WHAT'S HOT IN SRI LANKA

ARCHIVE JULY

‘China zone’ in Sri Lanka

2009-07-02 | 6.00 AM

SRI Lanka on Tuesday granted Chinese companies a separate economic zone on the island which has just ended nearly four decades of ethnic bloodshed.

China’s Huichen Investment Holdings Limited will manage and bring new investments into the Mirigama zone, some 55 kilometres north of Colombo, for a period of 33 years, officials said.

President angered by Ranawaka’s statement

2009-07-01 | 4.15 PM

President Mahinda Rajapakse, referring to the statement made to the press by the JHU on June 29th, has said JHU member and Minister Champika Ranawaka could quit the government if he cannot stay.

Responding to concerns raised by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama that the statement made by government ally, the JHU, at a press conference had thoroughly disturbed India and other donor countries, President Rajapakse had said Ranawaka could leave the government if he didn’t want to stay.

SLAT now targeting diplomats

2009-07-01 | 4.15 PM

The Sri Lankans Against Terrorism (SLAT) formed by Sri Lankan expatriates in association with the respective Sri Lankan embassies have now become a cause for much concern to career diplomats.

The Lanka News Web expose reveals the current position of the SLAT, which was formed with the intention of acting against the Tiger terrorists in the international arena.

JHU will not leave the govt. – Susil Premajayantha

2009-06-30 | 3.15 PM

UPFA General Secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha said the JHU would never leave the government although it has threatened to quit if the 13th amendment to the Constitution was fully implemented.

Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya, Premajayantha stated that while many parties that initially objected to the formation of provincial councils have now secured slots for their parties in them, there was no fear about government allies quitting as there is no room for police powers to be vested with the respective provincial councils.

JHU will not leave the govt. – Susil Premajayantha

2009-06-30 | 3.15 PM

First solar powered village -- Galgamuwa in Monaragala

2009-06-30 | 3.15 PM

The first solar-powered village in Sri Lanka, Galgamuwa village in Monaragala of Uva province is to be opened today, Ministry of Power and Energy announced.

The first solar-powered village, completed by the Ministry of Power and Energy completed the solar power project with the funds donated by the government of India, will be opened under the patronage of Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Alok Prasad.

Detention Order on Tamil MP extended by another 90 days

2009-06-30 | 3.15 PM

The Colombo Chief Magistrate yesterday (29) granted permission to hold Wanni District TNA parliamentarian Sathasivam Kanagaratnam by another 90 days for the CID to continue investigations into the alleged links between the legislator and the LTTE.

Kanagaratnam was arrested on May 21 after arriving in the government controlled areas from the safe zone along with thousands of civilians following the end of the battle between the LTTE and the security forces.

JVP to bring 2 million people to Colombo against power devolution

2009-06-30 | 3.15 PM

JVP Leader Somawansa Amerasinghe says the party would bring 2 million (20 lakhs) people to Colombo in protest against the government if it decides to fully implement the 13th amendment to the Constitution.

Addressing a JVP rally in Anuradhapura recently, Amerasinghe said, “Mr Mahinda is still afraid to bring in this amendment. He puts a feeler first by getting the Blue Yapa to make a statement and then gets the Green Yapa to follow suit. The President does not say anything.”

Alliance to make Sarath Fonseka next presidential candidate

2009-06-30 | 3.15 PM

A special discussion was held last Friday to decide on the steps to be taken to make Army Chief, General Sarath Fonseka as the common candidate of the Opposition parties at the next presidential election, informed sources told Lanka News Web.

Interestingly, the meeting held at the Colombo 7 residence of a VIP was attended by VIPs representing the Karawa and Salagama communities.

Plan to curtail General Sarath Fonseka’s powers

2009-06-30 | 12.20 PM

A retired senior army officer, on the basis of anonymity, informed Lanka News Web that the urgent decision to appoint Army Commander, General Sarath Fonseka as the Chief of Defence Staff was part of a plan to curtail his powers.

The retired officer said that defeating the LTTE militarily has not completely wiped out the possibility of such a conflict from re-occurring in the future and therefore needed an active programme in place in the north and the east to consolidate the security there. While observing that General Fonseka has such a plan and would therefore have to remain as Army Chief for at least another three to four years, the retired officer reiterated that General Fonseka is the only competent officer who could carry out such a programme.

