• Sri Lanka and Belarus commit to enhancing business ties

    Nov 19
    The chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and his Sri Lankan counterpart at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, signed a memorandum to enhance partnerships between business circles in the two nations.
  • Solheim provided parts for LTTE air force - Sri Lanka

    The Sri Lankan government has accused former peace negotiator Eric Solheim of being "a liar and a supporter of terrorists", after he rejected claims made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, reported the Daily Mirror.

  • Former LTTE cadre reported missing in Jaffna

    A former LTTE cadre has been reported as missing by his family, since he disappeared in Jaffna earlier this month.

    Antonymutthu Anton Jeyaron was staying at an apartment in the Kurunagar Housing development authority, when he went missing on November 17, stated his wife, who has filed a complaint with Jaffna police.

    The 31 year old left his home to go shopping and did not return.

    Jeyaron was held by Sri Lankan authorities after the end of the armed conflict in 2009 and subsequently put through the government rehabilitation process.

    The latest disappearance follows the murder of a former LTTE policeman in Mannar this month alongside an increasing number of arrests by the Sri Lankan government. The incidents have reportedly led to an increased climate of fear amongst former cadres and Tamil activists in the North-East.

  • BBS backs UNP leader as 'suitable' common presidential candidate
    The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Buddhist movement backed the United National Party (UNP) leader as the best option for a common opposition presidential candidate reports Colombo Page.
  • NPC passes resolution calling for the release of untried Tamil political prisoners
    The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) adopted a resolution calling for the release of Tamil political prisoners who have been detained without trial for several years.
  • Indian fishermen freed after Rajapaksa issues pardon
    The five Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan security forces over alleged drug trafficking charges and sentenced to death, were freed on Wednesday by President Rajapaksa who issued a presidential pardon.

    The release comes after widespread protests in Tamil Nadu and strong pressure from the Modi led central government on Sri Lankan authorities.

    An appeal filed by the Indian authorities was withdrawn, after the Sri Lankan government said a presidential pardon could not proceed without its withdrawal.

    On Tuesday, a delegation from Tamil Nadu met with India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, calling for the detained fishermen's "immediate release", reported Jagran Post.

    The delegation included local fishermen and the Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnanan, as well as senior BJP leaders, the paper reported .

    The release has been hailed as a major diplomatic victory in India. 

    "We feel the fishermen are not guilty. We will follow the legal process and will do our best to get them back to India," the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Syed Akbaruddin said.

  • MoD warns of ongoing threat of secessionists
    The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence warned on Wednesday of the ongoing threat of secessionist both on and off the island.

    "Although we have defeated terrorism in Sri Lanka, it was only armed terrorism that was defeated. While armed terrorism was defeated there are still secessionists in various locations. They could be within Sri Lanka as well. It is certainly clear that they exist outside of Sri Lanka, they speak about it openly," said the Ministry's spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya at a press briefing on Wednesday.

    "There are groups in foreign countries which have said they will not turn back until a separate state has been created within Sri Lanka. There could be groups within Sri Lanka which are sponsored by them," he warned, vowing that "nevertheless, the Army will never allow for the people to be deprived of the freedom to spend time freely in Sri Lanka".

  • Sri Lanka says domestic probe will include human rights abuses
    In its latest attempt to detract from the UN inquiry into mass atrocities against the Tamil people, the Sri Lankan government announced on Tuesday that its domestic inquiry - the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances - would now also examine human rights abuses in the North-East of the island.

    "The Commission has decided to entertain public complaints on any war crimes and human rights abuses in the north and east. This could be done until December 31," the Secretary to the Commission, HW Gunadasa, was quoted by DNA India as saying.

    The inquiry, which has been severely critiqued by domestic and international NGOs and civil society actors over its lack of independence and witness protection, amongst other aspects, is currently holding public sittings in the North-East.

  • India, China, Russia to attend Sri Lanka's defence chiefs' conference
    India, China and Russia are to attend Sri Lanka's South and Southeast Asian Nations (SASEAN) Defense Chiefs' Dialogue at the end of this month in Colombo.

