• China defends decision to dock submarines in Sri Lanka

    Nov 02

    The Chinese defence ministry said there was nothing “unusual” about its decision to dock submarines in Colombo, after Sri Lanka opened its port to China, despite Indian reservations, reported the Times of India.

    The second docking of a Chinese submarine within two months comes despite India raising “serious concerns” to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, during his visit in October.

    China said "there is nothing unusual for naval vessels to dock at Colombo port despite concerns raised by India".

    "It is an international common practice for navy submarine to stop for refueling and crew refreshment at an oversea port," a Chinese defence ministry official said, suggesting that India was more perturbed about China's "warming relations" with Sri Lanka than the submarines.

  • Church requests government not to hold presidential election after papal visit

    The spokesperson of Sri Lanka’s catholic church said that they have requested the government not to hold the election immediately after the visit and appealed to all political parties not to use the visit to gain political mileage.

    "If an election is to be held before the visit, it must be held in such a way that ...the preparation for the visit should not be disturbed by such an event. We have appealed to the President to have a sufficient gap between the two events, and they have assured us that everything will be done in order to go ahead with the Pope's visit without any disruptions due to an election," Cyril Gamini Fernando said.

    He added that the decision to hold an election and the dates to be fixed for such an election is entirely in the hands of the government and the commissioner of elections, and that the Church has no interest in intervening in the matter, according to Ceylon Today.

    The Church previously said it would reconsider the visit in view of the poll, as it would be “inappropriate” for the pontiff to visit during the election period.

  • Solheim discusses potential need for sanctions and international election observers in Sri Lanka
    Solheim meets BTC chair

    Erik Solheim, a former peace negotiation envoy to Sri Lanka, discussed the potential need for the EU to ensure that the upcoming presidential elections in Sri Lanka were free and fair, as well as potential sanctions on Sri Lanka should it continue to refuse to cooperate with the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL).

    The former Norwegian peace envoy spoke about the use of international observers to ensure fair elections in Sri Lanka during a meeting with the British Tamil Conservatives last month, whilst discussing matters pertaining to the upcoming presidential elections in Sri Lanka, and a post-inquiry follow up strategy to ensure accountability and justice whilst meeting the aspirations of all people on the island.

  • Governor launches investigation into Ananthy Sasitharan over UN inquiry
    The governor of the Northern Province, Major General Chandrasiri, has launched an investigation into the TNA NPC Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan, to examine whether she had cooperated with the UN inquiry into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka.

    The governor, who is appointed by the government directly, said Ms Sasitharan had requested more time to submit witness testimony to the inquiry, reports Global Tamil News.

    The deadline for the submission of evidence to the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) was October 30.

  • Minister's son remanded for assaulting tourists
    The son of a Sri Lankan minister was remanded in custody for assaulting tourists from Scotland on Saturday.

    Malaka Silva, the son of Minister Mervyn Silva, allegedly assaulted a couple from Scotland. Silva reportedly harassed the female tourist in a night club, resulting in her partner being provoked, reported Colombo Page.

    Silva's security personnel are said to have subsequently assaulted the woman's partner.
  • Transparency International says staff receiving death threats
    Transparency International's Sri Lanka (TISL) chapter has complained of death threats and intimidation targeting its staff in the country, reports the Sunday Times.
  • Ranil marks Jayawardene's death anniversary
    Photograph Sunday Times


    The leader of the opposition party UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe, marked the 18th anniversary of the death of his predecessor, J. R. Jayawardene.

    At an anniversary event held at the J. R. Jayawardene Centre on Saturday, the Ranil Wickremesinghe served food for Buddhist monks. He was joined by Chamal Rajapaksa, the Speaker of the House, the Sunday Times reported.

  • Sri Lanka rejects foreign aid relief offers
    The Sri Lankan president rejected foreign aid offers to deal with the recent Upcountry landslides deeming them to be an attempt by international NGOs to gain popularity in Sri Lanka, reports Ceylon Today.

    Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Friday, Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka would not be accepting foreign relief assistance.
  • Govt to investigate TNA 'plot' to collect evidence for UN inquiry

    The Sri Lankan government has launched an investigation to, what it has described as a "plot" by the TNA to collect information on atrocities committed during the armed conflict to submit to the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka (OISL), reported The Island.

