The Sri Lankan government has warned its citizens against all travel to Tamil Nadu after several protests against Sri Lankan citizens were held in the state.

“The Government of Sri Lanka regrets the increasing number of instances of intimidation of Sri Lankan nationals visiting Tamil Nadu for the purposes of tourism, religious pilgrimages, sporting and cultural activities and professional training,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a travel advisory.

“The Government of Sri Lanka is constrained to request Sri Lankan nationals in the interest of their security to desist from undertaking visits to Tamil Nadu until further notice.

“In the event there is a compelling reason to visit Tamil Nadu, such a visit should take place following prior timely intimation to the Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission in Chennai,”

“Travel to all other states is safe,” it further said.

The government’s warning came after nearly 200 Sri Lankan pilgrims, on a visit to a Poornimatha church in Tamil Nadu, were forced to return to the island after they were faced with protests by Tamil groups.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha ordered the expulsion of two Sri Lankan football teams from Chennai and sacked the official behind the games.

She said the official, who had authorised the visit, had ‘demeaned the sentiments’ of the Tamil people.

Sri Lankan footballers kicked out of India (02 Sep 2012)

Trichy protests causes cancellation of SL student event (31 Aug 2012)

TN parties slam Delhi’s defence of training Sri Lankans (29 Aug 2012)

A top government official announced that Sri Lanka will not contest for a seat in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at the upcoming elections this year.

Sri Lanka lost the vote when it last contested for a seat at the UNHRC in May 2008, a year before the barbaric onslaught of 2009, amidst allegations of human rights taking place in the country.

The government official failed to provide a reason for not contesting.

Earlier this year Sri Lanka lost in a vote at the UNHRC when a resolution, tabled by the United States, regarding Sri Lanka’s human rights and reconciliation issues was passed.

The UNHRC seats are based on unbiased geographical distribution, with the seats being distributed amongst different regions.  The seats are allocated as follows, African states - 13, Asia Pacific states -13, Eastern European states-6, Latin American and Caribbean states -8, Western European and other states – 7.

A week after over 100 asylum seekers, including Tamils from the North-East, drowned off the coast of Indonesia en route to seeking refuge in Australia, the Australian opposition leader, Julie Bishop, called for all aslyum seekers to be sent back to Sri Lanka without coming to Australia.

Bishop said,

"If the Government grants people from Sri Lanka refugee status, the Australian Government is accusing Sri Lanka of persecuting their own citizens,"

"Sri Lanka is already making a significant effort by preventing many boats from leaving their shores, however those who make it through should be the subject to an immediate arrangement to be transferred back to Sri Lanka without coming to Australia,"

"There is an extremely high rejection rate for Sri Lankan asylum seekers with the vast majority proving to be economic migrants."

"But once they are in Australia they can pursue their claims for asylum through our courts regardless of the merit."

In response, the Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, said,

"Now what I think you hear is the sound of goalposts moving,"

"They're becoming more shrill and more ridiculous."

"This is an extraordinary call from the Opposition and what they're effectively doing here is calling for us to remove ourselves from the Refugee Convention."

"There is no other conclusion that can be reached."

Related articles:

50 surviving asylum seekers in custody in Indonesia (01 Sep 2012)

Australian govt's moral of the story (30 Aug 2012)

Asylum seeker boat sinks en route to Australia (30 Aug 2012)

External Affairs Minister G L Peiris has rushed to London in the hope of lobbying the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to revise its latest travel advisory, reports Colombo Page.

Despite protestations from Peiris against the advisory which warns of an upsurge in nationalism, sexual offences and anti-Western rhetoric, the FCO extended the advisory  following the conviction of French tourists for offending Buddhist sentiment.

An official meeting has not been confirmed but Peiris hopes to ‘discuss’ the advisory and the issues it raises with his British counterparts.

This is not the first time Peiris has challenged a British statement on Sri Lanka, although the Minister’s will presumably adopt a very different to tone to his earlier ‘summoning’ of the British High Commissioner to Colombo.

