• Sexual violence and militarisation in North-East are closely interlinked – K Guruparan

    Militarisation of the North-East and sexual violence against Tamils are "closely interlinked" said Jaffna University Lecturer of Law, Kumaravadivel Guruparan, commenting on the recent release of 7 Sri Lankan navy rape suspects, accused of the rape of an 11 year old girl in Karainagar.

    "It is noteworthy that the incident took place in the Karainagar Island," said Mr Guruparan to the Tamil Guardian.

    "In the mid 1980s a colonial era navy camp in Karainagar was expanded and in 2003 (during the ceasefire period) 153 families were sent legal notice regarding acquisition of more than 78 acres of land. When I was carrying out some research on this in 2012 I was told by people that even those who lived within 1 1/2 km radius to the camp didn't want to live there for reasons of insecurity," he said.

    "The incident is yet another reminder of the closely interlinked issues of militarisation and sexual violence," Mr Guruparan added, drawing attention to another recent rape case, where the suspect was a Sri Lankan soldier.

  • Sri Lankan Minister warns against 'foreign countries and NGOs'
    Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris has warned that non-governmental organisations and foreign countries were attempting to interfere in Sri Lanka and called for an uprising against those moves, reports Colombo Gazette.

    Speaking in Kandy, Peiris said that certain countries were looking to take away the right of the people of Sri Lanka, adding “They created problems in those countries, took away the resources those countries had, killed their leaders and have pushed them towards an unstable future”.

  • Man dead after being attacked in Trincomalee
    A 24 year old man died following an attack by four unidentified men in Trincomalee, Batticaloa News reported.

    The attack occurred in Mavadisenai region of Batticaloa. The man who is yet to be identified was admitted to hospital, where he died, succumbing to his injuries.

    A post-mortem investigation is to be carried out, said police.

  • Body of youth found inside Batticaloa woods
    Photograph Ada Derana


    The body of 22 year old man was found on Sunday within cashew tree woods in Batticaloa, Ada Derana reports.

    The body has been identified as that of a 22 year old Tamil man named Nallaratnam Uthayakumar.

  • UNP leader warns Sinhala Buddhists will be at risk if other races not safeguarded
    Ranil Wickramasinghe, the leader of the opposition party, UNP warned that "to save the Sinhala Buddhists in the island, all the other races must also be safeguarded," the Colombo Page reports.
  • Refugee amongst three extradited to Sri Lanka by Malaysia

    Three men, including at least one refugee, who were arrested by the Malaysian authorities earlier this month for alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, have been handed over to Sri Lanka and are being interrogated by the notorious Terrorism Investigation Department.

    “The three LTTE suspects- Edmond Singharaja alias Seelan, Angurukankanamlage Indika Sanjeewa alias Mohamed Sanjaya Abdul and Abdul Saleem Bin Mohamed- were brought to Sri Lanka last night,” the Police media unit said in a statement, according to the Daily Mirror.

  • Locals protest against rape of 11y girl by SL navy in Karainagar


    Locals in Karainagar protested on Friday against the rape of an 11 year old girl by Sri Lankan navy personnel in the town earlier this week.

    Marching across the town, locals held placards demanding the Sri Lankan military end their occupation of the Tamil areas.

  • TNA says it has no faith in Presidential commission
    The main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) rejected the Sri Lankan president's recent appointment of three foreign experts to his commission into disappearances, stating that it had "no faith" in it, the Colombo Gazette reported.
  • 19y old woman found hanging in Jaffna
    The body of a young woman was found hanging inside a house in Jaffna this morning, the Uthayan reports.

    The woman, identified as 19 year old Selasta Anton, was reported missing to the police by her husband on Friday night, 10pm local time.

    The body has been transferred to Jaffna hospital for a post mortem.


  • US should push prosecution of individuals in Sri Lanka - Congressional Caucus hears

    The US has the opportunity to prosecute Sri Lankan war criminals and place sanctions on Sri Lanka, the Congressional Caucus on Ethn

  • Sri Lankan politician jailed for killing of aid worker

    A Sri Lankan politician with the ruling party and three other men have been jailed for the killing of British aid worker Khuram Shaikh, murdereded whilst on holiday in Southern Sri Lanka in 2011.

    Sampath Vidanapathirana, a politician with reported close links to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was handed a 20-year jail sentence by the Colombo High Court, over the vicious Christmas day attack, where 32-year-old Shaikh was shot and stabbed and his Russian girlfriend raped.

    The case has faced considerable delays with repeated accusations of political interference and witness intimidation. The accused was initially released and reinstated to his political post before being re-arrested following intense international pressure over the murder.

    British Prime Minister David Cameron had cited the case as an example of Colombo’s failure to deliver justice and Prince Charles had reportedly taken a private interest in the case.

  • Canada "deeply concerned" about NGO restrictions

    The Canadian government has expressed concern about the recent restrictions issued on non-governmental organisations by Sri Lanka.

    Foreign Secretary Deepak Obhrai urged Sri Lanka to “respect the right to freedoms of expression, assembly and association”, in a statement released on Thursday.

    “Canada is deeply concerned by reports of efforts to restrict legitimate activities of civil society and non-governmental organizations in Sri Lanka. We urge the Sri Lankan authorities to respect the right to freedoms of expression, assembly and association, and the right to take part in public affairs,” he said.

  • Body found under Kallady bridge in Batticaloa

    The body of a man was found floating in the water under Kallady bridge in Batticaloa on Friday, reported Adaderana Tamil.

    The body has been identified as Saajahaan, from Kaaththaankudi.

     

  • Sri Lankan navy personnel suspected of rape released by police
    All 7 Sri Lankan navy soldiers that were arrested in suspicion of being involved in the rape of an eleven year old Tamil girl in Jaffna have been released after the victim failed to identify her attackers.
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