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Sri Lanka president rejects war crimes allegations and international accountability component

Jan 29, 2016

In a Talk to AL Jazeera interview, the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Siresena rejected UN allegations of war crimes and whilst reiterating that there would be no international involvement in any accountability process.

Rejecting the allegations made by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, he said,

“I must say very clearly there is no allegations regarding 'war crimes', there were war crimes allegations during the early stages. But at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, mainly in the proposals presented in September, there were no 'war crimes' allegations against us. They contained allegations of human rights violations only. When you consider the facts surrounding the allegations of human rights violations, we are committed as a member of the United Nations, to implementing the main points and proposal.”

UN Sec-Gen calls on Sri Lanka to stand by UNHRC commitments

Jan 29, 2016

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon expressed hope that Sri Lanka would stand by its commitments to the United Nations Human Rights Council in a press conference this week.

Responding to questions on Sri Lanka’s rejections of foreign judges in an accountability mechanisms, the UN Secretary General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, said,

British Royal Navy ship visits Sri Lanka for first time in 4 years

Jan 29, 2016

The British war ship, HMS Defender will temporarily dock in Colombo before heading on through the Indian Ocean.

This is the first visit in four years that a Royal Navy Warship has visited Sri Lanka, reports Colombo Page.

Welcoming the visit, Sri Lanka’s high commission said, “The Ship’s visit now is a welcome signal of the closer defense relations the two countries are developing.”

The British ship’s occupants will meet counterparts from the Sri Lankan Navy and participate in sports events.

‘We will never accept an international war crimes tribunal’ – Sri Lankan prime minister

Jan 28, 2016

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament that his government “will never accept an international war crimes tribunal” in a lengthy statement delivered on Thursday.

The prime minister accused the island’s media of engaging “in witch hunting” and called upon “the newspapers to clean up the mess in their institutions”.

Mr Wickremesinghe went on to state:

"We will never accept an international war crimes tribunal. I never approved the Rome Statute. Sovereignty lies with the people according to our Constitution. Our Supreme Court is one of the oldest in the world.

Our Constitution has specified how the members of the Supreme Court are appointed. Judges have to be Sri Lankans. We cannot go against that provision. Those who come to the Court under the provisions of the Constitution should accept the ruling of the court. If foreigners come to appear for some others they should first obtain the permission from the Supreme Court. If the court permits them we cannot do anything about it. Giving them permission is not our task."

He went on to add that his government “will never betray the forces”.

‘Zero progress’ on tens of thousands of disappearences in Sri Lanka

Jan 28, 2016

There has been “zero progress” on the cases of tens of thousands of disappeared people in Sri Lanka, said human rights activist Ruki Fernando, days after Sri Lanka’s prime minister stated all the missing were probably dead.

Stating that the prime minister’s comments had caused anguish amongst relatives of the missing, Mr Fernando said, “[It] brings out the question: ‘what is the purpose of the proposed office of missing persons if the prime minister already knows what happened to them?”.

Writing in The Guardian, Amantha Perera spoke to the wife of disappeared Sinhalese journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda as she continued to search for her missing husband. “I will go anywhere, any time to get information on Prageeth,” said Sandhya Eknaligoda.

She spoke on how she was threatened last week by a Buddhist monk who heads Bodu Bala Sena, who said she had tarnished the name of Sri Lanka’s armed forces with reports that her husband was investigating the use of chemical weapons by the army in the North-East during the armed conflict, prior to his abduction in 2010.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence refuses to release occupied land

Jan 28, 2016

Sri Lanka’s Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Karunasena Hettiarachchi, refused to released land claimed by Tamil villagers, stating that it was needed to build a navy camp for “national security”.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Mr Hettiarachchi said that the land which is currently being occupied by the Sri Lankan navy belongs to the government.

“Before we come to a final decision on this issue we need to consider the fact that the country needs a Navy camp for national security and the people who claim have no appropriate documents,” he said.

When questioned on claims from Tamil villagers that the land belongs to them and should be released, he responded by saying “all what they say is incorrect”.

Sri Lankan military watches over Hindu ceremony at temple inside HSZ

Jan 28, 2016

The Sri Lankan military oversaw the running of a religious ceremony at a temple located inside a High Security Zone this week, reports a military website.

Devotees from the Palali Rajarajeswary Amman, Gnana Vairavar, Myliddy Kannagi Amman and Murugan Temples had to seek military permission in order to hold ceremonies at their places of worship, which continue to be inside the army cantonment, accessible only to the armed forces.

TNA discusses federalism at constitutional workshop in Scotland

Jan 28, 2016

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance R Sampanthan and Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran joined a constitutional workshop in Scotland, to discuss possible solutions for Sri Lanka.

The workshop which began on Friday, was hosted by academics affiliated to Edinburgh University, with lessons to be learnt from the Scottish experience in the United Kingdom.

The Tamil National Alliance leadership had a brief meeting with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London before heading to Scotland Tamil Guardian learns.

Tamil Nadu fishermen enter 4th day of strikes

Jan 28, 2016

Tamil Nadu fishermen entered the fourth day of their strike over the Sri Lankan government's refusal to release their seized fishing boats.

According to the Times of India, over 200,000 fishermen in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are striking and have threatened to intensify their protest by blocking Karaikal port.

Indian rail proposals met with Sri Lankan silence

Jan 28, 2016

The rail infrastructure proposals in Sri Lanka by an Indian railways construction company, has been met with silence from the Sri Lankan government, Adaderana reported.

The railway projects, focusing on routes between Omanthai to Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura to Maho and Maho to Polgahawela are estimated to cost 468 million US dollars.

“There has been no formal response to the fresh Indian proposals thus far,” the company, IRCON International's Sri Lanka representative, Shyam Lal Gupta was quoted by the news site as saying.

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Sri Lanka president rejects war crimes allegations and international accountability component

UN Sec-Gen calls on Sri Lanka to stand by UNHRC commitments

British Royal Navy ship visits Sri Lanka for first time in 4 years

‘We will never accept an international war crimes tribunal’ – Sri Lankan prime minister

‘Zero progress’ on tens of thousands of disappearences in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence refuses to release occupied land

Sri Lankan military watches over Hindu ceremony at temple inside HSZ

TNA discusses federalism at constitutional workshop in Scotland

Tamil Nadu fishermen enter 4th day of strikes

Indian rail proposals met with Sri Lankan silence

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