'I'll fight any attempt to arrest me' - Ananthy Sasitharan

Ananthy Sasitharan said that she would fight against any attempt by the government to arrest her, responding to a report in The Island yesterday that an official within Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence said that she should be arrested and 'rehabilitated' in order to curtail her 'separatist tendencies', reports Tamilwin and the Hindu . Highlighting the international repurcussions of such an attempt to arrest her, Ms. Sasitharan said, "I was not a member of the LTTE. However, my husband, and those who went missing during the conflict, deserve justice."

Military does Thai Pongal..

Photograph Uthayan The Sri Lankan military hosted a Thai Pongal event in Elephant Pass. Last month, Tamils in the North-East were also greeted with the military for Christmas - see here .

Over Rs. 2 billion loss by state owned power company

Sri Lanka's state owned Ceylon Electricity Board claimed over Rs. 2 billion was lost last year, due to the frequently faltering Chinese-built Norochcholai coal power plant. The plant was shut completely for a total of 72 days in 2013, resulting in the state owned company spending Rs. 2.19 billion in purchasing power from private power companies. A further 43 days of partial function at the plant meant another Rs. 640 million had to be spent again, to purchase power. The plant recently suffered the 26th breakdown since being declared open in 2010.

'A Fleeting Moment In My Country': Interview with Dr N Malathy

Tamil Guardian caught up with the author of ‘A Fleeting Moment in My Country’, Dr N Malathy, to speak about experiences described in her book. Dr N Malathy, a Tamil diaspora activist, currently working as an analyst and programmer at the University of Cantebury , has lived in New Zealand for over 4 decades. She spent 4 years working for various human rights and social welfare institutions, within the Tamil de-facto state in Vanni from 2005 to 2009. ‘A Fleeting Moment In My Country’ describes, Malathy’s experience and reflections of the LTTE administered de-facto state after returning to the region to engage in social welfare work. See below for a summarised transcript of our interview with Malathy.

Abuse of power in Asian democracies

Examining the aftermath of Bangladesh’s elections, marred by violence and a boycott by the opposition, other countries in Asia have also been failing democracies, wrote Victor Mallet in the Financial Times this week. Citing the cases of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, Mallet said, “From Sri Lanka to Cambodia by way of Thailand, parliamentary democracies have fallen prey to the diseases of authoritarianism, violence and strident populism”. He went on to add, “In nominally democratic Sri Lanka, those who won the civil war against the separatist Tamil Tigers nearly five years ago...

Stop digging for war crimes evidence - SL Justice Minister

The Sri Lankan government has urged the United States to reconsider its position on Sri Lanka, reports Colombo Gazette. Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem reportedly asserted that the international community, including the US, should look to supporting mechanisms like the Truth Commission instead of 'polarising' the country. Hakeem accused the US government of having a preconceived notion on Sri Lanka, made clear by the visit of Ambassador-at-large for war crimes, Stephen Rapp, and according to the Colombo Gazette, said that "digging for evidence to back war crimes charges on Sri Lanka will only...

Tamil bishops reiterate call for international independent investigation

Speaking to the Catholic News Service on Tuesday, the Bishop Rayappu Joseph of Mannar and Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam Emmanuel of Jaffna reiterated reiterated their demand for an international, independent investigation into the final stages of the armed conflict. Stating that a "structural genocide" was continuing to take place due to "government-aided colonisation schemes," Bishop Joseph said, "The international community should conduct an investigation to establish the truth. ... We are not asking this to make revenge on anyone in the government. We only want this for the betterment of...

Ananthy Sasitharan may be rehabilitated to prevent separatist tendencies – The Island

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence has said it is seriously considering admitting Ananthy Sasitharan, a prominent and popular member of the Northern Provincial Council, to a rehabilitation centre, to prevent her from propagating separatist ideas, reported The Island . A senior Defence Ministry official told the paper that Ananthy Sasitharan had avoided rehabilitation after May 2009, and that maybe she would not have adopted “such a hostile stance towards the government”, if she had gone through the rehabilitation system of the Sri Lankan military. The official further said that although her...

Deputy Minister accuses bishops in North of being terrorists

Sri Lanka's deputy minister for workers relations, and former Sri Lankan Navy official, Rear Admiral Sarath Veerasekar, accused bishops in the North of being terrorists, reports Uthayan . Pointing to Bishop of Jaffna and the Bishop of Mannar meeting with the US ambassador at large for war crimes, Stephen Rapp earlier this month, Deputy Minister Veerasekar, said that there was only one definition of terrorist. “ Terrorists means everyone against the country, there's no other meaning to it ," he explained.

Video footage emerges of Buddhist monks' attack on churches

Video footage has emerged of the attack led by Buddhist monks on two Christian places of worship yesterday. According to the BBC, the Sri Lankan police say they have identified 24 people responsible for the attack, including eight Buddhist monks. The police spokesperson, Ajith Rohana, said the police "inaction" at the time of the protest, was apparently due to 'insufficient numbers'.

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