Students attached to the Jaffna University filed a formal complaint at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) office in Jaffna over the conduct of Sri Lanka police during the Shivarathri observances at the Vedukkunaari Temple in Vavuniya. The students who filed the complaint were also present on the day the prayers were held and offered their testimony to the incidents that transpired that evening. The students informed the HRC that the police prevented devotees from worshipping for many hours by putting up roadblocks and checkpoints. They further stated the police acted inhumanely by preventing...
The chief priest of the Vedukkunaari Adi Shiva Temple who was among the devotees released from Vavuniya prison earlier this week has been admitted to the Mullaitivu District General Hospital due to an illness he had developed while in prison. Tampirasa Madhimukharasa was among the five devotees who led the hunger strike for over five days. The devotees upon being released from prison complained of the deplorable conditions including the lack of water and even food. Meanwhile, V.Poobalasingham, a member of the board of trustees in a letter said the Vedukkunaari temple has been under threat...
Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, MK Stalin, alongside a number of other chief ministers, including West Bengal, has vowed that he will not allow for the implementation of Indian Citizen Amendment Act which specifically excludes Muslims and Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka from being granted citizenship. "The rules notified for the Act by the Union government not only go against the basic structure of the Constitution but are also against the welfare of Indian people, the multi-dimensional character of India and its secular character," Stalin told the Indian Assembly. Despite his objections, chief...
Sri Lanka’s Vavuniya remand prison holds three times its capacity and is “worse than a concentration camp”, one of the eight Tamil detainees who was arrested during the Shivarathri prayers at the Vedukkunaari earlier this month, told reporters after their release.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Sri Lanka to order its archaeological department to end its “discriminatory interference” in Hindu sites and protect their rights as well as other minority communities. In a statement , Deputy Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly said that Sri Lanka’s targeting of Tamil and Muslim sites is a “violation of the right to freedom of religion and belief”. While the North-East has been subject to Sinhalisation for decades, there has been a rise in efforts to appropriate lands belonging to Tamils and Muslims. The statement comes amidst tensions over the disputed...
The Sri Lanka government opened a new consulate and engaged in expanded trade talks with Israel this week, despite purportedly calling for a ceasefire to its offensive in Gaza in which tens of thousands have been killed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a communique said it established a new honorary Consulate for Haifa and the Northern District of Israel which is a main trade and industrial hub. The ministry said there are around 2,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers in Haifa and the northern area of Israel at present. A week after the opening of the new honorary consulate, Sri Lanka and Israel...
Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Eran Wickramaratne resigned from his position on the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) stating that members to the committee must not be associated with allegations or convictions or corruption, and the appointment of a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) member as chairman failed to meet those checks and balances. “COPE has been established to ensure the observance of financial discipline in Public Corporations and other semi-governmental bodies where the Government has a financial stake," he said in a statement. "By...
The UNDP in Sri Lanka released its Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) in Sri Lanka which shows a large percentage of individuals in North-East live below the poverty line and have several vulnerabilities, with some of the districts being the worst affected on the whole island. Overall, the Northern and Eastern Provinces had the highest incidence of multidimensional vulnerability by province, according to data gathered by the UNDP. By district, Mullaitivu was the worst affected. According to the report, “in the districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, the predominant concern is not...
China’s embassy in Colombo has objected to a decision by Sri Lanka authorities to permit a German research vessel to dock on the island amidst a one year ban on foreign research vessels. China’s objections follows a refusal from Sri Lanka authorities to permit a Chinese vessel to dock in Sri Lanka in February. The one-year ban on foreign vessels docking on the island came amidst heavy security concerns from both India and the United States after the visit of two Chinese research vessels. Earlier this month the US released a report detailing China’s potential interest in establishing a...
India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka detailed how his government was “taking the first steps” to construct a land corridor between the two regions, calling it a “game-changing initiative”. Speaking at the annual dinner of the Sri Lanka-India Society Santhosh Jha spoke of connectivity between the two regions, in the wake of several recent initiatives by New Delhi. “Connectivity undoubtedly is the central pillar of our emerging partnership,” said Jha. “When I speak of connectivity, I mean all its dimensions – air, maritime, trade, digital, energy or people-to-people connectivity. Daily...