against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010. “I will restore all rights and military decorations of former army commander within hours of my election,” Sirisena said. The presidential candidate said Gen Fonseka, who is thought to hold command responsibility for mass atrocities committed in 2009, is "venerated" by the masses. "The Rajapaksas disparaged the general and attempted to paint a black picture of the war hero, but they could not hoodwink the masses and today General Fonseka is venerated by the members of the security forces and masses," he said .
President Mahinda Rajapaksa says he will remain president of Sri Lanka after next month's presidential elections, despite being challenged by someone from his own party. Rajapaksa, addressing a rally in Embilipitiya , said he does not need to sign multiple MoUs with his coalition partners, unlike his challenger Maithripala Sirisena. He said his government is united behind one cause and it is thus unnecessary to sign separate agreements with his constituent parties.
Tamil organisations from the homeland and diaspora gathered in the US last month to discuss the next stage of achieving accountability and justice for Tamils in Sri Lanka. The annual Illankai Tamil Sangam conference, spread over a weekend in New Jersey, consisted of panel discussions on issues pertaining to issues affecting Tamils in Sri Lanka. Possible ways forward after the release of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) investigation report into Sri Lanka, were discussed by all attendees. The event was attended by several Tamil organisations and individuals including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) , British Tamils Forum (BTF), Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), Federation of Tamil Sangams in North America (FeTNA), Global Tamil Forum (GTF), Illankai Tamil Sangam, National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT), Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and the US Tamil Political Action Committee (USTPAC) . A visiting professor at Temple University Philadelphia, A.R.M Imtiaz, who has written extensively about Muslims in Sri Lanka, led further talks on justice and recognition of Muslim sentiment by Tamils.
A Sri Lankan government MP has called on the public not to vote for “traitors” and to back incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the upcoming presidential election. “It is the public that have to decide whether to prolong the freedom that we are enjoying now or to get ensnared in the cruel grip of the LTTE,” said External Affairs Ministry Monitoring MP Sajin Vas Gunawardena. Hailing Rajapaksa, Gunawardena went on to add, “The Government created a safe and secure country for all to live freely without intimidation. Accordingly, the people in the North and East are resettled within a...