Tougher screening for Tamils over fears of an influx of
ex-Tigers fleeing Sri Lanka

2009-06-30 | 11.30 AM

FEARS that ex-Tamil fighters may be passing themselves off as refugees will lead to the latest boatload of unauthorised arrivals - believed to be Tamils - being subjected to a particularly rigorous security screening process.

The Australian has been told the recent defeat of the Tamil Tigers in their stronghold in northeastern Sri Lanka has led to concerns Tamil fighters may seek to flee the island amid fears of government retribution.

Viva devolution 13 plus!

2009-06-30 | 11.30 AM | Dr VICKRAMABAHU KARUNARATNE Writes

pic courtesy Lakbimanews

Maha Rajano issued a decree sometime back forcing a simple division in society. We were told that there should be only two types of humans here: patriots and non-patriots. Accordingly a patriot was a person who stood for the war, and those who wanted peace and a political solution to the Tamil national problem, were non-patriots. On the side of the so-called patriots were chauvinists, communalists, liberals, democrats, rationalists, Che Guevarists, Trotskyites and Stalinists. Quite an unbelievable combination! The chauvinists explained that the war was a liberation-war against terrorism which is inhuman. Hence there cannot be human rights issues as they were fighting ‘inhuman’ beings for the sake of humanity! All these stories of Tamil civilians killed, may be more than 20,000 on a single day, were irrelevant as these were suspected terrorists and suspected terrorists are as bad as terrorists. Of course one does not need an intensive research using Boolean algebra to identify the idiocy in these arguments.

Sri Lankan Media Groups Ask Government Not to Re-establish Powerful Media Council

2009-06-29 | 10.45 PM

Sri Lankan journalists hold placards carrying a photograph of fellow journalist Poddala Jayantha during protest against attacks on journalists and media suppression in Colombo, 10 Jun 2009

In Sri Lanka, media groups have asked the government to scrap moves to re-establish a media panel which could jail journalists. The reactivation of the Press Council is being seen as a means to control the media in a country where concerns have been voiced about intimidation and pressure on reporters critical of the government.

Military: no room for Tamil Tiger militancy ever again in Sri Lanka

2009-06-29 | 10.45 PM

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels defeated by the government troops would never be able to regroup, a local radio station quoted defense officials as saying on Sunday.

Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, the military spokesman was quoted by the radio station Sri FM that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would not be left any room by the authorities to regroup in order to revert to their campaign for a separate state.

Six Christian priests among arrested IDPs of northern Sri Lanka

2009-06-29 | 10.45 PM

Six Christian priests, four from the diocese of Jaffna, and two belong to Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (OMI) are reportedly detained by the defense authorities of Sri Lanka following their migration to the government-controlled areas from the rebel-held territory more than a month ago.

AsiaNews.it reported that the Bishop of Jaffna had requested their release but had not yet received any response from the Ministry of Defense.

Paper: Sri Lanka to pardon lower level rebels

2009-06-29 | 10.45 PM

Guidelines for a structured amnesty to former Tamil Tiger rebels and their sympathizers are being drawn up by the government's legal departments, but only lower level rebels will be included in the scheme, a local English newspaper reported on Sunday.

The reprieve would apply to only lower level Tamil Tigers because the leadership and middle rung cadres have died in the war, the Sunday Times quoted government officials close to the process as saying.

MP protect Colombo’s rapists and murderers

2009-06-29 | 3.00 AM

“Farji” was the most talked about underworld figure during the recently concluded Western provincial council election.

Maligawatta is the headquarter the gang. Farji was very much in news during elections for his unbridled terror campaign. In all his efforts, he was aided and abetted by politicians.

Death threat on “Uthayan” news paper in heavily fortified Jaffna

2009-06-29 | 3.00 AM

“Uthayan” news paper in Jaffna has once again come under the hacksaw of the Sri Lankan regime. A new death notice has been distributed to all “Uthayan” news paper Employees, Agents, Reporters and the Security Guards working at its office in Jaffna.

Three days ago on Thursday 25th June, a dubious front by the name ‘Tamil Front Protecting the Country’ issued a notice that was forced on news papers in Jaffna and all news papers that refrained from carrying that notice were burnt in bulk.

S.L.accused IMF for petty politics

2009-06-27 | 12.15 PM

Sri Lanka has accused the International Monetary Fund of politicizing financial aid following the fund’s delay in considering a 1.9-billion-dollar bailout for the war-ravaged economy.

