Human Rights Watch has called upon the Malaysian government to drop charges against an activist for holding a screening of 'No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka'. Lena Hendry from the group Pusat KOMAS, was held under charges from the the Film Censorship Act after screening the film on the 3rd of July at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Malaysia. HRW reported that the Sri Lankan government communicated with the Malaysian government in an attempt to halt the screening of the film. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch stated, “Malaysia’s...
Two prominent human rights activists in Sri Lanka, who have survived death threats and assassination attempts, called on leaders including David Cameron and the Prince of Wales to boycott a key Commonwealth summit next month. The executive director of Transparency International, whose family in Sri Lanka was forced into hiding in 2008, called the decision to hold the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo as “shameless.” Comparing the Sri Lankan rule to Zimbabwe he said, “What’s the difference? The rule of law is collapsing in Sri Lanka.” A widely acclaimed, Sri Lankan activist...
The Sri Lankan government has again raised its defence to a record Rs253bn ($1.95bn) in 2014, over 4 years after the end of military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The latest figures were presented in parliament on Monday, and the defence and police budget make up nearly 12% of the government’s total spend of Rs2.54 trillion, which is slightly lower than the Rs2.56 trillion allocated for the current year, according to AFP . Although the overall budget is lower in 2014 than in 2013, the defence spending has increased from Rs249bn to Rs253bn in 2014. The full budget is...
Writing in The Guardian today, the British Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, called on David Cameron to reverse his approach with Sri Lanka. Elaborating on his demand and providing assurance of the Labour party's intention of supporting the Prime minister, Alexander reiterated that Cameron must: Boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Set out a clear action plan to support improvements in human rights in Sri Lanka. Add voice to the growing calls for a full and independent UN-led investigation. Seek urgent assurances from Sri Lanka that it will respect the principles of...
Sri Lankan Attorney General Palitha Fernando defended the delay in charging the killers of British Red Cross worker Khuram Shaikh, stating it was "unethical" to rush the case in any way. The Attorney General denied there was any political influence over the almost 2 year old murder case, of which one of the killers is a ruling UPFA politician and reported close associate of the Rajapaksa family. He told Ceylon Today , " That is an absurd claim. We can assure everyone that there is no influence exerted over this case. There is no political interference." Instead he blamed the delay on a "lack...
Discontent over the possibility over India's attendance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting intensified today as 150 activists of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam movement were arrested in Tamil Nadu, for staging a rail roko in demand of an Indian boycott of CHOGM in Sri Lanka next month. Police reports suggest that the activists were arrested at Tambaram, Chromepet and Pallavaram railway stations.
Sri Lanka's Sunday Times has reported that the government may be getting around US sanctions placed on Iran by purchasing crude oil from ships in international waters. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is reported to have contracted a company called Mercol General Trading LLC to supply the shipment for its oil refineries. Sri Lanka was hit hard by the sanctions imposed on Iran over its suspected nuclear programme, as the country's only refinery is designed to process Iranian-type crude.
The group of Buddhist monks, Bodu Bala Sena, has called upon Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence to 'take over' the archaeology department. General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera stated on Thursday, “The Archaeological Department is not capable of protecting our heritage. There are some corrupt officers in the department. They are giving away clues to treasure hunters. The Defence Ministry should take over the Department”. One such claimed Buddhist historical site claimed was in Anuradhapura, where in 2011, monks demolished a mosque and burnt Islamic flags. The incident has not been...
The UK's Labour Party has released a statement declaring that Prime Minister David Cameron has 'missed a significant opportunity' to put pressure on Sri Lanka by attending CHOGM. In a statement released on Friday,Douglas Alexander MP Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, responded to repoprts that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may not be attending the summit by saying, “The indications that Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, may withhold his attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka are a reminder that David Cameron has missed a significant opportunity to...
Reporting from Mannar for the Telegraph, David Blair met with families of the disappeared, who told of their distressing search for their loved ones, as Colombo gears up to host CHOGM in the coming weeks. One mother, Uthayachandra Manuel, whose son was abducted said, "Sometimes I think to myself, 'perhaps if they had killed my son, that may be better than me sitting here and wondering where he is'" "If they had killed him, at least we could have done a religious ceremony and prayer and I would have thought to myself 'it's another death'. The pain of a missing child is not something that anyone can really understand. "