Sri Lanka’s military and police forces launched yet another investigation into what they saw as a dangerous threat last week – a flower decoration created for a school sports competition. The reaction from the security forces to the decorative display was because it was of a particular flower; the red and yellow karthigaipoo that is a symbol of Tamil Eelam. Soldiers visited the school and the management was instructed to attend the police station for questioning, with statements even recorded from the principal. Despite what Sri Lanka claims, this is neither peaceful nor normal.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Buddhashasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs vowed to press ahead with ‘archaeology’ encroachments in the Eastern province, despite complaints from resident Tamils in the region who have pushed back against the government’s ‘Sinhalisation’ attempts. “Is it something that we shouldn’t do?” questioned Vidura Wickramanayaka in a press conference last month. “We have been very myopic about these things,” he claimed. “If you look at the point of view of a racist, then we may not be able to get along or go ahead with these types of preservations,” he continued, as tensions...
Despite repeated requests for funding to complete the excavation work of the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave and following the postponement of two hearings over the lack of progress, the Sri Lankan government has finally said that the costs quoted for the excavation and research are too high, causing further delays to the protracted case. The excavation work of the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave was taken up for hearing before the Mullaitivu Magistrate Court yesterday where the chief accountant of the District Secretariat informed the court that the amount quoted for the excavation work was too high. On...
Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe paid tribute to the late UNP minister Gamini Dissanayake last month, pledging to expand the controversial Mahaweli project, which has seen Sinhala settlers colonise the Tamil North-East. The project, which began under the UNP government of 1977, was one of many state-sponsored colonisation projects that took place in the Tamil North-East. Wickremesinghe said the A and B zones of the Mahaweli region could not be developed, a key facet of which includes the construction of Sri Lanka’s most expensive and longest waterway . Wickremesinghe went on to lay...
Days following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's revival of a decades-old dispute surrounding Katchatheevu island, Sri Lanka has responded stating it has no intention to entertain further discussions on the matter. In a recent statement to a local television network, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry emphasised that Sri Lanka sees no grounds for reopening talks on Katchatheevu, an island ceded to Sri Lanka by India half a century ago. "This is a matter that was discussed and resolved 50 years ago, and there is no need for further deliberations on this issue," he remarked. This...
Objections raised by Sri Lankan police over a decorative arch standing at the entrance of Mulankvail Thuyilum Illam (LTTE cemetery) reached a new juncture as the case filed by the police was heard in Kilinochchi courts. The arch was erected in November 2023 to commemorate Maaveerar Naal. Despite an inspection report affirming the structural integrity of the arch, police filed a case at the Kilinochchi Magistrate Courts. A letter addressed to the Secretary of the Poonakary Divisional Council, alleged that the arch poses a hazard due to the potential risk of collapse. The jurisdiction over the...
Sri Lanka has dispatched another contingent of the Sri Lanka Force Protection Company (SLFPC) on a "peacekeeping" mission under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) even though Sri Lanka's military stands accused of human rights violations both at home and abroad. The Lebanon-bound contingent comprises 125 Army personnel, including 11 Officers and 114 Other Ranks from the Corps and Regiments of the Army. The departure of this contingent follows the Advance Party of the 15th SLFPC, consisting of 12 Army personnel that proceeded for the UN mission in the first stage last month (...
Tamils in Keerimalai, Jaffna, blocked another land grab attempt by Sri Lanka's Land Survey department, who are trying to acquire 29 acres of Tamil owned land. The officials arrived in Keerimalai without notifying the landowners in an attempt to secretly survey the land. The land they are trying to acquire, includes a 'presidential palace' that was built in 2012 by the Sri Lankan military on land that it had seized from Tamils. On March 26, the land survey department were forced to abandon their work at the same location after Tamils had resisted their attempt to survey the land. இரகசிய காணி...
In response to a court case filed by former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Colombo High Court issued an interim injunction preventing Mathripala Sirisena from functioning as the chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) on Thursday. Kumaratunga had raised concerns over the manner in which Sirisena was appointed to the position of chairmanship as well as his role and the impact it had on the party. In response to the complaint, the High Court issued an interim injunction order restraining Sirisena from functioning as the chairman of the SLFP and from exercising any...
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education website has been hacked and is currently offline, with a message purportedly left by an A-Level student stating there are “security flaws”. “This website was hacked,” says the message displayed for all users who tried to access the website. “Sorry for unauthorised access to your website,” said the message. “But your website has some security flaws.” This is not the first time that a Sri Lankan government website has been hacked. In recent years, on May 18, several Sri Lankan government websites have been hacked, with messages left commemorating the massacre...