'How dare you insist on such matters’

Sri Lanka’s Presidential Adviser on Reconciliation Rajiva Wijesinha indignantly dismissed calls for an international investigation, in a heated interview with Al Jazeera this week. In a 5-minute interview, where Wijesinha frequently clashed with the Al Jazeera presenter whom he refered to as "my dear lady", he stated that there was “no question” of an international investigation into human rights violations. He went on to chide the presenter for echoing calls for an international investigation, stating that he "reject(s) totally" claims that the Sri Lankan government has been unable to independently investigate itself. The Sri Lankan MP also went to slam British Prime Minister David Cameron, stating he doesn’t “run the world” and accusing him of “talking rubbish”, before labelling Gordon Weiss, who helped co-author an ICEP report released this week, “a very clear liar”. Even Al Jazeera was lambasted by Wijesinha, who he accused alongside of having a “disease”, alongside people of the West for focussing on accountability for war crimes. Extracts from the interview have been reproduced below.

UN has ‘made clear the need for accountability’ on Sri Lanka

The United Nations has stated that it has made clear the need for accountability on Sri Lanka, but refused to comment on whether an international investigation will take place. The Acting Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Farhan Haq was questioned by Inner City Press after the release of a report by the ICEP, which accused the Sri Lankan government of “crimes against humanity of persecution”, which could constitute of genocidal acts, and called for a international inquiry into the allegations. Haq responded that, “You’ve seen what the Secretary-General’s reports on the...

UK repeats March 2014 deadline

Answering questions in Parliament, Britain’s Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire, once again stated that Sri Lanka has until March 2014, to begin credible domestic accountability processes before the UK will call for an international investigation. Drawing on previous statements, Swire stated , “We continue to consistently call for progress on human rights, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, both privately and publicly. " “As a result of our continued concerns, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution on promoting reconciliation...

School dropouts increasing in North as poverty rises

Tamil children in the North are increasingly dropping out of school, reports IRIN news service. The situation is mainly aggravated by lack of meaningful job opportunities, with poor families needing all able-bodied members to find odd jobs or agricultural work to make ends meet.

Canada prepared to take 'principled actions' against Sri Lanka

The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affair’s press secretary, Rick Roth, outlined today that the Canadian government would not rule out taking action against Sri Lanka. Responding to calls for sanctions on Sri Lanka after a new report found credible evidence of deliberate planning behind crimes committed against Tamils , Roth told the National Post that the Canadian government was “prepared to take principled actions to encourage tangible progress” towards justice and accountability in Sri Lanka.

ICEP report allegations false – Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has rejected the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, made by an Australian NGO on Wednesday. The International Crimes Evidence Project accused the Sri Lankan government of “crimes against humanity of persecution”, which could constitute of genocidal acts, and called for a international inquiry into the allegations. But Sri Lankan military spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya slammed the allegations as a ploy to mislead member countries at the UN Human Rights Council. Wanigasuriya said that the report contained nothing that the “LTTE diaspora” has not been...

Sri Lanka excluded from India visa-on-arrival scheme

India will extend its visa-on-arrival facility, from initially eleven countries to 180, meaning tourists from nearly all countries will not have to apply for a visa in advance form an Indian embassy, reported Zee News . "We have decided to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from 180 nations. It will take 5-6 months for the respective departments to put the required infrastructure in place. We hope to implement this from the next tourist session beginning October," Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla said in New Delhi. The facility will not be extended to tourists from Sri Lanka,...

Economic freedom in Sri Lanka in decline

Reports from the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, registered a decline in Sri Lanka’s 2014 Index of Economic Freedom. The analysis found that improvements in trade and fiscal freedoms were offset by reduced financial and business freedom, government spending, labour freedom monetary freedom and trade freedom. Labelling the situation in Sri Lanka as ‘mostly unfree in recent years’ the Heritage Foundation outlined , "Its score is 0.7 lower than last year, reflecting modest declines in five of the 10 economic freedoms.” “In the absence of lasting progress towards greater economic...

We need upto 10 years to reconcile – Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has again said it needs more “time and space” to address reconciliation in Sri Lanka. In a 30-minute propaganda video, aired on US national television channel NBC, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Secretary Lalith Weerathunga said that Sri Lanka needs over a year to implement the bulk of the LLRC recommendations and up to 10 years to see “fruits in this whole issue of reconciliation” . “Tell us if there is any better situation of a similar kind of scenario in the world elsewhere, we will take it. But I don’t think there is anything like that anywhere in the world,” he said while...

‘Appeasement is no answer to war crimes’ – The Age editorial

Australian newspaper The Age published an editorial today calling upon the Australian government to take meaningful action towards bringing about an international investigation on Sri Lanka, stating that the international community has a duty to act on the reports of war crimes. Published the day after a report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), which stated genocidal acts may have occurred, the editorial slammed Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s “petulant and dangerously insular response” to reports of human rights violations and Australia's "shameful and obsequious brand of appeasement” of Sri Lanka. It went on to note that "Australia risks being marginalised" if it fails to act towards bringing about justice. Extracts from the article have been reproduced below. See the full piece here . "When war crimes are committed but not punished because a ruling government ignores or, in the case of Sri Lanka, flatly denies that they occurred, the duty falls to the international community to act. We must not fail to do so even when we fear it may jeopardise bilateral relationships. We have an abiding moral duty to do all we can to ensure justice is done." "What is particularly concerning, though, is evidence that torture, enforced disappearances, rape and sexual violence have continued since 2009 under the government of President Mahindra Rajapaksa. The PIAC suggests the Rajapaksa government has fostered a ''culture of impunity'' that allows violations of human rights to continue. Is it any wonder that so many Sri Lankans have sought asylum here in recent years?"

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