Press Council’s restoration would be “dangerous step backwards”

2009-06-26 | 3.30 PM

Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about the impact on press freedom of a government decision to restore the former Press Council, which will have the power to pass jail sentences on journalists and newspaper publishers. The decision comes amid continuing tension between the authorities and renewed threats against Jaffna-based Tamil newspapers.

Eyewitness Account

2009-06-26 | 11.15 AM

It is now more than one month since the Sri Lankan military detained the final batch of Tamil refugees fleeing the northern war zone on May 19. They joined more than a quarter of a million civilians already incarcerated in camps set up near Vavuniya and on the Jaffna Peninsula during the last phase of the war. About 160,000 people are interned in four units in the biggest camp, known as Manik Farm.

Journalist Kidnapped, Threatened and Released

2009-06-26 | 11.15 AM

Development journalist Krishni Ifam told local media how she was kidnapped and later released at Kandy.

Those who kidnapped her identified themselves as Police.

Krishni works for the development media organization Internews.

Uva election on Aug. 8th. Southern PC likely to be dissolved in August

2009-06-26 | 11.15 AM

Elections for the Uva Provincial Council will be held on August 8, the Department of Elections announced.

The announcement came after nominations for the election closed at noon today (Jun 24).

TULF and SLMC nomination rejected in Vavuniya and Jaffna

2009-06-26 | 11.15 AM

The nomination lists of two main minority parties, Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) headed by V. Anandasangaree and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) for Northern polls have been rejected by the respective Retaining Officers.

According to the Additional District Elections Commissioner in Vavuniya, S. Karunanidhi, the nomination list for TULF in Vavuniya District was rejected due to a discrepancy in a signature of a nominee.

Negombo- platform for freedom meeting

2009-06-25 | 3.00 PM

The Platform for Freedom urges Sri Lankans to defend civil liberties and freedom of expression. Its members want an end to corruption, abuses and discrimination and a political solution to Tamil demands.

Sri Lanka run by an authoritarian presidency under a dictatorial constitution, this according to Platform for Freedom (PFF), a group that includes opposition lawmakers, civil society groups, human rights activists and intellectuals.

Remarks by EAM on his meeting with Sri Lankan delegation

2009-06-25 | 2.25 PM

I just received the delegation from Sri Lanka which includes the Senior Adviser to the Sri Lankan President, Basil Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka, Gothbaya Rajapakse and Secretary to the President, Lalith Weertunga.

Jaffna Media Attacked

2009-06-25 | 12.45 PM

The press in the North is under attack once again.

Unidentified persons set fire to over six thousand daily Tamil newspapers while on its way to distribution.

Thinakural, Valampuri, and Utayan news papers were burned

Media continues to be under attack

2009-06-25 | 12.45 PM

Post-script to the establishment of SL Press Council
Media continues to be under attack
Reports say Uthayan news paper office in Jaffna had been set on fire last night (june 24) and its owner Saravanabavan (Mbl phn +94714115000) living in Colombo had been threatened. Uthayan news paper has come under severe attacks since President Rajapaksa took office during the past 03 years on many occassions and its Editor Vithyatharan (Mbl phn +94714114994) was abducted in a white van while attending a funeral of a relative in Mt. Lavinia, a suburb of Colombo. He was later reported arrested by the TID, after he was said to have been dropped off somewhere towards Peliyagoda.

ASTROLOGER ARRESTED

2009-06-25 | 3.00 AM

'Irudina' astrology columist, Chandrasiri Bandara has been arrested by the officers of the C.I.D., yesterday night at his home at Thalawathugoda.

Editors oppose draconian Press Council laws

2009-06-24 | 11.00 AM

The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka and seven other media organizations, in a joint letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on the reactivation of the Sri Lanka Press Council Law, which gives powers for imprisonment of journalists, said that media culture cannot be based on slapping charges against journalists, fining them or sending them to jail. Instead, the modern world has accepted a self regulatory mechanism by media persons themselves as the way forward.

Can Sri Lankan Jihadis in East pose a threat ?

2009-06-24 | 11.00 AM

Jihad Logo The Sri Lankan government was moving against armed jihadis, a new menace in the Eastern part of the island country, which just ended a long drawn out war against the LTTE, claimed a front-page report in the weekly Lakbimanews on Sunday.

Official Indian sources told The New Indian Express that presence of jihadis had begun to cause concern to both Sri Lanka and India. India was glad that the Sri Lankan authorities had, at long last, begun a crackdown on the Tablighi Jamaat members, who were getting funds and ideological inputs from abroad especially Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the sources added.

