A man was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) in Jaffna on Thursday evening. He is alleged to have been a “close associate of ‘Gopi’”, who was reported to have been killed by the Sri Lankan military earlier this month, reported Colombo Gazette . Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said that the man had been in touch with 'Gopi' before he was killed and investigations are now underway into his links with Gobi.
The National Freedom Front (NFF), a partner of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling coalition, accused the government of turning ‘a blind eye’ to the actions of the TNA, who have not given up on their separatist goal, reported Ceylon Today . Spokesperson Mohammad Muzzamil said that the TNA and its MP MA Sumanthiran were instilling “sentiments of racial hatred” in Tamils and that they hoped to tie a cyanide capsule around the necks of every Tamil youth, with the help of the Tamil diaspora and “imperialistic” western powers. "MP Sumanthiran has said that the government is falsely enacting the resurgence of the LTTE in the North. He has said that by doing this the aim of the government is to fortify its military presence in there. MP Sumanthiran has also said that subsequent to the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, there is no terrorism in the country. However, despite the end of the LTTE, the TNA has not given up on its attempts to form a separatist state in the country,
The British Ambassador to Colombo John Rankin told a business forum that sanctions on Sri Lanka are not currently an issue and that it was not “necessarily” in Britain’s interest to impose sanctions, reported LBO . “Sanctions are not currently an issue. First, because the Human Rights Council does not have the power or mandate to impose sanctions. And to the best of my knowledge no government to date has proposed economic sanctions on Sri Lanka,” the ambassador told an ‘LBR-LBO CEO’ forum on meeting the challenges of a resolution on Sri Lanka by UN's Human Rights Council. "Nor would sanctions necessarily be in the interests of a country like the UK. Policy is not uni-dimensional towards Sri Lanka. UN rights issues and Human Rights Resolutions are not the sole purpose of our policy." Rankin pointed out that failure to comply with conditions on human rights issues had economic consequences in the past, as with the loss of GSP+ trade concessions. "That was a matter of choice of Sri Lanka. But it demonstrates that those choices human rights issues can have an impact on economic relationships," he said.
20:42 BST Sri Lankan troops surrounded the home of outspoken Northern Provincial Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan this evening, in what she described as an ongoing effort to intimidate her and those who interact with her. A dozen armed soldiers were standing around the house as Ms. Sasitharan returned after picking up her children from a friend's house at 17:45pm. The troops loitered, staring through her fence, for 30 minutes before leaving, she said, speaking to Tamil Guardian shortly after the incident. "Since Geneva I have noticed a heightened military presence in my area and have been...
A German tourist was the victim of an attempted rape in Hatton on Monday, police said according to Ceylon Today . The 30 year old woman was on holiday with her husband and was staying in a guest house, when an employee attempted to rape her while she was sleeping, she told police. The employee was arrested on Tuesday and charged with the attempted rape, according to police. Sexual assaults on tourists increase in Sri Lanka (31 March 2014) Australian student raped by tourist guide in South (26 January 2014)
The Sri Lankan government has rejected a request by the British government to legalise gay marriage on the island, reported Colombo Gazette . Speaking to newspaper editors in Colombo, Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that Britain had put it forward in the form of a condition to receive British aid, but that the government was not prepared to agree to the request.
The president of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed media organisations in the country to inform the population to desist from using images of the Buddha, printed on their media, for general purposes, reported the Daily Mirror . The directive came after the head of the Asgiriya Chapter, Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha called on the president to stop print media from publishing pictures of Buddha or set guidelines to ensure the printed images are not used in an inappropriate manner, according to the Daily News . The Buddhist leader said during a meeting with Rajapaksa last Thursday that...
External Affairs Minister GL Peiris today hosted a “comprehensive briefing” about the government’s claim of an “LTTE revival” for international diplomats in Colombo, calling on states to take action against organisations that were recently banned by the government and suppress terrorist funding activities, according to a statement released by the official government news website. The minister said at the briefing, which he held alongside the Chief of National Intelligence Major General Kapila Hendawitharana from the Ministry of Defence, that there was compelling evidence regarding the remittance of considerable sums of money from overseas for terrorist activity.
Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Thursday he is no hurry to hold snap elections next year, but is ready to do so if the opposition requested it. See Colombo Gazette’s report here Speaking to newspaper editors at a breakfast meeting, Mr. Rajapaksa said his term did not end till 2016, but he was prepared to hold presidential or general elections if the United National Party (UNP) formally requested it. “I will need to ask the opposition leader what election he wants first,” the President said, jokingly. Mr. Rajapaksa is in his second term but in 2010 his government amended the...
The body of a 25 year old single mother was found in Kaaththaankudi, the Uthayan reported. The body which was found hanging with her feet touching the house according to police, has been sent to Batticaloa hospital for a post-mortem. The family of the woman, who has not been identified have demanded that a full investigation be carried out. Kaaththaankudi police are treating the death as suspicious.