Day: 2 November 2014

Probe Team To Accept Late Submissions

Karu

By Easwaran Rutnam While accepting of submissions for the investigation on Sri Lanka by an investigation team appointed by the UN Human Rights office ended on Thursday, submissions which arrive late will not be rejected. In the terms of reference of the investigations team, submissions were to be accepted till midnight, Geneva time, on October 30, 2014. This is to allow the investigation team time to analyse all the information gathered before drafting its report. Drafting needs to be completed at least two months before the report is presented to…

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Probe on missing begins in Mullaitivu

Karu

The Missing Persons Commission chaired by retired judge Maxwell Paranagama, began another round of sittings in the Mullaitivu District today. Several people came forward to lodge complaints and have their statements recorded before the Commission when it held public sittings at the Maritimepattu Divisional Secretariat. The Commission will hold public sittings in the Mullaitivu District from today till Wednesday at Maritimepattu and Oddusuddan. Since the establishment of the Commission on 15th August 2013, the Commission has received in excess of 19,595 complaints inclusive of approximately 5000 complaints from relatives of missing security forces personnel. The…

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Estate and government authorities trade accusations

Karu

As search operations continue to find those missing due to the landslide that buried an entire village at Meeriyabedda in Koslanda, authorities and the estate company have started trading accusations regarding responsibility for the disaster. While teams continued to comb through the rubble for a fourth day yesterday (November 1), a police investigation had already begun on whether previous warnings of an impending disaster had been ignored by those who could have taken action. The whole area has been identified as prone to repeated landslides, according to National Building Research…

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Prodigal sons of ‘Naughty’ political fathers

Karu

Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva’s son, Malaka is in the news again. He was reportedly assaulted at a night club at Duplication Road, Colpetty on Friday night by a Scottish national, police was told. Malaka had sustained minor injuries. Malaka’s involvement in violent incidents does not come as a surprise as this is not the first time. He is a young man warned by Court to behave in public in a decent manner. We are living in an era where the attitude of legislators is devoid of dignity and decorum.…

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3,000 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants missing in Britain

Karu

At least 3,000 Sri Lankans are among 50,000 illegal immigrants whom the British Immigration authorities have lost track of. The shambles in the British Border Agency, which was brought directly under the Home Office after a series of scandals rocked the institution, were exposed last week in a report by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons. The figure of 3,000 Sri Lankans is speculative as the immigration authorities have no clear idea of how many are here illegally. The figure of 3,000 has been suggested to Sri…

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Sri Lanka Landslide: TGTE distressed that Tamil diaspora groups will not be allowed to offer assistance.

Karu

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) express condolences to the grieving families. Supports call for week of mourning. The Prime Minister of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, expressed TGTE’s final respects to those who perished in the landslide in the island of Sri Lanka and offered heartfelt condolences to the grieving families. Over 300 people have lost their lives as a result of a huge landslide at the Meeriyabedda Tea Plantation in the district of Badulla in Sri Lanka. TGTE was deeply distressed that several Tamil diaspora…

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