Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Crucial meeting tomorrow on Sampur Coal Power Plant

By Santhush Fernando
Sri Lanka Government officials will discuss with their Indian counterparts at a crucial meeting to be held tomorrow in a bid to finalise the much-protracted deal for the construction of the Sampur Coal Power Plant and the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) undersea cable link to Anuradhapura.

Lawyers for the federal government revealed Thursday that at least two of the 76 men who came to Canada illegally last month are members of the Tamil Tigers, a group banned in this country as a terrorist organization.

Until now, the Canada Border Services Agency had not directly linked any of the Sri Lankan nationals on board the ship to the Tigers, although one expert witness who has testified at Vancouver immigration hearings has made the connection.

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia has informed the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry that `Alex` the spokesman of the suspected 255 illegal Sri Lankan migrants in Indonesia had been involved in human smuggling for a long time and it is believed that his office is based in India.

Alex also once belonged to `Kannan Gang` involved in street fights and was deported from Canada in 2003, after being arrested for trouble making. His date of birth is 6th January 1982.

November 6, 2009 - 11:08AM
A Sydney father who defamed a school principal in an email attacking her competency has been ordered to pay her $82,543 in damages.

NSW Supreme Court Justice Henric Nicholas today handed down his verdict in favour of Jennie Ryan, the 61-year-old principal of Beecroft Public School, in Sydney`s north-west.

She had sued Rajaratnam Premachandran for defamation over an email he sent to fellow parents in April 2008.

Colombo: After `diplomatic endeavours`, the US has allowed Sri Lankan Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka to leave the country without grilling him on alleged human rights violations during the last phase of the war against LTTE, the government said today.


Fonseka left the US this morning to return to Colombo.

To many Sri Lankans, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka is a bit of a hero. Now the equivalent of the U.S. military`s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Fonseka was the former army commander who helped strategize and lead the campaign that put a decisive end to the quarter-century-long separatist war of the Tamil Tigers. The intensity of the onslaught raised criticism around the world, including a 68-page State Department report to the U.S. Congress that took to task the conduct of both government forces and the Tigers. Now, what appears to be an attempt by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to interview Fonseka about the war has raised angry protests from the highest official ranks in Sri Lanka.

Chinese men sighted with Lankan Navy

First Published : 02 Nov 2009 03:18:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 02 Nov 2009 08:45:45 AM IST

RAMANATHAPURAM: If reports given by fishermen, that Chinese men in Lankan fatigues are jointly patrolling the seas with the Lankan navy are true, then India`s security seems to be at threat.

According to the fishermen from Ramanathapuram district, who have been attacked by the Lankan navy at mid sea, the Sinhalese are being accompanied by men who have Chinese features and who talk in a different language.

Batticaloa TNA member Jeyanandamoorthy MP pointed out that Tamils want a solution where they can rule themselves and nothing less than that will not satisfy their political aspirations. He points out that Vaddukoddai declaration came because Tamils found that there is no other solution to their problems. Can we reject the mandate given us by the people and go down to ask for federal solution he asked? So many warriors and civilians have paid for the cause of Tamil Eelam and we have to work for the ultimate end to give peace to the souls of the departed. He says though he is forced to live in a European country now he would not dissuade himself from the political agenda of the people.

MOST of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers in a stand-off with Australian authorities off the coast of the Riau Islands have admitted living in Indonesia for years, providing the Rudd Government with leverage to convince Indonesia to take them back.

The development is seen by Australian officials as a possible circuit-breaker to the stand-off, which has caused much political and diplomatic anguish.

By: Babu Thomas
Monday, 26 October 2009, 16:22 (IST)Font Scale:A A A
The US-based Episcopal Relief & Development on Friday filed a civil case against the Church of South India (CSI) and its former leadership in relation to the alleged swindling of tsunami fund.

In a statement, the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church, explained that the legal action was taken to `ensure funds are properly used to benefit the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.`

Sunday 25 October 2009, by Brahma Chellaney

Colombo`s victory over the Tamils shows India`s power is on the wane.

Thousands of non-combatants, according to the United Nations, were killed in the final phase of the Sri Lankan war this year as government forces overran the Tamil Tiger guerrillas. Nearly five months after Colombo`s stunning military triumph, the peace dividend remains elusive, with President Mahinda Rajapaksa setting out in the name of eternal vigilance to expand by 50 per cent an already-large military. Little effort has been made to reach out to the Tamil minority and begin a process of national reconciliation.

AMBEPUSSA, Sri Lanka Vinojan`s boyhood ended when Sri Lanka`s civil war reignited.

Fifteen at the time, he says he joined the separatist Tamil Tigers to save his older brother from forcible conscription, and became a reluctant fighter as the rebels fought their last, desperate battles for survival.

Now, having won the war, Sri Lanka is trying to make patriotic citizens out of child soldiers like Vinojan and others who just months ago were fighting against the nation.

extract..

The following allegations of civilian casualties and harm to civilian objects have been reported:

January
January 2 A foreign government reported that civilians were killed due to heavy shelling at the Puthukkudiyiruppu Hospital.

January 2 A foreign government reported that aerial bombing of a petrol station and bus depot 250 meters from Mullaittivu General Hospital killed four people and injured eight.

January 8 A source in the conflict zone reported to HRW that five people were killed and at least 15 injured by shelling in Thevipuram and Vaddakachchi.

Oct 23, 2009 (LBO) - A European Parliament resolution that was critical of Sri Lanka`s human rights record dropped a reference to the GSP Plus trade deal giving duty free access to the island`s exports to European Union markets.
The future of the GSP deal is in doubt after a European Commission report earlier in the week said Sri Lanka was in breach of commitments on human rights required to be eligible for the trade concession.
Fears about the loss of the GSP deal has caused concern among Sri Lankan exporters and was also a reason given for the sharp fall in stock prices this week.

Al Jazeera