• Tamils in Jaffna rally in support of Inner City Press

    Mar 04

    Tamil demonstrators gathered in front of a United Nations office in Jaffna last week to rally behind Inner City Press journalist Matthew Lee, after he was reportedly ejected from a UN meeting and his press pass revoked.

    Northern Provincial Councillors Ananthy Sasitharan and M.K. Shivajilingam led a protest in support of the independent journalist. In a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Ms Sasitharan said she was concerned to learn that the revoking of Mr Lee's press pass took place “without due process”.

  • 100% sure army did not war crimes says Fonseka
    The former Sri Lanka army commander Sarath Fonseka, said he was 100% sure the army as a whole did not commit any war crimes in the final stages of the armed conflict, as he "was monitoring each and every progress day and night".

    Adding that there were allegations such as the white flag case, Mr Fonseka, who recently joined the ruling UNP led coalition government as a minister, said there should be an inquiry into the case.

    "The Army as a whole did not commit any offense like that. I am 100% sure since I was monitoring each and every progress day and night. But there were allegations, such as the White Flag case. There were people who were trying to link me to this episode and put me to jail. I think that there should be a proper inquiry on the White Flag issue," he told Nation.lk in an interview published on Saturday.

    "I can give the assurance for 99.9% for the Army that nothing like that would have happened. But if one odd man somewhere has committed anything without the knowledge of the others or the authorities, he should be punished."

  • Sri Lankan navy arrests 17 asylum seekers
    The Sri Lankan navy on Satruday arrested 17 asylum seekers who had attempted to flee the country in order to reach Australia, the Colombo Page reported.

    Working on a tip off by Sri Lankan intelligence personnel, the navy made the arrest 40 nautical miles off Galle lighthouse.
  • IMF delegation to visit Sri Lanka in March - Daily Mirror
    A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be visiting Sri Lanka in mid March in order to undertake a "forensic audit on the arrears and other liabilities of the government," the Daily Mirror reported.

    The delegation is as a result made by the government to examine the economy and better manage the country's debt.

    "While our debt servicing payment have increased due to the contingent liabilities, the opportunity of servicing or refinancing the debt has become difficult due to the downturn of global economy," the Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was quoted as saying as he submitted a Cabinet paper on this at a special meeting on Friday.

    See more here.

  • Sri Lanka FM reaffirms commitment to UNHRC resolution
    Reaffirming Sri Lanka’s commitment to the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution (UNHRC) on reconciliation, accountability and human rights, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister expressed openness to international assistance.

    Addressing the 20th Meeting of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies in Geneva, Mangala Samaraweera said,

    “We co-sponsored, with other members of the UN Human Rights Council, the Resolution titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ as a manifestation of our firm commitment to uphold the human rights of our people, and take measures for truth-seeking, justice, and reparations aimed at ensuring non-recurrence…. Sri Lanka requires the support and assistance of all her friends in the international community.”

  • Vali North IDPs protest in Jaffna demanding resettlement

    Displaced Tamils from Valikaamam North, who have remained in IDP camps for over 25 years began a hunger strike on Friday, in protest at the failure to resettle them.

  • Swiss Refugee Council warns against refugees returning to Sri Lanka
    The Switzerland based NGO, the Swiss Refugee Council this week warned against returning asylum seekers back to the island, due to 2015 reports that returnees were arrested or abducted.

    Responding to the Sri Lankan foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera's pledge that it was safe for those, mainly Tamils, who fled Sri Lanka to return to the island, the Sri Lanka expert at the NGO said, "in our view, this step comes too early."

    Speaking to Swiss public radio on Thursday, Adrian Schuster said, “We have received reports that in 2015 returning people were arrested or abducted in Sri Lanka."

  • 60 kg of cannabis seized by Sri Lankan police in Jaffna

    Over 60 kg of cannabis was seized by Sri Lankan police in Jaffna last month, amidst a growing drug problem in the Northern Province.

    The cannabis, with a street value of approximately 15 million rupees, was seized in a pre-dawn raid by Sri Lankan police in Jaffna. The drugs were though to have originated in Kerala and smuggled into the North-East via Inparutti, by Point Pedro.

  • UNHRC must remain involved as Sri Lanka confronts rights issues says US
    It is important that the United Nations Human Rights Council remains engaged in countries like Sri Lanka as they confront human rights, said the United States in its address to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

    Noting that there was hope and promise in nations such as Burma and Sri Lanka, the US caveated,

    “While we celebrate and support their progress, we believe it is important for the Council to remain engaged, as the governments confront their legacies of human rights violations and address the challenges that remain.”

    See full statement made below.
  • New Sri Lankan govt continues Rajapaksa's website registration
    The new Sri Lankan government, which was elected on a promise of good governance and press freedom, on Wednesday continued the Rajapaksa regime's regulation of the press, issuing a warning against unregistered websites.

    The state run paper, the Daily News, on Wednesday featured an advertisement warning websites that they must be registered by the end of March, failure to do so would be considered "unlawful".

  • Families in Jaffna call for immediate release of Tamil political prisoners


    Families of Tamil political prisoners protested in Jaffna on Wednesday, urging the government to release them immediately.

  • Normality remains elusive in Sri Lanka's North - Joshua Hammer
    Seven years after a brutal war, peace and tourism have returned to Sri Lanka’s north, but normality remains more elusive, concludes New York Times travel journalist Joshua Hammer.

    See full article below.
  • Sri Lanka finance minister dismisses Fitch Ratings downgrade
    Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor dismissed the recent downgrading of Sri Lanka’s ratings by global ratings agency Fitch Ratings, reports Economynext.com

    Speaking to reports in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s finance minister Ravi Karunayake said,
    “That’s only one institution. These are only perceptions of certain institutions.”

    Fitch ratings lowered Sri Lanka’s ratings from ‘BB-‘ to ‘B+’ stating that Sri Lanka faced “increased refinancing risks on account of high upcoming external debt maturities on foreign exchange reserves” and an increased “likelihood of Sri Lanka requiring external liquidity support from the IMF and other multilateral institutions.”

    The rating agency added that Sir Lanka’s budget did little to address the of Sri Lanka’s gross general government debt (GGGD).

    Sri Lanka to hold discussions with IMF in March-April     (29 Feb 2016)
    IMF and Sri Lanka 'hammering out a way forward' from debt (26 Feb 2016
    Sri Lankan govt considers IMF bailout conditions (16 Feb 2016)
  • The dangers of trade deals with the Sri Lankan military - Andreas Scheuller
    Unscrutinised investment from the European countries “risks reinforcing ethnic discrimination and hindering reconciliation in Sri Lanka,” writes the head of the International Crimes and Accountability program at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights Andreas Schueller.

    Adding that the biggest economic actor in Sri Lanka’s “heavily northern and northeastern regions,” Mr Schueller expressed concern that trade agreements and investment could end up “profiting the military and thus strengthening its position in the region, denying the resettled Tamil population any development opportunities.”

    See full piece below.

  • International community has an important part to play in Sri Lanka's reconciliation - UK High Commissioner

    The international community has an important part to play in Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process,  said the British High Commissioner whilst visiting the Buddhist Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy.

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