The debt burden which is felt by the South is also felt by the North, Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga stated. He also emphasizes on the fact that for the development of the country, if anyone is Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim in not concern. North needs rapid development in order for reconciliation and unity of the country. The Minister was addressing an event in Kites, Jaffna. According to the Minister, a safe passenger boat transportation service, between the islands would commence soon in the Jaffna peninsula. “When developing…
Read MoreDay: 3 September 2016
Scuffle at anti-Rajapaksa protest after bottle thrown at FRU
Demonstrators disrupt traffic by lying on the road, three effigies also burned in second day of protests against presence of former Sri Lankan president at conference KUALA LUMPUR: Protestors disrupted traffic and a brief scuffle ensued with police in the second day of demonstrations against the presence of former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa at an international conference here. The protest was organised after it was rumoured that Rajapaksa was to attend the International Conference of Asian Political Parties being held at Putra World Trade Centre. Malaysian Tamils accuse him…
Read MoreBuddhist monk assaulted at anti-Rajapaksa protest
Chief monk of Sentul temple punched and kicked, NGO leader Elangovan apologises and agrees religious places should be open to everyone KUALA LUMPUR: The chief monk of the Sri Lankan Buddhist temple in Sentul was assaulted by a small group among demonstrators conducting a protest against former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa who is visiting Malaysia. The group of about 50 people had gathered in front of Putra World Trade Centre to protest against Rajapaksa’s attendance at an international conference of Asian political parties. The protesters went to the Sentul…
Read MoreBAN KI-MOON MEETS WIGNESWARAN
The visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has held talks with the Chief Minister of Northern Tamil Eelam C.V.Wigneswaran on Friday in Jaffna. The meeting took place at Jaffna Public Library in the city of Jaffna. Northern Education Minister T.Kurukularajah, Fisheries Minister P.Deniswaran and Agricultural Minister P.Ayngaranesan joined the discussions. Photo: Uthayan
Read MoreSystemic impossibility of Colombo’s reconciliation exposed: Tamil political prisoners
Systemic impossibility of Colombo’s reconciliation exposed: Tamil political prisoners [TamilNet, Friday, 02 September 2016, 06:28 GMT] Colombo’s Attorney General’s Department is prolonging the detention of Tamil prisoners, who were detained by the SL Military Intelligence before 2010, Tamil political prisoners said this week. While proposing to release those detained after 2010, Colombo is insistent upon prolonging the detention of Tamil political prisoners detained for several years by transferring their cases to the so-called Special Court in Anuradhapura, which has only investigated 3 of the 18 cases of Tamil prisoners of…
Read MoreBan in Jaffna on his tenure’s last-ditch deception
[TamilNet, Friday, 02 September 2016, 15:24 GMT] The outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who was visiting Jaffna on Friday, was avoiding even watching the protesting victims, who had gathered in large numbers outside the District Secretariat. Mr Ban took a different route to meet Reginald Cooray, the controversial colonial governor of genocidal Sri Lanka, whose office is also situated close to the District Secretariat. After meeting the SL Governor, Mr Ban proceeded to Jaffna Public Library, again taking a back-route without showing an iota of interest in consoling the…
Read MoreIn Jaffna, hundreds seek help during Ban’s visit
After a three-hour-long bus ride from Vavuniya, Padmarani Thuraisingham stood in front of the Jaffna Public Library for at least two hours on Friday. It was little past noon and the sun was right over us. With a cotton hand-towel covering her head she stood quietly, holding a pixelated photograph close to her chest. It was a picture of her missing husband Chinnathurai Thuraisingham. “This is from a passport-size photo he had taken when he was 45, say in 2002 or 2003.” One morning in July 2008, Mr. Thuraisingham left…
Read MoreIn Jaffna, UN Chief confronts Lanka’s lingering legacy of war
By Dharisha Bastians Reporting from Jaffna Disappearances, resettlement and detentions under the country’s draconian anti-terror legislation – all lingering issues from a 26 year civil war – took centre stage yesterday as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited the formerly embattled Northern Province for the first time since 2009. During his four hour tour of the North, Ban met with Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray, a delegation of Tamil National Alliance Legislators and, separately, Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. He also visited people who had recently been resettled in their own…
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