• Sri Lanka navy denies firing on Tamil Nadu fishermen

    May 02
    The Sri Lankan navy denied firing shots at Tamil Nadu fishermen accused of crossing into Sri Lankan waters.

    “We have in the past, and still continue to discourage Indian poachers in the Palk Strait using minimum force but have stopped short of firing on them," a senior naval official was quoted by Sri Lanka's Sunday Times newspaper as saying.

    "Indian fishermen were always treated in a humane manner and despite several warnings Indian fishermen continued to illegally cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL)," he reportedly added.

  • Sri Lanka misses fiscal deficit target in 2014

    Sri Lanka's Central Bank said it has missed its fiscal deficit target and reversed its falling trend in 2014, due to a fall in revenue and higher government expenditure, Reuters reported.

  • US urges Sri Lanka to cooperate with UN to address 'painful issues' of truth and justice for alleged war crimes
    The US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking during his 3 day visit to Sri Lanka, urged the new regime to work with the United Nations to find the truth, “no matter how painful that truth may be,” and stressed the importance of justice and accountability for the “painful issues” of alleged war crimes.
    Photographs: US Department of State

    The US Secretary, received criticism from commentators for not planning a visit to the majority Tamil North-East of the island.

    Speaking on the US official's trip to Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch South Asia Advocacy director, John Sifton, said that the omission of the North showed "that the US no longer really cares about the massive rights abuses that occurred there and the rights issues which are still relevant today."

    Speaking in Colombo on Saturday, Mr Kerry offered assistance in the field of justice and accountability, stating,

    “Every citizen has a right to seek justice, and every citizen has a right to expect justice for victims of war crimes or crimes against humanity. They’re painful issues; I know that. But if you try to compel people to simply forget the past and try to wipe it away, believe me: They will be more likely, not less, to cling to it. And if you tell them to forego justice under the law, they will be more likely to seek it outside of the law. It will be harder, not easier, to move forward as one country at peace.”

    Commenting on political detainees, the US Secretary of State, added,

    “We also continue to urge your government to release remaining political prisoners, and we would be pleased to assist in those efforts by sending a team of legal experts to advise on assessment and release, which is a critical component of the documents that have to be made in that.”

    Speaking on the United States’ desire to promote the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor to connect South Asia to Southeast Asia, Mr Kerry added,

    “We look forward to working with the Sri Lankan Government as it increases trade and investment with its neighbours in the Indian Ocean and beyond.”

    Mr Kerry also announced that the two countries had agreed to establish an annual partnership dialogue, adding that a team of US officials form the US Departments of Treasury and Commerce would travel to Sri Lanka to help foster “greater investment and growth” in Sri Lanka.

    Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera, speaking after meeting Mr Kerry, expressed his government’s intention to make the island an “investor’s paradise,” and added that “ensuring accountability in the new Sri Lanka will feature as a key component of the reconciliation process.”

     
  • New Sri Lankan government run by 'western lackeys' says Rajapaksa
    The former Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the new government was run by western lackeys.

    "The country had entered an era of ‘mega deals’ under the new government which was run by the lackeys of western powers," Mr Rajapaksa was quoted by The Island newspaper as saying, whilst addressing crowds at a May Day rally on Friday, organised by a splinter group of the UPFA.

  • Assassinated Tamil journalists commemorated in Jaffna
    Photographs Uthayan


    Tamil journalists who have been assassinated by Sri Lankan state forces during the ethnic conflict were remembered in Jaffna on Saturday, at an event organised by the Uthayan newspaper.



    Families of the deceased journalists, as well as the head of Jaffna University's Teachers' Union, E Rasakumaran, the chief editor of the Uthaya, M V Kanagamayilnathan and the manager of the Jaffna based Thinakkural newspaper, S Kesavaraj were present, lighting candles of remembrance.

  • TNA to request US support to solve Tamil political question

    The Tamil National Alliance says it will urge the US to support them to find a solution to the Tamil question on the island, when meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday.

    Speaking to Ceylon Today, TNA MP MA Sumanthiran said the party's delegation, which will include NPC Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran, would focus on humanitarian issues.

