Recent months have seen India rapidly expand its footprint in Sri Lanka. Under the presidency of Ranil Wickremesinghe, a series of deals have reportedly been agreed, binding the two economically closer than they have been in decades. From New Delhi, things may look comfortable across the Palk Strait. But it would be hasty to think so. If it is a long-term relationship with a stable partner that India is seeking, it will not be found in Colombo where authoritarianism is growing and Sinhala Buddhist nationalism continues to underpin the Sri Lankan state ethos. Instead, it is in liberating the Tamil North-East where India’s efforts should be focused.
Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform, Wijayadasa Rajapakse toured the Mantheevu islet, a part of Batticaloa this week to use the area to establish a new prison or a rehabilitation centre, purportedly to overcome Sri Lanka’s issue of overcrowding in prisons. He told reporters who had gathered there that in the past, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the island was used as a quarantine centre by the Sri Lankan Air Force. He also said that there are only leprosy patients living on this island and it can be made use of for other reasons. He had stated that the...
Sri Lankan police prohibited Tamils from attending a monthly festival at a Hindu temple in Trincomalee. Police claimed that worship at the Kandasamimalai Murugan temple in Thennimaravadi was banned as the temple is located in an area that is clained to be a Buddhist archaeological site. The Pongal festival, which is held monthly, is a significant event for the villagers of Thennamaravadi. It takes place on the full moon day and was organized on Friday as usual. However, the event was disrupted when Sri Lankan police and special task force (STF) officers accompanied by the Sri Lankan army,...
Three Tamil journalists, Prabhakaran Dilaksan, Sundarampillai Rajeskaran, and Chinnaiya Yogeswaran, were threatened by the Sri Lankan army as they attempted to cover the gathering of civilians visiting a temple within the 'High-Security Zone' in Palali Vasavilan, Jaffna. The temple, recently opened for public worship, saw a congregation of people this morning eager to offer prayers. As the journalists arrived to report on the event, they faced intimidation from the military, with their phones being confiscated and destroyed. The Sri Lankan army recently granted conditional access to seven...
As part of high-profile diplomatic visit by Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, to Sri Lanka, two Iranian warships IRINS Bushehr and Tonb also docked at Colombo Port. Minister Amir-Abdollahian met with Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe and foreign minister, Ali Sabry, who highlighted the need further cooperation between the two countries in politics, economics, trade, tourism, science, and technology. Sabry heaped praise on Iran's economic and industrial strengths and the island's eagerness to welcome Iranian economic projects whilst Wickremesinghe claimed...
A lawmaker who is a long-time Rajapaksa ally and Deputy Chairman of Parliament Committees Angajan Ramanathan has written to Sri Lanka's president Ranil Wickremesinghe over the forcible acquisition of 500 acres of land in Valikamam North by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, which has been causing much distress to local Tamil residents in these areas. “The current residents having spent more than 25 years in refugee camps and other locations have painstakingly renovated and established residences on these lands,” Ramanathan said. “The prospect of losing their homes once again has...
At a time when consumer confidence is at its lowest in Sri Lanka since receiving a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Donald Lu Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs claimed that "Sri Lanka was a great come back story".
The Interim Secretariat for Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism presented a copy of the draft Reconciliation Bill to the chief monks of the Asgiri and Malwathu chapters, despite widespread criticism that the bill fails to account for the census and sentiments of Tamils . The draft copy of the bill before being presented to Tamil communities in the homeland or civil society, was presented by Asanga Gunawansa, the Director General of the Interim Secretariat to the head of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist clergy - highlighting an attempt by the government to seek their approval whilst ignoring those of the...
Sri Lanka has exported tea worth US$20 million to Iran to partially repay its US$251 million oil debts “So far $20 million worth of tea has been exported to Iran under the barter trade agreement,“ Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena’s office said in a statement after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. The tea-for-oil deal was agreed upon in December 2021, but exports were delayed by Colombo’s economic crisis that forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down in July 2022. The barter deal allows sanctions-hit Iran to avoid having to use up scarce...
Senior US officials, including the head of USAID, the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka aired their concerns on Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Bill this week, a piece of legislation that has come under criticism for threatening freedom of expression online. USAID administrator Samantha Power raised the issue with Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe in a phone call, where an official press release said, “Administrator Power highlighted strong U.S. support for freedom of expression and association, and encouraged President Wickremesinghe to...