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Sri Lanka should immediately release fishing boats – Tamil Nadu

Aug 29, 2014

Tamil Nadu has reiterated its demand for the immediate release of its fishing boats held by Sri Lanka.

Speaking during the first India-Sri Lanka Joint Committee (JC) meeting on fisheries in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu’s Fisheries Secreteary S Vijayakumar reiterated the state’s “firm commitment” to the restoration of traditional fishing rights of Tamil fishermen, including fishing unhindered in the Palk Strait.

The Government of India should not treat the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) with Sri Lanka as settled, since the constitutional validity previous agreements have been challenged on “extremely valid and legal grounds” by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the Supreme Court of India, he said according to The New Indian Express.

The Indian delegation was led by Dr Raja Sekar Vundru, Joint Fisheries Secretary, and Sri Lanka was led by Nimal Hettiarachchi, Director General of the Department of Fisheries and Agricultural Resources.

Basil blames NPC for lack of development

Aug 28, 2014

Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa blamed the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) for the lack of development in the area, stating that the government's development plan had slowed down since the NPC took charge, reports The Hindu.

“They have not done anything yet,” he told reporters, adding that the NPC should use the powers at hand before demanding more devolution.

His comments are at stark odds with those from within the NPC however, who have increasingly criticised the government's restrictions and withholding of funds.

Earlier this year the Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran slammed President Rajapaksa's failure to uphold pledges made to the NPC.

Government evading talks says TNA

Aug 28, 2014

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran said the Sri Lankan government was evading the political question by stating false claims of LTTE links.

"The Government is now saying it cannot hold talks with the TNA because we are representatives of the LTTE. The Government is trying to evade resolving the Tamil issue citing these false claims," he told a press conference on Thursday.

"We do not have any hidden agenda. We strongly believe a solution to the issue in a united country and we do not want a separate state,” Sumanthiran said.

ICRC says missing in Sri Lanka must not be forgotten

Aug 28, 2014

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged the international community not to forget missing persons worldwide, including those in Sri Lanka.

"States have an obligation under international humanitarian law to take all feasible measures to clarify the fate and whereabouts of people who have gone missing and to inform their families accordingly," said the vice-president of the ICRC, Christine Beerli.

Stating that the ICRC was working on the cases of 52,000 missing persons worldwide, staff member Marianne Pecassou said:

"This figure is just the tip of the iceberg, since these cases are only the ones brought to the attention of the ICRC by relatives. We know that many more people remain unaccounted for around the world."

Sri Lanka to strengthen defence cooperation with Pakistan

Aug 28, 2014

(Picture: The Nation)

Sri Lanka looks to make political solution for Tamils irrelevant - TNA tells India

Aug 27, 2014

Sri Lanka is working to make a political solution for Tamils irrelevant by breaking the linguistic and cultural contiguity in the North-East by militarisation and resettlement of Sinhalese families, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) told Indian press on Wednesday.

“Their objective is also to change the composition and change the cultural and linguistic identity of Tamil regions. The most urgent need is that this should end. It is their hope that if they continue with this, a political solution for Tamils will be irrelevant, a solution would become redundant and they can have their own way,” said R Sampanthan.

Sampanthan’s comments come after the TNA delegation travelled to India to hold talks with Prime Minister Modi regarding the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Dead body recovered from lagoon in Eastern Province

Aug 27, 2014

The body of a 66-year old man was recovered from Santhiveli Lagoon in Eravoor this week, reports Eastern Province-based website Batti news.

Arumugam Sithamparampillai had left his home in Santhiveli on Tuesday to attend to his livestock in a neighbouring village. His body was discovered later that evening floating in the lagoon by his son, who had gone out to fish.

The police, lead by officer M.S.M Nazeer, are currently investigating the death.

Minister Bernier celebrates Tamil business success in Canada

Aug 27, 2014

Canada's Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, Maxime Bernier, celebrated the success and entrepreneurial spirit of the Tamil community in Canada, highlighting their contributions to the Canadian economy.

As part of the Canadian federal government’s pre-budgetary consultations Minister Bernier met with representatives of the Canadian Tamils' Chamber of Commerce (CTCC) in Toronto on Wednesday.

“I can see they have a huge impact, like other small business owners, they’re the true Canadians," Minister Bernier told the Tamil Guardian following the meeting.

“They’re very good entrepreneurs, it’s a plus for us as Canadians to have these entrepreneurs with us,” said the minister, who was Canada's foreign affairs minister during the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

UK country guidance on ‘Tamil separatism’ highlights human rights violations by Sri Lanka

Aug 27, 2014

The UK Home Office issued a new asylum country guidance report on ‘Tamil Separatism’ on Thursday, drawing on several reports detailing human rights violations by Sri Lanka against Tamil separatists and people that are perceived to be.

The report provides “guidance to Home Office decision makers on handling [asylum] claims made by nationals/residents of - as well as country of origin information (COI) about – Sri Lanka”.

We would have to go to war' to retrieve Katchatheevu says Indian attorney general

Aug 26, 2014

The Indian Supreme Court has heard that retrieving the small island of Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka will impossible, reported the Times of India.

"The island was given to Sri Lanka on the basis of a bilateral agreement in 1974. To retrieve it now, we have to go to war," attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told the court.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and opposition leader M Karunanidhi are presenting petitions to the Supreme Court next week, calling for a retrieval of the uninhabited island in the Palk Strait.

Tamil Nadu’s assembly some years ago unanimously passed a resolution moved by Jayalalithaa, calling on the government of India to take “immediate steps to retrieve Katchatheevu Island ceded in 1970 to Sri Lanka".

Katchatheevu has been used by fishermen of both countries for decades, however Tamil Nadu fishermen are routinely arrested and harassed by the Sri Lankan Navy.

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Sri Lanka should immediately release fishing boats – Tamil Nadu

Basil blames NPC for lack of development

Government evading talks says TNA

ICRC says missing in Sri Lanka must not be forgotten

Sri Lanka to strengthen defence cooperation with Pakistan

Sri Lanka looks to make political solution for Tamils irrelevant - TNA tells India

Dead body recovered from lagoon in Eastern Province

Minister Bernier celebrates Tamil business success in Canada

UK country guidance on ‘Tamil separatism’ highlights human rights violations by Sri Lanka

We would have to go to war' to retrieve Katchatheevu says Indian attorney general

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