• UN investigation has ‘full support’ of UK - Swire

    Sep 09
    UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) minister Hugo Swire stated Britain “will continue to give full support” to the upcoming United Nations investigation into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka.

    Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Swire said the UK welcomed the resolution which established an investigation, adding,
  • 15 year old Tamil girl reported missing in Wattagoda
    A 15-year-old Tamil school girl has been reported missing in Wattagoda, Madakumpura lower division estate in the island's hill country, reports Uthayan.
  • Spanish woman arrested for allegedly breaching visa
    The Sri Lankan police have arrested a Spanish woman who was staying in Hikkaduwa for reportedly overstaying her visa.

    The 30-year-old woman was detained by Sri Lankan police for the alleged breach and was due to be brought before the Galle Magistrate's court on Monday.

    See more from the Daily Mirror here.
  • HRW urges UN to learn from failures in Sri Lanka in opening UNHRC statement
    Human Rights Watch urged the new UN Human Rights Commissioner to “not let victims of abuse down as it did in Sri Lanka,” in its opening statement at the 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
  • Western countries attempting to divide peace says SL Prime Minister
    Sri Lanka's prime minister D.M. Jayaratne accused western countries of trying to breach the peace on the island.
  • Chinese president to visit India, Sri Lanka
    The Chinese President Xi Jinping is to make an official visit to India, as well as the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan, the country's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

    The trip will commence in Tajikistan, where he will be attending a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a security coalition including Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, later this week.
  • Sri Lanka bans import of potatoes

    The Sri Lankan government announced that it has banned the import of potatoes, in a bid to protect local farmers from going out of business this week.

    The move comes after Sri Lanka announced that it would increase import taxes on both potatoes and onions last month, in a bid to increase vegetable prices.

    Traders had complained that the falling prices of vegetables had left many of them unable to make a profit. Sameera Gurusingha, a potato grower from the South told the Sunday Times,

    “We mortgage our properties to buy the components that we need for potato cultivation but we don’t get enough profits to pay the mortgage and regain our belongings. We have to use the income to begin the next cultivation.”

    The government has made efforts to try and protect the Southern farmers, purchasing potatoes through state-owned Lanka Sathosa retail network as well as declaring a guaranteed price of Rs. 80 per kilo in March this year.

  • Government seeks to change ethnic demographics of North-East - Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam
    The Sri Lankan government is trying to change the ethnic demographics of the Tamil North-East said the leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF).

    Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, in an interview with the Sunday Leader, accused the government of using land appropriation, militarisation and Sinhala colonisation to change the ethnic demographics of the region.
  • Arrests of Indian fishermen continue as boats remain impounded by Sri Lanka
    The Sri Lankan Navy detained at least 6 Indian fishermen on Tuesday, including a 13-year-old boy, as the repeated arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan security forces continued.

    The arrest of 13-year-old Samson is thought to be the second case of the Sri Lankan Navy arresting an Indian child this week, with 15-year-old Maria Rathinam amongst 15 fishermen detained by the Sri Lankans in an earlier incident.

    See more from the Times of India here.

    The recent arrests come as Tamil Nadu’s Commissioner of fisheries Beela Rajesh visited Ramneswaram, stating that the government was taking steps to secure the release of fishing boats impounded by Sri Lanka.

    Fishermen from 5 associations had written to the Commissioner urging him to ensure the boats are released and for compensation to be paid for damages caused by attacks from the Sri Lankan Navy.

  • German Ambassador meets Sri Lankan Army Commander in Jaffna

    Germany’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr.

  • Tamil student found dead in south

    A Tamil student was found dead in Thalavaakkalai, near Nuwara Eliya, in the Central Province on Sunday, Ada Derana reported.

    Yoganathan Sivatharshan, who disappeared from his house in Mattukalai on Friday, was found near the Melkothmalai reservoir.

  • Sri Lankan Army ‘studying body language’ of Tamil civilians – Chief Minister

    The Northern Province Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran accused the Sri Lankan military of spying on northern Tamil civilians and even collecting data on their body language.

