Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Sri Lanka has fallen in 2011, with approximately US$ 300 million invested into the country, according to a report by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development).

Although the Ministry of Economic Development tasked the Board of Investment (BOI) with attracting $1 billion, FDI fell short of this target.

Inexplicably, the BOI claimed earlier this year that Sri Lanka had exceeded its target for 2011 and set a new target of $1.75 billion for 2012.

Sri Lanka had high hopes of huge foreign investments after the end of the armed conflict in 2009 and was rated in the latest UNCTAD report as 68th out of 182 countries for FDI potential.

However restrictions on free markets placed by the government, coupled with political uncertainty are thought to be behind the decline in FDI, which saw Sri Lanka rated 159th for FDI attraction, behind countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Maldives.

What constrains foreign direct investment? - Sunday Times (24 Jun 2012)

Sri Lanka’s FDI surprise - Tamil Guardian (03 Jan 2011)

Sri Lanka has decided to amend a decades old media law, resulting in the regulation of all news websites and electronic media.

The government made the announcement a week after it raided and temporarily shut down two anti-government websites.

The amendments to the Press Council Law established in 1973, will mean that websites and electronic media will have to adhere to media codes that are set by the Sri Lankan government.

Commenting on the new reforms, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told Reuters

‘We will bring amendments to the Press Council Law to include the electronic and web media to ensure accountability’

Sri Lankan media groups have slammed the government’s move to amend the press law.

In March, the government censored all mobile news alerts about the military or police.

Since the end of the war in 2009, the government has tightened restrictions on press freedom, drawing criticism from the United States and the European Union, among others for arresting journalists critical of the government.

Sri Lanka has earned a considerable income from United Nations peacekeeping operations in other countries, Army Media Spokesman Brigadier Wanigasekara has said.

According to the Brigadier Wanigasekara, Sri Lanka has earned in excess of 18.4 billion rupees from its ‘peacekeeping’ operations around the world since 2004.

Incidentally, Sri Lanka’s military expenditure rapidly increased before 2009, where 40,000 tamil civilians were killed in the final stages of the war.

The Sri Lankan army is notorious for abuse abroad, and are yet to feel the repercussions of sexual abuse committed by their troops in Haiti.

Haitian sexual abuse troops remain unpunished (11 Jan 2012)

In an incredible outburst against The Sunday Leader’s editor, Frederica Jansz, Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse verbally abused her and said she will be killed, after she questioned him after Sri Lanka airlines swapped an aircraft so that a friend of his could fly it to collect a puppy from Switzerland.

During his rant, over two conversation on the telephone, Rajapakse threatened Ms Jansz with legal action if she prints anything regarding this story and said he will put her in jail.

He went on to abuse her, saying she is ‘a pig who eats shit’ and ‘people will kill you’.

Extracts from the telephone conversations (Emphasis TG):

FJ: [...] the issue is this. Any pilot can bring down a dog – it is all about controlling and ensuring the correct air pressure in the cabin. Why should Capt. Praveen Wijesinghe be chosen despite him not being able to fly the aircraft on one sector and having to passenger as a result…

GR: So what? Yes he is passengering so what is wrong with that? I am telling you again if you write any bloody word about this I will sue your f…..g newspaper – this is the way you all wrote about the MIG deal – without checking you bloody… wrote your f……g version all because somebody told you something…

FJ: Which is why I have called you. I am not going by what ‘somebody’ told me. I called you to get your side of the story and to clarify this issue.

GR: You write one bloody word and I will sue you!!! I will sue the writer and your f…..g paper again!!

FJ: Mr. Rajapaksa are you threatening me?

GR: Yes! I am threatening you! Write every single word I have told you if you want – you write a bloody f…..g word and we will see…

FJ: [...] since you have promised to take action I have decided to hold the story but I want you to know that I am not doing so because you threatened me yesterday…

GR: Yes I threatened you. Your type of journalists are pigs who eat shit! Pigs who eat shit! Shit, Shit Shit journalists!!! Ninety percent of the people in this country hate you! They hate you!!! You come for a function where I am and I will tell people this is the Editor of The Sunday Leader and ninety percent there will show that they hate you.

FJ: I don’t think so.

GR: You don’t? That is your ego!! You are a shit, shit journalist. A f…..g shit. A pig who eats shit! I will go to courts!!! I will not withdraw the case on the MIG deal – this is how you wrote…

FJ: I had nothing to do with that story so I cannot comment.

GR: But I will put you in jail! You shit journalist trying to split this country – trying to show otherwise from true Sinhala Buddhists!! You are helped by the US Ambassador, NGOs and Paikiasothy – they pay you!!!

FJ: I wish.

GR: You pig that eats shit!!! You shit shit dirty f…..g journalist!!!

FJ: I hope you can hear yourself Mr. Rajapaksa.

