• TNA calls on India to help release seized land North-East

    Aug 30
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called on the Indian government to help secure the release of land seized by the Sri Lankan Army, in an effort to resettle the thousands of refugees in Tamil Nadu, reports The Hindu.

    Senior TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah, who recently travelled with a delegation to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month, said,
    “There are over one lakh (100,000) refugees in Tamil Nadu living in 115 camps. We have requested the Indian government to pressure the Sri Lankan government to release their [refugees’] land in the north which has been taken over by the Army.”
    Talks with the Indian Prime Minister included the topic of resettlement, with Senathirajah adding, “They [the refugees] have to come back and be resettled in their own lands with secure livelihoods.”

  • UK PM urged to take action over Sri Lanka's refusal to issue visas to UN investigators
    The British Prime Minister David Cameron was urged to take action over Sri Lanka's refusal to issue visas to UN officials from the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) and the "worsening" situation in the country.

    The Labour MP for Mitcham and Mordem, Siobhain McDonagh urged Prime Minister Cameron to call for the suspension of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Chair-in–Office of the Commonwealth.

    “Given the Government of Sri Lanka’s refusal to commit to an independent, international investigation that would lead to reconciliation, the situation in Sri Lanka is worsening. Since the adoption of the UNHRC resolution, we have seen some of the worst inter-communal violence in decades targeting the Muslim community in south-west of the country, the unwarranted proscription of major Tamil diaspora organisations by the Government, a crackdown on activities of NGOs and the continuing and egregious perpetration of human rights violations,” McDonagh wrote, in a letter addressed to Cameron.

  • Sri Lanka opens new detention centres for foreign asylum seekers

    The Sri Lankan government announced the opening of two new detention centres to house foreign asylum seekers, after it faced criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for forcibly deporting refugees to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Sri Lankan immigration officials announced the two new centres, in Boosa and Negombo, stating the present centre in Mirihana, Colombo was inadequate to deal with the growing number of Pakistani and Afghan nationals seeking refugee status.

    Around 1,500 foreigners are thought to be seeking refuge in Sri Lanka, with a reported 60 Pakistanis being held in Boosa and a similar number of Afghan nationals in Negombo.

  • US gives $517,000 to fund Poonakari hospital

    The United States has given $517,000 to support the construction of Poonakari hospital in the Kilinochchi district, as part of a program to support the Northern Provincial Council.

    The hospital, which was opened on the 27th of August, is one of nine different hospitals that have received US$3.8 million in assistance from the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

  • UNP MP threatens to crossover to join government

    The United National Party’s Colombo district MP Ravi Karunanayaka has threatened to cross over and join the government, if Hambantota district MP Sajith Premadasa is appointed as the deputy leader of the party.

    ColomboPage reported Karunanayaka as opposing Premadasa’s proposed appointment to the post, which has caused internal disputes within the opposition party.

    Karunanayaka reportedly voiced his warning to UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, who is looking to rebuild the UNP, amid earlier defections from their members to the governing party. 

  • Vendors who hoard rice face ‘stern action’ warns government

    The Sri Lankan government announced that rice millers who hide stock face ‘stern action’ as it set a deadline for all vendors to submit details of their stock.

    Private mills and stores will be raided after the September 15th deadline to search for hidden stocks, with the government warning those traders who they claim are trying to inflate rice prices.

    The government earlier set prices for rice, with the Consumer Affairs Authority having so far raided 400 vendors who had sold goods at higher than the set limit.

    Meanwhile Sri Lanka is set to import some 100,000 tons of rice from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, with Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry forecasting that 15 per cent of the paddy harvest will be lost this year due to drought.