HSBC WOULDN'T MIND BLOOD BONDS IN SRI LANKA

2009-06-24 | 11.00 AM

Some leading banks and investors see only the chance of profits while there is blood bath in Sri Lanka.HSBC, Citi group and Deutsche Bank are reportedly upbeat on $ 50 Million worth of Sri Lankan development bonds which is open for subscription between June 15 and 29.

The government's use of funds for what many call ethnic cleansing is increasingly questionable. However this does not dissuade HSBC, Citi Group and Deutsche Bank subscribing the bonds. These Banks are under fire for their standardless Banking practises from strongmen in Gabon and Turkmenistan, repectively.

TAMIL MP REMANDED UNTIL 26 TH JULY

2009-06-23 | 9.45 PM

Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, a member of Parliament representing the Tamil National Alliance( TNA) produced before the cheif Magistrate in Colombo and has been remanded until 26th of Next month.

He has been arrested for allegedly helping the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( L.T.T.E.) was living in the rebel- controlled area in Nothern Sri Lanka escaped two days before the defeat of the Tigers in a major action last month.

Solar powered phone booths for war-torn northern Sri Lanka

2009-06-23 | 11.30 AM

In an initiative aimed at providing telecom connectivity to Sri Lanka's war-ravaged Wanni, solar powered telephone booths will be set up in the region that receives inadequate electricity supply.

The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) has planned to set up solar powered coin-operated telephone booths in welfare centres in the North where civilians displaced by the just-concluded military operation are housed.

Signs of Dictatorship Further Endorsed – Now a hunt for Sri Lankans living abroad

2009-06-23 | 11.30 AM

The government of Sri Lanka hell-bent on creating a dictatorial monarchy by unconstitutional means in the island has now launched a campaign to brand Sri Lankans who dissent the dogma of the regime and living abroad as “traitors” and severely punish them. A news release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states “members of the Sri Lankan expatriate community who are engaged in activities detrimental to the sovereignty and dignity of the country would be severely dealt with, said Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama”.

Displaced persons are not prisoners

2009-06-23 | 11.30 AM

Members of a Sri Lankan family who lost their home in the recent fighting and are now living in a tent camp filed a case with the Supreme Court on Thursday, asking that their rights as citizens be respected, especially the right to movement. The case is pertinent to some 300,000 internally displaced people currently living in tents.

The petitioner claimed that these people had relatives and friends who were willing to take them into their homes, but the Sri Lankan authorities are holding them by force inside the camps.

Sri Lankan judiciary undermines the law

2009-06-23 | 11.30 AM

The Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka has surprised the legal community by announcing it will defend four police officers accused of torturing a man and filing false charges against him. This appears to be a major policy change, as the department has long refrained from defending the accused in such cases.

The case in question is that of Amarakoon Dissanayake Sarath Kumara, who suffered serious injuries and had to be hospitalized, allegedly after being forcibly taken to a police station in the Ratnapura division and assaulted by police officers. Later he was produced before a Magistrate’s Court where false charges were filed against him.

Sri Lanka: Presidential Commission of Inquiry fails citizens

2009-06-23 | 11.30 AM

Amnesty International has demanded that reports into cases of human rights abuses, investigated by the Sri Lankan government’s Commission of Inquiry, be made public immediately.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry, established to look into serious violations of human rights committed since 2006, was disbanded on Sunday. The Commission of Inquiry was unable to complete its mandate as no extensions were granted. Of the 16 cases referred, only seven were investigated with reports on five finalized. Not a single one resulted in any justice.

Farming and fishing folk return to villages in parts of north-west Sri Lanka

2009-06-22 | 10.00 PM

Few salient points from the news report below

This is Mannar district and in a small area near the coast where there was no heavy fighting
People in this village fled quite early in the recent war and most if not all were not in the now disputed “IDP camps/refugee centres”
Majority are Muslim and not Tamil returnees
Only 540 families have been resettled so far in 06 villages in Arippu and around it.
Livelihood opportunities are almost absent for them and would have to be fed through out the year
There are at present not 300,000 IDP’s that most agencies speak about, but 550,000 IDP’s in Sri Lanka

Health Action in Crises – WHO

2009-06-22 | 10.00 PM

Highlights No 261 – 8–21 June 2009

Each week, the World Health Organization – Health Action in Crises in Geneva produces information highlights on critical health-related activities in countries where there are humanitarian crises. Drawing on the various WHO programmes, contributions cover activities from field and country offices and the support provided by WHO regional offices and headquarters. The mandate of the WHO departments specifically concerned with Emergency and Humanitarian Action in Crises is to increase the effectiveness of the WHO contribution to crisis preparedness and response, transition and recovery. This note, which is not exhaustive, is designed for operational use and does not reflect any official position of the WHO Secretariat.

