• Western Provincial Council minister calls for ban on TNA

    Apr 05

    A minister for the Western Provincial Council has called on the Sri Lankan government to ban the Tamil National Alliance, reported the Daily News.

    Udaya Gammanpila, who is also a legal advisor to the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), said that the political philosophy of the LTTE should be countered more aggressively by the government, adding that the TNA should also be banned if it called on the government to lift the ban on diaspora organisations.

    “Sri Lanka has done only a fraction of what other countries had done to immobilise the political will and functions of terrorist organisations who have been defeated, ” Gammanpila said.

  • Singapore launches capacity building projects in Jaffna
    The Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam, today, launched a new youth development project at Jaffna Library.

    The community development project by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), aims to enhance English Language communication amongst Jaffna youth, by providing learning resources and training for English teachers in Jaffna.

    The project aims to help at least 3,000 children aged between 10 and 18 years old within the Jaffna district.

  • Work towards political solution beyond 13A to avoid international pressure, says India
    The Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Y.K Sinha, addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association, urged Sri Lanka to work towards devolution of powers beyond the 13th amendment and a political solution to deal with international pressure.
    “Our emphasis, in this context, has been to encourage the Government of Sri Lanka to take forward the process of broader dialogue and show concrete movement towards a meaningful devolution of powers, through full implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond," said the high commissioner.
    Sinha further reiterated that India had outlined on a number of occasions, the need for steps towards genuine reconciliation, that included investigations into allegations of human rights violations, restoration of normalcy in affected areas, reduction of ‘high security zones’, satisfactorily addressing the issue of missing persons and redressed of humanitarian concerns of affected families.

  • TNA's Shivajilingham calls on govt to deproscribe diaspora groups
    M.K Shivajilingham, an outspoken member of the Northern Provincial Council and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), called on the Sri Lankan government to lift the ban imposed on 15 Tamil diaspora organisations, reported Colombo Page.

    Arguing that the diaspora organisations had not been involved in any illegal or terrorist activities, Mr. Shivajilingham pointed out that the government had failed to provide evidence of such activities.

    Speaking to the Tamil Guardian earlier this week, Mr. Shivajilingham said,
    "The Sri Lankan government is trying to cut us off from the diaspora, especially trying to stop political parties, such as the TNA and the TNPF, from engaging with diaspora organisations,"
  • Abstention was ‘political decision’ – India

    India’s External Affairs Ministry said that the decision to abstain from the resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council last month was a “political decision” for the welfare of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

    Responding to a question about Finance Minister Chidambaram’s criticism of India’s abstention, Foregin Secretary Sujatha Singh said the resolution was “extremely intrusive”.

    “Any decision relating to foreign policy is a political decision, is it not? And no official will take a decision without taking a political sign off,” she told PTI.

  • BJP ‘won’t support Tamil Eelam’ – official

    A senior BJP official said today that the party will not support a separate Tamil Eelam.

  • Divisions in Sri Lanka existed before UNHRC resolution, says US Ambassador
    The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Michele Sison, in a speech to the Sri Lankan Foreign Correspondents Association, Thursday evening, outlined that US concerns in Sri Lanka remain unchanged.

    The Ambassador dismissed accusations that the US was targeting Sri Lanka. Outlining that its actions were echoing longstanding international concerns, including those of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,  she said,
  • US to fund NGO programs aiding refugees from Sri Lanka in India
    The United States Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, announced this week that it would provide funding opportunities for non-governmental organisation programs aimed at benefiting refugees from Sri Lanka in India

    The funding applications must focus on at least one of four sectors, which include, Protection, Livelihoods, Capacity Building and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
  • Sri Lanka bourse rises as foreigners sell heavily - Reuters
    Sri Lanka’s stock market index rose to a seven-week high Friday, even as foreign investors sold heavily, Reuters reported.

    Foreign selling accounted for 88.7 percent of the day's 5.04 billion rupees ($38.58 million) turnover, well above this year's daily average of 1.01 billion rupees.
  • Over 400 Tamil individuals included in Sri Lanka's proscription list
    Further details of an order, made earlier this week,  proscribing several diaspora entities have emerged placing over 400 Tamil individuals, mostly within the diaspora, under proscription.

    See the full list of proscribed organisations and individuals here.
  • NPC members receive anonymous phone threats
    The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) President, CVK Sivagnanam, outlined today that members of the NPC were receiving anonymous phone threats.

    Sivagnanam told the Uthayan that several NPC members had complained to him about the threats were advised to make formal complaints with the local police.
  • Flyers appear in Jaffna targetting Ananthy Sasitharan's husband

    Flyers targetting the husband of the TNA Northern Provincial Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan, have appeared across the Jaffna district this week, reports Uthayan.

    Carrying a list of war crimes, the flyer alleged that Ms. Sasitharan's husband, Ezhilan was responsible.

    The flyers appear amidst a series of recent threats and accusations made by the Sri Lankan government at Ms. Sasitharan, who played a prominent role in calling for an international investigation at the UN Human Rights Council last month.

  • Former female cadres summoned by Sri Lankan military - Vavuniya

    12:07 BST

    Former Tamil female cadres were rounded up for a meeting in Vavuniya by Sri Lankan military personnel on Thursday morning and later released, local sources told Tamil Guardian within the last hour.

    Armed military personnel arrived at their houses on Thursday morning and instructed them to come outside before taking them away without providing any explanation, said one of the woman, who was anxious to remain anonymous fearing reprisal. 

    The group of former cadres were taken by the military to an unknown location where they were given food before being taken back to their homes.

    “There is no safety for us here," she said.

  • Protest against illegal businesses in Jaffna

    16:40 BST

    Pictures: Tamil Guardian

    Dozens of leading Tamil business owners and their supporters protested this morning against the increasing number of illegal businesses, set up by people from southern Sri Lanka.

    Demonstrators said that business people from the south are flooding the local market with cheap goods without the necessary legal permissions, putting Tamils at an economic disadvantage.

  • Protect Sri Lankan heritage and culture – Mahinda

    Sri Lanka’s president said earlier today that certain countries are not pleased with Sri Lanka’s independent rise.

    Speaking at a Buddhist ceremony in Anuradhapura, Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka needs to accept the difficult challenge of protecting their heritage and culture.

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