• Khurshid - expectation to go beyond 13A

    Speaking at a press conference on Friday, at the 12th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, India's new External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that India "had no indication whatsoever that there is an issue of dilution or a reversal of the 13th Amendment."

  • EU ambassador calls for greater steps towards accountability

    The ambassador and head of the European Union delegation to Sri Lanka, Bernard Savage noted that further efforts were needed to address the issue of accountability.

    Speaking to a journalists, the ambassador outlined various issues that were yet to be resolved.

    Referring to enforced disappearances, Savage said,

    “These are issues that have not been properly resolved. There are other cases of disappearances that have not been satisfactorily addressed. It is an issue where more clarifications are needed and the culprits brought to book.”

    Although the EU is not represented on the UNHRC, Savage emphasised that the EU member states were active members of the UN council and had already made interventions with regards to accountability issues.

  • Rights group slam Sri Lanka’s rejection of UPR recommendations
    Several human rights organisations have reacted to Sri Lanka’s rejection of 100 UPR recommendations made by states at the United Nations and called for international independent investigations into massacres of aid workers and civilians.

    Highlighting in particular the cases of five students shot dead in Trincomalee beach in 2006, the father of one of the victims, 21-year-old Ragihar, Dr K Manoharan told reporters after the UPR, 
    "I want an international inquiry and international judgment, otherwise I am not satisfied".
    Yolanda Foster from Amnesty International added that,
    "The Trincomalee 5 case along with the ACF case [where 17 aid workers were executed] is sort of emblematic of a culture of impunity in Sri Lanka where security forces are given carte blanche to continue to commit violations because the state is failing to independently investigate and prosecute".
    The President of Action Contre la Faim (ACF), Benoit Miribel, president of the French group Action Contre la Faim, said the organisation’s 17 aid workers were shot in the back of the head in their Muttur in August 2006, commenting,
    "In reality, the investigation has been a succession of obstruction, interference, of politics in the judiciary and a lack of transparency and independence...Nothing has really happened during the last six years."
    Ian Seiderman, legal and policy director of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), added to calls for an investigation after Sri Lanka’s UPR rejection, stating,
    "This really underscores the need for a proper full-scale international inquiry."
    Speaking to Public International Radio, Alan Keenan from the International Crisis Group also added that things “things are going from bad to worse in Sri Lanka, in a slow way the world doesn't quite understand”.
  • Ofcom rejects complaints against Channel 4 documentary on Sri Lanka

    The British broadcasting regulator Ofcom has cleared Channel 4’s documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished” from allegations it was biased and misleading.

    In a bulletin, the watchdog outlined the allegations, and said it received “extremely detailed” complaints, disputing evidence presented by the programme makers and claiming the broadcaster “underplayed” the role of the LTTE.

  • Military service in diplomacy

    Three military generals have been approved to diplomatic appointments across the world, reports the Sunday Times.

  • Indian Army chief to visit SL

    The head of the Indian Army, General Singh, is due to visit Sri Lanka in December, to discuss strengthening of defence cooperation, reports PTI.

  • Sri Lanka rejects 100 UPR recommendations from fellow states
    The Sri Lankan Government has rejected 100 recommendations made by member states, during its Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier on Monday.

    Out of the 210 recommendations made, Sri Lanka has chosen to formally reject almost half of them, with 100 listed as not enjoying the support of Sri Lanka.

    A selection of recommendations rejected by Sri Lanka have been published below. See the full list here.
    • Fully implement the recommendations of the LLRC, in particular steps to ensure independent and effective investigations into all allegations of serious human rights violations, in the context of Sri Lanka’s civil war and its aftermath  (Austria)
    • Rapidly implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (France);
    • Continue implementing the recommendations of the LLRC report and the report of the Panel of Expert in accordance with the Human Rights Council Resolution 19/2 (Germany);
    • Implement the constructive recommendations of the LLRC, including the removal of the military from civilian functions, creation of mechanisms to address cases of the missing and detained, issuance of death certificates, land reform; devolution of power; and disarming paramilitaries (USA);
    • Guarantee access to the North and the East of the country to international and local humanitarian organizations specialized on family tracing and reunification programs (Uruguay);
  • Karunanidhi calls for UN referendum

    The leader of the DMK, M Karunanidhi has called on India to urge the UN to hold a referendum in the Northeast of Sri Lanka, to determine the political future of its people, reported The Hindu.

    When asked about reporters about Delhi’s reluctance to get involved in the affairs of a sovereign country, Karunanidhi said that this is why the resolution passed the TESO conference was not in support of an independent Tamil Eelam.

    “We want only a referendum and believe that it will benefit Sri Lankan Tamils and secure their rights,” he said.
    Karunanidhi said a referendum would put an end to "tears and blood” shed by Tamils and that India should use its influence to garner support across the world.

  • Gota visits South Africa, ahead of India

    Sri Lanka's defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa recently undertook a 'secret' official visit to South Africa, reports The Sri Lankan Guardian.

  • Rajapaksa pledges non-interference

    Referring to the parliamentary impeachment motion against the Chief Justice, President Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed that the government has no intention of interfering with the judiciary or its independence.

  • Navy accused of attacking Indian fishermen and damaging boats
    The Sri Lankan Navy has been accused of assaulting and damaging 30 boats of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu on Sunday.

    Around 2,000 fishermen in more than 600 boats were fishing in the Palk Straits before being attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy, reported ColomboPage.
  • US concerned about impeachment

    The US Department of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs have issued a press statement expressing concern about impeachment proceedings against the Sri Lankan Chief Justice.

    The statement as reproduced in full:

  • Govt responds to US concern over impeachment

    Rebuking a statement by the US expressing concern at the impeachment of Sri Lanka's Chief Justice, the government's spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella, said that he would understand the accusations if "jungle law" had been practised, "but that is not the case".

  • Expeditiously' address fishermen issue says India

    The case of five Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lanka custody was pushed by India's newly appointed External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday.

    Speaking to GL Peiris on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation meeting, Khurshid is understood to have stressed that the issue be addressed "expeditiously" before it becomes an "irritant" in India-Sri Lanka relations.

  • TNA MP’s brother-in-law murdered

    The body of the brother-in-law of TNA MP for Vanni, Selvam Adaikalanathan, has been found dead reported the Daily Mirror.

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