    Police is "hunting" for the TNA's Vavuniya organiser Alva Pulle Vijendrakumar over the claim, the paper added.

    Sources told The Island that Vijendrakumar had to be questioned to verify the alleged involvement of two politicians, including an MP, in the collection of evidence, however, he has left his residence and is seeking refuge elsewhere.

    A senior investigator said:

    "The police searched Vijendrakumar’s residence consequent to the recovery of 25 blank UN war crimes complaint forms from Sinnathamby Krishnarajah, a civilian who had received LTTE training. We took Krishnarajah into custody on October 25 at Mulankavil in the Vanni. Under interrogation, the suspect claimed that he received the blank forms from Vijendrakumar on the afternoon of Oct 22 in Vavuniya."

  • Tamil orgs shocked and saddened by Upcountry landslide deaths
    Tamil organisations worldwide expressed shock and sadness at the tragic loss of life in a landslide that affected the Upcountry region this week, and offered their condolences to the families involved.

    The landslide, which struck early on Wednesday morning in Meeriyabedda in Haldummula, is believed to have killed over 200 people, who were buried alive.

    “The Tamil National Alliance extends its deepest sympathies to the victims of the tragic landslide at Meeriyabedda, Haldummulla,” the party said in a statement on Thursday.

    “Our thoughts are with their families and those involved in the rescue operations. We strongly support all efforts to provide relief and avert further tragedy at this time of need ,” the TNA added.

    Describing the incident as the “greatest disaster of the year”, the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) said it was “shocked to learn about the disaster” and blamed the Sri Lankan state for unsafe policies that led to the loss of life.

    “It is estimated that more than 300 may have lost their lives. This is the greatest disaster of the year. We lost many thousands of people due to Sri Lankan government’s genocide [against the Tamil people], we are even more saddened that this happened to our relations before we could recover ourselves from that tragedy,” the party said in a statement in Tamil.

    “Knowing that this disaster could be avoided doubles our grief. Though the National buildings research centre declared this place as unsafe, the government did not take action to settle the people in a safer place. It is the government’s irresponsibility that led to the people having to face this massive disaster. We condemn this carelessness of the government,” said the TNPF. 

    Also criticising the Sri Lankan government's policies, the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) warned that the suffering of the Upcountry Tamil people involved in the landslide would be exacerbated by the state's longstanding repressive policies against them. 

  • Travel restrictions to North are anti-Tamil says Bishop of Mannar
    The Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph said the Sri Lankan government's reintroduction of travel restrictions to the North was "symptomatic of the government's ill will towards the Tamil people".

    "These restrictions which were not there all this time are all quite strange to us. There are more soldiers and security forces present here more than during the wartime and they are disturbing people," he told Ceylon Today.

    "If the government has any suspicions concerning certain persons they can take action against those particular persons by not allowing them entry or access, but there was no reason for such draconian measures," Bishop Joseph added.

  • NPC looks to adopt orphaned Upcountry children to protect Tamil identity from Sri Lankan state
    The Northern Provincial Council indicated that it will adopt the 75 children that lost their parents in the landslide disaster in the Upcountry region last week.

    The decision came after the NPC expressed concerns that the orphans would lose their Tamil cultural and linguistic Tamil identity if adopted by the Sri Lankan government, reports Uthayan.
  • Wife of death row fisherman seeks Madras High Court action
    The wife of one of the five Tamil Nadu fisherman sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court this week has filed a motion at the Madras High Court, seeking the appointment of a counsel to appeal the sentence, reports PTI.
  • Gota orders army to take control of relief centres for displaced Upcountry Tamils
    The Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the Sri Lankan military to take "full control" of the relief centres opened up for Upcountry Tamils displaced by the landslide which affected the Meeriyabedda estate in Badulla district on Wednesday.

    The army will control the feeding, health and "entire management" of the displaced victims, reported Colombo Page.
  • Armed forces is building friendships between ethnic groups says Rajapaksa
    The Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa said the armed forces, "equipped with weaponry and knowledge", served as a "bridge which builds the friendship between the ethnic groups", speaking at Temple Trees on Friday evening.
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