Lankan navy captures 43 Indian fishermen
PTI

Chennai: At least 43 Indian fishermen have been arrested by Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly violating the international maritime boundary.

The Navy spokesperson Kosala Warnakulasuriya said some 43 fishermen on board six trawlers were arrested last night off the coast of Pulmoddai in the east.

They were currently being brought to the eastern port of Trincomalee and would be handed over to police for further investigations, he said.
Sri Lankan Navy has been frequently detaining Indian fishermen ... Read More

Krishna brings healing touch to Tamils
Kilinochchi (Sri Lanka): Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna visited this former Tamil Tiger hub Wednesday and gifted medical equipment to a hospital, unveiled a renovated school and handed over houses built with New Delhi's assistance.

On the second day of a four-day visit to the island nation, Krishna took a chopper from capital Colombo to land in Kilinochchi, the former headquarter of the now vanquished Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He gifted a range of ... Read More

Rajapaksa has given firm commitment to empower Tamils: Krishna
On Board Special Aircraft, Jan 19 (IANS) India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna secured a firm commitment from Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on devolution of powers to the Northern Province for a lasting political settlement with the dominant Tamil minority.

'Rajapaksa gave me a categorical assurance that he was committed to implement the 13th Amendment of the Constitution for empowering the Tamil-dominant northern region,' Krishna told IANS Thursday on way back from a four-day ... Read More

Use war report,’ say religious leaders
Sri Lanka, January 06, 2012: Religious leaders in Sri Lanka urged the government Thursday to implement the recommendations of a report on the civil war that finished in 2009. Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Hindu representatives met for a press conference of the Congress of Religions and agreed that implementing the recommendations of the report is essential for a lasting peace in the country.

Buddhist monk, Venerable Professor Bellanvila Wimalarathana Thero, said that according to the findings ... Read More

Sri Lanka’s Ghosts of War
By NAMINI WIJEDASA

THE Sri Lankan government’s defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009 ended a three-decade war that took tens of thousands of lives. But only now is the government beginning to acknowledge its huge human cost. Two weeks ago, a government-appointed reconciliation commission released a long-awaited report, giving voice to the war’s civilian victims for the first time.

From August 2010 to January 2011, hundreds of people appeared before the commission in tears, begging ... Read More

Sri Lanka’s Ghosts of War
By NAMINI WIJEDASA

THE Sri Lankan government’s defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009 ended a three-decade war that took tens of thousands of lives. But only now is the government beginning to acknowledge its huge human cost. Two weeks ago, a government-appointed reconciliation commission released a long-awaited report, giving voice to the war’s civilian victims for the first time.

From August 2010 to January 2011, hundreds of people appeared before the commission in tears, begging ... Read More

Festival of lights in Sri Lanka
The Vocational Training Centres in the Jaffna Peninsula jointly celebrated ‘Oli Vizha’ , ‘The Festival of Lights’ on the 13th of December 2011 at the Ghandiji Kiramam, VTC hall. Around 60 girls from the
Vocational Centres, at Sandilipay, Pandateruppu, Thevakiramam, Anaikoddai, and Ghandiji Kiramam participated in the celebration.
The girls who sang in the choir came on a procession from the church to the hall, singing the carols.
The above mentioned VTCs, sang melodious Tamil carols mostly composed ... Read More

Tamils, Muslims revive talks in Sri Lanka
Tamil National Alliance and a Muslim party have revived dialogue to reach consensus on key concerns of the Muslims in the north and east, even as the main Tamil party strives to hammer out a political solution towards autonomy with the Sri Lankan government.

The main Tamil minority party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the main Muslim party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) have revived their stalled talks.

A senior SLMC official told PTI their leader Rauff ... Read More

New push for anti-conversion laws in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Buddhist nationalists in Sri Lanka have caused concern among Protestant Christians by renewing their calls for anti-conversion laws. The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party, which has been pushing for legislation banning “forced conversion” since 2004, renewed its campaign in a press statement this month. It called on the government to re-introduce to Parliament the JHU’S Prohibition of Religious Conversions Bill.

Sources inside Sri Lanka say Christians are also concerned about a loosely worded circular ... Read More

Church boycotts state Christmas events
Sri Lanka, December 5: The Catholic Church is to boycott all government functions over Christmas in protest over the arrest of a nun on child trafficking charges.

At a press conference in Colombo on December 3, Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said he will not participate in government-sponsored events this festive season.

He said the Church strongly condemns the arrest of Sister Mary Eliza, an Indian nun serving at Prem Nivasa orphanage in Moratuwa, near Colombo.

The orphanage also ... Read More