Delivering Sri Lanka’s statement at the 24 th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Ravintha Aryasinha implored Navi Pillay to take an ‘unbiased’ approach to Sri Lanka in fulfilling her mandate and not to give credence to ‘unsubstantiated’ allegations. Responding to concerns over intimidation of human rights defenders, Aryasinha stressed that Sri Lanka was ’fully committed’ to protecting human rights defenders and requested the Human Rights High Commissioner and her office to provide specific evidence. Noting the freedom to travel that...
A 15-member delegation from the National Defence College of India visited the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Navy in Colombo, reported The Island . Navy Commander Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage received the visitors, which included officers from Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Nepal and Uganda.
Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development said on Saturday that the Chief Minister of the Northern Province would not have any authority to reduce military presence in the North. In apparent criticism of the TNA, Basil said that only the president could make such a decision which even Parliament did not have the authority to make. The minister also claimed that the TNA had made a manifesto to please the diaspora saying : "By way of its manifesto, the TNA has paved the path for another chaotic situation in the country. The TNA manifesto has highlighted that the TNA is clueless about...
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) called on leaders to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due to take place in Sri Lanka later this year. In an open letter to the heads of government of members states of the Commonwealth, the GTF's president, Rev. Dr. S.J. Emmanuel, called on them to " make a stand on Sri Lanka and boycott CHOGM 2013 " and " to bar the Government of Sri Lanka from chairing the association for the next two years ." Detailing the lack accountability for past crimes, and the on-going human rights abuses taking place on the island, the GTF president wrote, "...
British research group Corporate Watch has uncovered that the Scottish Police College has trained over 3,500 Sri Lankan police officers, including some senior commanders, funded by the UK and Scotland. Sri Lanka is under scrutiny over hyuman rights abuses and the police is suspected to be involved in killings and disappearances, especially of Tamil speaking people. “Investigation by Corporate Watch reveals that, in the build up to this combined police-military offensive, 48 Sri Lankan police officers were trained by the SPC from May 2007 to January 2008. One of these officers, Jayantha Wickremaratne, was then promoted to lead Sri Lanka's police from June 2008 – October 2009, commanding the force at the height of its human rights violations,” the organisation’s website stated. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay concluded a visit to the island last week and was scathing in a statement after her tour of the war-affected areas.
09:37 BST An international conference, calling for a boycott of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013 (CHOGM 2013) due to take place in November later this year, by the Tamil Nadu based activist organisation, 'Save Tamils Movement' and 'Student Struggle committee for Tamil Eezham', is currently underway. Inviting student leaders from across Tamil Nadu, India and around the world, the conference organisers call for Sri Lanka to be expelled from the Commonwealth nations, and for member countries to boycott CHOGM 2013. The conference is being live streamed here
Speaking at the United People’s Freedom Alliance, (UPFA) election rally, Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that foreign forces were plotting schemes to destabilise the country. Urging the ethnic Tamil and Muslim communities to not be misled by false propaganda, Rajapaksa described the alleged schemes as attempts to create a situation that would lead to public revolt resulting in a regime change. Drawing upon the unrest in Libya and Egypt, Rajapaksa argued that the change of regimes had only left the nations in further turmoil. Purporting the Northern Provincial Council elections Rajapaksa as a victory...
Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs, G. L. Peiris, told a seminar that the LTTE was to blame for ‘misinformation’ about the role of the army in the Northeast, which even the UN had bought into. Peiris The Sunday Leader quotes Peiris as saying: “Such misinformation is reflected in the UNHRC report too and the deliberate use of the word ‘intrusive’ for presence of the Army in the north, is inaccurate, unjustified and wrong. This assertion contradicts the OCHA report that they (UN) themselves have prepared in which their own independent surveys, conducted on 197 northern civilians at random...
The Tamil National Alliance, leader R. Sampanthan, implored southern political actors to refrain from maliciously criticising the TNA’s, recently released, electoral statement. Sampanthan reiterated that the TNA did not have any intention to harm the integrity of the country, stating, “We also want a political settlement to the Tamil question, which should be durable and ensure the dignity of the Tamils. We are for the unity of the country. We don’t want the country to be divided. Therefore, the political forces that cannot understand the political aspirations of the Tamils should not mislead...
The British based NGO Freedom from Torture has revealed that Sri Lanka was the top country of origin for those referred to the organisation for clinical services. In a statement on its website, the group said that its annual review showed that out of 1,301 people, 228 were from Sri Lanka, with the vast majority being Tamil. The individuals were referred to the group by concerned GPs or solicitors dealing with their asylum applications. “These alarming statistics mean that for the first time in years, Sri Lanka has replaced Iran at the top of the shameful table that tallies the country of...