Sri Lankan security forces have released 41 Tamil youths without any charges, after they were arrested during a raid on a hotel in Maruthanarmadam in Jaffna on Monday evening.

A Sri Lankan army officer confirmed that the raid was carried out yesterday evening, with armed Special Task Force (STF) officers, following a tip off that security forces had received.

The arrested Tamils were taken to Chunnakam police station for further questioning. After interrogations and police ensuring that there were no pending arrest warrants or cases against them, all the youth were subsequently released.

 

 

 

A former Sri Lankan navy commander has been re-issued court summons for the fourth time in connection with the abduction and murder of 11, mostly Tamil, youths from Colombo between 2008 and 2009.

The former Sri Lankan navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda is the 14th suspect named in the case and failed to appear in court on Sunday and all previous sittings.

While evading all previous summons, Karannagoda was promoted to the highest rank in the Sri Lankan military in September by then-president Maithripala Sirisena.

Sri Lankan security forces launched a raid on a hotel in Maruthanarmadam in Jaffna, where they reportedly arrested at least forty-one Tamil youth.

The arrested Tamils have since been taken to Chunnakam police station for further questioning.

No details have been released about the operation from the Sri Lankan military, with Special Task Force Troops reportedly carrying out the hotel raid. Local sources have reported that members of the 'Aava' gang were gathered at the hotel for a birthday party.

Sri Lanka’s diplomat in Geneva met with the president of the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, where Colombo formally informed her of its intention to withdraw its co-sponsorship of a resolution that mandated a hybrid accountability mechanism to prosecute those accused of committing mass atrocities.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is exploring forming an alliance with the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) for the upcoming Sri Lankan general elections, according to SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem.

Hakeem said his party was looking to fight government attempts to wipe out minority parties. He claimed plans were underway to form an alliance with the TNA, JVP and sympathetic 'civil organisations'.

Charges against twelve Malaysian Tamils accused of being involved with former LTTE members have been dropped. The twelve men were arrested under the Security Offences Special Measures Act (SOSMA) last October for allegedly supporting former LTTE leaders.

Attorney General Tommy Thomas advised that holding photographs of former LTTE leaders on their mobile phones do not establish a criminal offence. The Attorney General released an eleven-page statement outlining the law and its application to the case built against the twelve men.

In anticipation of Sinamkol’s extended release, director Ranjith Joseph spoke with the Tamil Guardian to provide an insight into how he created Sinamkol, the first film to be directed from a post-war Tamil Eelam perspective.

‘I met fighters and learnt about their pain, and the war’.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet approved the decision to withdraw from co-sponsoring UN Resolutions 30/1 and 40/1, News First reported.

The proposal to withdraw from the resolutions was presented by Minister of Foreign Relations, Dinesh Gunawardene and was approved unanimously by the Cabinet.

The Sectoral Oversight Committee has proposed to immediately ban all kinds of face veils and face covers in public places, including the burqa, in a special report submitted to the Sri Lanka parliament.

<p>India will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU)&nbsp;to develop Jaffna’s Palaly Airport, PTI reports.</p> <p>An agreement has reportedly been reached for India to provide a grant of 300 million Sri Lankan rupees ($1.65 million USD) for the development of the airport, including terminal modification, electricity supplies, utilities and transit facilities.</p> <p>India’s Alliance Air began operating flights to and from Chennai in November last year, while civilian flights between Jaffna and Colombo was only started this month.</p>