GR: People will kill you!!! People hate you!!! They will kill you!!!

FJ: On your directive?

GR: What?? No. Not mine. But they will kill you – you dirty f…..g shit journalist.

Gota goes berserk - The Sunday Leader (08 Jul 2012)

Former chief of the Sri Lankan Army, General Sarath Fonseka has declared that he will lead an uprising to oust the government from power.

“I’m definitely asking people to rise up... and overthrow the government by democratic methods,” he said.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Fonseka called Mahinda Rajapakse a “dictator”, accusing the President of persecuting his family and terrorising opposition.

Criticising British PM David Cameron for meeting Rajapakse at the Queen’s Jubilee lunch last month, Fonseka called on the international community to isolate Rajapakse’s government adding that they should “derecognise the government and give protection to the people... if there is a dictator violating human rights and the democracy of the people, I think the world will have to take care of that.”

Speaking of a number of abuses by pro-government politicians such as rapes and murders of opponents, Fonseka highlighted the death of a fisherman when police opened fire on protesting fishermen, including women and children, demonstrating against fuel price rises.

Fonseka also mentioned that ruling party figures have been accused recently of gang-raping two teenage girls, as well as the murder last month of two members of the JVP – supporters of his presidential campaign.

"You have seen how it took place in other countries and how those people were rescued from tyrannical regimes. I hope and pray it will not be like Libya," he said.

Dismissing allegations of war crimes by Sri Lankan troops, Fonseka said of his time as Commander:

"I commanded the army to victory, I planned the operations and commanded the troops...I definitely feel proud."

Fonseka criticised the government for failing to answer to the allegations and said he was himself ready to face any accusations, denying that his army had targeted civilians in the no-fire zone in 2009.

Human rights lawyers have lodged a petition at the Supreme Court over the death of political prisoner Ganesan Nimalaruban.

Working with Mr Nimalaruban’s parents the lawyers are seeking to overturn a court ruling that he must be cremated by authorities near Colombo.

Speaking to BBC Tamil, Mr Nimalaruban’s mother Rajeswari Ganesan said:

“The arms and legs of my child, lying as a corpse, were broken. There were wounds on his chest and head.

“The prison authorities insisted that we sign [their report] as soon as they had showed us the body. But we have explicitly refused. The prison authorities are responsible for the death of my son.

“Our wish was to see the marriage of our only son. That is no more. We must at least perform his last rites at home.”

Mrs Ganesan has rejected the authorities’ claims that a funeral in their home district of Vavuniya would be a security risk.

"Tamils want action for war crimes against Sri Lanka. We will not accept the training of Sri Lankan airmen anywhere in India."

"This is anti-Tamil and inappropriate at a time when the whole world is seeking action against Sri Lanka for violations in the war."

She went on to say,

"When the international community is raising its voice that India should urge Sri Lanka to accord equal rights to Tamils, the news of Sri Lanka Air Force personnel (coming) for nine months training at the Tambaram air force station (near here) is like piercing (our) heart with a spear."

The Chief Minister's statement comes as members of the Naam Thamilar Katchi held a protest in front of the Tambaram air force base, chanting slogans condemning Sri Lanka. The protestors then marched to the railway station and sat along the railway tracks, demanding that India scrap the training programme.

Union shipping minister G K Vasan also joined the growing chorus of protest against the training, adding,

"It is a matter of concern, considering the cruelties faced by Tamils in Lanka."

He also noted the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B S Gnanadesikan will lodge an official protest against the training offered to Sri Lankan personnel.

Other parties such as the MDMK and ruling constituent member DMK have also condemned the training and backed the demand for the Sri Lankan participants to be sent home.

See our earlier posts:

Sri Lankan Air Force personnel moved from Tamil Nadu after strong protests (06 July 2012)

Jayalalitha condemns India’s training of Sri Lanka Air Force (05 July 2012)

The chairman of the Jaffna doctor’s union has told Uthayan that they are determined to appeal against the ban placed on their protest at Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

The doctors had been prevented from striking by a court injunction placed against a day-long suspension of services in the hospital’s outpatient’s unit but pledged to protest anyway.

In a statement to Uthayan, the union’s chairman said:

“Investigations into both the attack on the home of Jaffna Teaching Hospital’s oncologist and into ongoing corruption at the hospital are unfolding too slowly, if at all. We had resolved to strike to press for inquiries to be held without any further delay.

“We had requested in writing for permission to conduct the strike. In response to this, Jaffna Police’s Officer in Charge had requested a ban from the Magistrate’s Court on what he called ‘an illegal protest'.

“Magistrate judge M Ganesarajah had then approved this request and ordered the injunction. It was also ordered that force could be used if necessary to disperse those found violating the ban and participating in the protest.

