Srilanka Timeline 2012

4/30/2016
http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2012.htm
SriLankaTimelineYear2012
January1
The TNA is to meet with representatives of the diplomatic community in Colombo to explain the
parity's stance with regard to land and police powers to the provinces. The TNA members are to
meet with the diplomats to brief them on the progress made at the talks between the Government
andtheparty.
AllCeylonMuslimCongress(ACMC)SecretaryGeneralY.L.SHameedsaidthatACMCwillleaveno
roomforanotherremergeroftheNorthandtheEast.Hesaidonemustunderstand the background
in which the late Muslim leader M.H.M. Ashraff tabled the demand for a separate unit of devolution
fortheMuslimsintheNorthandtheEast.
Sri Lanka Police Department is planning to link all Police Stations through an online network to
provideabetterandefficientservicetothepeople,accordingtoColomboPage.Themovefacilitates
the decision of the Police Department to complete investigations regarding minor complaints within
48hours,Policesourcessay.
Government has allocated LKR 61,000 million to accelerate the implementation of many
development projects in the Jaffna District to promote the livelihood of the people who suffered
during the threedecadelong LTTE terrorism, Northern Province Governor Major General G.A.
ChandrasiritoldtheSundayObserver.AnotherLKR5,000millionhasbeenallocatedto the Northern
ProvincialCouncilfromthebudgetfordevelopmentactivitiesintheprovince,hesaid.
Alargestockofweapons,explosives andotherwarlikeequipmentsburiedbytheLTTE,whilethey
werefleeingaftertheirdefeatin2009,wasunearthedbyNavaltroopsinNarantanaiWestinKaytson
January1.
January3
Minister of ExternalAffairs Professor G.L. Peiris called in theAmbassador of France to Sri Lanka,
ChristineRobichon,toexpressSriLanka'sconcernovertheissueoffourstampsbytheFrenchmail
service La Poste depicting images of LTTE. Professor Peiris pointed out that when Governments,
especiallyintheWestallowtheproLTTEgroupstooperateinsuchamanner,theSriLankanpublic
will question those countries' bonafides and the Sri Lankan Government has to consider the public
opinion since the proLTTE groups overseas are still seeking to achieve their objectives through
differentmeans.
FrenchAmbassadorconfirmedthepublicationof360stampsbyLaPoste.However,aftertheFrench
MinistryofForeignAffairshasinformedLaPostethat LTTEisaterroristgroupbannedbytheEUin
2006,themailservicehasassuredthatnosuchstampswillbeprintedfurther.
Peiris urged the French Government to ensure that publications like the four stamps issued by La
PosteofFrance,depictingimagesrelatedtotheLTTE,includingitsinsignia,shouldnothappenand
theirpublicationbecancelled.
Looseningitsstanceagainstgrantingpoliceandlandpowerstotheprovincesaccordingtothe13th
AmendmenttotheConstitution,theGovernmentsaidthatitisreadytoconsideritsscopeprovided
theTNAputforwarditsproposalsatthetalkswiththeGovernment.
January6
A crucial round of talks between the TNA and the Government is scheduled to be held on January
17,18and19inColombo.Politicalsourcessaythetalkswillbecrucialsincethedevolvingofland
powerssillbetakenupinthetalks.
January8
The Sri Lanka Police Department will create opportunities for former LTTE cadres who are well
educatedtojointhePolice,InspectorGeneralofPoliceN.K.Illangakoonsaid.Hesaidiftheformer
LTTE cadres were willing to join the Police after fulfilling the requirements, the Department would
recruitthem.
In another context, he said the Police Department had recruited over 600 Tamil Police officers and
theyarenowservingintheNorthandtheEast.
Election Commissioner of Sri Lanka Mahinda Deshapriya has decided to hold the elections of two
localgovernmentbodiesoftheMullativuDistrictonMarch10.
Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda said that all
Tamil parties, including the TNA, must strengthen President Mahinda Rajapaksa's hands to find a
durablesolutiontotheethnicissue.DevanandaobservedthatiftheTNAdoesnotparticipateinthe
ParliamentarySelectCommitteeproceedings,itwillbedifficulttofindadurablesolutiontotheethnic
issueandtherewillbeastalematewhichwillcontinuetoaggravatesufferingsoftheTamilpeople.
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January9
Around74LTTEcadreswhohavebeenrehabilitatedoncourtorders,aretobereleasedshortlyona
decision by the Rehabilitation Department.According to Rehabilitation Commissioner General Major
General Chandana Rajaguru this group will be released on January 22 at a ceremony in Batticaloa.
Hesaid that 11,375 out of around 12,000 former LTTE cadres had been rehabilitated and integrated
intosocietytodate,whileanother750arebeingrehabilitatedandwillbereleasedinbatches.
HigherEducationMinisterS.B.DissanayakesaidthatallTamilparties,particularlytheTNA, should
getactivelyinvolvedinthedeliberationsoftheParliamentarySelectCommitteeontheethnicissue.
January10
Sri Lanka plans to strengthen security in the country to prevent any resurrection of the vanquished
LTTE, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. He observed that the LTTE, although defeated in
the country, is still active overseas and groups sympathetic to the LTTE cause are attempting to
revitalize their movement at international level. Though many LTTEfriendly groups and individuals
function overseas separately, they have one common objective of dismembering Sri Lanka and
establishingaseparateState.
Higher Education Ministry Secretary Sunil Jayantha Navarathna said that on the advice of LTTE
supporters, a Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) faction led by Kumar Gunaratnam is engaged in
hamperingtheuniversitysystem.
January11
Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadde said the powers demanded by
the TNA would not address issues faced by the Tamil people in the country. Karalliyadde said the
TNA was seeking powers to the Northern Provincial Council that have not been given to any other
provincial council in the country. He noted that the TNA should understand the real needs of the
Tamilpeopleandworktowardswinningthem.
MinisterofLandsandLandDevelopmentJanakaBandaraTennakoonsaidthatover200,000citizens
inthecountrydonotpossessanyland.
January12
Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the TNA leader R.
Sampanthan's statement that his party will take part in discussions in connection with finding a
solution to the issues of the Tamil community is a positive sign. Minister Rambukwella said that
whateversolutionworkedoutthroughthesediscussionsshouldbeendorsedbyParliament.
HigherEducationMinistrySecretaryJayanthaNavaratnesaidthenumerousstudentprotestsinlocal
universitiesaretheresultofstudentsfallingvictimtooutsidepoliticalelements.
January13
The overseas LTTE groups trying to revive the vanquished terror group in Sri Lanka have used the
personalized services offered by the postal authorities in Britain, France and Canada to make a
mockeryofthoseStateswheretheterroristgroupremainsasabannedorganization.
January15
Commenting on the ongoing talks between the Government and TNA, Presidential adviser for
reconciliation and member of the Government delegation for the GovernmentTNA discussions,
Rajiva Wijesinha told the Daily News that "there is an increasing perception that there are many
commonfactorsbetweenusandthereisadesireonbothsidestohaveapositivesolution". "There
areoneortwoissueswhichwillobviouslytakealongertime,ratherthantryingtoresolvethemore
difficult question first, resolving the easier issues first will be more productive. Because then you
realizethatthedifficultproblemsarenotsodifficult,"Wijesinhasaid.
A massive recruitment program has been launched to enlist Tamilspeaking men and women from
the Northern and Eastern provinces to foster a good relationship between diverse ethnic
communities,Policemediaspokesman,SuperintendentofPoliceAjithRohana.
The US granted President Mahinda Rajapaksa immunity from a law suit filed in a US court against
himbytheproLTTETamilDiaspora.TheUSfileda"Suggestion ofImmunity"attheUnitedStates
DistrictCourtfortheDistrictofColumbiaonJanuary13forPresidentRajapaksarecognizinghim as
the"sittingheadofstateofaforeignstate."
