• Sri Lankan Navy arrests 15 Indian fishermen and sinks fishing boat

    Sep 01
    15 fishermen from India have been arrested and detained by the Sri Lankan Navy in two separate incidents on Tuesday, which also saw a Sri Lankan Navy vessel collide with an Indian fishing boat causing it to sink.

    According to a police inspector from Tamil Nadu's Q branch, the Sri Lankan Navy vessel collided with the Indian fishing boat near Katchatheevu, splitting it in two. As the 6 fishermen on board jumped into the sea to abandon the sinking boat, they were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy.

    Meanwhile, a further 9 fishermen were detained by Sri Lankan authorities, with fishing Association President T Jesuraja saying another two boats had sunk in the encounter.

    The latest arrests follow a long history of the Sri Lankan Navy detaining Indian fishermen for alleged border violations. Talks between the two countries on the issue ended with Sri Lanka rejecting Indian proposals.
  • School principals in Kilinochchi interrogated by anti-terror squad over Mullivaikkal book
    Three principals from schools in Kilinochchi were called in for questioning by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) this weekend over a book allegedly distributed in schools, the Uthayan reports.
  • LSE lecturer detained and questioned
    A lecturer at the London School of Economics, Dr Rajesh Venugopal, was detained by Sri Lankan immigration officers and questioned by police, who allege he violated his visa regulations.

    Dr Venugopal, a British Indian lecturer in South Asian affairs, had travelled to Sri Lanka to attend the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) 13th annual symposium, on post-war development in Asia and Africa, taking place 1-3 September in Colombo.
  • Modi 100% with the Tamils says TNA
    The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is 100 percent behind the Tamils following a meeting with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in New Delhi last week.

    "We are 100 per cent with you, Modi said at the end of the meeting,” TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran confirmed to the New Indian Express.

    In a press conference following the visit, TNA leader R. Sampanthan told journalists that his party was very happy with the visit, reports Colombo Gazette.

    See related articles:

    TNA calls on India to help release seized land North-East (31 Aug 2014)

  • Muslim students arrested after Buddhist monks pressure Aluthgama police
    Police in Aluthgama arrested 4 Muslim students after Buddhist monks visited a police station in Welipitiya to call for action against the students, reports the Uthayan.
  • MoD regulations widen beyond NGOs to foundations, trusts and societies
    Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence is to impose regulations on foundations align with recent restrictions placed on NGOs.

    The regulations will require all non profit organisations, trust and some societies to be registered with the NGO Secretariat, the Sunday Times reports.

     “Under the proposed amendments, they will have to register with the Secretariat or lose the right to receive foreign funds and conduct local monetary transactions,” said the director of the National NGO Secretariat, Saman Dissanayake, was quoted by the paper as saying.

    “They will have to submit reports to us every three months about their activities. They will have to sign standard Memorandums of Understanding with us like NGOs do. The current provision for lifetime registration will be replaced by annually renewable registration.”

  • Talks fail as Sri Lanka rejects India's fishing proposals
    Talks between the governments of Sri Lanka and India over the issue of fishing around the Palk Straits this week ended without conclusion after Sri Lanka rejected India's proposals to allow Indian fishermen to enter Sri Lankan waters three times a week.

    Tamil Nadu's demands on Sri Lanka to return the fishing boats impounded by authorities were also rejected.

    “They came up with an MoU and wanted to pursue the matters which we discussed in the 2012 Joint Working Committee. Our representatives told them that it was not necessary,” Fisheries Minister Rajitha Dr. Senaratne was quoted by the Sunday Times as saying.

    "There would be no change in the Sri Lankan policy not to release Indian boats in Sri Lankan custody," he reportedly added.

    The District Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Coastal Fishermen’s Association told the New Indian Express:
    “The actual proceedings of the meeting are being kept under wraps, with the press release saying nothing. But we hear that the issue of the release of boats created a deadlock."

  • President Rajapaksa must be protected – Minister

    Sri Lankan minister SB Dissanayake said the time has come to protect President Mahinda Rajapaksa as there are attempts to “create another war”, Colombo Gazette reported.

