After criticism from human rights organisations, not to invite Sri Lanka to a World War I Commonwealth commemoration event, Downing Street has said invitations should go out as usual. According to the Herald Scotland , when asked about Sri Lanka, No 10 said: "The usual approach on invitations to members of the Commonwealth should be followed". Amnesty International Scotland previously said that the UK should reconsider its decision to invite Sri Lanka. "We would urge the UK Government to consider whether it is appropriate to invite Sri Lanka to this event in light of the level of recorded...
A renowned bridge construction company, Clevelend Bridge, has successfully won a £35million contract to replace rural bridges in Sri Lanka. The construction consultancy, upon successful tender to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Economic Development, w as awarded on-going bridge design and construction work in rural parts of the island for the next 4 years. British High Commissioner, John Rankin, praised the deal, describing it as “ A great example of collaboration across the Commonwealth and will ultimately help increase mobility for Sri Lanka’s rural population an enable them to enhance their...
Gathering together, Tamils in Belgium held a remembrance event for those who died during the final stages of the war, before marching through the city centre, demanding justice for those massacred.
In a statement marking 4 years since the end of the armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said that there had been "no progress 4 years on". See here for full statement, extracts published below: " Respect for basic rights and liberties has declined in Sri Lanka in the four years since the government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This week marks the fourth anniversary of the brutal civil war's end." "Publications − including electronic media − that are critical of the government have been subject to government censorship, and some have been forced to close down. The leading Tamil opposition newspaper, Uthayan, has faced repeated physical attacks against its journalists and property ." " Tamils with alleged links to the LTTE remain targets of arbitrary arrest and detention, and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment . Sri Lankan security forces have used rape and other forms of sexual violence against alleged LTTE supporters , as documented by Human Rights Watch in a February report. On the strength of the evidence presented by Human Rights Watch and other organizations, since 2012 several courts in the United Kingdom suspended the deportation of Tamils considered to fall within this risk category."
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya has slated concerns raised by foreign representatives about army camps in the island’s North-East. Jayasuriya further added that the LLRC reported no deliberate targeting of civilians by the army during the war and praised the army’s role in developing the country as “peacetime troops”. Speaking on a state-run radio station, the Sri Lankan Army Commander defended criticisms, claiming that only three army camps were currently present in the Jaffna Peninsula and added that “foreigners have no right to decide where the army camps of this country should be...
Over 500 Australian Tamils gathered in Melbourne on Saturday to remember the victims of the Mullivaikkal massacre, 4 years on. [ more ]
Updated 09:00 GMT Over 100 Tamils gathered in Stockholm to mark the 4th anniversary of the Mullivaikal massacre on Saturday. Tamils from across the city came to pay their respects, with university students and activists handing out leaflets to raise awareness of the genocide.
Expressing solidarity with the Canadian Tamil community in their remembrance of the Mullivaikkal massacre this week, the Conservative MP of Mississauga—Streetsville, Brad Butt, said challenges facing Tamils in the North-East were "very concerning". "This week we join our friends in Canada’s Tamil-Canadian community in observing the fourth anniversary of the end of the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka. " "The Week of Remembrance is a time to remember the innocent who were killed or injured during the decade long civil war and to look towards a brighter future for the people of Sri Lanka." "...
The 4th anniversary of Mullivaikkal was marked in Malaysia, as Tamils gathered in Selangor this weekend in memory of those killed.