    "The TNA delegation led by R. Sampanthan will focus on the humanitarian issues such as the release of Tamil political prisoners, resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons and the release of lands still in the possession of the Security Forces in the North and East," Mr Sumanthiran said, adding that Mr Wigneswaran will be able to explain in detail all post-war issues in the Northern Province.

  • National flag should not have colours for ethnic groups - BBS

    The Bodu Bala Sena has called for a change in Sri Lanka's flag, saying it was "extremist" as it differentiated between the different communities that lived on the island.

  • Ambassador accepts personalised copy of No Fire Zone documentary for Sri Lanka's president

    The Sri Lankan High Commission in London accepted a personalised copy of the Sinhala language version of the, Emmy nominated, No Fire Zone documentary on behalf of Sri Lanka’s president this week.

    In his personal message to Maithripala Sirisena, the No Fire Zone director, Callum Macrae, on Wednesday, said,

    “The truth is coming out. I appeal to you not to obstruct the process, but to encourage it. To be on the side of truth.”
  • Tamil national question remains unresolved in Sri Lanka - GTF
    The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) called on Sri Lanka’s government to “accelerate” initiatives addressing issues of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, adding that further steps were needed to resolve the Tamil national question.

    Highlighting that "above all, the Tamil national quesiton remains unresolved," in a statement that welcomed Sri Lanka's passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution, the Global Tamil Forum called for further steps to address a list of Tamil issues.

    The organisation noted that several issues affecting the Tamil community had not been resolved, including the appropriation of Tamil lands, intense militarisation of the North-East, prevalence of sexual violence in the North-East, issues of arbitrarily detained political prisoners, draconian anti-terror laws and justice for alleged war crimes.

    See extracts from the statement below.

  • Five Dutch Tamils jailed for fundraising for LTTE
    Five Dutch Tamils were jailed, by a court in The Hague, for raising money for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reports Dailymirror.lk.

    The court ruled that, the 5 individuals had been involved in raising money for the proscribed organisation between 2003 and 2010 and sentenced the individuals to up to six years in prison.
  • NPC marks May Day in Jaffna


    Northern Province councillors marked May Day in Jaffna on Friday, with a march through the town calling for the Tamil people's traditional livelihoods to be allowed to flourish.



    The Chief Minister, C V Wigneswaran, and councillors Ananthy Sasitharan, M K Shivajilingham, Siddarthan and Kajatheepan where joined by people from across the North, including Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar and Kilinochchi.

  • President vows not to allow any interference in Sri Lanka's 'sovereign affairs'
    Sri Lanka's new president, Maithripala Sirisena, vowed on May Day "not to allow any interference in Sri Lanka's sovereign affairs", reported Colombo Page.

    Addressing his party's May Day rally in Colombo, Mr Sirisena "vowed not leave any room for international community or other countries to raise any issues regarding the human rights in Sri Lanka".

  • Tamil parties hold May Day rallies in North-East
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) held their parties' May Day rallies on Friday, calling for greater rights to Tamil workers.

  • US Secretary of State must not lose sight of formidable human rights challenges in Sri Lanka says Freedom from Torture
    The US Secretary of State John Kerry must “not lose sight of the formidable human rights challenges still facing Sri Lanka,” said Freedom from Torture in a statement released on Thursday.

    Noting that Sri Lanka was the top referral country for the organisation for a 3rd consecutive year, the statement said,

    “This should serve a as a stark reminder that although the civil war ended in 2009, the country is still a far-cry from a rights respecting democracy.”

    The statement added that the organisation was “yet to see a credible program to dismantle the torture apparatus that is deeply embedded in the Sri Lankan state.”
  • Problems still exist regarding human rights of 'minorities' in Sri Lanka concludes Society for Threatened People
    Many problems exist “regarding human rights of the minorities,” in Sri Lanka, concluded the Society for Threatened peoples (STP.)

    A report on the new regime's 100 day reform plan, released on Thursday, noted several issues including those of intimidation of Tamil journalists, inadequate resettlement, excessive militarisation of the North-East, inadequate investigation into missing persons, appropriation of rural Tamil community land and fishing rights and the existence of draconian arbitrary detention laws.

    See a list of recommendations from the report below. 
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