Welcoming the High Court ruling halting the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers from the UK on Thursday, David Mepham, the UK director of Human Rights Watch said, "This is a very dramatic development . It is incredibly welcome that a High Court judge has recognised the serious risk facing failed Tamil asylum-seekers . "This should be a wakeup call for the British government . Its existing policy towards Sri Lanka is fundamentally flawed and needs to be seriously re-thought ." The ruling by Justice Eady has been widely welcomed by barristers representing similar clients, who have cautiously...
A protest was held outside Welikada prison in Colombo earlier Tuesday, calling for the release of political prisoners, some jailed for years without charge. A group called the Movement to Free Political Prisoners staged the protest, with relatives holding photographs of those detained and placards calling for their release. Photograph: A mother holds a photo of her daughter held inside Weliakda Prison. Courtesy Ceylon Today Last week, more than 200 Tamil prisoners went on hunger strike calling for the immediate release or to at the very least be charged, with many having been held for years...
Responding to comments made by Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, TNA MP Suresh Premachandran has stated that the government is in the midst of changing the demographics of the Northern Province. Commenting that the government has an agenda in place, the parliamentarian said, “The growing number of Buddhist temples in the area, the militarization of the north and the fact that there are new Sinhalese settlements in many areas of the North shows what the Defence Secretary wants to do is to change the demographic patterns of the Northern province”. He further stated, “The most...
Students at Jaffna University have spoken out at the recent attack on the Secretary of the Student’s Union and the ongoing military intimidation in Jaffna, which attempted to prevent them from holding a remembrance event for those killed in Mullivaikkal earlier this month. In a piece by Young Asia TV, a student who concealed his identity said, “ Inside the university, those associated with the military and those who can be considered as military intelligence, roam freely without revealing their identity. There have been many situations like this. Even though we have notified the University...
According to reports there has been a heavy military presence surrounding Jaffna University since Monday night. See here and here . Despite ongoing tension between Jaffna University students and Sri Lanka's security forces, the Sri Lankan army spokesperson, Brigadier Ruban Vanikasurya, claims the military presence is due to a request made by the university administration and university student leaders to Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe for 'security'. Many students meanwhile continue to speak of intimidation by the military. See Jaffna students speak on military intimidation (30 May 2012...
A delegation of British Conservative MPs is expected to visit Jaffna to look at concerns about high levels of military personnel, reported the Daily Mirror . Presidential advisor Arun Thambimuttu said ten Tory Members of Parliament, including former defence secretary Liam Fox, MP for Croydon South Richard Ottaway and MP for Enfield North, Nick De Bois, were invited to visit the north of the island during a recent meeting in London to monitor the situation themselves. David Amess (Southend West), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan), Alan Duncan (Rutland and Melton), Sheryll...
In a statement released on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the UK government to " immediately suspend deportations of ethnic Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka and review its policies in assessing these claims " and highlighted that the next scheduled deporation is due to take place on Thursday. Noting the Sri Lankan security forces long-standing use of torture against those it deems to be linked the LTTE, HRW said there was a " growing evidence indicates that Tamils who have been politically active abroad are subject to torture and other ill-treatment ". Citing the recent cases of...
Iran invited Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa to Tehran on Tuesday, to attend the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in August 2012, reported the Colombo Page. The invitation by Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was delivered by the Iranian deputy minister of foreign affairs, Abbas Aranghchi, whilst on an official visit to Sri Lanka where he met his counterpart, Neomal Perara. Aranghchi was accompanied by an Iranian business delegation seeking to increase Iranian-Sri Lankan trade ties.
The pro-government newspaper, The Island, reported on Monday, that the external affairs minister, G.L. Peiris "summoned" the British High Commissioner John Rankin, to "protest against the UK envoy contradicting President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Victory Day speech". The newspaper added, "Ministry sources told The Island that Prof. Peiris had expressed displeasure over Rankin disputing President Rajapaksa’s claim of scaling down of the military presence and the non-involvement of the military in civil administration in the Northern Province." See article here . On Saturday, Rankin criticised the on...
The World Bank will lend more than twice as much to Sri Lanka over the next 12 months from July, reports Bloomberg . Sri Lanka will receive $500 million during that period. Bloomberg reports that currently, Sri Lanka borrows $200 million annually under concessionary terms. Earlier this year, the former deputy governor of Sri Lanka's Central Bank, W. A. Wijewardena, warned that the economy was heading for trouble despite an official predicted growth forecast of 7.2%. The AFP news agency wrote at the time, "Sri Lankan economist and former central bank deputy governor W. A. Wijewardena believes...