“Accepting this, we were forced to call off yesterday’s strike. Nevertheless it had only been our intention to protest in a peaceful manner. Patients would not have been affected in any way by our protest as admissions, inpatient treatment and emergency services would not have been disrupted.

“We have therefore decided to appeal against the ban.”

The Tamil National Alliance has told The Island it has no faith in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee and has not yet decided whether it will participate.

"We have no confidence in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee as that will also be a strategy adopted by the government to delay the process of finding a solution to the ethnic question," TNA spokesman and Jaffna District MP Suresh Premachandran told The Island on Saturday.

"How can we expect the government to provide us solutions to the ethnic question in the North and the East through a PSC when it cannot negotiate with the TNA independently and come to a solution?

"The government was unwilling to go ahead with the negotiations with the TNA,"

Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said at a news conference last week that the government would wait for as long as it takes for the TNA to take part in the PSC.

A court injunction has been placed on a strike which was due to take place today at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

Jaffna Court Judge M Ganesarajah had ordered the injunction after reviewing a report submitted by Jaffna Police’s Officer in Charge, Saman Sigera, reported Uthayan.

The injunction was based on the report’s claims that a strike would cause inconvenience to patients and unnecessary losses of life.

The Government Medical Officers Association demanded that the police inquire without further delay into last month’s attack on oncologist Dr Jeyakumar’s home.

The Association also cited alleged corruption and maladministration of the hospital as reason for the protests, and a failure by the team investigating the allegations to release its findings, as well as dissatisfaction regarding the transfer of the Head of the Outpatients Unit.

Veteran Tamil playback singer Hariharan has cancelled his concert tour to Colombo which was set to begin on Saturday, reportedly yielding to anti-Lankan sentiments in Tamil Nadu.

"My music has spread peace, happiness and love throughout the world for at least three decades.

"If one concert could create so much of hurt and anguish among my fans, the concert loses its purpose," said Hariharan in a statement to The Times of India.

Tamil Nadu based human rights group May 17 Movement, among many activists had been campaigning for Hariharan to boycott the concert.

“These events are designed to create an image of Sri Lanka as a peaceful and democratic country and convince the world community that it is free of Human Rights violations” said a spokesperson for the May 17 Movement.

According to the Weekend Leader, distinguished Kollywood directors Bharathiraja, Ameer and Vetrimaran had also urged the singer to boycott the concert.

Writing to Hariharan, Ameer highlighted American reggae band Blue Mountain’s refusal to perform in Sri Lanka based on the country’s record for “systemic violence... towards indigenous populations”.

Photographs Uthayan

Hundreds of Tamil men and women gathered in Mannar, holding a satyagraha in protest on Saturday, at the government and military's ongoing illegal expropriation of land in Tamil areas, reported Uthayan.

The military has seized over 5,200 acres of land in Mannar alone, TamilNet said in its report on the protest, citing Tamil activists in the northern region.

The protest was organised by youth activists of Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK), a constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

It was supported by the other parties in the TNA and Tamil parties outside the alliance, including the Tamil National People’s Alliance (TNPF), as well as the Democratic People’s Front from South.

Mannaar Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, together with Catholic priests, elected representatives of the civic bodies and other civil activists from Mannaar also took part.

Several TNA parliamentarians attended - Mavai Senathiraja, M.A. Sumanthiran, M. Saravanapavan, Selvam Adaikalanathan, Sivasakthi Ananthan, Vino Nokarathalingam, Appathurai Vinayamoorthy and M.A. Sivajalingam - as well as V. Anandasangaree of the TULF and Bhaskara of the DPF (Democratic Peoples Front).

See also:

Tamils protest against land grabs amidst military threats (26 Jun 2012)

Navy forcibly evicts resettled families in Mannar (23 Jun 2012)

Riot police deployed against Tamil protesters (19 Jun 2012) 

Extracts from a report by The Washington Post on Friday:

Gathering in a spot that they judged safe enough to speak freely, a group of Tamil women recounted the daily humiliation of life under the victorious Sri Lankan army — almost exclusively made up of ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists.

Twice a month, the women said, soldiers enter their homes to photograph everyone. Permission from the military is required for even the smallest gathering, or just to collect firewood in the nearby forest.

“I even have to go and ask someone for permission to have a birthday party for my daughter in my own home,” said a 46-year-old mother of six from the Kandavalai area who, like the others, spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearful that revealing their names could endanger their lives.

“And if they say no, I am not going to have a party for my 8-year-old daughter in my own house.”

The women described how they were forced or tricked to attend demonstrations in support of the government and against its foreign critics.

One said villagers were not even allowed to light a single prayer candle in their local church, because the army suspected them of trying to honor dead Tamil Tiger fighters buried nearby.

Another woman complained about soldiers turning up in her kitchen and demanding a cup of coffee.

“We are scared,” said the mother of six. “More than that, I am frustrated, I am angry. It is a feeling you cannot describe.”