“The 24-member IOTC was annoyed that we were yet to comply with the international regulations despite several complaints of poaching by Sri Lankan fishermen. We were able to save the day by pledging to comply with the IOTC requirements that included installation of a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) on each boat”.

Tamil National Alliance MP M A Sumanthiran has hit out at the government’s insincerity in addressing accountability issues.

In a speech to the Sri Lankan parliament on Friday, Mr Sumanthiran said that only an independent international investigation can break the cycle of impunity and prevent the return of violence.

“You talk so much about reconciliation. If you’re serious about reconciliation, your concern will be that of the victims. If victims are to recover from their trauma, justice and accountability are a necessary part of that. That is so, because to bring closure to a collective and personal grief; to ensure genuine reconciliation, to break the cycle of impunity in Sri Lanka, and to ensure against a return to violence, we need to put in place a credible and independent mechanism for accountability. [...]

"That can happen only by the appointment of an independent international investigation […] Everyone who knows this country, knows that no internal arrangement will ever be independent, and that is why we have consistently requested that it must be international to ensure that it is independent.”

Mr Sumanthiran also accused the government of attempting to hide human rights violations, like the killings of the 17 aid workers in Muttur and the 5 students in Trincomalee.

“I wish to tell this Government most categorically, that none of those matters will ever be forgotten. Matters of justice, quests for justice, can never be quenched by sweeping these things under the carpet.”

The MP criticised repeated, unnecessary appointments of various committees by the government, questioning the motives for delaying the implementation of constitutional amendments and recommendations of the LLRC.

“Merely appointing committees and ensuring that nothing comes out of those committees is no way of demonstrating to the world that you’re serious about finding a political solution. This is the same with regard to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission as well.

"Why should the LLRC recommend that there must be Rule of Law? That the Constitution must be implemented? […]Why should an inter agency advisory committee be appointed – yet another committee – when interim recommendations are made by the LLRC?

“If the LLRC makes interim recommendations, implement those. It is for that that you appointed that Commission in the first place. Now it has given its final report, you have gone and appointed yet another committee to advise you on what of that can be implemented, and when that report comes a further committee will be appointed, and when that comes another committee will be appointed, and this pattern keeps going on and on and on.”

For full transcript of speech please see here.

The Sri Lankan military deployed to the North-East are to be trained in public health surveillance and disease prevention, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.

According to the ministry spokesperson, the soldiers will be trained by the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry and will by the end of their training have the same knowledge as a public health inspector in dengue fever prevention, and conduct all inspection activities in the North-East.

The Defence Minister, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was thanked by the Health Minister Maithripapa Sirisena, for the defence ministry's contribution to the public health initiative.

See related articles:

Army to form construction company (19 Jan 2012)

Army opens yet another holiday resort in Jaffna (11 Jan 2012)

Army on standby to sell and distribute vegetables (13 Dec 2011)

Army to build a 5-star hotel (06 Nov 2011)

Militarising Cricket (04 Nov 2011)

Sri Lankan military expands commercial arm (01 Oct 2011)

 

Italian Tamil youth joined other young Italians in celebration of the diversity and multi-culturalism that surrounds them, at Castelnovo Sotto on 6th May 2012.

They were joined by communities from India, Ghana, Albania, Russia, Madagascar and the Arab Maghreb Union.

Sharing traditional culinary favourites, members of a Tamil youth organisation - Giovanni Tamil, also shared their memories and thoughts of the struggle faced by their nation in the North-East of the island of Sri Lanka.

Saddened and shocked by the events of Mullivaikal, the guests joined members of Giovanni Tamil in wearing black ribbons, in remembrance of May 18th 2009. 

Finance Secretary Dr P B Jayasundera has said tea imports into Sri Lanka should be banned in order to protect the integrity and image of Sri Lankan tea.

The Tea Exporters Association, which represents around 75% of Sri Lankan tea exporters, has recently made a proposal to allow the importing and blending of foreign tea with Sri Lankan blends for export.

Speaking at a Dilmah conference, Dr Jayasundera rejected the proposals.

“Sri Lanka should not permit our product to be used in that manner.”

“One product we should uncompromisingly preserve and protect is Sri Lankan tea. Dilmah has shown that all facets can be developed locally. We believe Sri Lanka has a tremendous comparative advantage in tea and can make it a three billion dollar industry in the next 10 years.”

“The TEA, which is behind the effort to import cheap low-quality teas for blending and re-exporting from Sri Lanka, is comprised entirely of tea exporters and does not represent the hundreds of thousands of growers and workers who help sustain one of the country’s most important industries. For the past few years, the TEA has attempted to argue that the relatively high cost of Ceylon tea prevents local players from competing with international brands.”

Dilmah, the largest exporter of ‘Pure Ceylon Tea’, is also vehemently opposed to the proposals by the TEA.

The Right to Information Act proposed by the UNP has been blocked by the government, according to UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Jayasuriya said that he was informed the bill could not be presented as it had already been defeated in 2010.

“After the Bill was defeated in June 2010, I worked alongside members of the civil service to amend it and bring it more in line with modern versions seen in countries such as India,” he said.

“There are 90 countries worldwide which have passed similar legislation. Out of the SAARC countries only Bhutan and Sri Lanka do not have a Right to Information Act,

“It is important that this Bill is passed as the people have the right to be given all the information about their own country.

