Posts Categorized: Economy

Occupation of Land by the Military in the North

by MP Sritharan in Sri Lanka Parlimentary Hansard, June 10, 2016 Page 930: http://www.parliament.lk/uploads/documents/hansard/1466495811042632.pdf                                                           Other sources of figures for this disputed issue: British Tamil Forum: 67,427… Read more »

STP: Dark Clouds Report

by Society for Threatened Peoples, Switzerland, February 2015 STP Dark Clouds tourism report In spite of this poor human rights record, the Sri Lankan government promotes a country that has returned to normality. This image of a peaceful and prosperous holiday destination is marketed aggressively in Western Europe. However, this report clearly shows the sobering… Read more »

NECC: Obligations of the GoSL & UN

by North East Coordinating Committee, June 13, 2016.  Courtesy of Groundviews.org We call upon His Excellency High Commissioner of Human Rights and the Representatives of the Member States of the Human Rights Council, 32nd Session, June, 2016 OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA AND THE UNITED NATIONS IN SRI LANKA’S TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE PROCESS. 1…. Read more »

Colombo Beefs Up Naval Installations along Eastern Coast

by TamilNet, June 3, 2016 Emboldened with the blessings coming from the diplomatic US Establishment and its increased ‘military-to-military’ rapport with the Sinhala navy in the island, the military Establishment of genocidal Sri Lanka has stepped up its programme of militarisation and Sinhaliciation of the strategic belt in the three coastal directions of the country… Read more »

Tamils’ Land Occupied by Sri Lankan Security Forces

by British Tamil Forum, April 18, 2016 Nearly seven years after the end of the war, the Sri Lankan military is still occupying more than 96% of the land belonging to the Tamil people who were driven off their own lands, in the pretext of “national security”. Field data obtained by British Tamils Forum (BTF),… Read more »

Amb. Power Remarks

Ambassador Samantha Power U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations U.S. Mission to the United Nations New York City April 28, 2016 AS DELIVERED There were two reasons that I flew down from New York at the crack of dawn this morning to join you. The first is that I fell in love with Sri… Read more »

China, India Tussle for Influence as Sri Lanka Seeks Investment

by Gauri Bhatia, CNBC, New York, April 25, 2016 Situated almost in the middle of the Indian Ocean, there is no escaping Sri Lanka’s centrality. The country lies just a few nautical miles away from the super-busy east-west shipping route, through which an estimated 60,000 ships pass every year, carrying two-thirds of the world’s oil… Read more »

Land Occupation in the Northern Province

Land is a key issue for reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Reparations including the restitution of land, if implemented in the correct manner, can contribute to long-term peace building efforts and prevent further marginalisation of people who were affected by the war. With promises by the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to initiate reforms including with… Read more »

Silawathurei Large-scale Cashew Plantations

The Civil Security Force has appropriated land for cashew plantations at the boundary of Wilpattu National Park, affecting local environment, already under pressure by human settlements of returnees from the civil war.

Sampur: Documentary Trailer

Thousands of individuals from across Sri Lanka have been displaced for years, some multiple times.  For over a decade, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has documented issues related to displacement and returns, advocating reform and litigating on unjust and arbitrary practices. Two cases CPA has followed closely for years, supporting litigation and advocating land… Read more »

Rising from the Embers

by Tomasz Augustyniak, ‘Quartz India,’ March 28, 2016 On Friday evenings, vans and tuk-tuks usually form long queues before Jaffna’s only shopping mall. There’s a hint of exquisite perfume in the air. Mothers in kurtas mind their colourfully attired children. Single young men sporting oversized wrist watches zip around on motorcycles. Though rare, one can… Read more »

Action on Mahaweli System B in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 23:47 GMT] Maithiriapala Sirisene, the president of genocidal Sri Lanka, who visited his native district of Polonnaruwa last week, has vowed to ‘develop’ the villages that are being Sinhalicised along the border of Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa through ‘Mahaweli System B’, which is being accelerated according to his latest instructions. Hailing… Read more »

‘Tamil Areas in Sri Lanka are the Pockets of Poverty’

Regions with the highest rate of poverty in Sri Lanka are areas inhabited by Tamils, according to Sri Lanka a study of the World Bank 2015. The regions come under the districts of Mannar, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi in the Northern Province; Batticaloa in the East and plantations in Badulla district (Uva Province) and Nuwara Eliya… Read more »

Maritime Bridge Between India & Sri Lanka?

Both  Sri Lanka and India are eager on going ahead with the proposed US $ 3.6 billion maritime bridge linking the two countries, The Sunday Leader reliably learns. The relationship between Sri Lanka and India has been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride, with its own ups and downs, the relation has been varied from the… Read more »

Statistical Information for the Northern Provincial Council

Northern Provincial Council 2015 Statistical Information 2015 Northern Provincial Council (Unable to easily find similar information through the Eastern Provincial Council.  Some information is available for digging at — http://www.statistics.gov.lk/)

Problems Continue to Plague Sri Lanka’s Northern Province

In spite of the country’s recent democratic gains, problems continue to plague Sri Lanka’s Tamil-dominated Northern Province…

[W]hen it comes to a range of core Tamil issues, Sri Lanka’s current president doesn’t appear to be that much better than the previous one.

MCC: New Threshold Programs with Sri Lanka

MCC Board Selects Five Countries for MCC Partnerships New Compacts with Cote d’Ivoire, Kosovo and Senegal, and New Threshold Programs with Sri Lanka and Togo https://www.mcc.gov/news-and-events/release/mcc-board-selects-five-countries-for-mcc-partnerships-121715 December 17, 2015 kellyrm /A_T/ mcc /D_O_T/ gov 202-521-3880 WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 17 — The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting on Dec. 16, 2015…. Read more »

Ex-Tamil Tigers Go Jobless in Sri Lanka

VALLIPURAM, Sri Lanka, 18 January 2016 (IRIN) – Almost seven years after the end of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, the majority of former Tamil Tiger rebels are struggling to find jobs despite billions of dollars of extra investment in their regions. Sivalingam Ruvendradass, who spent three years in a government “rehabilitation” programme, which is… Read more »

De-mining Sri Lanka

by Smriti Daniel, Al Jazeera, January 12, 2016 Meet those clearing the large number of landmines left behind by the army and the Tamil Tigers after Sri Lanka’s war. Muhamalai, Sri Lanka – Not so long ago Shanmukam Thankamuththu had 25 goats; now she has only five. The other 20 have been sold, each animal… Read more »