  • Contradictions over LLRC implementation highlight lack of 'genuine commitment' says CPA
    Several Sri Lankan government officials have repeatedly contradicted themselves on the status of the implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), said the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).

    In an infographic released on Tuesday, the Colombo-based organisation highlighted claims made by senior government officials, illustrating the extent to which contradictory statements have been publicly made.
  • Western powers may use Facebook to destabilise country' says Minister
    Sri Lankan government Minister Wimal Weerawansa said Western powers may use Facebook as part of an attempt to destabilise the country at an election rally earlier this week.
  • Sri Lanka reiterates rejection of UN inquiry at opening day of Human Rights Council
    13:45 CEST, last updated 14:26

    Sri Lanka reiterated its rejection of the UN Human Rights Council's inquiry to mass atrocities on the island at the opening day of the Council's 27th session.

    "Sri Lanka reiterates our objection to the resolution HRC/25/L.1/Rev.1 and its call for a comprehensive investigation by the OHCHR," Sri Lanka's permanent representative in Geneva, Ravinath Ariyasinghe told member states.

    Arguing that the country had made its own domestic moves towards accountability and reconciliation, Ariyasinghe slammed "some" states that he said "refused to acknowledge these [developments] and persist in heaping negative attention [on Sri Lanka]".

    "Sri Lanka rejects assertions of threats leveled against the human rights community, and regrets attempts being made to portray the country as intolerant of religious minorities," he added.

    Follow us on Twitter - @TamilGuardian - for live coverage of events at the Council.

    See related article: UN Rights Council mandates 'comprehensive investigation' by OHCHR into Sri Lanka (27 Mar 2014)
    Photograph Tamil Guardian



      Zeid alarmed at intimidation of rights activists

    Opening the session earlier in the day, the newly appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, urged the Sri Lankan government to cooperate with the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL), expressing concern at the intimidation of human rights activists.
    "I attach great importance to the investigation on Sri Lanka mandated by this Council, on which OHCHR will report later in the session. I encourage the Sri Lankan authorities to cooperate with this process in the interests of justice and reconciliation,"

    “I am alarmed at threats currently being levelled against the human rights community in Sri Lanka, as well as prospective victims and witnesses. I also deplore recent incitement and violence against the country’s Muslim and Christian minorities.” 


    US, UK urges Sri Lanka to cooperate with inquiry

    Reiterating the call for meaningful accountability for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, US and UK representatives echoes Zeid's call on the Sri Lankan government to cooperate with the UN inquiry.

    "We support your call for the government of Sri Lanka to cooperate with the international investigation and we urge the Sri Lankan government to facilitate access and ensure those cooperating with the investigation can do so without fear of intimidation or reprisals," said the UK.

    Thanking the previous UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, "for the leadership she demonstrated in focusing the world's attention on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and encouraging meaningful accountability and respect for human rights in Sri Lanka," the US ambassador to Geneva also urged the Sri Lankan government to cooperate with the investigation.

    Rajapaksa invites High Commissioner to Sri Lanka

    Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited the new UN High Commisioner for Human Rights to visit Sri Lanka by the end of this year. The announcement was made during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the island, during which a joint statement by the two leaders was released.

    See our earlier post: Japan signs trade agreements with Sri Lanka, calls for 'national reconciliation' (07 September 2014)

Subscribe to Tamil Affairs

Most-Read Articles

Senior Buddhist monk from Anuradhapura remanded over sexual abuse of minor
A senior Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and chief prelate of the Anuradhapura Atamasthana,…
Velupillay makes history as first Tamil at a FIFA World Cup
Photograph: @Socceroos Nishan Velupillay has been selected in Australia's squad…
17 years today - A massacre in Mullivaikkal
To mark 17 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens…
In Pictures - Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day commemorated in Mullivaikkal
All photographs by Uthayarasa Shalin Thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal…
Tamil rapper arrested for ‘terrorism’ over TikTok video
A Tamil rapper from Kilinochchi has been arrested and remanded under Sri Lanka's…