As the controversy over the training of Sri Lankan security forces personnel in India rages on , it has been revealed that the Sri Lankan president and Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Army Mahinda Rajapakse is due to visit the country later this month.

Rajapakse will lay the foundation stone for the Sanchi University for Buddhist Studies in Madhya Pradesh on September 21 and take part in celebrations to mark the 2600th anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment.

The university is jointly funded by the India, Sri Lanka, the government of Madhya Pradhesh and the Maha Bodhi society.

The president is also expected to visit New Delhi and meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reported the PTI news agency.

Trichy protests causes cancellation of SL student event (31 Aug 2012)

More than 1000 officers sent under the instruction of the Economic Development Minister, Basil Rajapaksa have been involved in the intimidation of Tamil and Muslim voters in three districts of the eastern province, Ampaarai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee, reports TamilNet.

According to complaints made by the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Sri Lankan Muslim Congress, R.Sampanthan and Rauff Hakeem, voters were warned of serious consequences should they not vote for the ruling United peoples Freedom Party (UPFA) in the upcoming Eastern Provincial Council election.

The gangs of intimidators dispatched by Minister Basil Rajapaksa, known as ‘social service officers’, are said to be roaming in villages and visiting every household with local candidates of the UPFA.

Both Mr Sampanthan and Mr Hakeem have requested the commissioner General of Elections to take steps to stop unruly elements creating terror and to ensure peaceful and fair election in the eastern province.

The reports of voter intimidation came as the government announced that it will deploy 21000 officers to the eastern provinces for ‘security duties’ during the elections.

The Sri Lankan government has declared September 3rd as a national day of mourning to commemorate the life of the Chief Prelate of the Sri Lanka Ramannya Nikaya, Weweldeniye Medhalankara Thero.

Ramannya Nikaya, who passed away at the age of 103, was a long standing upholder of the Buddhist order and spent most of his life disseminating the Sri Lankan Theravadic monastic tradition.

Nikaya was also an avid supporter of the discriminatory and power enhancing Buddhist temporalities act of 1931.

The government has also declared that a funeral will take place with full state honours for the late Nikaya on the 3rd September.

See here for the government’s reaction to  student attempts to mourn their loved ones that died in the 2009 Mullivaikal massacre.

“I have directed the Chief Secretary to place the officer under suspension and take departmental action against him. The Sri Lankan team will not be allowed to play any matches in the State and I have issued orders to send them back to their country.”

"The (Nehru) Stadium Officer has no authority to allow matches there and only the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu is authorised to do so. By using an authority that did not exist, the official had demeaned the sentiments of Tamil people."

"I have also instructed that no competitions must be held for the Sri Lankan team besides directing that they be sent back."

“The decision of the Indian government had humiliated the people of Tamil Nadu and I condemn the Centre for this.”

President Rajapakse and Ayatollah Khamenei (Fars News Agency)

President Mahinda Rajapakse met with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei on Friday, on the sidelines of the 16th Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran.

The Ayatollah praised Sri Lanka for standing up against ‘colonialists’.

He said hegemonic powers try "to portray themselves as invincible, but Iran and Sri Lanka's experiences show that resistance against colonialists and hegemons [sic] is possible".

The Supreme Leader also praised Sri Lanka’s support for the Palestinian cause and its ‘respect’ for the Muslims on the island.

See here, here and here for the 'respectful' treatment of Muslims in Sri Lanka.

Rajapakse and his Iranian counterpart President Ahmedinejad (Colombo Page)

The Sri Lankan president welcomed Khamenei’s proposal for a nuclear-free Middle-East, made during the start of the summit and added,

"We are ensured that we can overcome many problems through your aid and assistance."

Rajapakse also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and discussed the Uma Oya development project, which is funded by a US$450 million loan from the Export Development Bank of Iran.

Rajapakse shakes hands with Afghan President Hamid Karzai (Colombo Page)

China's Defence Minister Liang Guanglie, who is currently on an official visit to Sri Lanka spoke about China's national defence policy, and dismissed talk of the "China Threat Theory".

