Sri Lanka is on a “knife edge path” which “could easily go back to a vicious cycle,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials told reporters in Colombo this week, as they approved the next loan tranche from a $3 billion bailout program. Peter Breuer, the IMF Senior Mission Chief told the press that the IMF has received several proposals but “for us, what is absolutely key is that the program objectives are achieved because with those, Sri Lanka has a chance of emerging from the crisis”. His remarks came as the IMF approved a payout of about $337 million, as part of a $3 billion bailout...
Civil society organisations have denounced a proposed amendment to Sri Lanka’s Penal Code which will see a reduction in the age of consent from 16 years to 14 years of age, stating that the amendment must be withdrawn immediately. The letter, signed by 150 individuals and 55 civil society organisations states that child abuse is rife in Sri Lanka, and it is reprehensible that this Bill is being presented as an amendment to the Penal Code. “We do not know how this policy was formulated, and it ignores current realities in Sri Lanka on the high incidence of sexual abuse of minor children...
With Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe to visit Jaffna, Tamil activists have denounced his history of broken pledges and vowed to continue protests. M Komagan, an activist with the Voice of the Voiceless Organisation told reporters that Tamils in the homeland will continue to call out Wickremesinghe on the hollow promises he made during his last visit to Jaffna, which also saw widespread Tamil protests. “When Wickremesinghe was here last time, he made several promises, but to date, many of those are yet to see the light of day,” he said. “He assured us that land forcibly occupied by...
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...