TNPF press conference 13/06/13. (Left to right: General Secretary Selvarajah Kajendran, President Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, and Party Organiser Vis va Manivannan ) At press conference on Wednesday, the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) slammed the notion that the 13th Amendment could be used in any way as a basis towards a political solution. Speaking at the event, organised by the Jaffna Press Club, TNPF President Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said: " It [13th Amendment] cannot be used as a starting point. It cannot be used as an interim solution. It cannot be used as a final solution. There is no room for even any discussion on the possibility of using the 13th Amendment as part of a political solution ." Calling on the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) not undermine the Tamil nation's political aspirations by standing as a coalition party in the Northern Provincial Council election, the TNPF urged the TNA to put forward individuals as independent candidates, as means of safeguarding the Tamil people against the possibility of government parties or paramilitaries winning the election.
A family of four was abducted by a group claiming to be from the army in a white van on Wednesday in Batticaloa, reports Tamilwin . The van was reportedly intercepted after villagers alerted the police, and the drivers on interrogation claimed that they were going to a nearby military camp, and the family was being taken based on a 'personal grudge'. A military spokesperson accused external groups of carrying out such calculated abductions to frame and ruin the 'good reputation' of the security forces.
The #Boycottlka campaign moved to the Kennington Oval in London, today. In the lead up to the highly anticipated International Cricket Champions Trophy match between England and Sri Lanka, several activists handed out leaflets amongst large crowds outside the Oval Activist explains the importance of a boycott of Sri Lanka
The US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, Stephen Rapp, has expressed his disappointment at Sri Lanka’s progress on accountability issues. Questioned by the Inner City Press on accountability, Rapp said the US sponsored two resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council, which "express our disappointment that provisions of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission haven't been implemented, in regard reconciliation... between Tamil and major communities in Sri Lanka and particular disappointment on accountability for the alleged grave atrocities near the end of the conflict on both...
The Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion, Faizer Mustapha, has joined the long line of Sri Lankan politicians opposing the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) proposals. Mustapha says that holding elections for an NPC with land and police powers would be dangerous since the main Tamil party, the TNA 'still harbours a separatist line', reports ColomboPage . Joined by Arun Thambimuttu, the Batticaloa organiser of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Mustapha said that the provinces did not need land and police powers and that these allocations should be repealed before the NPC election. See...
The UNP and JHU met today to discuss the UNP's draft document on the constitution. Earlier, the UNP's General Secretary Tissa Attanayake welcomed the meeting saying , "The fact that a hard line party was willing to sit down and talk to us on constitutional reform is indicative of the fact that our new radical programme has had a positive impact on the political fraternity." A meeting between the UNP and JVP has also been planned, said Attanayake.
The British government has rejected calls by human rights organisations to ban Sri Lanka from attending an event commemorating World War I. Campaigners from Amnesty Scotland had called for the ban for the ceremony in Glasgow, but Westminster has dismissed concerns, according to the Herald Scotland . A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said the UK "enjoys normal diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka" and that the “final list of invites to the event in Glasgow will be decided nearer the time." Mark Bevan, programme director of Amnesty International Scotland, said in May, "...
The TNA was called to New Delhi for urgent talks by India's Central government reports the Uthayan newspaper, which is run by TNA MP E. Saravanabhavan. According to the paper, the talks, intended to take place early next week, will focus on moves by the Sri Lankan government to change the 13th Amendment. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid are reported to take part. The TNA leader R. Sampanthan, and leaders of constituent parties are all called upon to attend.
A Batticaloa university student was assaulted by a group of unidentified attackers, reports Tamilwin . 3rd year student at the Eastern University, Y Amirtharaj is reportedly receiving treatment for injuries sustained from the attack on Monday night. Student union members implied that the attack may have been connected to upcoming union elections.
A group of monks have raided and shut down an “illegal” Muslim slaughterhouse, which has been operating in Wattala for the past 12 years. “I got a tip-off a week back from one of the residents of the area about the slaughterhouse,” Buddhist monk Dandeniye Samithananda told the Sunday Times . “We decided to raid the place ourselves because the residents said that they have made series of complaints to the area police but action wasn’t taken to stop the operators.” The monk, from a Buddhist temple in Kelaniya, said he was hiding outside the abattoir with other villagers, just after poya day, a sacred day every full moon for Buddhist, when the slaughter of animals is banned.