  • Army intruder caught by locals in Kurunagar
    A Sri Lankan army soldier was apprehended by locals, after he entered a house in Jaffna's coastal suburb of Kurunagar on Wednesday night, reports
  • Military threats call off prayers for Vali North displaced
    Prayers organised for those displaced in Valikaamam North were called off this week after organisers received threats from military personnel, warning them there would be "consequences" if they went ahead with the prayers, Uthayan reports.
  • Police block protestors in Vavuniya on International Day of the Disappeared

    Hundreds of Tamils were blocked from delivering a petition in Vavuniya on Saturday, marking the International Day of the Disappeared.

    Relatives of disappeared from across the Northeast attended an event at Vavuniya Urban Council, before a protest march towards the Government Agent offices at Vavuniya Kachcheri but police stopped the protestors from proceeding, saying that they did not have permission, sources at the scene told the Tamil Guardian.


  • Prayers held in Thirukketheswaram for disappeared
    Families of the disappeared held prayers on Friday at Thirukketheswaram temple, lighting candles in memory of their missing loved ones.

    The prayers, organised by the Youth Network, was attended by over 300 people from Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaitivu, reports Uthayan.

    "Five years on since the armed conflict ended, but a normal situation has not returned yet. Many problems, such as human rights violations, land issues, disappearances related problems, political issues and economic issues remain unsolved," said organisers.

    "We are disappointed after believing in many politicians, government organisations and commissions. Who should we say our problems to? Who is going to solve it?" asked the families.

  • UN Sec Gen alarmed by rising level of attacks against religious minorities in Sri Lanka
    Buddhist communities in Sri Lanka and Myanmar “are being swept up by a rising tide of extremist sentiment against other groups,” said the United Nations Secretary General.

    See full statement here.
  • Sri Lanka should immediately release fishing boats – Tamil Nadu

    Tamil Nadu has reiterated its demand for the immediate release of its fishing boats held by Sri Lanka.

    Speaking during the first India-Sri Lanka Joint Committee (JC) meeting on fisheries in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu’s Fisheries Secreteary S Vijayakumar reiterated the state’s “firm commitment” to the restoration of traditional fishing rights of Tamil fishermen, including fishing unhindered in the Palk Strait.

    The Government of India should not treat the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) with Sri Lanka as settled, since the constitutional validity previous agreements have been challenged on “extremely valid and legal grounds” by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the Supreme Court of India, he said according to The New Indian Express.

    The Indian delegation was led by Dr Raja Sekar Vundru, Joint Fisheries Secretary, and Sri Lanka was led by Nimal Hettiarachchi, Director General of the Department of Fisheries and Agricultural Resources.

  • Basil blames NPC for lack of development
    Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa blamed the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) for the lack of development in the area, stating that the government's development plan had slowed down since the NPC took charge, reports The Hindu.

    “They have not done anything yet,” he told reporters, adding that the NPC should use the powers at hand before demanding more devolution.

    His comments are at stark odds with those from within the NPC however, who have increasingly criticised the government's restrictions and withholding of funds.

    Earlier this year the Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran slammed President Rajapaksa's failure to uphold pledges made to the NPC.

  • Government evading talks says TNA
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran said the Sri Lankan government was evading the political question by stating false claims of LTTE links.

    "The Government is now saying it cannot hold talks with the TNA because we are representatives of the LTTE. The Government is trying to evade resolving the Tamil issue citing these false claims," he told a press conference on Thursday.

    "We do not have any hidden agenda. We strongly believe a solution to the issue in a united country and we do not want a separate state,” Sumanthiran said.

  • ICRC says missing in Sri Lanka must not be forgotten
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged the international community not to forget missing persons worldwide, including those in Sri Lanka.

    "States have an obligation under international humanitarian law to take all feasible measures to clarify the fate and whereabouts of people who have gone missing and to inform their families accordingly," said the vice-president of the ICRC, Christine Beerli.

    Stating that the ICRC was working on the cases of 52,000 missing persons worldwide, staff member Marianne Pecassou said:

    "This figure is just the tip of the iceberg, since these cases are only the ones brought to the attention of the ICRC by relatives. We know that many more people remain unaccounted for around the world."

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