Lessons from Sri Lanka

2009-06-22 | 10.00 PM

Sri Lanka recently emerged victorious from one of the world’s longest-running conflicts, once termed an “unwinnable” war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers.

The LTTE is considered one of the deadliest terrorist groups, having invented the concept of the modern-day suicide bomber and carried out the murder of two sitting heads of state. In addition, the Tamil Tigers pioneered use of female suicide bombers, homemade minisubmarines, ultralight aircraft and “warehouse ships” pre-positioned on the high seas to resupply terrorist operations on shore.

Death of Prabhakaran ‘insider’ job

2009-06-22 | 10.00 PM

If there was a serial mass murderer on the loose who had killed seven people in the United States, there would be a media firestorm, a panicked public, and subsequently, a galvanized response at the highest levels of government. In central Africa, there is a mass serial killer who has been responsible for thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of kidnappings of children over the past two decades. For over 22 years, Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been on the loose in central Africa, leaving a trail of death, amputations, abductions, and terror. The world has paid scant attention to this deadly conflict and the mass murderer responsible for it all.

Toothless but certainly not spineless

2009-06-22 | 9.20 PM | Dr VICKRAMABAHU KARUNARATNE writes

There was a beneficial reference to me in last week’s LAKBIMAnEWS. Underpala, in his column, had said “Bobby Boy said later that the Sri Lanka government is “afraid of dialogue, afraid of discussion.”

Is it not the Canadian government that is afraid of discussion? Is that not the reason why they stopped Galloway (and even the politically toothless Vickramabahu Karunaratne) egged on by the Jewish Defence League? So was it security that made the Canadians deny a visa in 2005 to the chief African negotiator to the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety attending the Biosafety Protocol in Montreal? No, it was Canadian big business and the GM lobby in association with the Ottawa government. Go stick your principles somewhere else Ottawa!”

SB Best for UNP Presidential Candidate Says Report

2009-06-21 | 2.00 PM

According to a confidential report SB Dissanayaka is the most suitable candidate for the UNP to put forward for presidential elections.

According to a study carried out by a private research organization the best candidate to face a snap presidential election and avoid disaster for the UNP would be S. B Dissanayaka.

Campaign for a Sixty year Term for Mahinda

2009-06-21 | 2.00 PM

The campaign to gather popular support for President Mahinda Rajapaksha to stay on without election is to gather momentum in the coming days.

A number of local councils are to pass resolutions for the current office holder to stay on without elections.

Black Flags in London

2009-06-21 | 2.00 PM

Abductions, disappearances and unexplained killings continue in North and East

2009-06-21 | 2.00 PM

Abductions, disappearances and unexplained killings continue to be reported from the North and the East, although there has been a drop in the number of such incidents, according to the Presidential Commission on Disappearances.

Between January 1 and May 31 this year, a total of 459 such cases were reported by the 63 police stations in the North and the East – 128 incidents in the North and 331 in the East.

Tamil & Malayali origin names considered "Sinhala" names in Sri Lankan society

2009-06-21 | 2.00 PM

"Kone" (King) – Though written as "koon" in English as understood by the Colonial rulers, in Sinhala the pronunciation is still "kone".

Tennakone (King of South), Alahakone (beautiful King), Weerakone (heroic King), Samarakone, Illangakone (King of Srilanka – Illankai in Tamil),

No plans to build base in Kachchaitivu: SL Navy

2009-06-20 | 10.15 PM

The Navy yesterday said it had no intention of building a tower and military base in Kachchaitivu despite claims by Tamil Nadu that there was such a plan in the making.

Navy Spokesman, D.K.P Dassanayake told the Daily Mirror that the comments made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi earlier this week were incorrect. Mr. Karunanidhi had claimed that the Sri Lankan Government was building a military base on the small Island which lies North West of Sri Lanka. Captain Dassanayake said.

UN says two staff members arrested in Sri Lanka

2009-06-20 | 10.15 PM

The United Nations said on Saturday that two of its employees working among tens of thousands of war-displaced civilians had been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities.

The two men, both ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils, were reported missing eight days ago and were subsequently discovered to have been taken into custody by Sri Lankan officials, the UN office in Colombo said in a statement.

