Canadian citizenship laws toughened to confront ‘ever evolving threat of terrorism’ Over 140 000 Sri Lankan citizens in Canada could face the risk of losing their Canadian citizenship or return to Sri Lanka after a new immigration law enacted by the Canadian Government dictates that these ‘second class’ citizens may have their citizenship status stripped at any point. The new immigration bill which was enacted last week states that new Canadian citizens have lesser rights than those born Canadian. Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran told The Nation that the…
Read MoreDay: 13 June 2015
Let’s all cast our votes to Mahinda Rajapaksa who killed more than 40,000 Tamil Civilians in May 2009 – Karuna
A total of 76 members of parliament (MPs) are attended the public rally supporting former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, currently underway in Matara, according to former Minister Bandula Gunawardena. Anti Tamil parliamentarians were on the front row and it was clear they were trying to gain the Sinhala Buddhists votes. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is accused of War Crime was visibly seen mingling with the crowd at the “Arise with Mahinda” rally held at Sanath Jayasuriya Ground in Matara. In a message read out at yesterday’s mammoth rally held by…
Read MoreGTF, TNA, Norway, South Africa, Swiss, Solheim, GoSL London Talks: Mangala Makes A Statement To Parliament – Full Speech
Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs has today made a statement in response to the question by Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala De Silva pertaining to the meeting of GTF and TNA. We publish below the statement in full; Honourable Speaker, I rise to respond to questions raised by the Honourable Leader of Opposition relating to the discussions that took place between the GTF and the TNA in London, and my presence there. As the House is aware, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the…
Read MoreMangala alleges Tamara aided LTTE
By Saman Indrajith Former Sri Lankan permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Tamara Kunanayagam had acted on the LTTE’s behalf and aided and abetted the LTTE’s interests through her propaganda, it was alleged in parliament yesterday. In a document tabled by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in response to a question raised by Liberal Party leader Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Minister Samaraweera said that he had made such a claim on Rathu Ira programme of the Swarnavahini on the basis of four pieces of evidence. “First in his book, The War…
Read MoreSri Lanka’s Wounds of War
The new Sri Lankan government must make reconciliation a top priority in order to move the country past a brutal, decades-long civil war. Amirthalingam, a senior lecturer at the University of Colombo, declares. “The government is trying to correct things.” The cautioned optimism Amirthalingam exudes is shared by many corners of Sri Lankan society. The January presidential elections, resulting in the unanticipated victory of Maithripala Sirisena over former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has greatly altered the mood of the country and has led to, at least temporarily, the reversal of the…
Read MoreMeeting in London could be rated as diplomacy of high calibre in bringing peace and reconciliation in the Island
The previous Rajapaksa regime initiated a plan to interact closely with the Tamil Diaspora soon after the end of the war in 2009. A group of Tamil professionals from various parts of the world arrived in Colombo and they held special meetings with former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapasa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. G.L. Peiris and former Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa on their role towards stabilizing the reconciliation process in the Island. It has been estimated that nearly one million Lankan Tamils who had fled the Island’s…
Read MoreUS Embassy tight-lipped on Kerry’s call for releasing ‘political prisoners’
By Shamindra Ferdinando The US embassy in Colombo declined to say whether it had advised Secretary of State John Kerry as regards ‘political prisoners’ in Sri Lanka prompting him to urge the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration to release them. The official was responding to a query by The Island in the wake of Justice Minister and President’s Counsel Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe stressing that there hadn’t been any political prisoners though there were over 200 convicted LTTE cadres as well as those facing terrorism charges. Kerry made his appeal at the Taj Samudra on…
Read MoreMahinda ready to be PM candidate Will join next rally
Dasun Edirisinghe reporting from Matara Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that he would accept the people’s invitation to contest the next general election as the prime ministerial candidate. In a message read out at yesterday’s mammoth rally held by UPFA rebels at the Sanath Jayasuriya grounds in Matara the former President said that he would surely be on the rebel s’ platform a the next rally. The former President’s message was read by former Minister and SLFP Vice President Dullas Alahapperuma. Rajapaksa said his government had defeated the LTTE…
Read MoreWhat Sri Lanka MPs are worth?
Many people will be surprised to know that they are entitled to request and scrutinise their MPs’asset declarations. We have tested the system thoroughly and it works. Here’s all you need to know. Who has to declare their assets? An annual disclosure must be made by the President, MPs, Judges, Board and staff officers of Public Corporations, Provincial Councillors, Local Authority members, newspaper proprietors and Editors amongst others. How can I obtain an MP’s asset declaration? Along with a cheque for Rs 750 send a basic letter addressed to the…
Read MoreEx president Mahinda ruined sports – Minister Ranatunga
Minister Arjuna Ranatunga attending a training camp “Save Sports in Sri Lanka” on 12 June said that the former president had to take responsibility for the ruination of sport in the country. He said this when he attended the training camp held at the Bandaranaike MV Veyangoda by the Save Sports in Sri Lanka organization and National Sports Foundation. Senior athletic coaches Sunil Gunawardena and Yogananda Wijesundara also contributed attending the camp. Addressing the camp Arjuna Ranatunga further claimed that it was not unusual not to see anyone there to…
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