Sri Lanka's prime minister on Saturday announced the draft 20th Amendment to the constitution would be amended to ensure that the provincial council elections would take place by the end of next year. The proposed Amendment seeks to hold all nine PC elections on the same day. Mr Wickremesinghe's comment came after the proposed Amendment faced widespread criticism from local bodies to election monitors who condemned the postponement of elections. “We are ready to introduce a fresh clause to the 20th Amendment to the Constitution compelling the government to hold the provincial council...
The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) this week called for the Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka to be arrested "for withholding evidence in connection with the war crime charges levelled against former army commander (Rtd) General Jagath Jayasuriya, the Daily Mirror reported. "Mr Fonseka betrayed the Army for the second time and therefore could be known as the biggest traitor in the world," the PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila told the paper. “The first time he betrayed the army was the events related to the white flag case. He has tarnished the image of the country and the army by his statement." "If Mr...
Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations maintained that security forces “never” deployed cluster munitions during the island’s armed conflict, whilst stating his government was currently reviewing the process of acceding to the convention banning their use in Geneva today.
The Sri Lankan Army has released a school being used as an army base in the Kankensanthurai area, although the lands surrounding the school remain occupied by the army.
The granting of GSP+ trade concessions and the lifting of a ban on Sri Lanka’s fishing exports by the European Union has opened up access to a market worth Rs. 7 billion claims a Sri Lankan minister. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Primary Industries Daya Gamage made the claim whilst speaking to shrimp farmers in Puttalam who have come under pressure due to ongoing dry weather. Last week, Sri Lanka’s president boasted of how the moves by the EU were a result of his government’s ability to defuse pressure over war crimes and a sign that “the entire international community is friendly and respects Sri...
Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeals has said it will hear the case on the murder of Tamil National Alliance MP Nadarajah Raviraj in December of this year, more than 11 years after his assassination. The appeal, lodged by Shashikala Raviraj, the wife of the murdered parliamentarian, challenges the Colombo High Court's judgment on the case last year. An all Sinhala jury had acquitted three navy intelligence officials and two members of the Karuna group accused of the murder after a month long trial. The case will be heard before Sri Lanka's Court of Appeals on December 12, who will make a judgement on...
The Sri Lankan government is seeking foreign assistance in order to curb illegal drug trafficking on the island, after it emerged that it was becoming a transit hub to transport cocaine across Asia. Sri Lanka’s Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka admitted that the island had become a ”transit point for mass scale drug dealers”. Speaking to reporters in Colombo, he went on to add, "We have a responsibility to prevent and stop this." See more here.
A former Sri Lankan military commander who stands accused of overseeing war crimes has backtracked over claims of responsibility for the military during the final stages of the armed conflict, and instead blamed Sri Lanka's former army commander Sarath Fonseka. Speaking in an interview to Ceylon Today, Jagath Jayasuriya who fled his post as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Brazil last week after a law suit accusing him of war crimes, contradicted previous public statements on his role. A senior UN official also reassured him that he would not come under fire over the reports of war crimes, he stated...
The new constitution being drafted for Sri Lanka must not be allowed to fail, TNA leaders told the visiting Assistant Secretary of State of the United States. TNA leader R. Sampanthan met with the assistant secretary, Alice Wells, at the residence of US Ambassador Atul Keshap on Friday. The constitution should protect and preserve the dignity of all living on the island, Mr Sampanthan said, adding that the opportunity to pass a new constitution through parliament, while the two main Sri Lankan parties were united, should not be allowed to slip. Those that think they will lose out from the...
The Sri Lankan navy on Friday arrested three Indian nationals for allegedly attempting to smuggle in the banned weedicide glyphosate via boat. The men were arrested off the coast of Kudiramalai by navy officers attached to the Thalaimannar base, Colombo Page reported. They have been handed over to Thalaimannar police for further investigations.