• US expresses commitment to support Sri Lanka in implementing UNHRC resolution

    The United States expressed support to Sri Lanka in implementing its commitments to the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability and reconciliation, in a joint statement with the Sri Lankan ministry of foreign affairs.

    The below statement was released by the Governments of Sri Lanka and the United States of America after the first annual US – Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue was held on February 26 2016 in Washington DC. 
  • Sirisena upset at Sri Lanka's foreign minister's international statements – Ceylon Today
    Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena is upset with his foreign minister’s openness to international involvement into an alleged war crimes probe reports Ceylon Today.
  • International role in justice mechanism of 'utmost importance' says Amnesty
    Amnesty International urged UN Human Rights Council's member states to ensure justice is delivered to victims in Sri Lanka and highlighted the "utmost importance" of international role in justice mechanism.
  • Police constable stabbed after entering Batticaloa home at midnight
    A Sri Lankan police constable was stabbed after he attempted to enter a home in Batticaloa at midnight, dressed in civilian clothes, BattiNews reported.

    The incident occurred on February 24 at around 11.30pm in Kommathurai in Batticaloa.

    Hearing someone attempt to enter the house, the residents called out. The police constable reportedly tried to run away.

  • Resolution passed demanding Sri Lankan military leaves Kilinochchi
    A resolution was passed by the Kilinochchi district coordinating committee on Saturday demanding the military leaves the district.

    Speaking at the event along side the chief minister of the northern province, C V Wigneswaran, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, S Sritharan said Kilinochchi was under military rule which was preventing the development of the area into a true city.

    "The military is selling black lentils, selling pulses, selling rice, selling white flour. The military is leasing land. It's the military that's building schools here. Do you know what the military is doing? It's doing everything. It's running pre-school. The military has everything. So what then, it is military rule that is happening here," Mr Sritharan said.

     

    கிளிநொச்சியில் எங்கும் இராணுவம் எதிலும் இராணுவம்.....

    Posted by Shritharan Sivagnanam on Saturday, 27 February 2016


  • Wigneswaran calls on India to pressure Sri Lanka for federal political solution
    The Chief Minister of the Northern Province CV Wigenswaran said that he had sought India’s intervention to set up a federal government system in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

    Speaking at an event to welcome back Tamil academics from the Northern Province who went to India to further their studies, Wigneswaran said that India understands that a federal government is the only political solution for the Tamil people.
  • Two UN Special Rapporteurs to visit Sri Lanka
    The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers are set to visit Sri Lanka in April reports Colombo Gazette.

    Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment Juan Mendez is set to visit Sri Lanka from 29 Apr 2016 to 7 May 2016.
  • Sri Lanka to restructure foreign ministry with Singapore's assistance
    Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry is set to be restructured with the assistance of Singapore’s government experts according to government sources .
  • Dead body found in Batticaloa
    The body of a dead man was found floating in the Seelaamunai river in Batticaloa on Friday, Battinews reported.

    The body has been identified by police as a 33 year old man named Sivanesaraja Prasanth who is from the Kiraankulam region.

    The police are carrying out further investigations.

     
  • Tamil political prisoners continue hunger-strike despite 2 stopping
    Two of the 14 Tamil political prisoners that launched a hunger strike demanding their release have ended their fast, reports Adaderana.lk

    The two Tamil prisoners, who were detained under Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), started their strike in Anuradhapura Prison last week.

    On Thursday 3 other political prisoners were admitted to hospital after fainting.

  • Gotabhaya payed for assassination of Tamil MP says witness
    Former defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa arranged payment of Rs 50 million for the assassination of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Nadarajah Raviraj alleged a police constable giving evidence in court.

    The police constable of the intelligence unit Liyanarachchige Abayaratne, giving evidence before Colombo Additional Magistrate told the court that the former defence secretary had known about the murder and arranged a payment to the break of faction of Karuna faction.

    The police constable added that he had been in communication with the Karuna faction, and was aware of the faction’s meetings with Sri Lanka’s navy to conspire to assassinate the Tamil MP, reports Colombo Page.

  • Sri Lankan Foreign Minister pledges special courts in six months


    Photograph: Twitter @USIP

    The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera pledged that his government would set up special courts to deal with violations of international humanitarian law committed during the final stages of the armed conflict within the coming six months, in a speech delivered in Washington on Thursday.

    Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, Mr Samaraweera said his government has "committed to have a judicial process with international participation" in a recently passed UN Human Rights Council resolution.

    "We will work the final contours and the architecture of such a court in the next five to six months after the consultations, with the TNA and other parties as well," said the foreign minister.

    "Across the board there was a general agreement that there has to be special courts be set up in Sri Lanka if that process is to have any credibility at all," he said. "As I said before over the last 10 years the credibility of the judiciary was totally lost because of the politicisation of the process."

    "I think it is only fair that the victims of the war would want some form of guarantee that the new courts will deliver justice and accountability in a fair manner and for that are willing to consider the participation of international actors," he added. "They could  be judges, they could be forensic experts, investigators, prosecutors. All these options are being looked at.

  • High-level US visits have elevated relations with Sri Lanka to "special friendship" - Mangala

    Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister John Kerry (@JohnKerry)

    US Secretary of State John Kerry hailed Sri Lanka's moves towards reconciliation, speaking after meeting with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in Washington on Thursday.

    "I’m very happy to welcome my friend Mangala Samaraweera here, the foreign minister of Sri Lanka. I had wonderful occasion to visit with him in Sri Lanka, and I want to congratulate the Government of Sri Lanka for their very impressive continuing steps towards reconciliation. Their efforts to try to address the regional issues, and most importantly, to make peace in their own country are very, very significant. And we really welcome you here," Secretary Kerry said.

    He added that the US looked forward to "defining the roadmap ahead for continued progress".

  • The US Must Pay More Attention to Sri Lanka’s Transitional Justice Debate

    During the U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue, Washington should elevate Sri Lanka’s transitional justice debate.

    The unexpected election of Maithripala Sirisena in Sri Lanka’s January 2015 polls has resulted in the Barack Obama administration’s fervent desire to turn the page on what became a strained, bitter bilateral relationship under the reign of the previous president. Mahinda Rajapaksa had been in power for nearly a decade and oversaw the decisive military defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers – ending a civil war which lasted from 1983-2009. Rajapaksa’s proclivity for corruption, nepotism, and heightened authoritarianism ultimately led to his unexpected ouster.

    Mangala Samaraweera, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, is currently in Washington, D.C. This high-level visit is due to evolving U.S.-Sri Lanka ties and the commencement of the first ever U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue. An array of issues such as economic and security cooperation, governance, and regional affairs will be discussed on February 26. It remains to be seen whether transitional justice will receive significant attention, either publicly or privately.

  • IMF and Sri Lanka 'hammering out a way forward' from debt
    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Sri Lanka were "hammering out a way forward" to repay the country's large debt, the Central Bank governor, Arjuna Mahendran, was quoted by Economy Next as saying.

    Speaking to reporters, Mr Mahendran said Sri Lanka needed a programme with the IMF to ensure the confidence of investors rather than for the money.

    "From my perspective it is important that we have an agreement with the IMF going forward that is respected by private fund managers and economists who want to be sure that the government has a strategy for the economy that wider consensus," he said.

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