• Samarasinghe: Gopi incident 'clear evidence' of need for troops in North

    Apr 12
    A day after Sri Lankan security forces shot dead three Tamil men, who they allege were attempting to re-launch an armed struggle, the country's special envoy for human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, claimed the incident was "clear evidence" of the need for military in the North.

    According to the PTI Minister Samarasinghe told Buddhist monks in Kandy on Saturday,
    "We were asked and criticised about the presence of the military in the north and the need to scale down its presence by the international governments at the Geneva UN Human Rights Council...We explained to them the need to keep the military going as it was a decision for a sovereign government to take in view of the national security needs,"
    "Yesterday's incident was clear evidence of that," he added.

  • 3 Tamils shot dead by military buried in Anuradhapura, close family remain detained
    The bodies of three Tamil men shot dead by the Sri Lankan military on Friday who claimed the men were attempting to re-launch an armed struggle, were buried in Anuradhapura on Saturday, reports Daily Mirror.
  • Sinhala radio show accuses Tamil diaspora of illegal financial deals
    A popular radio show on the Sinhala radio station 'Neth FM', accused the Tamil diaspora on Friday of "manipulating the law and the prison system of Sri Lanka using remnants of LTTE", claiming to reveal illegal financial deals of the Tamil diaspora.

    Find links to the radio show on Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence website here.

    Neth FM found itself under scrutiny earlier this year, after Colombo Telegraph revealed that the editor, along side over 500 fellow Sri Lankan journalists had been presented with interest free car loans by the Sri Lankan president. According to the news site, Neth FM's editor, Kulasiri Kariyawasam, also received a free laptop.

  • UK, Australia and Canada caution Tamil citizens over Sri Lanka's terror laws after diaspora bans
    Following the Sri Lankan government's proscription of 15 diaspora organisations and over 400 individuals, the UK, Australia and Canada cautioned Tamil citizens travelling to Sri Lanka of the country's terrorism laws. 
     
    In travel advice updated April 11th, the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) stated:
    "On 21 March 2014, the Sri Lankan government designated 16 organisations and 424 individuals, including the British Tamils Forum and Global Tamil Forum, for purported links to terrorism."
    Warning its citizens of Sri Lanka's draconian terrorism laws, the FCO's travel advice also states:
    "The Sri Lankan Prevention of Terrorism Act permits prolonged detention without charge or trial. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission."
  • Sri Lanka collects details of Tamil diaspora - TNA MP Ariyanenthiran
    Sri Lankan intelligence officers are actively collecting the details of the Tamil diaspora from Trincomalee, the TNA MP Ariyanenthiran told the Uthayan this week.

    Using local government officials, the intelligence officers alongside the army are collecting details of those who fled after the 1983 riots, in order to prepare a new list of individuals to proscribe, said Mr. Ariyanenthiran.

    Intelligence officers have decided to collect information directly from voter lists after local government officials informed them of the difficulty of obtained such information.

  • Not soldiers but ‘militarised civilians’ says Army
    Writing to Sri Lanka's Sunday Times regarding a photograph published by the paper last week depicting soldiers helping to repair a roof at a Dutch hospital in Colombo, the Sri Lankan Army media spokesperson, said,
  • Spirit of reconciliation at New Year says President... in Sinhala
    In an official message marking Sinhala and Tamil new year celebrations Monday, the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, pointed to the spirit of reconciliation of 'Aluth Avurudu' [Sinhala word for New Year, commonly used to refer specifically to 'Sinhala New Year'].

    The message said,
  • Body found in Visvamadu of Tamil woman working for Army
    17:29 BST

    The body of a Tamil woman was found in a well in Visvamadu, local residents told Tamil Guardian this evening.

    The body, which appeared to have been raped, was recovered by villagers in the presence of police officers at 6.30pm today.
  • Indian firm proposes $300m ilmenite processing plant in Pulmoddai
    An Indian firm, Narayan Titanium Industries Ltd., has proposed a US $300 million project of a titanium ore (ilmenite) processing plant in Pulmoddai, Trincomalee, the Sunday Times reported.

    The plant would process the raw mineral ilmenite from Pulmoddai and Mullaitivu into the commercially lucrative pigment of Titanium Dioxide.

  • Discussions with South African envoy 'very fruitful' - TNA
    The Tamil National Alliance said in a brief statement Saturday its discussions this week with the South African envoy, Cyril Ramaposa, had been "very fruitful".

    "We look forward to continued engagement with the Special Envoy especially during his impending visit to Sri Lanka," TNA said.

    The statement did not elaborate on the content or conclusions of the discussions in South Africa.
  • Arrest, detention and torture of Tamil women by security forces
    Reports have emerged of the detention and torture of Tamil women arrested by Sri Lankan security forces who have accused the women of having 'terrorist links'.

    A report, published in Groundviews said:
    "Recently there are several females in Boosa. Two of them are above the age of 60. Kanapathipillai Yogarani 61 years of age was arrested in latter part of March. The only allegation against her is that her son residing in a foreign country has been sending her money periodically.

  • Sri Lankan regime’s attempt to silence legitimate criticism is unacceptable' - Canada's Liberal party
    Condemning the Sri Lankan government's refusal to participate in the upcoming investigation by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Canada's Shadow Foreign Minister, and Liberal MP for Westmount-Ville-Marie, Marc Garneau, said that the "Sri Lankan regime’s attempt to silence legitimate criticism" through the proscription of Tamil diaspora groups who were supportive of the international investigation, was "unacceptable", urging the Canadian government to consider "additional measures" if Sri Lanka did not lift the proscription.

    "We also condemn attempts by the Sri Lankan government to silence organizations and individuals pressing for such an investigation– including a number of Tamil-Canadian groups based in Canada – by designating them as terrorists and threatening to freeze their assets and financial resources," said Mr. Garneau in a statement issued on Friday.

  • Another mother and daughter arrested by TID

    A Tamil woman and her teenage daughter were arrested on Wednesday night, reports BBC Tamil.

  • Sri Lanka says troops killed ‘Gopi’, two others

    Sri Lanka’s military said Friday troops had shot dead three men being sought for attempting to revive the LTTE, including ‘Gopi’ described as the leader.

    Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said the incident took place when troops surrounded them in jungle near Padaviya in the Nedunkerny area, Vavuniya.

    “Three armed suspects who attempted to escape the area confronted the troops in the cordon. All three were killed,” he said in a press release.

  • Last-minute cancellation of British MPs' trip to Sri Lanka amidst controversy

    A cross-party trip by British MPs to Sri Lanka was called off at the last minute Thursday night after Labour members of the delegation pulled out due to party pressure, reported Channel 4 News.

    The all-expenses-paid trip, funded by former cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan’s charity Foundation of Goodness, would have seen MPs, and some of their partners, travel to the island for a ‘fact-finding’ visit, which would have included a meeting with senior Sri Lankan ministers and officials and President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who stands accused of command responsibility for war crimes.

    The Labour MPs pulled out after intervention from a senior frontbencher who “strongly objected” to the visit, Channel 4 said.

    That prompted the Conservative MPs to also abandon the trip.

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