“In 2009 the UNP withdrew the Right to Information Bill as we were promised the government would present their own, this never happened."

Canada has urged Sri Lanka to conduct a full investigation into the murder of Canadian Tamil businessman Anthonypillai Mahendrarajah.

Mr Mahendrarajah was murdered while he was visiting his native town of Kilinochchi to reclaim property occupied by Sri Lankan businesses, which brought him into conflict with the military.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Bruce Levy, told the BBC a formal note was sent to the government, saying a full investigation into the murder was needed and Canada will be tracking its progress.

Embassy officials examined the murder site and the residence of the victim last week. 

The BBC in its report pointed out that the Sri Lankan government said it would welcome and accept refugees wanting to return from overseas earlier this week, but incidents like this are likely to put many off.

Canada urges Sri Lanka police to probe murder - BBC (11 May 2012)

Top SL military hand alleged in killing Canadian Tamil in Vanni - TamilNet (09 May 2012)

“Free sovereign independent Sri Lanka does not need anyone to set timetables for its peace process nor external bodies to monitor it.”

Earlier this year, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapksa sent a text message out to all registered mobile phones in the country, greeting them a happy New Year, in English and Sinhala only. See the text message below.


Also see our earlier post: Sri Lanka censors text messages (12 March 2012)

GTF delivers tribute message

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) joined President Jacob Zuba, ministers and senior government officials of South Africa to pay tribute to the late activist and minister, Roy Padayachie, at his state funeral in Durban on Wednesday.

As one of the handful of speakers requested to address the mourners and pay tribute to the late Mr Padayachie, the GTF's spokeperson, Suren Surendiran, shared his memories of Comrade Roy, who he described as a pivotal and inspirational figure to the organisation.

President Jacob Zuma greets Mr Surendiran

Addressing the mourners, Mr Surendiran said,

"let me, on your behalf, salute Comrade Roy, whom I and a large number of Tamil speaking people admire so much, for his leadership, not just in this country, but throughout the Tamil diaspora for laying the foundation for Global Tamil Forum, and for his crucial and catalytic role in bringing the liberation campaign together, with a vision to follow."

"The reward he sought, as he has always said, is not recognition, nor status, nor titles, nor money but that the coming generation – who never even knew him – enjoys a better life, thanks to his courageous work. And I also want to pay my personal tribute, to his work and his leadership in achieving, by his determined action, what many thought was impossible - to internationalise, the Tamil Question."

"I recall, a personal experience, when I, with other Tamil activists came to visit you at your home, with the help of comrade Roy and comrade Sisa Njekalana during the peak of the war in Sri Lanka, back in 2009…at the end of our discussions, you very warmly shook hands with me and said and I quote - “Comrade, please go and tell your fellow comrades, as revolutionaries we will always stand by you”

See here for the complete transcript of GTF's tribute address.

See video clips of address broadcast live.

South African president, Jacob Zuma pays tribute

The other speakers included the President Jacob Zuma, the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya a senior minister from Kenya and Mr Padayachie's brother-in-law, Mr Solly Pillay.

Widely admired, Mr Padayachie's family were inundated with letters of tributes, including from the Tamil Institute in South Africa, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Tamil Business Forum, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and Sri Lankan MP Sajin Vaas Gunawardane.

Known as Comrade Roy, Mr Padayachie was the Public Service and Administration Minister of South Africa.

He passed away last week whilst attending the African Peer Review Mechanism meeting in Ethiopia.

Mr Padayachie, a Tamil, was respected by activists worldwide for his tireless efforts to seek justice for those facing oppression.

The General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Maithripala Sirisena has accused the Tamil National Alliance of assisting 'LTTE activists' to enter the country.

Sirisena, who is Minister of Health, also questioned if the opposition UNP was assisting the TNA to help the re-emerging of the LTTE.

The minister added it was the duty of the opposition to discuss a political solution with the Parliamentary Select Committee proposed by President Rajapakse.

The Sri Lankan Government has ordered the state-owned milk company Milco to buy up all unsold milk from farmers.

Farmers recently held demonstrations, highlighting their inability to sell fresh milk in the Sri Lankan market by spilling 12,000 litres on the streets of Hatton.

The popularity of imported milk powder in Sri Lanka have damaged sales of fresh milk. However, the government has fought back by ordering Milco to purchase unsold milk and boost national self-sufficiency.

"We are committed to encourage dairy farmers in this country to produce milk," Milco's chairman Sunil Wickramasinghe told the BBC in Colombo. "And we are committed to buy that milk."

The government has also raised taxes on imported milk powder by 25%, in an attempt to force people to buy locally produced fresh milk.

"We spend nearly $400m [per year] to import the milk in foreign exchange," says Mr Wickramasinghe. "On the other side, technically we can produce all the milk that we require in this country, so why not?"

Sri Lanka buys up local milk to spare the farmers' tears - BBC (10 May 2012)

Also see our earlier posts:

Chinese lanterns flood Sri Lankan markets for Vesak (05 May 2012)

‘Banning its roti and eating it too’ (11 Jan 2012)

SL Prime Minister calls for wheat and fruit import ban (07 Dec 2011)

Food for thought (04 Nov 2010)