Three Tamil political prisoners who are on hunger strike were moved from Anuradhapura to Jaffna jail temporarily in order to receive medical treatment. Tharshan, Ganeshan and Thiruvarul will be kept in Jaffna for 10 days before before transferred back to Anuradhapura jail. The three men are hunger striking in protest at their ongoing detention without charge. The issue of Tamil political prisoners has been highlighted by a number of protests across the North-East urging the government to charge or release them.
Sri Lankan army soldiers are set to leave on a new peacekeeping mission despite ongoing reports of torture and rape committed against Tamils. The use of the Sri Lankan soldiers for peacekeeping missions has been widely criticised by Tamil rights groups as well as international human rights organisations following the lack of accountability for crimes committed against Tamils in the final stages of the armed conflict as well as documented cases of sexual violence in Haiti. Asked about the UN's vetting processes, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric said last month...
The Sri Lankan president this week reiterated he would not agree to federalism and there would be no international war crimes tribunal. "I did not become president to betray the Jathiya [Sinhalese] and I am not ready to give in to the federal demand or devolve power in any way that might result in a fracture of the country," he told an audience whilst visiting South Korea on Wednesday. "There won't be electric chairs, international war crimes tribunals or foreign judges. That book is closed. They still bring up issues that we have already brought to a close," he said, referring to the UNHRC...
A Tamil media worker was found dead in a well near her home in Delft (Neduntheevu) on Thursday morning. The body of 32-year-old Yogenthiran Padmavathi was found in the well in the early hours of Thursday morning, following a search after family members deemed her to be missing on Wednesday night. The cause of her death is unknown. Ms Padmavathi worked for several years in the advertising department of Uthayan, and was most recently working in advertising at Kalaikkathir. She was taking a hiatus from her media career since moving to Delft.
A Tamil civil society activist has been questioned by Mullaitivu police over the celebration of the birthday of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Local activist Peter Ilachcheliyan was summoned for questioning by police on Thursday. Mr Ilachcheliyan had reportedly cut a cake next to a photograph of Prabhakaran on the Mullaitivu seaside on the occasion of the LTTE leader’s 63rd birthday on Sunday. Mr Ilachcheliyan was allowed to go after a signing a statement at the Mullaitivu police station.
Residents of a Valikamam North village which was partly released by the Sri Lankan Army on Thursday have said that the lands have not been returned in a settleable condition.
Both government and opposition MPs on Wednesday criticised the Bribery Commission for failing to take action on pending cases. A number of MPs from the UNP, SLFP and JVP told parliament of pending cases where no action had been taken. The present unity government was elected on pledge to end corruption in the country and ensure prosecutions. See here for more.
President Maithripala Sirisena this week attempted to reassure Sri Lanka's diaspora in South Korea that he would "never betray the nation or the country". Speaking whilst on an official visit to South Korea, Mr Sirisena said "that he came to power with the pure intention of rectifying the historical errors and to ensure that the people of Sri Lanka would live in peace, harmony and communal coexistence." He asserted that his "desire is to fulfill the mandate given to him by the people, despite the hurdles and challenges come across." Mr Sirisena's comments come amid rising tensions both within...
Sri Lanka's Ports Minister, SLFP MP Mahinda Samarasinghe on Tuesday told parliament that his party would refuse to implement the liberalisation of the shipping sector as outlined by the 2018 budget. “The position of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is that we oppose this proposal. And as the minister in charge of the subject, I will not issue the gazette notification (giving effect to the budget proposal),” Mr Samarasinghe told Parliament. Asserting that the Sri Lankan president agreed with the SLFP position, he added, "the President is firmly against this move." "Our policy is not to...
Sri Lanka's apparel industry has lowered its export target to adjust for the delay in granting of preferential trade tariffs (GSP+). “Actually, we were expecting GSP Plus to come earlier and we needed to revise the target based on the changes in economic conditions,” the chair man of Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters’ Association (SLAEA) Felix Fernando was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying. The SLAEA had previously set a target of reaching $8.5 billion exports by 2020. Mr Fernando added that Brexit would have a negative impact on Sri Lanka's apparel industry, unless the countries entered a trade...