The Sri Lankan government continues to give Buddhism the most prominent place, with police and local government officials appearing 'to act in concert with Buddhist nationalists'. 'For example, police continued to cite outdated government circulars restricting the construction of religious facilities in attempts to force churches to cease operations,' the report said, although acknowledging that such instances had reduced under the present government. 'In multiple instances, police reportedly failed to respond or were reluctant to arrest or pursue criminal cases against individuals...
The Sri Lankan parliament erupted in anger on Thursday as the government's Office of Missing Persons bill was debated before being passed without vote. A number of parliamentarians from the joint opposition delivered heated statements, as government figures, including the foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera attempted to pass the bill.
Tamils protested in Jaffna on Monday demanding the release of political prisoners.
The former LTTE media coordinator, Daya master was detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Division, after being summoned by Vavuniya Magistrate's Court.
The Northern Provincial Council on Tuesday passed a motion calling for a medical investigation into the "mysterious" deaths of former LTTE cadres, stipulating that such an investigation should include international experts.
Sri Lanka's president was told by economists that price control policies were destabilising the island's economy as the government continues to struggle with a balance of payments crisis. Speaking at an annual economic summit in Colombo, where Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena was in attendance, Razeen Sally head of Sri Lanka's economic policy think tank said , " there has been supreme idiocy of price controls ”. "The government by creating inflation and by having import protection puts burdens on consumers and then puts burdens on producers and entrepreneurs with price controls,” he...
Local fishermen in Passikudah protested against the development of tourism which they say is threatening their livelihoods. The fisherfolk were asked by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to vacate their anchorage point to make the land available for tourism. Despite threats and warnings from the police and CID, with the police warning community leaders not to go through with it, the protest was held last week to correspond with the Global Action Week of the Land Rights Now Campaign. Passikudah fishermen were previously restrained from protesting on the beach during a conference...
The Paris based charity, Action Contre la Faim on Thursday called for a credible investigation into the killing of 17 of its local aid workers in Muttur in Sri Lanka in 2006. Visiting Sri Lanka on the 10th anniversary of the killing, the ACF chief executive, Veronique Andrieux told AFP that they were closely observing the government's implementation of the UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for a credible investigation into mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict. "What we hope is that this accountability mechanism will be able to deliver a credible legal and just solution...
Sri Lanka’s debt situation is so severe, over 95% of all government revenue is spent on repaying loans, reports Forbes this week. In a piece examining the government’s struggle to make repayments, Wade Shepard wrote in Forbes: “Sri Lanka’s debt situation is severe. The country is currently in $58.3 billion deep to foreign financiers, and 95.4% of all government revenue is currently going towards paying back its loans. This means that out of every hundred dollars the government brings in only $4.60 is going towards essentials like education and public services.” See more in his piece: China...
Marking this week the ten anniversary of the killing of 17 aid workers from Action Contre La Faim in Muttur, Trincomalee, Human Rights Watch reiterated the call for justice and said the massacre underscored the need for an international role in any accountability mechanism by Sri Lanka as the only means to ensuring justice. “The failure to provide justice for the ACF massacre is Exhibit A in the breakdown of accountability for serious crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war,” HRW's legal and policy director, James Ross said. “The mishandling of the ACF case shows why a war crimes court needs international involvement to shield it from political pressures.” On August 4th, 2006 masked gunmen executed the 17 local staff of the Paris based aid group who had been involved in a post-tsunami rebuilding project. No one has been brought to justice.