During a visit to Vavuniya, last week accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed the need to “protect” the “ideology” and “force” that made him President and claimed that groups were used to “spread lies about white vans, crocodiles and sharks”; his comments came in the same week in which the elected Mayor of Jaffna V. Mannivannan was arrested by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) and amongst intense military harassment of Tamil and Muslim civil society members.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited Vavuniya to hold his 17th “Discussion with the Village”, in one of the few talks to be held in the Northern Province. A programme which began running in September 2020, aimed to meet people in remote villages and inquire into their problems and discuss solutions. In previous discussions, the President has claimed that he does know what human rights abuses he has committed.

During this discussion in Vavuniya, Gotabaya Rajapaksa stressed the importance to protect the ideology that brought him into power and criticised hostile forces towards this “ideology” claiming that they are spreading “false propaganda” and trying to destroy it.

The International Truth and Justice Project have called upon the British Foreign Office to abide by its commitments to human rights and impose Magnitsky Sanctions against Sri Lanka’s Army Commander, Shavendra Silva, who is credibly accused of crimes against humanity.

Heavy deployment of Sri Lankan police and military in Jaffna last month

Sri Lankan army commander Shavendra Silva, told the Colombo Gazette that nearly 3000 people have been quarantined in Jaffna due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

Photo of a Sri Lankan Navy vessel

Sri Lanka’s Navy has arrested 30 Tamil fishermen off Poonakary, in northern Kilinochchi, as the navy continues to intensify its patrols.

This announcement follows Fisheries Minister, and accused human rights abuser, Douglas Devananda, introducing a set of restrictions to limit fishing to only permit holders.

(Photo provided by the World Bank)

The World Bank’s recent report on Sri Lanka highlights the devastating impact the coronavirus has had on the economy; with the country experiencing its worst growth rate on record, contracting 3.6 percent throughout 2020, with a massive 16.4 percent contraction in the second quarter alone. Economic recovery, the World Bank notes will be reliant upon foreign direct investment and normalising tourism.

Foreign Investment

Sri Lankan police interrogated and threatened the chair of a divisional council in Kilinochchi over the naming of a road after a former cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The interrogation was in regards to the naming of a street in Santhapuram as ‘Vettri Lane’, after the nom-de-guerre of a local former combatant who had undergone the Sri Lankan government’s notorious ‘rehabilitation’ programme after the end of the armed conflict.

Writing in The Diplomat, Tasnim Nazeer details Sri Lanka’s ongoing attempts to silence dissenting Muslim voices and highlights the arrest of Azath Salley, a prominent human rights advocate.

Following the passage of the UN Human Rights Council resolution, which mandated the collection of evidence that may be used in a future war crimes tribunal, Sri Lankan Ambassador to China, Palitha Kohona, has denied UN allegations and defended China’s treatment of its Uighur population.

Following the release of Jaffna Mayor, Viswalingam Manivannan, Fisheries Minister, and alleged human rights abuser, Douglas Devananda, claimed that Sri Lanka’s President was going to “pardon” Manivannan, despite the lack of any evidence of criminal conduct.

Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK) leader, C V Wigneswaran, has questioned this alleged pardon as it would imply that he had committed some offence despite the police not providing the court any evidence in Court.

Residents in Vavuniya are in a state of fear as Sri Lankan police officers visit homes demanding personal information.

Sri Lankan police visited the houses of residents in the garden areas of Vavuniya this week, and handed over forms requesting resident details; stating that they will come back to retrieve the requested information.

Locals state that the request for individual details without any clear information or reasons has created a state of panic among the public.

Details requested on the form include name, address, occupation, National Identity Card number and telephone number of the occupants of the houses.