Over 50,000 upcountry Tamils will be unable to vote at the Uva Provincial Council election, in the island's south, as their employers have refused to grant them leave in order for them to cast their vote, reports Colombo Page . The Tamils, employed in the private sector in other parts of the island such as Jaffna, Colombo, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, will not be able to return to the Uva province, in order to cast their vote. "Workers in the public service are entitled to cast their vote by post. But, private sector workers are not given that right. I expect to request the Commissioner of...
The producers of 'Kaththi', Lyca productions, held a press conference on Tuesday, denying any links to the Rajapaksa regime amid calls to boycott from students in Tamil Nadu. "Images showing Lycamobiles logo in the background of the Sri Lankan Government sponsored Common Wealth Business forum was morphed. The first article with these morphed pictures which appeared in a website in an attempt to mislead the public. Lyca productions clarified that the Lyca Group representation in Sri Lanka for the forum was only as a business participant - one among the several who participated. The Lyca...
Academics in Australia condemned the University of Sydney's decision to acquiesce to the Sri Lankan military's demands to withdraw invitations to NGOs known to be critical of the state for a conference hosted along side the University of Colombo this week in Bangkok. In a letter to Dr Daniella Celermajer at Sydney University, a group of lecturers and academics said her decision to withdraw invitations "threatens to bring the University of Sydney's commitment to and connection with human rights into disrepute," reports the Sydney Morning Herald . "[The conference is at] serious risk of providing the appearance of human rights cover to a brutal regime that continues to perpetrate gross violations and is going to great lengths to silence critical voices both within Sri Lanka and in the international community".
The UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, presenting its report to the UN Human Rights Council at the Council's 27th session in Geneva currently underway, condemned the ongoing use of enforced disappearances by states. "Forced disappearances is not just a crime of the past, it is still being used in conflict situations, where there is internal instability, or in order to fight terrorism and organised crime. Enforced disappearance cannot and must not be the response to such challenges," said the Chair Rapporteur on Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Ariel Dulitzky, adding that "enforced disappearance is a flagrant violation of the basic principles which underpin the international system of human rights." The Working Group reported over 43,000 cases of enforced disappearances in 88 countries, including over 5700 in Sri Lanka, as well as 16,400 in Iraq, 3000 in Algeria and over 2000 in Guatemala, El Salvador and Peru.
Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa criticised Chief Minister of the Northern Province CV Wigneswaran for “not cooperating” with the government’s development in the region, while speaking at a UN Habitat event . Rajapaksa said the chief minister’s lack of cooperation was affecting the “ordinary people” in the north of the island, and that political differences with the central government resulted in some officials, showing reluctance to work with the government. The defence secretary pointed out that the Colombo Municipal Council is working with the Urban Development Authority and Ministry of Defence, despite it being governed by the opposition UNP, adding that the Northern Provincial Council must also work with the government, in the best interest of the people in the region.
The increasing religious violence taking place on the island was highlighted in a new infographic on “Religious Violence in Post-War Sri Lanka” released by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) on Tuesday. “The trends highlighted by CPA have continued unabated, most recently evident in the June 2014 violence in Aluthgama and surrounding areas. Other incidents of violence have not received the same attention as Aluthgama, thereby skewing the understanding of the scale and level of violence targeting minority religions in particular, in Sri Lanka,” said the CPA in a statement .
The British Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, noted that difficulty in dealing with issues regarding land ownership and coexistence with the military forces remained for the people in the Eastern province, in a statement on her recent visit to the province. “New roads and bridges have opened up markets and encouraged tourists, but many issues around land remain and the reality of co-existing with military forces is still difficult for many,” said Laura Davies. The Deputy High Commissioner met with various government officials, members of the Tami National Alliance and workers from non-...
China signed a host of trade agreements with Sri Lanka this week, including a currency swap deal and Beijing funding a $1.4 billion port in Colombo, as Chinese Premier Xi Jinping visited the island. The two countries also agreed to strengthen defence and maritime security relations, with China announcing its opposition to any interference in Sri Lanka's “internal affairs”. Alluding to the upcoming United Nations investigation into mass atrocities on the island – a move that China opposed - Xi stated that, "China... resolutely opposes any move by any country to interfere in Sri Lanka's internal affairs under any excuse.” Sri Lanka meanwhile, “reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China policy, and support for the efforts by the Chinese Government to realize national reunification.” Amongst the deals announced was a $1.63 billion currency swap , which would allow the People's Bank of China to invest in China's interbank bond market on behalf of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and the inauguration of a $1.4 billion dollar port project in Colombo.
The body of a 40 year old woman was found washed up by the fishing areas of Oluvil in Amparai district within the Eastern province. The police are carrying out further investigations into the discovery of the body, which has not been identified yet, reported BattiNews Sunday.
2nd Lead 17.50 GMT Nigeria's chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa slammed the treatment of a Nigerian man by Sri Lankan authorities at Colombo's airport as "highly discriminatory", after he was quarantined and deported by the authorities who suspected him and his family of being infected with the Ebola virus. Condemning the stigmatisation of Nigerian nationals due to the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, Dabiri-Erewa said it “must be addressed instantly before it spirals out of control.” "Our citizens are mainly harassed and unfairly treated for the fact that they are Nigerians, and in some case sent back from the airport. This act is very predatory and must be checked immediately," she was quoted as saying by Nigeria's Daily Times newspaper. Citing the example of a Nigerian national, Adeseye Adeyemi, who travelled to Sri Lanka to get married but his journey turned "to sadness," she added, "by the terrible treatment received from the Sri Lankan authorities.”