In an open letter to the Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed concern regarding the media accreditation process for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka this November. Highlighting press reports that "the Sri Lankan government intends to enforce stringent background checks on any foreign journalists covering the meeting, with the apparent intention of denying them permission to enter the country", the Executive Director of CPJ, Joel Simon, called on Sharma " to ensure that the Sri Lankan government, which is...
The IMF's Director for the Asia-Pacific Region has praised poverty reduction in Sri Lanka and credited President Mahinda Rajapakse for development that he says has taken place. Dr Anoop Singh, an Indian national who has been director for the region since 2008, said that the IMF will continue to support Sri Lanka. "You have brought Sri Lanka to a higher level of development within a short period and now it's time to focus on long term economic stability," Singh said to Rajapakse. The IMF official also said that vast improvements are visible in Sri Lanka, compared to a visit a few years back,...
A protester that invaded the pitch during the International Cricket Champions trophy match , in Cardiff, between Sri Lanka and India, pleaded guilty to a section five public order offence at Cardiff Maistrates’ Court. The protester explained that he ran onto the pitch for the “40,000 people killed by the Sri Lankan government and a Tamil Eelam flag that represented the North-East of Sri Lanka. Acknowledging that the Tamils had a grievance against the Sri Lankan government, the judge asked the protester to explain why ran on the pitch. Representing himself in court, the protester explained, “...
A reporter from the Uthayan newspaper was attacked on his way home from work on Wednesday evening, reports the newspaper. Gunalan Dileepamuthan was dragged off his motorcycle by assailants in an auto-rickshaw, outside Mahajana College. The incident is one of a long line of attacks on journalists and media workers in the Northeast, and specifically on associates of Uthayan, a mainstream Tamil paper in Jaffna.
Emotional scenes followed Tamil Eelam's thrilling victory as the team said goodbye to the Isle of Man and to each other for the year. The team, made up of Tamil youth from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK, were forced to say farewell to each other on Monday as players departed to their respective home countries to return to work or study. Fan video of the team celebrating after receiving the third place cup. Many European players who were formerly acquainted as football rivals in the Tamil sports scene, left with the promise of reuniting with their teammates at some of...
Sri Lanka has signed a maritime cooperation agreement with the Maldives and India during a National Security Advisor (NSA) meeting in Colombo on Monday. The trilateral agreement sets out cooperation on surveillance, anti-piracy operations and curbing illegal activities including maritime pollution, reported ColomboPage . The agreement was signed by Defence Minister Gothabhaya Rajapakse, National Security Advisor of India, Shivshankar Menon and Mohamed Nazim, Minister of Defence and National Security of the Maldives.
Whilst giving his blessing to External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris, a Buddhist prelate, Buddharakkitha Mahanayake Thera, described the selection of Sri Lanka as the venue for the Commonwealth Heads of Governers Meeting (CHOGM), as a ‘great victory’ that will silence international critics. The prelate went on to note that certain Sri Lankan ambassadors had failed to carry out their duty of enhancing the country’s image by allowing members of the ‘LTTE diaspora’ to paint a bleak picture of the country. He went on to note that CHOGM would provide the country a good platform to counter all ‘false...
An American tea company, Walters Bay International, has threatened to leave Sri Lanka, following the murder of the estate manager in Nooriya Tea Estate in Deraniyagala, last Friday, reports BBC Sinhala. The estate manager, Nihal Perara was hacked to death by 5 people who reportedly objected to Perara's attempts to fight corruption and wastage. The Texas based company has complained to the Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe that they cannot continue to run the estate under the present climate. Mahinda Samarasinghe also recently doubled up as Sri Lanka's Special Envoy to Geneva...
Photographs Tamil Guardian Canadian Tamils came together on Friday July 5th to mark Karumpuli Naal remembering the lives of the elite LTTE force - the Black Tigers. [ more ]
Commenting on the recent controversy regarding a Sri Lankan diplomat threatening to ban Callum Macrae, the director of the documentary 'No Fire Zone' from attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka, the country's Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, accused Macrae of funding his journalism by the Tamil diaspora. Speaking to Ceylon Today, Rambukwella said: “On the pretext of being a press personnel, Macrae is doing his rounds funded by his well-wishers – the Tamil Diaspora.” “It is too early to predict about Macrae’s visit. We are highly concerned about the...