• We are only protecting ourselves' SL Navy Chief tells Tamil Nadu

    Dec 19
    The Sri Lankan Navy Commander, Jayanath Colombage, dismissed criticism by Tamil Nadu politicians over the arrest and detention of Tamil Nadu fishermen, by saying, "we are only protecting ourselves".

    Speaking at the Marine Conservation Conference, he said,
  • Tamil and Sinhala civil society call for end to PTA
    Sinhala and Tamil civil society figures condemned the on-going detention of 7 Tamil youth under terrorism laws and called for an immediate halt to the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
  • SL military wipes clean 6400 acres seized in Vali North

    The 6400 acres of land recently seized by the Sri Lankan military in Valikaamam North has been wiped clean reports TamilNet, with buildings almost entirely been destroyed and bulldozed.

    Citing villagers, who have spent months protesting against the forced displaced inflicted upon them by the militarised seizure of their land, TamilNet reports that everything except for Sri Lankan military buildings had been razed to the ground. 

  • UNP MP calls on Sajith to lead at Southern PC poll

    Senior UNP member, MP Ravi Karunanayaka, called on Sajith Premadasa to take a lead at the Southern Provincial Council election next year, whilst announcing his intention to contest as UNP, for the Western Provincial Council.

  • Bishops will not get involved in politics - Sri Lankan Archbishop

    The head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has said that neither he nor any of the bishops on the island will indulge in politics or affiliate themselves with a political party or group, reported The Island.

  • ‘Provision for 10,000 STF troops’ says Commandant

    Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF) has the provision to expand to up to 10,000 troops stated the STF Commandant earlier this week, as training continued to take place with more troops being recruited.

  • Armed soldiers patrol inside Jaffna Uni

    Despite a recent announcement by the head of Sri Lankan Army in Jaffna, that armed personnel would not enter inside the premises of the University of Jaffna, two armed, uniformed soldiers were seen inside the university grounds today, reported the Uthayan.

  • Indian defence ministry attempts to halt debate on training

    India’s ministry of defence has called on the lower house of Parliament to disallow a debate on the issue of training Sri Lankan Armed Forces personnel, in a memorandum.

  • Chinese Travel Channel agrees to make film on Sri Lanka
    A new agreement was made today, between the Chinese travel channel and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board, to start an aggressive tourism campaign from next month.

    Under the agreement the Travel Channel will broadcast over 2,500 advertisements and screen over 500 minutes of feature programs and interviews about Sri Lanka in the month of January 2014.
  • Minister calls for TNA ban

    Sri Lanka’s deputy minister for labour and labour relations called for a ban of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Tuesday, reports the Island.

    Speaking in parliament, Sarath Weerasekara claimed that the TNA were still propagating the ideology of the LTTE and said:

  • SL Minister dismisses death count as 'under 8000' to Japanese envoy

    A Sri Lankan minister has refuted allegations of war crimes while talking to Japanese envoy Yasushi Akashi, reported the Colombo Telegraph.

    Akashi had criticised Sri Lanka's failure to act on human rights issues during his visit.

  • Pakistan and Sri Lanka discuss security relations

    During a visit by the head of the Pakistan Navy, Sri Lanka and Pakistan held discussions regarding improving the security relations over the weekend.

    Pakistani Naval Chief Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila held a meeting with the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy, vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage, and other senior Naval officers where he was given a guard of honour.

  • Tensions rise between Tamils and Sinhala settlers in Mullaitheevu
    Villagers in Mullaitivu have been embroiled in a land-grab dispute after 20-acres of land was fenced off illegally, reports Uthayan.

    The land in the village of Naayaaru belonging to Tamils living abroad was fenced off by a Sinhalese man from the south.

  • Ananthy Sasitharan tells Norwegian foreign ministry genocide continues

     A member of the Northern Provincial Council, Ananthy Sasitharan, met with Norwegian parliamentary officials, Friday.

  • US officials' factfinding visit to North-East
    Following on from our previous report relating to a visit to the North-East by a US delegation recent earlier this month, further details have emerged in Sri Lanka's Sunday Times regarding discussions that took place.

    The envoy, consisting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee representative, Damien Murphy, USAID Director of Governance and Vulnerable Populations, Trevor Hublin and State Department representative Maria Prajo, was accompanied by officials from the US Embassy in Colombo, on a fact-finding mission to the North-East, including Jaffna as well as traveling to the boundaries of the High Security Zone in Vasavilan.

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