    The conference, held on November 27th till 29th, will include defence heads from eight SAARC and ten ASEAN nations, the Sri Lankan government's official news site reported.

    Bangladesh, the Maldives, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei are amongst other nations attending.
  • JHU quits ruling alliance, calls on Rajapaksa to follow 'teachings of Buddha'

    The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) announced that it will be quitting from the ruling Sri Lankan government coalition on Tuesday, in protest against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

    JHU leader Omale Sobitha, who announced the split on Rajapaksa’s birthday, told reporters,

    "This (quitting) is not a challenge from an enemy force.”

    "This is a birthday gift to the president to correct his ways. This is the advice of a friend given according to the teachings of the Buddha."

    Technology and Research Minister Champika Ranawaka, a senior JHU member who previously warned that Sinhalese were becoming a minority, also announced his resignation on Tuesday.

    The move led to National Freedom Front national organiser Jayantha Samaraweera to call on the JHU to reconsider its decision, stating that western factions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were attempting to “destroy national forces” on the island.

  • Protest prevents Sri Lankan military land grab attempt in Jaffna

    A protest held by villagers in Mathakal, Jaffna prevented the Sri Lankan navy from surveying lands which were to be acquired by the military this week.

    When surveyors from the military arrived at the area, villagers protested against their presence, reports Uthayan. The villagers, who were told to produce documents confirming their ownership of the land by surveyors, refused to allow the military personnel on to their property, stating they would not allow any surveying to take place.


  • Gendered Genocide: Sri Lanka’s War Against Tamils
     

    The following address was delivered by Tasha Manoranjan, a graduate from Yale Law School, and founder and director of People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), at the 'Feminisms, Structural Violence and Transitional Justice Conference' held at York University, Toronto last month.
    "Tamil women have suffered disproportionately throughout Sri Lanka’s decades-long ethnic conflict. They have faced both the structural collapse of communities as well as the erosion of societal norms. In response, an increasing number of women joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) starting in the 1980s and throughout the years prior to 2009, and became an integral part of the armed resistance against the government.
  • Indian govt is betraying Tamils by indulging Sri Lanka - Vaiko
    The leader of the MDMK, Vaiko, accused the central government, led by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), of "betraying Tamils by showing indulgence to the island nation", reports the Times of India.
  • Peiris slams 'unprofessional manner' of OISL to UN official‏
    Sri Lanka's Minister of External Affairs, G. L. Peiris criticised the UN inquiry into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka - the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) - to the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations, Subinay Nandy on Monday, a statement released by the ministry said.

    Accusing the OISL of acting in an "unprofessional manner" by extending the deadline for the submission of evidence unofficially, Peiris also "pointed out that what was particularly disturbing was that this development took place while a campaign to collect fabricated evidence was under way in Sri Lanka with the collusion of both local and foreign parties".

    "During this period, evidence was being concocted fraudulently in Sri Lanka on blank sheets of paper, with signatures procured under false pretences and with financial inducements.  One of the main agents in this criminal enterprise was arrested, while another has left the country unlawfully," the statement went on to say.

  • Sri Lanka HC in Australia tries to block book on war crimes - TRC
    The Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia has tried to block a new book on war crimes committed by government forces against the Tamil people being endorsed by Melbourne's Monash University, said the Tamil Refugee Council in a statement on Monday.
    The book, 'Sri Lanka's Secrets: How the Rajapaksa regime gets away with murder' by the journalist Trevor Grant, was published by Monash University Publishing, and released in August. "It is understood that at two meetings with senior university administrators, including vice-chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Admiral Thirasa Samarasinghe, questioned the university's selection and approval processes for the book. He also wanted it to issue some form of apology for allowing it to be publiched," the TRC said.

    "The University's links with Monash College in Colombo, a pathway school to Monash campuses in Australia, was believed to have been brought up in the discussions," the group added.

    "Admiral Samarasinghe wrote to Monash University about the book on 27 August. The letter contained a request to meet with the vice-chancellor," Dr Nathan Hollier, director of Monash University, said, confirming that Admiral Samarasinghe had met with the university's senior administrators on two occasions in September.

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