• Tamil mother released after 4 years in prison

    Feb 08
    <p>A Tamil mother of two was released on bail this week after being imprisoned for four years.&nbsp;</p> <p>The release of the 31-year-old political prisoner came after repeated intiatives by the Mannar Citizens' Committee calling for the release of the woman, whose family live below the poverty line.&nbsp;</p>
  • ‘Why has Sri Lanka’s Transitional Justice process failed to deliver?’
    <p>The Sri Lankan government has made “empty promises” on transitional justice and its willingness to tackle impunity, which is “evidenced by a litany of failures”, write Yasmin Sooka and Frances Harrison for the London School of Economics’ South Asia blog this week.</p>
  • Signs of Resistance

    The history of the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka after Western colonisation is a history of oppression by the chauvinist Sinhala-Buddhist state. Because of strength and resilience, the Tamil people acted against this oppression with resistance. This goes from peaceful protest for equal rights to a militant fight for a separate state. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians and combatants lost their lives throughout the armed conflict.

  • Former NPC minister queries building of Buddha statue at archaeological site in Vavuniya

    A former Northern Provincial Council (NPC) minister has written to Vavuniya’s government agent (GA), querying how a Buddha statue was allowed to be placed at an archaeological site in the district.

  • Tamil activist to be held on remand over Batticaloa hartal

    A Tamil political activist has been remanded by a Sri Lankan court over a hartal in protest at the appointment of former UPFA MP Hizbullah as governor of the Eastern Province last month.

    Kanapathipillai Mohan, who heads the Thamizh Unarvaalar Amaippu, has had an order issued against him by the Eravur Circuit Magistrate Court, holding him on remand until February 13.

  • Sri Lanka facing delays to China loan
    <p>Sri Lanka is facing delays in receiving a $300 million (USD) loan offered by the Bank of China, Reuters reports.</p> <p>The loan was due to be released before the end of January but is now unlikely to be finalised until later this month.</p>
  • Jaffna, Chennai uni students mark Black History Month at US Consulate

    Students from the University of Jaffna joined an event held by the US Consulate in Chennai to mark Black History Month.

    The Jaffna students joined in with the event, a screening of a documentary on black civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr, via video conference.

  • LTTE official and former TNA MP killed in paramilitary ambush remembered

    The former TNA MP Chandranehru and LTTE political head Kousalyan, as well as the LTTE cadres who were killed with them in an ambush by Sri Lankan paramilitaries were remembered in Batticaloa on Thursday.

  • Two dead as navy fires shots in Trincomalee

    At least two people have died as the Sri Lankan navy clashed with villagers in Kinniya, Trincomalee, last week, after members of the military attempted to arrest a group of men they claimed to be involved in illegal sand mining.

    The Sri Lankan navy, acting on a reported tip off, arrived at Kandakadum by the Savaru Bridge last Tuesday in a joint operation with the Special Task Force as they attempted to arrest of men.

  • Palaly, KKS development to commence next week
    <p><img alt="Image removed." src="/core/misc/icons/e32700/error.svg" title="This image has been removed. For security reasons, only images from the local domain are allowed." height="16" width="16" class="filter-image-invalid"></p> <p>The development of Palaly airport and the sea port at Kankesanthurai (KKS) is to commence next week on February 15, the Jaffna District Secretariat’s office said on Tuesday.&nbsp;</p> <p>The development projects, which are to be a joint Indian and Sri Lankan venture, have been stuck in the discussion stage for several years, despite the armed conflict ending 10 years ago.&nbsp;</p> <p>As recently as last month, India's&nbsp;ministry of external affairs (MEA) had not approved a report on the project due to the&nbsp;Airports Authority of India (AAI) citing political instability&nbsp;on the island, following last year's turmoil.&nbsp;</p>
  • Ranil pledges fire service within 1 week after outcry in Mullaitivu, Puttalam
    <p>Sri Lanka's prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, yesterday pledged a fire brigade service would be established in Mullaitivu and Puttalam within one week, following an outcry from residents who had been without any service for many years.&nbsp;</p> <p>Ranil was responding to a statement made by the TNA MP, Charles Nirmalanthan, pointing out that the government had failed to act on the issue despite repeated requests.&nbsp;</p>
  • Sirisena vows to implement death penalty within 3 months
    <p>Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena, yesterday vowed that "come what may" he would implement the death penalty within "2-3 months".&nbsp;</p> <p>Over recent months Sirisena has repeatedly reiterated his plans to reintroduced the death penalty for those convicted of drug trafficking, despite international outcry and warns of interventions.&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p>
  • Court rejects Sri Lankan police attempts to throw protesters out of Keppapulavu

    The Mullaitivu court rejected an application by Sri Lankan police to prohibit Tamil protestors from protesting anywhere within the army-occupied village of Keppapulavu.

    On January 28, residents of Keppapulavu intensified their campaign to have their lands released from Sri Lankan army occupation, getting as close to the camp and their lands as possible while military personnel and police were deployed to hold them back.

  • Refugees from Sri Lanka excluded from India’s Citizenship Bill
    <p>Tamil refugees who fled Sri Lanka are to be excluded from India’s current Citizenship&nbsp; Amendment Bill which was adopted by the Lok Sabha, the lower house in the country’s bicameral Parliament.&nbsp;</p> <p>There are approximately a hundred thousand Tamil refugees in India, with over two-thirds residing in government camps and the rest living on their own.&nbsp;</p> <p>India’s home minister, Rajnath Singhji, has defended the exclusion of Tamils stating that they would be protected under a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued in December 2011. This extended the protection of the Long Term Visas (LTVs) which both Sri Lankan and Myanmar refugees were eligible for. To be eligible for this protection they needed to prove that they had been “victims of oppression in their countries of origin on account of race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” Experts are wary of this proposal as generally LTVs have not been issued to Tamil refugees, The Hindu reports.</p>
  • British Tamils protest on Sri Lankan independence day

    British Tamils protested outside the Sri Lankan High Commission in London on Monday, Sri Lanka’s 71st Independence Day.

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