The military's presence in the North-East was 'nothing but a necessity', said the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, speaking to The Island . Asserting that previous governments had failed to ensure adequate security measures, Gotabhaya said, "I have no intention of repeating the same mistake." Rejecting criticism of the military's presence, he said the 'positioning of armed forces shouldn't be a political issue or a topic for discussions with any external players.'
Ontario's leader of the opposition Progressive Conservative party endorsed the call for accountability, in his statement marking Annual Tamil Memorial Week. "Annual Tamil Memorial Week ensures we never forget the innocent civilians who were killed during the war , including the tens of thousands of people who died during the last weeks leading up to May 18, 2009. It also gives us the opportunity to once again demand accountability for those who died , the families still living in the country, and their loved ones abroad ." See full statement here .
Former Australian diplomat Bruce Haigh has called for Australia to boycott the upcoming CHOGM, due to be held in Sri Lanka, comparing the island to Apartheid South Africas. He slammed Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr's position on Sri Lanka, stating that 'in all conscience Australia must also boycott CHOGM'. See his full piece here . Extracts have been reproduced below. "In the face of a great deal of evidence to the contrary, Bob Carr has declared Sri Lanka an ideal democracy." "He has declared their institutions sound, and scoffed at the idea of corruption within the ranks of the Rajapaksa government." "He has declared the police, army and navy to be clear of charges of detaining and torturing members of the Tamil minority. He believes that the Sinhalese majority are free of triumphalism and ethnic abuse of Tamils, amounting to state sponsored genocide, following a bloody civil war that occurred because of the very attitudes and practices being deployed against Tamils today. "
Prime Minister David Cameron’s upcoming visit to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth heads of Government meeting has faced criticism at Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament today. Due to Cameron’s visit to the US, he was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. The deputy leader of Clegg’s Liberal party, Simon Hughes, said he “cannot support” Cameron’s decision, because of Sri Lanka’s human rights record. Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh also questioned the decision to attend the meeting. Nick Clegg said that the decision was “controversial, especially in the light of the despicable human rights violations” , but that the visit would “cast a spotlight on the unacceptable abuses” . “If such violations continue, and if the Sri Lankan Government continues to ignore their international commitments in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, of course there will be consequences.” See below for exchange in full.
Tamil schoolchildren in Killinochchi sang songs honouring the Sri Lankan Army at a ceremony earlier this week, in front of the Ranaviru Smarakaya monument. The ceremony was attended by the Governor for the Northern Province, the now retired Major General Chandrasiri, as well as several other commanders from the Sri Lankan Armed Forces including Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, Commander, Security Force Headquarters - Jaffna (SFHQ-J), Major General Udaya Perera, Commander, Security Force Headquarters - Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN), Rear Admiral D.S Udawatte, Naval Commander for East. According...
Sri Lanka held a ‘Jaya Pirith’ ceremony earlier this week, which saw thousands of monks gather in Colombo this week to invoke blessings upon Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Sri Lankan Army. The ceremony was initiated in 2008 and described by the Ministry of Defence as the ‘brainchild’ of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to ‘invoke blessings on marching victorious troops in defence of the country’. This is the 6th consecutive year that the ceremony is being held , with over 3,400 monks in attendance, alongside several senior members of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.
Over a thousand Tamils of the Northern Peninsula filed a petition, to the Appeal Court, demanding that steps to be taken against an acquisition notice ,marked 'P1', that advocates the appropriation of 6381 acres of land which contain their traditional homes. That petition noted the breaching of the government's own land acquisition act, stressing that the government's land acquisition in the Tamil North is flawed , as their land is to be taken over by government forces for no apparent public purpose. Highlighting the inaccurate acquisition notice that justified land appropriation by reading...
A Sri Lankan soldier was acquitted by an all Sinhalese jury, after previously being sentenced to death for the killing of five Muslims, in Pulmoaddai, Trincomalee. Gardiya Weligamage Indra Kirthi de Silva, from the Sinha regiment, was accused of killing the Muslims with a machine gun in May 1995. The soldier was charged with the killing of Abdul Javahir Kaiz, Umardeen Meera Sahidu, Mohideen Bava Aviva Umeema, Kachicha Mohamed Balkis Umeema and Kachichia Mohamed Payas. He was sentenced to death on 26 October 2009 but his lawyers appealed the conviction. After hearing evidence, the jury decided...
Sri Lanka’s new restrictions on land ownership by foreigners will have small provisions that allow non-nationals investing in the country to lease land, provided they paid tax. Chairman of the Board of Investment in Sri Lanka, MMC Ferdinando said that a lease tax between 5 and 10 percent had been discussed by the treasury. Ferdinando also said that freehold land ownership would only be permitted for companies with over 50 percent Sri Lankan share ownership. The new regulations, however, will allow for actors with large investments to purchase land, if given approval by the state. These...
The Commander of the Sri Lankan Security Forces in Vanni has stated that not one single civilian has gone missing and pledged to defend the government on any international forum. Major General Boniface Perera who is also the Officer-in-Charge of Displaced Persons in the Northern Province said, "If anyone says someone has gone missing after the end of terrorism and if they are ready to give information on who had gone missing etc, and when and where, I am ready to debate with any person at any international forum on behalf of the government". Speaking with the state-run Daily News , he also...