• Sri Lankan cop charged with assault reinstated after monks protest

    Oct 12

    A policeman charged with the assault of a woman in Ratnapura has been reinstated after protests by residents and Buddhist monks, reports Ceylon Today.

  • Rajapaksa's holy tree dying of neglect in India

    A holy Buddhist tree, grown from a sapling planted by Mahinda Rajapaksa in India, is dying from “lack of care”.

    According to the Hindustan Times, the Bodhi tree branches “were struggling with metallic wire-mesh that had been put over the sapling when it was small”.

    The paper also said guards, in charge of security of the sacred tree, were defaecating near it due to the lack of adequate facilities.

    "Our duty is to ensure security of the tree and we are doing that despite so many odds. Regarding the disease it is suffering and why it is not being watered regularly, you can contact senior officials," Atar Singh, one of the guards, told the Hindustan Times.

  • No Fire Zone documentary nominated for Emmy awards
     'No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka', a documentary outlining gross human rights violations and potential war crimes committed at the end of Sri Lanka's conflict against the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has been nominated for The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmy) Awards.

    No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, is up for nomination in the best documentary category.

    The documentary, which was screened around the world including the United Nations Human Rights Council, has seen staunch rejection by the Sri Lankan government.

  • Jaffna temple trustee attacked with swords

    A member of the Vadamarachchi Vallipuram Alwar temple trustees’ council was attacked by a group of unidentified persons with swords in Jaffna over the weekend.

  • Funeral wreath left for Jaffna University Grants Commission

    A funeral wreath addressed to the Jaffna University Grants Commission chair, was left by a group of unidentified persons this weekend.

  • Foreigners banned from travelling to North ahead of Rajapaksa visit
    The Sri Lankan military was instructed by the government to ban all foreign citizens from travelling to the North, ahead of the President Rajapaksa's visit to Jaffna.

    "The restrictions had been imposed in view of threats posed by some foreign passport holders who were acting in a manner detrimental to national security," the Sri Lankan army's media director told the Sunday Times.

    The ban, which came in force on Saturday, left foreigners stranded at Omanthai, as soldiers stationed at the check point turned them away.

  • Army seeks Buddhist monks' blessings to mark 65th anniversary
    The Sri Lankan military celebrated its 65th anniversary with a Buddhist flag blessing ceremony on Thursday.


    Hundreds of soldiers carried Sri Lankan army flags that were symbolically blessed by Buddhist clergies to commemorate the formation of the Sri Lankan army.

    Sri Lanka’s military officially celebrated its 65th anniversary as “Army Day” on 10 October.

  • No politics behind decision to stop Sri Lanka service says British Airways
    There were no political issues involved in the decision to cancel flights to Sri Lanka said British Airways in a response to questions by the Sunday Leader.

    The British Airways commercial manager for South Asia told the paper that the decision was based on non-profitability.
  • No one will be allowed to divide country vows Rajapaksa
    President Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed that no one, including the Tamil diaspora, would be allowed to divide the country again when addressing the public in Sinhala last week.

    "This is our country. As long as we are there [we] cannot allow it to be betrayed again, not when diaspora or even anyone else says anything," he said.

    "A lot of people have criticized us for giving better roads, for giving lights/electricity, for schools functioning properly, for police functioning properly, for the beautification of Pradeshya Sabhas."

  • Rajapaksa confident of winning third term in power
    Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa said he would comfortably win a third term in office speaking at a public function on Friday.

    Speaking at a function in the southern town of Polgahawela, Rajapaksa added that individual candidates attempting to be a common candidate would not be able to achieve the backing of the public, reports the Sunday Leader.
  • NPC rejects Rajapaksa invite as Tamils 'continuing to be marginalised'
    The Northern Provincial Council rejected an invitiation to attend a Special District Development meeting, to be chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday, stating that it would be "inappropriate for us to attend the 13th October meeting as well as other politically motivated meetings in the Northern Province, particularly when in reality the NPC and the Tamil speaking peoples are continuing to be marginalised".

    "The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) was neither consulted nor informed of the necessity or agenda of this curious meeting that purports to deal with issues addressed in 2012 after a lapse of two years," the Chief Minister of the NPC, C. W. Wigneswaran wrote in a letter, addressed to the President.

    "The NPC, which was constituted after the Provincial Council elections in 2013, where the People of the Northern Province overwhelmingly rejected the existing policy of the Government of the Northern Province and granted an unprecedented 30 out of 38 seats to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), is puzzled and perturbed as to why Your Excellency is picking up the strings left in 2012 suddenly in October 2014, overlooking the matters discussed at the DCC meetings that had the participation of the People's direct representatives."

  • Military must leave private lands in North says NPC
    Passing a resolution on Thursday, the Northern Provincial Council called on Sri Lanka's security forces leave all private lands and buildings in the Northern Province by the end of this year.

    The motion was proposed by the NPC chair, of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), C. V. K. Sivagnanam, the Uthayan reported.
  • India-Sri Lanka hold second annual defence talks
    Photographs Sri Lanka MoD


    The Indian Defence Secretary R. K. Mathur co-chaired the second Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) meeting between India and Sri Lanka on Thursday, along side his Sri Lankan counterpart, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

    "During the session an array of ongoing defence cooperation initiatives were taken up for review and new avenues were identified with a view of strengthening bilateral Defence ties between the two neighbouring nations. In addition, affairs concerning regional security and maritime security issues were also extensively discussed," the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence said.


  • Female teachers in Jaffna forced to pay for and wear Rajapaksa's party colours

    Female teachers in Jaffna are being forced to pay for and wear blue sarees, to represent the colours of the President's political party, during Mahinda Rajapaksa's Jaffna visit.

    The teachers are having the cost deducted from their salaries, without any prior consultation.

  • David Cameron working for pro-LTTE diaspora organisations says SL minister
    David Cameron is working on a contract issued by pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora, said Sri Lanka's former ministry of defence spokesman on Saturday.
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