Guanglie said,

"On this point, the Chinese government issued a whitepaper China's Peaceful Development in 2011, solemnly declaring to the world that China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development. The core idea of this path is that China will develop itself through upholding world peace and contribute to world peace through its own development."

"Up to now, China has dispatched around 21,000 person/times to 30 UN Peace-keeping missions, making it the largest personnel contributor among the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council. We have sent rescue teams for 18 times to conduct humanitarian rescue operations. Since 2008, China has sent 12 batches of naval task forces to conduct escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. With the further modernisation of China's national defense, China will make greater contributions to world peace as a responsible member of the international community."

See also: China's support for Sri Lanka's militarisation (28 Aug 2012)

Commenting on a stone tablet from 1409 in Sri Lanka's National Museum, Guanglie said,

"The three languages carved on the stone tablet, namely, Chinese, Persian and Tamil, expressed respect for Buddhism, Islam and Brahmanism. This shows the inclusiveness of the Chinese people towards different religions, and the respect for the harmonious co- existence of multiple cultures. Such a historical culture and tradition that values peace above all has exerted profound influence on China's choice of a peaceful development path."

Indonesian authorities are holding in custody 50 asylum seekers from the island of Sri Lanka for the past two days, just after they survived the sinking of their vessel en route to Australia, and over 24 hours in the water. Over one hundred others perished.

The National Search and Rescue Agency spokesperson, Gagah Prakoso, said to AFP:

"They were starving and dehydrated, but have since been given food, water and medical attention. They are now in the custody of police in the town of Sikakap."

See: Asylum seeker boat sinks en route to Australia (30 Aug 2012)

An event, part of a cultural exchange programme of Kalai Kaviri College in Trichy, has been cancelled after protestors demanded that the Sri Lankan participants be sent back.

54 students and 10 teachers from Sri Lanka came to participate in a programme on Thursday, but were told by college administrators to return to Sri Lanka as the programme had been cancelled.

Members of Naam Thamizhar Iyakkam protested outside the premises, shouting slogans against the Sri Lankan state and Mahinda Rajapakse.

The Times of India reported that the Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr Gandhi “blasted” the college principal’s ignorance.

"For you, it is merely a dance and song programme, but for us it is a perennial political headache," he is reported to have told her.

The principal said she had to pay a huge price for something which was not her fault.

"Had I known that this was such a serious issue, we would not have entertained the students at all," Dr Margaret Bastin, the principal of the college, told TOI.

The annual animal sacrifice for the feast of Sri Bhadra Kali Amman in Munneswaram has been cancelled on the request of President Mahinda Rajapakse.

The ritual which involves the sacrifice of hundreds of goats and fowl has sparked rows between the areas Hindu Tamils and Buddhists.

Apparently oblivious to the state's attitude towards religions other than Buddhism, the temple's Chief Priest had actually requested the President's protection for the feast to go ahead.

But the president ignored the request and instead asked for the ceremony to be halted, as the sacred Buddhist Kapilavastu relics from India are currently being exhibited.

The JHU announced on Friday it will bring in an act of parliament to prevent animal sacrifice and torture.

The radical Buddhist party, part of the ruling coalition, has been complaining about the Tamil temple’s activities every year, but ignores the plight of elephants in Buddhist temples.

Campaign groups have said that these temple elephants ‘suffer in the name of Buddhism’.

SSP Ajith Rohana stated that amongst those deployed would be 123 Superintendents and Assistant Superintendants, 1,407 Chief Inspectors, Inspectors and Sub Inspectors including 68 women, 5,340 Police Sergeants, 12,886 Police Constables and a further 1,427 women Police Constables.

The announcement comes after the army also said earlier this month, that they would be intensifying their operations in the Eastern province, ahead of the Provincial Council elections.

See our earlier post: Army steps up operations in East ahead of elections (02 August 2012)

Earlier this year, the International Crisis Group released a report condemning the "deepening militarisation" of the North-East stating it was part of a strategy to ""change the facts of the ground", as has already happened in the east, and make it impossible to claim the north as a Tamil-majority area deserving of self-governance."

See our earlier post: Militarisation and colonisation is to negate call for Tamil self-governance – ICG (16 March 2012)