• Britain says no to defence pact with Sri Lanka

    Jan 18
    The British foreign office minister for South Asia, Hugo Swire, on Saturday ruled out a defence pact with the Sri Lankan government, stating it was too "premature".

    Britain would be engaging in providing training to Sri Lankan troops on how to operate in a democratic country, Mr Swire was quoted by the Island as saying.

    "In terms of defence, we are re-engaging with our non resident Defence Attache based in New Delhi, establishing contacts with the Sri Lankan military right across the board. It is all part of what we are doing in other countries such as Burma, where our military experiences are being imparted."

  • Tamil diaspora organisations commemorate 40th anniversary of Vaddukoddai resolution

    Tamil diaspora organisations, in a statement marking the 40th anniversary of the passing of the ‘Vaddukkoddai Resolution,’ pledged to host events around the world to reaffirm and 'take it forward in all dimensions.'

    The statement read,

    “The essence of the Resolution declared on 14 May 1976 under the leadership of the late S.J.V Chelvanayagam was the enunciation by Tamils that, in view of their long maligned experiences, they could no longer live under the hegemonic rule of a Sinhala Buddhist State. In the subsequent General Elections of 1977, the Tamil people gave a clear mandate for the Resolution by electing all candidates who stood behind it. That mandate by the people lives in their spirit forty years on.”

  • 3 Tamil Nadu fishermen detained by Sri Lankan coast guard
    Three fishermen from Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu were detained on Saturday by the Sri Lankan coast guard, reports Times of India.

    The arrest is the latest in the ongoing arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan security forces, which have sparked fierce criticism from Tamil Nadu political figures.
  • Families demand permanent teaching posts in Batticaloa school


    Students, their parents and teachers of the Arayampathi Mavilankuthurai Vigneswara school in Batticaloa protested on Monday demanding permanent posts for school teachers and principals.

  • Broader international coalition would have aided Sri Lankan peace process says Solheim
    Former Norwegian peace facilitator Erik Solheim said last week the Sri Lankan peace process would have benefited from broader international involvement.

    Speaking at a panel discussion on January 14 at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Mr Solheim said though India, Norway and Japan had provided diplomatic support for the peace process between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government “a broader and stronger coalition of outside international players was needed.”

  • Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division probes case of missing Tamil school girls

  • Sri Lanka has the ‘correct foreign policy’ claims president

    Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena claimed that his government is enacting “the correct foreign policy” which has led to them being accepted by the international community.

    Speaking at a ceremony in Polonnaruwa Mr Sirisena also announced that he had been invited on an official visit to Germany, stating it was the first time a Sri Lankan leader had been invited to the country in 43 years.

  • New act supports different Buddhist sect claims opposition MP

    Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) General Secretary MP Udaya Gammanpila claimed that a plans to introduce a new act proposed by the Sri Lankan government seeks to promote a different sect of Buddhism than that practised in Sri Lanka.

    The popular opposition MP said that the proposed new act “will only be applicable for the Theravada Buddhist monks”.

    “Thus, it looks like, this act attempts promote Mahayana Buddhism here,” said Gammanpila.

    Mahayana Buddhism, the form of the religion mainly practised across the Far East, has faced repression in Sri Lanka, with temples being attacked by Sinhala Buddhist monks and calls for its banning by government ministers.

    Controversy over the proposed act comes after Buddhist group BBS voiced its opposition and the JVP party threatened street protests if it were to pass.

    Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena though stated that the bill would not be passed without approval from the Maha Sanga.

  • Sri Lanka soldiers buried massacred Tamils in Colombo mass graves says witness
    A labourer in Colombo revealed a horrifying eyewitness testimony of Sinhala soldiers burying the bodies of 35 Tamil prisoners that were killed during the 1983 anti-Tamil program that saw 1000’s of Tamils massacred in Sri Lanka.

    Aneez Thuwan, a labourer working for the Colombo Municipal Council said he witnessed Sri Lankan military soldiers dig two 10x10x10 graves and dump 35 blood soaked bodies into the graves.  The next day a further 18 bodies were brought and dumped into a similar grave at the back of the cemetery., reports Ceylon Today.

    One of those massacred in the prison was a prominent Tamil militant, who made the following statement before being sentenced to death and life in prison.
     
    After hearing his sentence in court, Kuttimani said,
  • China and India Navy vessels dock in Colombo for joint training with Sri Lanka
    Chinese and Indian war ships arrived in Colombo this week announced Sri Lanka’s Navy.

    The Indian ships arrived for a joint training exercise, to enhance the knowledge of both navies and foster a working relationship between the two forces reports Colombo Page.
  • New constitution drafted within 6th Amendment says Ranil
    The Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday the new constitution will be drafted within the Sixth Amendment to the constitution which prohibits the establishment of a separate state.

    "The country could not be divided and that no one had the slightest intention of diluting the unitary nature of the country through the new constitution", Mr Wickrememsinghe was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying.

    "Some say the foremost place given to Buddhism and the unitary nature of the country are being diluted through the new constitution. No one wants to divide the country."

    "Most of us including me are Buddhists, I am Sinhalese and I need to unite the whole country," he added.

  • Sri Lankan military holds Thai Pongal prayers in Kilinochchi temple


    The Sri Lankan military held Thai Pongal festivities in the Thirumurukkandi Hindu temple in Kilinochchi on Friday as local residents had gathered to pray.

    Dressed in civilian clothes, troops from the 57th Division and the commander in Kilinochchi, Major General K A D A Karunasekara conducted the ceremony, giving food to local residents and residents at an elderly home.

  • Sri Lanka confirms China funded Colombo port project
    The Sri Lankan government given approval for the Chinese funded funded Colombo Port City Project, reports ColomboPage.

    Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China Karunasena Kodituwakku on Friday confirmed that the delayed Colombo Port City Project, had been approved.
  • ‘Significant and credible progress’ needed on UN resolution by June says UK minister
    Sri Lanka must “demonstrate significant and credible progress” in implementing a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability by June, said UK Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire.

    Speaking at a press conference in Colombo yesterday, Mr Swire said “the UNHRC will look at the progress made by Sri Lanka in its June session, and it will be important for Sri Lanka to demonstrate significant and credible progress by then.”

    The minister stated that he had discussed the issue with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and they both were expecting clear progress on accountability mechanisms.

    “Prince Zed who I spoke to recently, is coming to Sri Lanka quite soon, and he is very certain that June is not just a cosmetic ticking the box exercise,” said Mr Swire. “It is to really measure that some of these long term measures are going to be properly addressed.”
  • The missing are considered dead says Sri Lankan prime minister
    Missing people from the Tamil North-East of the island are considered to be dead said Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a speech to an audience in Jaffna this week.

    Speaking at a Thai Pongal event in Jaffna, Mr Wickremesinghe stated both during and after the war many people had gone missing in the Tamil Northern and Eastern provinces.

    In attendance were Northern Province Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran and British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire.

    Mr Wickremesinghe’s comments come just weeks after over 1,620 complaints were lodged before Sri Lanka’s presidential commission into disappearances, which held a sitting in Jaffna.
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