  • Ruling-coalition member warns Muslims on their attire

    The National Freedom Front, an ally in the Rajapaksa-led UPFA coalition, has warned Muslims in Sri Lanka on “following Arabic culture” in the clothes they wear, as it could lead to divisions amongst the communities, reported Colombo Gazette.

  • Sri Lanka looks to China as Norochcholai power plant breaks down again
    Sri Lankan authorities have announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed with China in September to help repair the $1.35 billion Norochcholai power plant as it broke down yet again this week.

    The Sunday Times reported the MoU will be signed when China's President Xi Jingping visits Colombo on September 16th, with Sri Lanka's Power and Energy Minister Pavitra Wanniarachchi, adding the increased Chinese role will ensure there will not be “any future technical failures.”

    Jellyfish reportedly clogged up filters at the trouble-plagued plant, with officials struggling to fix it before the Chinese President's visit. Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Media Spokesman Senajith Dassanayake said,

    “Around 30-40 divers have to be used to remove these creatures from the filters. We were hoping to remove these creatures from the filters of Unit 1, but unfortunately, seas these days are extremely rough in the area and the divers haven’t been able to go in thus far.”

  • TNA calls on India to help release seized land North-East
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called on the Indian government to help secure the release of land seized by the Sri Lankan Army, in an effort to resettle the thousands of refugees in Tamil Nadu, reports The Hindu.

    Senior TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah, who recently travelled with a delegation to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month, said,
    “There are over one lakh (100,000) refugees in Tamil Nadu living in 115 camps. We have requested the Indian government to pressure the Sri Lankan government to release their [refugees’] land in the north which has been taken over by the Army.”
    Talks with the Indian Prime Minister included the topic of resettlement, with Senathirajah adding, “They [the refugees] have to come back and be resettled in their own lands with secure livelihoods.”

  • UK PM urged to take action over Sri Lanka's refusal to issue visas to UN investigators
    The British Prime Minister David Cameron was urged to take action over Sri Lanka's refusal to issue visas to UN officials from the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) and the "worsening" situation in the country.

    The Labour MP for Mitcham and Mordem, Siobhain McDonagh urged Prime Minister Cameron to call for the suspension of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Chair-in–Office of the Commonwealth.

    “Given the Government of Sri Lanka’s refusal to commit to an independent, international investigation that would lead to reconciliation, the situation in Sri Lanka is worsening. Since the adoption of the UNHRC resolution, we have seen some of the worst inter-communal violence in decades targeting the Muslim community in south-west of the country, the unwarranted proscription of major Tamil diaspora organisations by the Government, a crackdown on activities of NGOs and the continuing and egregious perpetration of human rights violations,” McDonagh wrote, in a letter addressed to Cameron.

  • Sri Lanka opens new detention centres for foreign asylum seekers

    The Sri Lankan government announced the opening of two new detention centres to house foreign asylum seekers, after it faced criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for forcibly deporting refugees to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Sri Lankan immigration officials announced the two new centres, in Boosa and Negombo, stating the present centre in Mirihana, Colombo was inadequate to deal with the growing number of Pakistani and Afghan nationals seeking refugee status.

    Around 1,500 foreigners are thought to be seeking refuge in Sri Lanka, with a reported 60 Pakistanis being held in Boosa and a similar number of Afghan nationals in Negombo.

  • US gives $517,000 to fund Poonakari hospital

    The United States has given $517,000 to support the construction of Poonakari hospital in the Kilinochchi district, as part of a program to support the Northern Provincial Council.

    The hospital, which was opened on the 27th of August, is one of nine different hospitals that have received US$3.8 million in assistance from the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

  • UNP MP threatens to crossover to join government

    The United National Party’s Colombo district MP Ravi Karunanayaka has threatened to cross over and join the government, if Hambantota district MP Sajith Premadasa is appointed as the deputy leader of the party.

    ColomboPage reported Karunanayaka as opposing Premadasa’s proposed appointment to the post, which has caused internal disputes within the opposition party.

    Karunanayaka reportedly voiced his warning to UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, who is looking to rebuild the UNP, amid earlier defections from their members to the governing party. 

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