News Archives
Beware travelers to Sri Lanka of extortion scam by immigration officers
Posting clear signs at the visa on arrival center would make it more difficult for corrupt officials to extort money from tourists and their governments. Sri Lanka is a beautiful destination with many dedicated people doing a fantastic job with pride to showcase their country. It is my understanding that money generated from visa fees are to go to improve the infrastructure of the country, not to line the greedy pockets of a few traitors operating with a uniform. [ Full Report ]26 Karaikal fishermen to be released from Lanka
Protests by the fishermen community and political parties have yielded result with the Sri Lankan government ordering the release of the 26 Karaikal fishermen on Monday. The fishermen who are in the custody of the Sri Lankan government will be released after being produced before the Lankan court, said Union Minister of State V Narayanasamy. “Orders for the release have been issued after the intervention of Union Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid, Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Ministers of Tamil origin,” Narayanasamy said. [ Full Report ]
Cleveland Bridge lands £35m order from Sri Lanka
A WORLD famous bridge building company has won a £35m contract that will help transform lives on a tropical island and secure the firm's future for years. Cleveland Bridge in Darlington has signed a deal with the government of Sri Lanka to make up to 210 bridges for jungle and rural areas across the country. Cleveland Bridge was involved in the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, in Australia, and Victoria Falls Bridge, which spans the River Zambesi in southern Africa, as well as bridges that cross the Tees and the Tyne. [ Full Report ]Sri Lanka: No Progress 4 Years On
“Four years after Sri Lanka’s horrific civil war ended, many Sri Lankans await justice for the victims of abuses, news of the ‘disappeared,’ and respect for their basic rights,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, the Rajapaksa government has rejected investigations, clamped down harder on the media, and persisted in wartime abuses such as torture.” “The Rajapaksa government seems to be hoping that broad-based repression will dampen the exercise of fundamental freedoms,” Adams said. “But Sri Lankan activists and journalists who showed incredible resilience during wartime to bring forth the truth, will undoubtedly find a way to do so when the country is at peace.” [ Full Report ]
Army commander criticizes foreign intervention in military affairs
Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya has criticized the foreign representatives expressing different opinions about maintaining army camps in the North. The Army Commander has noted that there are only three Army camps in the Jaffna peninsula at present, although there were sixteen army camps at the end of the war in May 2009."Foreigners have no right to decide where the army camps of this country should be maintained," he said during an interview . [ Full Report ]Downing Street backs 2014 Glasgow invitation to Sri Lanka
Downing Street has refused to rule out inviting Sri Lanka to a First World War commemoration service despite an outcry from human-rights organisations. No 10 said normal protocol should be followed for the event with Commonwealth heads of state in Glasgow.Asked about Sri Lanka, which is due to take over the chairmanship of the Commonwealth later this year, No 10 said: "The usual approach on invitations to members of the Commonwealth should be followed". [ Full Report ]
Norway tells Lanka: Respect Vienna Convention
Norway has asked Sri Lanka to comply with “well established international rules on diplomatic immunity” after a Colombo Court ruled that the former Norwegian Ambassador and three officials did not have immunity in a huge transaction involving an NGO. Norway’s Ambassador Grete Lochen said yesterday that her government had held the position that the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations should be respected since Sri Lanka was a party to this convention. “Diplomats and state officials from Sri Lanka are enjoying the same privileges when serving their government,” she said in an email interview. [ Full Report ]
- Norwegian Ministers and Diplomats Sued in Sri Lanka - TNP
- Norwegian Ministers and Diplomats Sued in Sri Lanka - TNP
Russia to donate eight helicopters to SL
Russia announced that it has taken steps to provide eight large helicopters to Sri Lanka as a total donation; the Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Office said quoting visiting Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independence States-Russia Konstantin Kosachev.Russia, which has submitted a bid for obtaining “Expo 2020” Exhibition to Russia also urged Sri Lanka’s support for the same. He told that they are not prepared to give up that opportunity at any cost as their country owns one of the stable economies in the world. To win this opportunity the vote of Sri Lanka is very important to them. Hundred and sixty two countries are competing for this exhibition. There are some Asian countries among them. [ Full Report ]
Chinese factor links MR and Mussaveni
There was a common factor that glued together the friendly ties between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Ugandan counterpart Yoveri Museveni. Both countries maintain close ties with China. Days ahead of President Rajapaksa’s visit to that country, China built and handed over a twin-block 11 storied building complex for use as the President’s office....However, those controversies did not mar the Sri Lankan President’s visit. The Uganda leader hosted President Rajapaksa at his official residence. Some Sri Lankan dishes were also included using fish from Lake Victoria. An Indian meal came for Rajapaksa when he visited Uganda’s largest sugar factory. The Indian family that owns it hosted him to a luncheon. [ Full Report ]Sailor dies during Sri Lanka victory parade
Sri Lanka's navy Sunday recovered the body of a sailor who drowned during a parade marking the fourth anniversary of the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels, an official said. The body was found near a beach in Colombo where his small boat capsized while taking part in the victory celebrations presided over by President Mahinda Rajapakse on Saturday. "The boat was salvaged on Saturday and four crewmen were rescued, but one officer went missing and his body was recovered only this morning," a military official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the boat had got into trouble in choppy waters. [ Full Report ]Storm clouds still loom over CHOGM
