Buddhist monks led 300 protesters from the office of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) or National Heritage Party to demonstrate opposite a local UN office, reports the Associated Press. The demonstrators were protesting against a visit from a delegation of the UN Office of Human Rights, complaining of unfair criticism and allegations of abuse since the end of the war in 2009. The protesters voiced fears that the visit was just taking Sri Lanka a step closer to being subjected to an international war crimes investigation. Placards showed the JHU’s concern for human rights in other nations,...
The editor of The Sunday Leader Frederica Jansz has been sacked after the new owner of the paper said articles in the paper were too critical of the president and his family. The Sunday Leader is one of the few newspapers in Sri Lanka openly critical of the government and has previously been the target of violence, including the assassination of its previous editor, Lasantha Wikramatunge. Jansz said that the new owner, Asanga Seneviratne, who is a friend of the Rajapakses, had asked her to stop carrying articles criticising the president. "He said our articles were too slanderous of the...
At least 12 Tamil asylum seekers due to be deported from the UK on Wednesday were taken off a flight heading to Sri Lanka after a senior judge issued a last minute injunction, reported the Independent . The last minute injunction was issued after a judge accepted that Tamil asylum seekers who are deported to Sri Lanka from the UK with allegations against them from the Sri Lankan government of a real or perceived link to the LTTE, face torture. The judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, also accepted that those who have been previously tortured also face torture upon their return to Sri Lanka and should...
25 failed asylum seekers who were deported from Britain on Wednesday night, were questioned by Sri Lankan CID upon their arrival in Colombo The BBC reported that the families of those being deported were anxiously waiting at the airport, whilst the failed asylum seekers were being questioned by CID. According to the International Organisation of Migration 25 people were aboard the flight, after a last minute injunction granted some of the original 60 who were set to be deported a reprieve. Britain has been criticised for its decision to deport failed Tamil asylum seekers, with many human...
Sixteen out of 19 army divisions are deployed within the North-East, reports The Hindu. Quoting the retired Colonel R. Hariharan, the newspaper stated the deployment was more suggestive of "operational readiness" than a post-conflict scenario. The army deployment, excludes the STF (Special Task Force) in the Eastern province, and the Airforce and the Navy.
Speaking on his death bed, T.P. Vijayaraj, the twenty-six year old Indian Tamil auto driver who self-immolated on Monday in Salem in protest against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s visit to India, urged Tamils to protest against the visit. Vijayraj, who succumbed to his burns on Tuesday at 11:45 am at the Government Medical College Hospital, spoke to journalists before his death: “Rajapake should not come into India. The murderer who killed Eelam Tamils in large number should not come to India. What’s your name? Viyaraj. What organization are you part of? CITU. What time did you do...
As Vijayaraj - the 26-year-old who self-immolated in protest against the visit by Rajapaksa to India - was dying from 95% burns, the Sri Lankan president's spokesperson, Bandula Jayasekara, exemplified Sri Lanka's response to the deaths of Tamils who protest. A Twitter conversation that took place on Wednesday between Jayasekara and an opposition supporter who goes by the alias 'Fonseka2010' has been reproduced below: Bandula Jayasekara: President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrives in New Delhi Fonseka2010: 70 millions Tamils will self immolate, we are told Bandula Jayasekara: :) In Sri Lanka, when it...
The leader of the TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal), Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, known as Pillayan, has been appointed as Presidential Advisor, reports the Daily Mirror. The past few months have seen increasingly brazen attacks by members of the TMVP, including attacks on TNA (Tamil National Alliance) members at pre-election rally , and the intimidation of voters in Batticaloa . No doubt Pillayan's got a few tips to pass on.
The former SLFP organiser for the Trincomalee district, Najeeb A. Majeed, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province on Tuesday, by President Rajapaksa. The appointment is believed to confirm a UPFA (united Peoples Freedom Alliance) and SLMC (Sri Lankan Muslim Congress) coalition agreement. According to News.lk , out of the four ministerial positions, two - health and education - will be held by the UPFA's Pillayan and W. Dissanayake respectively, and two - road development and agriculture - by the SLMC's A.M. Jameel and Hafiz Nazeer Ahamed. Majeed is the son of a deputy...
The rights group, Tamils Against Genocide [TAG] applied on Wednesday morning to the UK Administrative Court for an injunction against the UK government proceeding with the charter flight of forced returns to Sri Lanka scheduled for 15.30 pm on the same day. See here for court order. The application was made based on the information contained in recent report released by TAG, entitled 'Returnees at Risk' , which detailed egregious torture of 26 students and other persons returning voluntarily to Sri Lanka after spending a short period of time in Britain. TAG challenged the UK Border Agency's...