File photo: Sri Lankan troops in Colombo. Preparations for the annual Victory Day Parade in Colombo are in full swing, with rehearsals for the event causing the closure of roads around the Galle Face Green. The parade will be held on May 19 under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapakse. Media on the island report sources in the Defence Ministry as saying the parade this year will consist of 852 officers and 12, 828 other rankers from the tri-forces, the police, and Civil Defence Force. The parade will be commanded by Maj. Gen. Jagath Rambukpotha, who was the commander of the 56th...
Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister, G.L. Peiris, will be leaving for the United States on Monday, to attend his meeting with US Secretary of State Hiliary Clinton on May 18th in order to discuss implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC. Implentation of specific recommendations contained within was an integral part of a US resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year. Peiris is said to be accompanied by the Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, MP Sajin Vas Gunawardena and the Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.
President Mahinda Rajapakse has been invited to take part in the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee. Mr Rajapakse will travel to the UK on June 3 for a four-day visit, but according to sources in the British High Commission in Colombo it will not be a state visit and no meetings with British government officials have yet been confirmed. British Tamils have expressed regret the decision to invite the president to the UK. Speaking to TamilNet , Arujuna Sivananthan of the British Tamil Conservatives said, “Her Majesty has led an exemplary life binding together various...
Ranil and Sampanthan at May Day rally The leader of the opposition, Ranil Wickremasinghe offered to mediate talks between the government and the TNA at a meeting with Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday. Discuss the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) the UNP leader said that the PSC "would not be meaningful" without the TNA and gave his assurance that he would bring the TNA to the PSC discussions if the government was willing to implement the LLRC recommendations. The meeting comes shortly after Sumanthiran of the TNA slammed the government for its failure to make meaningful progress on...
Two state-run banks have written of billions of rupees of debt, after years of loans granted by the state not being repaid. It was announced in the Sri Lankan Parliament on Friday that the Bank of Ceylon has written off Rs.116.5 billion whilst the People's Bank has written off Rs.85.7 billion. It was further stated that in 2011 the People's Bank had written off Rs.788 million; Rs.316 million in 2010; Rs.157 million in 2009 and Rs.787 million in 2008. A letter sent by the Additional General Manager Bank of Ceylon also noted that the Bank of Ceylon had written off Rs. 11.3 billion in 2011,...
Sri Lanka managed to avoid a ban on exporting its fish to the European Union, after pledging to comply with industry regulations, following complaints from the United Kingdom reported the Sunday Times . At the 16th session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) held in Australia, the British Indian Overseas Territory complained that Sri Lankan fishermen were involved in illegal poaching. The complaint was also put forward by the UK, who according to Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, attempted to “ban our entire fleet of fisheries vessels for fishing in international waters”. They went on to...
Tamil National Alliance MP M A Sumanthiran has hit out at the government’s insincerity in addressing accountability issues. In a speech to the Sri Lankan parliament on Friday, Mr Sumanthiran said that only an independent international investigation can break the cycle of impunity and prevent the return of violence. “You talk so much about reconciliation. If you’re serious about reconciliation, your concern will be that of the victims. If victims are to recover from their trauma, justice and accountability are a necessary part of that. That is so, because to bring closure to a collective and...
The Sri Lankan military deployed to the North-East are to be trained in public health surveillance and disease prevention, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday. According to the ministry spokesperson, the soldiers will be trained by the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry and will by the end of their training have the same knowledge as a public health inspector in dengue fever prevention, and conduct all inspection activities in the North-East. The Defence Minister, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was thanked by the Health Minister Maithripapa Sirisena, for the defence ministry's contribution to the public health initiative. See related articles: Army to form construction company (19 Jan 2012) Army opens yet another holiday resort in Jaffna (11 Jan 2012)
Italian Tamil youth joined other young Italians in celebration of the diversity and multi-culturalism that surrounds them, at Castelnovo Sotto on 6th May 2012. They were joined by communities from India, Ghana, Albania, Russia, Madagascar and the Arab Maghreb Union. Sharing traditional culinary favourites, members of a Tamil youth organisation - Giovanni Tamil, also shared their memories and thoughts of the struggle faced by their nation in the North-East of the island of Sri Lanka. Saddened and shocked by the events of Mullivaikal, the guests joined members of Giovanni Tamil in wearing black...
Finance Secretary Dr P B Jayasundera has said tea imports into Sri Lanka should be banned in order to protect the integrity and image of Sri Lankan tea. The Tea Exporters Association, which represents around 75% of Sri Lankan tea exporters, has recently made a proposal to allow the importing and blending of foreign tea with Sri Lankan blends for export. Speaking at a Dilmah conference, Dr Jayasundera rejected the proposals. “Sri Lanka should not permit our product to be used in that manner.” “One product we should uncompromisingly preserve and protect is Sri Lankan tea. Dilmah has shown that...