The UPFA Government’s course correction over issues listed in the US resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva continues to pose critical challenges to it. Both locally and internationally, storm clouds are building. It is over one of the key elements, the conduct of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections slated for the first week of September this year. At least officially, there is still no activation of any mechanisms for such a poll. This is notwithstanding periodic pronouncements by UPFA leaders at political events that the polls will be held. [ Full Report ]Journeys In Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 4 Years After The Civil War’s Bloody Conclusion
The dusty army checkpoint along the infamous A9 highway was the first sign I’d entered the “other” Sri Lanka -- the one that required an additional copy of my passport, my purpose and an inspection of my things. The next clue was the colossal yellow water tower lying horizontal on the roadside at Kilinochchi. Its gaping interior could easily house the entire population of this former capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, an oft-misunderstood separatist group that the FBI once described as “amongst the most dangerous and deadly extremist outfits in the world.” [ Full Report ]Toxic chemicals in imported white sugar
Harmful substances have been found in white sugar imported to Sri Lanka, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has disclosed. Random tests on samples of Brazilian sugar had revealed a high level of toxic cadmium, the Minister told the Sunday Times. He said the sugar was also being tested for arsenic, another heavy metal, which could cause serious health issues when ingested in high quantities. Responding to a query from the Sunday Times whether tests were being carried out on other food products, the minister said that while tests on imported sugar revealed these chemical substances, random checks on locally-produced sugar were clear. Random checks on imported dhal, potatoes and onions also did not show any toxic substances, he said. [ Full Report ]
British Tamils remember Mullivaikkal
Thousands of British Tamils marched across London, convening at Waterloo Place, in remembrance of the victims of the Mullivaikkal massacre. An array of Eelam flags lined the procession, along with a variety of placards and banners demanding justice for the atrocities of May 2009. Participation spanned the generations with elderly marchers bearing large banners and young Tamils leading chants calling for an independent international investigation into the genocide. [ Full Report ]- Melbourne Tamils mark 4th anniversary of Mullivaikkal - Tamil Guardian
Seeking security
Four years have passed since the Tamil nation suffered the zenith of genocide inflicted upon it by the Sri Lankan state, where tens of thousands of Tamils were herded into a tiny of slither of land, only to be massacred with heavy artillery, systematically raped and tortured, deliberately starved, deprived of humanitarian assistance and murdered in cold blood. The evidence - not only indicative of the appalling nature of the crimes, but the intentional and systematic way in which they were perpetrated – is increasing. Yet despite this, and the ample time that has passed, Tamils have not seen a credible, international process towards accountability and justice, or a meaningful attempt to deliver a political solution that ensures their future security. [ Full Report ]
Does Lanka Need Militarization?
The conventional belief was that the military at best should be confined to barracks or be on battlefields but after the much celebrated victory over terrorism the forces have not been demobilized as is usual in other countries or found civilian jobs but appear to move into civilian projects under the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development. In Colombo they moved to take over a part of the Town Hall job of urban development. Parts of Colombo 7 have been ‘beautified’ with the assistance of civilian architects but the first few monsoons showers resulted in some of Colombo’s roads turn into rivers. In the suburbs too the Ministry has taken over urban development. [ Full Report ]
Back to buddhism's basics in sri lanka
After more than 20 years of the Tamil Tigers' insurgency, the civil war that had afflicted Sri Lanka with violence and turmoil finally came to an end in 2009, and the country's new-found peace allows it to welcome visitors back once again. And the new calm offers locals from both sides of the conflict a chance to live the normal and safe lives they have long deserved. Visitors from around the world are also streaming back to the picturesque "Pearl of the Indian Ocean" to marvel at its natural charms and cultural richness. [ Full Report ]Yasin Malik voices support for Tamil Eelam
In a rare collaboration, two groups espousing the cause of separatism came together at a marriage hall in Cuddalore in northern Tamil Nadu on Saturday. Striking a chord with pro-Tamil activists, Kashmir separatist leader YasinMalik spoke about the 'Eelam dream' on the eve of the death anniversary of LTTE leader VelupillaiPrabhakaran. This is the first time that a Kashmiri separatist leader has been invited to Tamil Nadu to talk about the emotive Eelam (Tamil land) issue. Addressing the gathering, mostly members of Naam Tamilar, a pro-LTTE outfit, Malik said the Sri Lankan government might have wiped out the LTTE but not its dream of a separate Tamil Eelam. "Tamil Eelam is the goal of each and every Tamil person," he said. [ Full Report ]Sri Lanka Tamils defy ban on rebel memorial
Sri Lanka's main opposition Tamil party Saturday defied a military ban and staged a commemoration of their war dead as the government celebrated the fourth anniversary of defeating Tamil Tiger rebels. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said it staged the remembrance in the northern town of Vavuniya for those who died in the final battle which also killed Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his entire top leadership. [ Full Report ]Statement by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on the Anniversary of the End of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau made the following statement today on the fourth anniversary of the end of the Sri Lankan civil war: “Today marks four years since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. We share in the grief of the Tamil community, and we remain steadfastly committed to achieving accountability and justice for the countless innocent civilians who died or have had their lives irreversibly changed by this long and bitter war. [ Full Report ]
- Statement by Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath on the Tamil Day of Mourning - Ontario NDP
Next Page - Statement by Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath on the Tamil Day of Mourning - Ontario NDP
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