A photograph of the Sri Lankan president and members of the military were hung on walls of newly built houses that were formally handed over to displaced Tamils on Monday. The smiling face of Maithripala Sirisena, who was in the North-East to officially hand over the houses at a ceremony, is placed above a photograph of military commanders with the words, "men in green are friends indeed."
The leader of the European Parliament delegation to Sri Lanka urged Sri Lanka to improve its human rights conditions, including the replacement of its anti-terror laws to regain the EU Generalised System of Preferences Plus trade concessions. Speaking in Colombo after meeting government officials and representatives of civil society, Ms Jean Lambert said discussions had taken place on whether or not Sri Lanka’s anti-terrorism laws met international standards. Ms Jean added that a decision would be finalised in May 2017, reports Reuters. "On GSP+, MEPs stressed that the decision on Sri Lanka's...
Villagers in Batticaloa have found human skeletal remains in lands that were formerly occupied by a Sri Lankan army base. Sources in the village said that skeletal remains were found on the land whilst they were digging to build a toilet on Saturday. Villagers fear that the site could be a mass grave site, which was then built on by the Army as part fo the resettlement programme for displaced people. Local police have cordoned of the site for further forensic examination. See video of the grave site here .
The office of the Tamil newspaper, Virakesari in Jaffna was attacked this morning, with bottles were thrown at the premises by unidentified persons. No one was injured during the attack. The attack comes as the situation in the North-East remained tense following the killing of two Tamil university students by Sri Lankan police on October 20.
Sri Lanka's Telecommunication Regulatory Commission on Saturday prohibited a Tamil website for alleged 'incitement', the Sunday Times reports. The decision was made based on a complaint by the media and justice ministry, the TRC director reportedly told the paper. "The complaint was that the website was carrying false propaganda about judicial decisions given in the north, criticising judges and lawyers and posting news inciting the public in the north," the director was quoted as saying. "The particular website was using Sri Lanka Telecom as the service provider and the site had been blocked...
Civil society activists and organisations across the island on Friday condemned the killing of two Tamil students at the University of Jaffna by Sri Lankan police officers. In a statement signed by 113 individuals and 12 organisations, the civil society activists called for a "for an independent investigation and so as to ensure justice". Demanding that the judicial process be independent, impartial and fast-tracked, the activists said, "speedy and demonstrable action to mete out justice on this incident, and adequate compensation and continued support to the two families, is urgently...
Students at the University of Jaffna protested on Monday demanding justice for the killing of two students on October 20th by Sri Lankan police officers. The protest takes places as the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena is due to visit Jaffna. The administrative activities of the university have been brought to a stand still as protesters blockade the main entrance.
Muslims in Jaffna hoisted black flags on Sunday to remember the exodus from the region on October 30th, 1990, when the Muslim community was forced out of the area by the LTTE.
The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday called some media organisations and NGOs "traitorous forces". Addressing an event for the armed forces, Mr Sirisena was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying, "national security should be maintained without belittling it". “Some factions act without understanding this. Sometimes, it appears, some media organisations, journalists, NGOs and various traitorous forces do this,” he added. His comments, which are reminiscent of his predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, added that he "was not ready to compromise on national security in order to...
Sri Lanka will sell 80 percent of the $1.5 billion Hambantota port to a Chinese firm, reports Reuters. Speaking at the country’s Foreign Correspondents Association on Thursday, Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said, “The value will be more than the $1billion and the deal will be signed around the second week of November. For somebody like the Chinese, it is the silk route transit point.” The announcement comes after Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on a visit to China in April ,discussed swapping equity in Sri Lankan infrastructure projects to reduce some of the $...