The Bodu Bala Sena said today that the US has revoked the visa of Galagoda Gnanasara, the leader of the organisation. BBS Coordinator Dilantha Withanage told the Daily Mirror that an official form the US embassy in Colombo called Gnanasara on Friday and informed him of the State Department’s decision to revoke his 5-year multiple entry visa.
The Tamil National Alliance has received confirmation for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Indian government, reported the Daily Mirror. Spokesperson Suresh Premachandran told the Daily Mirror on Sunday that Modi had agreed to the TNA’s request for a meeting, issued by party leader R Sampanthan soon after the prime minister was sworn in. “Most probably, we will go to India by the middle of next month. The dates are yet to be finalised. We will receive the final confirmation of dates shortly,” he said. Asked by the Daily Mirror whether they would also meet Tamil Nadu Chief...
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, this week placed restrictions on MPs, ministers and deputy ministers from making foreign visits, reports the SundayTimes.lk . A document circulated around ministers detailed that powers over matters relating to foreign travel have now been vested with the Prime Minister and Provincial Governors. To travel abroad all parliamentarians, provincial council members, members of local authorities, state officers and officials of public corporations, authorities and state-owned companies would have to seek permission from a person with vested powers.
Seventeen Indian fishermen were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday night, in the latest round of arrests. The men, were reportedly arrested in the Palk Strait along with the seizure of three boats. See here , here and here . According to the Alliance for Release of Innocent Fishermen, the men were handed over to the fisheries department in Talaimannar where they are undergoing medical checks and are likely to be produced before a magistrate on Sunday.
There was rising concern on Sunday over the safety of 153 Tamil asylum seekers in a reportedly sinking ship off Christmas Island , after all communications were lost more than 24 hours ago. According to the Guardian newspaper, this has led to speculation that the boat has been intercepted by Australian Navy personnel, amid reports that a second boat carrying asylum seekers was also stranded nearby. The Labour MP Alannah MacTiernan told AAP on Sunday that she had seen an "enormous amount" of maritime activity by Christmas Island. "They had gone out and intercepted people and they had loaded up people on the navy or border protection vessels, and brought [them] back onto Christmas Island waters," Ms MacTiernan said. "They hadn't had final instructions that the people would be coming to Christmas Island," she added, stating that Christmas Island staff were on standby for a possible arrival of asylum seekers.
The Tamil people are in doubt over the Sri Lankan justice system said the Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran, because pro-government cases are resolved, whereas those against government policies are delayed, reports Uthayan . Drawing attention to the on-going cases of over 2000 filed regarding land grabs in Valikaamam North, Justice Wigneswaran said Tamils had lost faith in the system. Stating that he would not comment on judges or the courts, he added that the president's power to appoint judges had caused undue political influence into the judiciary in the country.
The Sri Lankan government ordered the military to take "stern action" over social media users seen to be inciting feelings of "communal and religious hatred" in the country, reports DailyMirror.lk . The order had been issued by the Secretary of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, said the military's spokesperson Ruwan Wanigasuyira.
'This Land Belongs to the Army’ is a strong documentary about the manner in which the lands in the traditional Tamil homelands of the North-East of the island of Sri Lanka have been appropriated by the government and the military. Made by Indian journalist and filmmaker Maga Tamizh Prabhagaran, the documentary features first-hand testimony from victims and an exclusive discussion with a Sri Lankan Army soldier about the use of chemical and other bombs to support the logic that the land belongs to the Army and that the Tamils can “live in [the] country” only provided they do not “demand undue things”, to use the words of former military commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka,. Launched in January this year at the UK Houses of Parliament, the documentary has gone on to be broadcast around the world, as well as being selected for the 7th International Documentaries and Short Film Festival of Kerala taking place next month and the Mediteran Film Festival in Bosnia in August. It was also entered into the International Festival of Local Televisions in Slovakia earlier this month.
Photograph @thedharmablues The songwriter and hip hop artist, M.I.A (Mathangi Arulpragasam) told music fans on Friday night at the world renowned UK festival, Glastonbury, to "Stop Tamil Deportations", with dancers wearing T-shirts reading #StopTamilDeportation. Photograph @Lucky20Seven Find a video of her act here .
The Sri Lankan Army has been carrying out rebuilding work on the island’s south coast, following violence by Sinhala Buddhist mobs which left at least 4 people dead. Troops preparing to undertake rebuilding work Rajitha Senaratne, the Sri Lankan government Minister of Fisheries, justified the decision to hand the work over to the security forces by saying , “Why we have given it to military is because no one else would be able to finish rebuilding by meeting the month’s deadline to finish the work.”