Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, appealed to the international community for economic support following the devastating impact caused by the COVID-19 virus.

This plea for international support came during a virtual ‘High – Level Event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID – 19 and beyond’ organized by the Prime Ministers of Canada, Jamaica and the UN Secretary-General.

Jaffna journalists marked the 16^th anniversary of the assassination of Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan, despite Sri Lankan police surveillance.

Members of Jaffna Press Club laid flowers to honour Mr Nadesan who was murdered in Batticaloa in 2004.  

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, says the Special Task Force (STF), a police unit accused of committing mass atrocities, has a greater responsibility in countering religious extremism and drug mafia.

During his visit to the STF headquarters, Gunaratne reportedly praised the STF troops for “their professionalism as an elite force” during the civil war which killed tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

This week has seen a series of political leaders congratulate Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, alleged war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa, for his 50 years in parliament. His political career is marked by the entrenchment of a corrupt military establishment; virulent Sinhala Buddhist nationalism; and a genocidal campaign against the Tamil people.

UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have issued a statement stressing that the UNP will extend full support to the Sri Lankan government during the coronavirus pandemic but will not join the government.

Wickremesinghe’s statement further calls for all parties represented in the 2015 parliament to meet and to make a final decision with respects to the election which has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

<p>“President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government appears headed for a constitutional crisis that could lastingly damage Sri Lanka’s political institutions and aggravate conflict risks,” writes Alan Keenan, a senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group.</p> <p>“The Sri Lankan government has declared its intention to rule without parliamentary oversight for the first time in the country’s modern history, potentially sparking a serious constitutional crisis. Elected in November and without a majority in parliament, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa seized his earliest opportunity to dissolve the legislature on 2 March and schedule a general election for 25 April. As the COVID-19 emergency grew serious in late March, the National Elections Commission (NEC) delayed the vote indefinitely.”</p> <p>“With the constitution stating that parliament can remain dissolved for only three months pending fresh elections, Sri Lanka will head into dangerously uncharted territory unless the president or courts take decisive action before the deadline expires on 2 June.”</p>

Tributes have poured from across the Tamil Canadian community for 52-year-old Surendran Thambirajah, who passed away earlier this month after he stopped to help another driver who had crashed their car in     Ontario.

Thambirajah had stopped at the scene of a crash to offer his assistance, after another vehicle has crashed into a hydro pole. He passed away after being struck by a downed wire.

A 27 year old man has been arrested by the Terrorism Prevention Unit in connection with an explosion in Vadamarachchi on May 27.

<p>Fitch Ratings has reported that has recalibrated Sri Lanka’s National Rating Scale following their earlier downgrading of the country’s sovereign rating has been downgraded from “B” to “B-” signalling a negative “Long-Term Issuer Default Rating”.</p> <p>Fitch Ratings are used to indicate the relative credit worth of sovereign nations and a negative rating spells further economic worries for Sri Lanka.</p> <p>Sri Lanka’s external debt amounts 3.2 billion USD, from May to December 2020, and this includes 1 billion USD worth of debt due in October.</p>

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked the Indian government for what he called “generous assistance extended to Sri Lanka during the current difficult period,” as he met with India’s envoy in Colombo this morning.

The newly appointed Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay met with Rajapaksa, where they “reaffirmed two country’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations exploring new avenues of cooperation,” according to an official press release.