Environmentalists and civil society activists protested at Galle Face in Colombo on 17 June against proposed heavy mineral sand mining along the eastern coastline from Oluvil to Pothuvil, warning that the project threatens the land, fisheries and livelihoods of Tamil and Muslim communities across the Eastern Province.
According to the People's Alliance for Right to Land (PARL), exploration…
<p>Senior United Nations officials have reportedly lodged a complaint with Sri Lankan authorities stating that one of their staff was threatened at gun point by two members of the army in Jaffna last year.</p>
<p>The Sunday Times reports that two people who claimed to be from the army entered the residence of a UN official in Jaffna, pointing a pistol at the staff member and warning that an investigation was underway against them.</p>
<p>The military has not taken any action on the case, denying that any members of the security forces were involved in the incident.</p>
Sri Lanka’s prime minister has once again reiterated his government’s pledge to “do more work” to protect Buddhism on the island, as talks over a new constitution continue.
A Sri Lankan court has further remanded a group that was arrested last year, accused of vandalising a Buddha statue in Mawanella, in the south of the island.
The group of eleven people have now been remanded until February 27. Amongst those being held are people who were arrested for providing accommodation to some of those accused of vandalism.
Whilst Tamils in the North-East continue to protest for the military to leave their lands, the Sri Lankan army organised a tennis tournament at its occupying military base in the Vanni last week.
Sri Lanka’s prime minister has faced criticism from Tamils after telling them to “forget the past and move forward” at an event in Kilinochchi last week.
<p>Occupation and colonisation in Mullaitivu are more pressing issues than development, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP told the Sri Lankan prime minister.</p>
<p>Speaking at a meeting during prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to the North on Saturday, TNA MP Shanthi Sriskantharajah highlighted that development efforts were secondary to the need to end and reverse the occupation and appropriation of Tamil lands in Mullaitivu.</p>
Sathiyamoorthy, the Tamil journalist killed inside the ‘No Fire Zone’ by a Sri Lankan army artillery barrage in February 2009, was remembered by journalists and writers in Jaffna on Sunday.