Sri Lanka's new interim budget was approved by the majority in parliament on Saturday, reports Colombo Page.

The Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunayaka, speaking in parliament, said that the interim budget was intended for the whole year, and was not just designed for the 100 days prior to parliamentary elections.

The TNA spokesperson, last week, accused the new government of ignoring Tamil concerns in the interim budget, labelling it as a continuation of previous policy.

Sri Lanka's new government invited the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein to visit the island, a day after a senior minister rejected the international probe conducted by the OHCHR.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera extended the invitation during his visit to Geneva, PTI reported.

The OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka (OISL) is due to present their findings to the UN Human Rights Council at the body's summit in Geneva next month.

On Friday, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the international probe was a "violation" of Sri Lanka's sovereignty.

Updated 12:05

Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested two Tamil men at Colombo airport this week, as they returned from the Middle East to visit their families on holiday.

Kandasamy Karunananidhi, a 36 year old man from Kaluthavalai, Batticaloa and Thamodaram Baskaran, a 29 year old from Kokkaddicholai, Batticaloa were both arrested on arrival in Sri Lanka on the 2nd and 3rd of February respectively. They are currently being detained in the notorious fourth floor of the CID headquarters in Colombo.

Both men, who were working in the UAE and Qatar, had returned to the island in order to visit their wives and children. Tamil National Alliance MP P Ariyanenthiran said that both men had returned several times over the past without facing any difficulty.

A former LTTE cadre, who underwent the Sri Lankan government's 'rehabilitation' programme was arrested by the country's Special Task Force officers on Wednesday evening, reports BattiNews.

The detainee, Kulenthiran Kartheepan, was accused of trying to sell a vehicle illegally, changing the vehicle's registration plate and engine.

Police superintendent, A Wedakadara, said Mr Kartheepan was arrested after the vehicle was reported as suspcious, adding that he would be produced before court today.

 

 

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) should meet and decide on actions to take against the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R Sampanthan, for violating party position by attending Sri Lanka’s independence day said the ITAK deputy leader, CK Sittambalam on Thursday.

Calling on the ITAK Central Committee to take action, the deputy leader, said,

“The ITAK Central Committee should convene immediately as it has the responsibility and duty to determine the actions that should be taken on Sampanthan, who committed a treason and crime against the Tamil people by attending Sri Lanka’s Independence Day celebrations.”

“We cannot allow a mysterious culture which allows a few people to decide the fate of the Tamil people any more, “ he added.

A senior minister in Sri Lanka’s government dismissed allowing an international investigation into mass atrocities.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said there was no possibility of “an international inquiry”.

“That would amount to an unsolicited intervention and a violation of our sovereignty,” the minister told Anadolu Agency, insisting Sri Lanka was “committed to investigate any rights abuses through a domestic process".

Mr Rajapakshe blamed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa for the current OHCHR Investigaion in Sri Lanka.

“It is a fate of his own seeking. President Rajapaksa has written to the U.N. Secretary-General, just four days after the conclusion of the war. It was only after that a U.N. expert committee was appointed to study whether such rights violations had taken place during the final phase of the war. President Rajapaksa has created this situation, not the U.N. and not anyone else, and now it has become a sticky issue,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s state minister of defence, Ruwan Wijewardene, assured troops on Friday that army camps will not be dismantled and soldiers will not be withdrawn from the north of the island.

Speaking to soldiers at the Security Force Headquarters – Jaffna during his visit to the North-East, the minister said there will be no change in policy, “under any circumstances”.

“National security will remain the priority of our government and there is no change in that policy under any circumstances. I say this with responsibility. Members of the armed forces should not believe in unfounded rumours and various fabricated stories in relation to security concerns. I assure you that the government would not remove any army formations in the peninsula, nor does the government plan to scale down security arrangements”, he said.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena will visit China in March, announced China’s Special Representative of the Chinese President and assistant Foreign Minister, Liu Jianchao, after a meeting with Sirisena in Colombo.

Mr Jianchoa, currently on a two day official visit to Sri Lanka, delivered a congratulatory message to the new Sri Lankan president and welcomed the new government’s decision to continue with the ‘Port City’ development project, reports Colombo Page.

The Sri Lankan government announced on Thursday that the Chinese-run Port City project will continue, after a cabinet meeting on the issue.

The project was reviewed by the new government along with several others initiated by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

State-owned China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) had defended the project, saying all procedures of the procurement regulations were followed before the deal was signed with the previous government.

Sri Lanka’s president, Maithripala Sirisena, in a message to mark Chinese new year on Wednesday, pledged to “deepen strategic cooperation” with the Chinese government, reports Xinhua.

In his address, Sirisena said,

“Looking back at 2014, I am pleased that the historic state visit to Sri Lanka of Chinese President Xi Jinping in September last year has provided us with the opportunity to further evaluate our robust relationship and deepen the strategic cooperative partnership in a manner beneficial to our two countries peoples.”