An independent candidate who was contesting the Northern Provincial Council election was found dead on Friday afternoon reports the SundayTimes.lk. The body of V. Ramachandran was found inside a temple in Chunnaaham and was taken to Jaffna Teaching Hospital for a post mortem.
A mass movement in Sri Lanka, the People’s Movement for Democracy (PMD), has organised a demonstration to show discontent over the killings of civilians at Weliweriya. The leader of the movement, parliamentarian Vijitha Herath said , “Let’s protest against the government that shoots the people.” Herath noted that workers, students and media personnel are fighting for their rights, deploring the government’s response of using terror squads to shoot people agitating for their rights.
In a statement released on Sunday, Days after the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) registered its nominations for the Northern Provincial Council election, the British Tamils Forum (BTF) has called on the TNA to be " explicit about the dangers posed by the forthcoming Northern Provincial Council election ", highlighting that the " TNA participation in the Council poses significant risks " and there was " a real danger of unwittingly playing stooge in the Sri Lankan state's campaign to regain legitimacy on the world stage ". See here for full statement. Extract reproduced below: "The TNA's decision to contest the Northern Provincial Council election cannot even be described as a low-risk, speculative venture – harmlessly undertaken on the off-chance that it succeeds. Rather, TNA participation in the Council poses significant risks. Complicity in propping up a Provincial Council system that provides token benefits – perhaps a bicycle here and a rice sack there – while perpetuating the Sri Lankan state's structural genocide of Tamils, could strike a devastating blow to the decades-long struggle by the Tamil people for their rights and freedom. There is a real danger of unwittingly playing stooge in the Sri Lankan state's campaign to regain legitimacy on the world stage: if Tamil participation in the Provincial Council is used to provide a distraction that undermines global campaigns for an international independent inquiry into the crimes committed by the Sri Lankan state and recognition of the Tamil people’s right to self-determination.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) expressed disappointment over the president’s stance on land and police powers to provinces today. The party leader, R.Sampanthan, speaking to media, outlined that President Mahinda Rajapaksa continually changed his stance on devolving police and land powers. “He (the president) does not seem to have a steady decision. The TNA is observing his comments and at the right time will come out with a response to the President,” he said . Rajapaksa recently stated that land and police powers would stay with the government as the idea had not been implemented since...
A Chinese mega-port built in Colombo will be opened tomorrow. The Colombo International Container Terminal cost $500mn to build and is 85% owned by state-owned China Merchant Holdings International. Independent shipping expert, Rohan Masakorala, said the port gives China a foothold on a strategic route, according to AFP . "Terminal investments are a good business which can give a very good return," said Masakorala, a former secretary-general of the Singapore-based Asian Shippers Council. "Through this investment, China is also securing the safety and efficiency of their main supply chain." "...
Less that 24 hours after the Weliweriya shooting the Army has announced that an internal inquiry will take place, the Colombo Crime Division has been ordered to investigate police actions, the Sri Lankan government has appointed a committee to investigate the grievances of the protesters regarding the contamination of the water, and the JVP has condemned violence against those protesting for a "basic human need". The army's internal inquiry was announced by the newly appointed Army Commander, Liutenant General Daya Rathnayake. The inquiry board will be headed by Major General Jagath Dias. See...
Independent Television Network News (ITN News) reports : ' Information has also been received that the Tamil Diaspora which was behind the process of destabilizing the country through demonstrations in the past were involved in this process to provoke the innocent people. Security sectors disclosed that these conspirators had steered 34 protest campaigns within last month . It has also been confirmed that certain Non Governmental Organizations had even been directly involved in providing free food and drink to those who were staging the demonstrations . Details are also surfacing of the...
A second protestor involved in the Weliweriya demonstration has died, after being wounded by troops who fired on the villagers. There is a heavy presence of Special Task Force soldiers and armed police in the village, according to the AFP. "People are afraid to go outside of their houses because of the security forces' presence," A. Siridamma, the senior Buddhist monk in the area told reporters. The US embassy in Colombo has expressed concern about the incidents in a statement. “The U.S. Embassy is concerned about the violence in yesterday’s protest in Weliweriya, and urges the Government of...
A Sri Lankan lawyers’ organisation, the Lawyers Collective, strongly condemned the Sri Lankan government’s harsh action on the Weliweriya protests. In a statement the organisation said that it condemned the government attacks on peaceful protestors, stating , “In a constitutional democracy, attacking peaceful unarmed protestors or disrupting legitimate civil activities of the citizens is not a legitimate objective of the Armed Forces or the law enforcement authorities.” “Lawyers are shocked but not at all surprised with the dubious post-event pronouncements of the State media and government...