10 April 2009 - Stop shelling No Fire Zone, HRW tells Sri Lanka

Human Rights Watch in a press release demanded that the Sri Lankan government stop firing heavy artillery into the ‘No Fire Zone, where they estimated some 100000 Tamil civilians were trapped.

The Asian director at Human Rights Watch described Sri Lanka’s No Fire one as ‘the most dangerous place in the world.’

Reaching out to Human Rights Watch, a doctor in the No Fire Zone, said,

"We have been reporting every day, every day providing reports to relevant authorities and to the international community, and still there are no real steps taken to save these innocent civilians."

See full Human Rights Watch press brief here.

10 April 2009 -  US Tamil organisations urge state department to check reports of chemical weapons used in No Fire Zone

Eleven Tamil organisations in a meeting with the US state department urged the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, to investigate allegations and evidence of chemical weapon attacks against Tamil civilians and called for aid to be delivered to the No Fire Zone.

See press release from the US state department meeting here.


09 April 2009 -  Over 300 injured civilians  admitted to Puthumaathalan make shift hospital

Over 300 injured Tamil civilians were admitted to the makeshift hospital with 47 people dying after being admitted throughout the day.

Sources on the ground told Tamilnet that several civilians that were killed by indiscriminate shelling and gunfire by the Sri Lankan military had been left were they lay.

The sources further added that an estimate of the total killed and injured for the day was hard to calculate.

09 April 2009 -  ICRC team leader killed in Vanni

A team leader for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Sinnathurai Kugathasan, was killed by Sri Lankan military shelling within the No Fire Zone, rescue workers told Tamilnet.

 

08 April 2009 -  Child nutrition centre shelled by Sri Lankan military

411 civilians including 100 children were affected by the shelling of a child care centre and milk powder distribution centre at Pokkanai, within the No Fire Zone.

Reports given to Tamilnet alleged that three artillery shells were fired into the civilian facilities, leaving 129 dead and 100 children injured.

An survivor of the shelling in an eyewitness account to Human Rights Watch, said,

“There had been no distribution of milk powder for three months, and so when they announced that there would be distribution today, hundreds of people lined in queue. It was early in the morning. I heard the first shell, and hit the ground. I survived by miracle, but my 45-year old uncle died on the spot- he lost both legs.”

The Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), the largest constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has written to the speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament and argued the party is entitled to the post of opposition leader as the largest party not in the current government.

In the letter to speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, ITAK General Secretary K Thurairajasingham and leader R Sampanthan, said as the two largest parties, the UNP and the UPFA, are in controlling the government together, no MP from those parties can be appointed to the post.

“The Government today is composed of both the UPFA and the UNP, disentitling both of those parties from occupying the seat of the Leader of the Opposition. No member of parliament elected from the UPFA or UNP can be the Leader of the Opposition,

“This clearly is the legal position as well as one that accords with parliamentary tradition, both of our country and the Commonwealth. The resultant position is that it is the ITAK that is entitled to the post of the Leader of the Opposition, having 14 members of parliament,” the letter said.

The editor of the Uthayan said his journalists “"do not feel terribly free”, and said they are not being allowed to do their jobs by the security forces.

Speaking to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) after the arrest of one of its reporters, the paper’s editor Prem Anand said he believed the journalist N. Logathayalan was charged with "defamation of the police department".

“The police and other security institutions are still not willing to give us the space we need to do our job as reporters," Mr Anand told the CPJ.

"Arresting a reporter is an inappropriate response if the police in Jaffna feel they have been harmed by a news report," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.

The Sri Lankan army held joint exercises with the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (APF) at a training base in China’s southern Guangzhou province at the end of March.

The drills, codenamed “Silk Road Cooperation-2015”, were aimed at “helping both sides to learn from each other […] to improve their capabilities of performing duties”, the Chinese military’s news portal said.

The exercises were mainly focused on counter-terrorism training, including “skills of shooting, capturing and climbing […] and the tactical trainings [sic] are mainly composed of operations of searching blocks, rescuing hostages as well as anti-hijacking aircraft and buses,” according to Su Haihui, deputy director of the Training Department of the APF.

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) said President Maithripala Sirisena should pack his bags and leave and allow a leader with backbone to run Sri Lanka.

General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara told a press conference that people were confused, while Chief Executive Officer Dilantha Vithanage said the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were giving conflicting messages, the Daily Mirror reported.

“This government has not given priority to Buddhism at ceremonies organised by the Government and we have noticed Buddhism and the Sinhala nation are under threat,” Gnanasara said.

“The country needs a leader with a backbone and leadership qualities. Mr. Sirisena is a good person. But he is unable to administer the affairs of this country and neither has he been capable of fulfilling the elections promises he made. So we kindly request him to leave,” he further said, adding that “even” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would be a better leader.

A 10 year old Tamil boy was hacked to death in Vavuniya, reported the Daily Mirror.

The remains of the boy, named as Chandrasekeran Sanjay, were found in the grounds of a house in Vavuniya on Thursday.

Local police are reportedly investigating the crime.

Sri Lanka and Bhutan pledged to enhance their ties based on a "special relationship as the two countries are bound by common spiritual link of Buddhism" during an official visit by the prime minister of Bhutan.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said "his country is extremely grateful to Sri Lanka for the gift of a sapling of Sri Maha Bodhi to Bhutan", adding that "the Bodhi sapling will be a sacred symbol of the extraordinary spiritual bonds between Bhutan and Sri Lanka."

A Canadian federal judge has overruled a government decision to deport a Tamil man, who reportedly worked for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, stating that it would not be safe to send him to Sri Lanka.

Justice Sean Harrington ruled that Puvanesan Thurairaja, who reportedly gathered funds with the LTTE Records Office and Finance Department, “may well be at risk if returned” to Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan army's conducted New Year's sports festival in Batticaloa on Thursday, in advance of April 14, aimed at bringing together Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people, the government said.