British Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament on Tuesday that he had “encouraged” Sri Lanka to take part in a summit on sexual violence in June, as it would be “highly appropriate” for the country attend, given events in recent decades. Responding to a question by MP Stella Creasy, Hague said that Sri Lanka has been invited to the event, but that he cannot force any country to attend. Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire also spoke on Sri Lanka, saying it was important for the country to listen to what was said at the UN Human Rights Council and allow an investigation through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
TNA MP Selvam Adaikalanathan has called for a removal of the Sri Lankan military from the Tamil region of the island, saying that a “frightening situation” had developed, reported the Uthayan . Adaikalanathan said that arrests were widespread and that there was an increase in the number of security forces on the streets, with sudden round-ups common. He questioned how Tamils can confidently get involved in talks about a political solution when such a “burden” was on the daily life of Tamil people, adding that an environment to foster mutual trust needs to be established and signals of goodwill need to be sent before any discussion on power sharing.
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Co-operative and Internal Trade has announced it will set the price of rice from midnight today, reported Ceylon Today . The rice harvest is expected to be hit hard by the current drought and farmers have been asked to refrain from growing the water-intensive crop, said LBO. "The drought is worrying us to some extent," Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. "In the agricultural side we have to make sure that there is no unnecessary spike in prices. At the same time we can have an impact where generation of electricity generation is concerned."
The Sri Lankan government is arresting and mistreating innocent female relatives of men who it suspects are attempting to revive the LTTE, according to a rights group based on the island. The Women’s Action Network has detailed the cases of six women who were arrested from the Northeast in a statement, adding that the Criminal Investigations Department is keeping the women in inhumane conditions denying them medical care, reported the Associated Press . The rights group said five of the women were arrested for links to “Gopi”, who the government claims to be the “new leader” of the LTTE.
The Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), CV Wigneswaran, yesterday declined a meeting invitation with the Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa, after expressing disappointment at the lack of progress made during earlier meetings with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The meeting was intended to discuss cooperation between the Northern Provincial Council and the Government, reports Colombo Gazette . The Uthayan reports that Wigneswaran rejected the meeting invitation due to requests from his previous meeting with the President had not been implemented.
Sri Lanka’s decision to ban major Tamil diaspora organisations as financiers of terrorism appears aimed at restricting peaceful activism by Tamils , Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. “ The Sri Lankan government is using vague counterterrorism regulations to tie the major diaspora Tamil groups to the ruthless but defunct LTTE ,” said Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director. “ This broad-brush sanction could then be used to punish local Tamil activists and politicians with international ties .” “ The government is putting all Tamil activists at risk by delegitimizing the major Tamil organizations abroad ,” Adams said. “ Putting organizations engaged in peaceful political activity on a terrorist list is a modern version of McCarthyism .”
Canada on Monday expressed concern over Sri Lanka’s motive in proscribing fifteen Tamil diaspora groups and over 400 individuals, saying the move would not help post-war reconciliation in which diaspora Tamils had an important role. A spokesperson from Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development (DFATD) told Tamil Guardian: “We are concerned about the motives of the Government of Sri Lanka in taking this action and regret that this will not help advance genuine post-conflict reconciliation , a process in which diaspora communities have an important role to play." " We are particularly concerned about the effect of this order on freedom of speech and association in Sri Lanka ," he added. Noting that some of the individuals and entities listed resided in Canada, the spokesperson made assurances regarding the exercise of freedom of speech by the Tamil community within Canada. “The Sri Lankan government’s actions do not constrain the freedom of these groups and individuals to express their views in Canada ,” he said.
The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) has questioned Sri Lanka’s motives for its recent proscription of Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals based on information which the government claims to have procured from LTTE officials five years ago. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, President, Mr Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam stated that the TNPF condemned the extensive ban and believed that there was no evidence or justification to support it. Explaining what the TNPF believed to be the main motives for the ban, Mr Ponnambalam said: “After a resolution critical of Sri Lanka was passed in Geneva, the government now needs to save face in the south. This ban is the government’s way of protecting its Sinhala nationalist credentials.” “Since the Rajapaksa government rests on the laurels of having defeated the LTTE, it needs to reiterate this to its voter base, to counter the increasing humiliation Sri Lanka has faced internationally.”
Tamil Nadu’s fishing community expressed relief at India’s loss to Sri Lanka in the ICC T20 cricket world cup final, as a previous win was followed by attacks at sea believed to revenge by Sri Lankan navy personal, the Times of India reports. "We were very anxious about the outcome of the match on Sunday because of that incident," said J Ashton, a boat owner in Rameswaram told the paper, referring to incidents after India defeated Sri Lanka previously, which left four fishermen from the town dead. The fishing community told the paper the Sri Lankan Navy, bitter at the defeat, attacked Indian...
The National Freedom Front (NFF), a partner of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling coalition, warned the Sri Lankan government against being caught in an ‘international trap’ set by ‘enemy forces’ in the guise of an international investigation into wartime atrocities, reported ColomboPage . A spokesman for the NFF, Mohammad Muzammil, told reporters that India’s motives in abstaining on the UN resolution against Sri Lanka were doubtful. He accused India of secretly backing an international investigation, and claimed Delhi was instrumental in getting two previous resolutions on Sri Lanka through the UN Human Rights Council.