Israel to send a shipment of medical equipment to Lanka

2009-06-20 | 10.15 PM

A shipment of medical equipment and drugs, contributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, will be delivered Friday to Sri Lankan health authorities.A severe crisis was created in the northeastern region of the country due to the war against the Tamil rebels, which left 300,000 people homeless and forced them to live in appalling conditions.

What Happened to SL Media – Report No. 05

2009-06-20 | 10.15 PM

MEDIAFREEDOMINSRILANKA
Freedom of Expression news from Sri Lanka
Monthly report No 05; period covered May 2009

• 01st May – Government websites hacked
• 01st May – Visa restrictions for Journalists
• 03rd May – Tissainayagam case highlighted by US president Obama
• 03rd May – Hindu/Tamil festival banned
• 04th May – Foreign Js are indulging in malicious reporting – Army
• 04th May – Punish those worked for peace – minister
• 04th May – Web sites blocked
• 07th May – Web editor questioned
• 07th May – Sirasa correspondent attacked

Sri Lanka fighting over, but much work remains :UN Chief

2009-06-19 | 2.25 PM

The Sri Lankan Government last month declared that its
military operation against Tamil rebels has ended, but
there remain a number of outstanding issues that if left
unaddressed could lead more violence, stated Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon.

In his remarks at last night’s awards gala at the Foreign
Policy Association in New York, Mr. Ban said that he has
made it clear to President Mahinda Rajapaksa that
though the fighting might be over, “there is much more
to do.”

Philippines should speak up for Tamil rights - Tamil priest

2009-06-19 | 2.25 PM

A Sri Lankan Catholic priest presently based in Mindanao has urged the Philippine government to “revise its foreign policies, condemn the war crimes of the government of Sri Lanka in bilateral and multilateral forum,” and “help the Western block countries of European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and Canada who are calling for an impartial international investigation into the war crimes of Sri Lanka.”

Get Back Katchativu – Tamilnadu Congressman

2009-06-19 | 2.25 PM

Reports that the Government of Sri Lanka is planning to build a military base in Katchativu has drawn serious concerns in Tamilnadu.

Members of the state Assembly called for the 1974 Katchativu agreement between India and Sri Lanka to be revoked.

Fresh claims over Tamil casualties

2009-06-18 | 6.15 PM

SL Gov. has requested to exchange 300 Tamil Refugees from India

2009-06-18 | 12.10 AM

The Indian government, though not officially disclosed or confirmed, is said to have acceded to a request by the SL government to hand over around 300 refugees of SL Tamil origin to the SL authorities in Colombo, who are presently in the custody of the criminal investigation department of the Tamil Nadu police. Most of them have been in TN detention camps for many years with criminal charges. Legal proceedings have been instituted, say informed legal sources. Some have no charges and are held for security reasons, interpretation of which is very ambiguous under the age old “Foreigners’ Act” of 1946, say the same sources.

“Economist” banned for article on post war Sri Lanka

2009-06-18 | 12.10 AM

12th June 2009 issue of Economist magazine has been held up for security reasons (!) by Sri Lanka customs. Subscribers who pay SLR 11,000 a year to Vijitha Yapa book shop in Colombo have not received their copies yet. The reason for this censorship could well be an article on Sri Lanka, which is pasted below this note. According to informed sources this is the 4th Economist issue that has been banned by customs in recent past.

Sri Lanka Customs has banned several South Indian magazines in the recent past, including Ananda Vikadam. Owner of the well known Tamil bookshop,
Poobalasingham, Mr. Sritharasing was detained for importing Ananda Vikadam on 5th March 2009. A few days later student who was going to Jaffna was arrested at theRathmalana domestic airport when air port security found a copy of the magazine with him (see MFSL monthly report March 2009).

Cabinet Minister Has Murder Case Against Him in Chennai

2009-06-17 | 2.45 PM

Search for Australian Tamils

2009-06-17 | 1.00 PM

The Australian Government has sent a team of officials to northern Sri Lanka to look at the camps says the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (ABC)

Among the detainees are three Australian Tamils.

The Australian detainees are a 62-year old man and two women aged 26 and 29.

Malcolm Ranjith Appointed Colombo Archbishop

2009-06-17 | 1.00 PM

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Malcolm Ranjith as Colombo’s next Archbishop.

Monsignor Albert Malcolm Ranjith, was serving in a top post at the Vatican.




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