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.”
Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has donated Rs 5 million rupees towards the construction of new living quarters for monks at the Bellana Sri Dharmapala Pirivena in Agalawaththa, which the Sri Lankan Air Force will help to construct.
A Tamil refugee has been arrested in Tamil Nadu for holding a hunger strike demanding the Indian government hand him, his family and other Tamils who have fled Sri Lanka to the United Nations, instead of deporting them back to the island. 32-year-old Chenthuran was arrested by Tamil Nadu police from a camp in Cheyyar, earlier this week and is currently being held in Puzhal Prison in Chennai.
A second patrol boat donated by the Australian government to Sri Lanka has arrived in Colombo this week, having been ceremoniously received by the Sri Lanka Navy.
The Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday said there were no significant reports at sea, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, despite news that a boat carrying 153 Tamil asylum seekers is in trouble off the coast of Christmas Island. "I am advised that I have no such report to provide to you today," he was quoted as saying to reporters in Melbourne. See also: Tamil asylum seekers stranded in Australian waters, Abbott deflects questions (27 Jun 2014)
The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) called on its government to ensure the safety of 153 Tamil asylum seekers reported to be stranded off Christmas Island. "Australian Tamil Congress calls on our government to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of the stranded people who appear to be in dire conditions in the sea," the group said in a statement made on Saturday.
Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Island that the army will be carrying out rebuilding work in Aluthgama and other towns affected by Sinhala mob violence. Rajapaksa said that the military would provide free labour while the government would cover other costs. "The president has issued the necessary instructions before leaving for the Maldives,’ the defence secretary said, adding that the government would take all measures to prevent recurrence of communal violence.
The European Commission has announced it will provide €250,000 to help families in the island’s North-East, affected by the drought caused by a lack of adequate rainfall. “The effect of the drought is likely to linger on for some time as water reservoirs have dried out”, said David Daly, the Ambassador of the European Union in Sri Lanka, in a press release . “The funds we are providing will ensure people have enough food to meet their immediate nutrition needs as well as the means to restore their livelihood in the coming months”. The money will be provided to families most hit by the drought...
The Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, today, deflected questions regarding the plight of over 151 Tamil asylum seekers from south India left stranded on an allegedly sinking boat, reports ABC News . The Immigration Minister Scott Morrison would not comment on the vessel or its position and said that there had been ‘no significant events involving extreme risk of safety of life at sea,’ reports the Sydney Morning Herald .
Members of the Buddhist monk group, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), accused of instigating anti-Muslim violence in the South-West of the island, reported that their social media accounts on Facebook had been blocked, reports Reuters. "My account is blocked," the BBS spokesperson Dilantha Vithanage told Reuters by telephone. "I can't access my account. I last visited my account on June 25 and the accounts of others have also been blocked."