TheExternalAffairsMinistryhasdirectedthecountry'smissionsinEuropetokeepaclosewatch on
theactivitiesofLTTEfrontorganizationsintheirrespectivecountries.
The We Are Sri Lankan (WASL) organization led by the dissidents of JVP said the rehabilitated
former LTTE members should be given equal rights and not be sidelined. WASL Convener, Udul
Premaratne said that the Government was critical of organizations that stood and fought for ethnic
harmony.
January16
A suspected sympathizer of the LTTE was arrested by Kochi city Police from Chengalpettu in
ChennaiinconnectionwithahumantraffickingcaseinvolvingSriLankanTamils.
Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli said that the court is expecting the advice of the
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AttorneyGeneralregardinglegalactionagainsttwosurrenderedleadersoftheLTTE.Theduo,former
LTTEmediaspokesmanDayaMasterandtranslatorGeorge,surrenderedtoStateMilitaryinthelast
phaseofthewaragainstLTTE.
Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne said that foreign forces are behind some of the protests held in the
country. Jayaratne said that such foreign forces were behind the protests against the setting up of
privateuniversities.Heobservedthathehasreceivedaffidavitsstatingsuchfacts.According to the
PrimeMinister,certainforeignelementsincludingtheTamilDiasporawerehopefulofresurrectingthe
LTTEorganization.
Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the Police has to
playavitalroleinthecountry'sdevelopment.
January1617
Naval personnel attached to the Eastern Naval Command recovered a stock of LTTE arms and
ammunition hidden in Devapura and Chilawatte areas s.The recoveries included one T 56 weapon,
oneT81weapon,twoT56magazines,oneT56 magazine,eight81mmmotorbombs,two60mm
motorbombsandtwohandgrenadeswerealsofound.AnumberofidentitycardsofLTTE militants
werealsorecovered.
January17
Anareaexceeding1,934outof2,061squarekilometersoflandsintheNorthwhichweredottedwith
land mines and booby traps have been cleared by the end of 2011 and Economic Development
MinisterBasilRajapaksahasgivenspecificdirectivestoexpeditetheclearingoftheremaining127
squarekilomete.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa assured Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna, who is an
official tour to Sri Lanka, that he stood by his commitment to follow the "13th Amendment plus
approach"toachieveapoliticalsolutiontotheTamilquestion.
January18
The TNA said that it looked forward to a new beginning in talks with the Government, following
President Rajapaksa's assurance on devolution and autonomy. "The President has spoken about
goingbeyondthe13thAmendment.Thisisanew beginningandwewillpursuethetalksfromhere,"
TNAMemberofParliamentSumanthiransaid,whenaskedabouttheprogressoftalks.
Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that Government can overcome
political extremism. The Minister said the LTTE operated a propaganda and fund raising network in
nearly230countriesandisoneoftherichestterroristorganizationsfoundintheworld.
January19
Government spokesman and Minister of Media & Information Keheliya Rambukwella said the
GovernmentexpectstoestablishaSenaterepresentingminoritygroupsandacademicsasa"viable
linkbetweentheCentralGovernmentandthe provinces". Explaining the government's initiative, the
Minister said the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is already a part of the Constitution since
1987,andtheestablishmentoftheSenate,which will act as an advisory body to the legislature, is
whatmeantbythe13plusor13andbeyond.
January20
About142familieswholefttheirvillagesin1999duetoterroristactivitieswereresettledintheir own
lands, said Resettlement Minister Gunarathna Weerakoon. These families have been settled in
temporarysheltersinGajabapuraandMonarawevadivisionalsecretariatdivisionsinWeliOya.About
75familiesarelivinginGajabapuraand67familiesinMonaraweva,headded.
January21
TNA Member of Parliament (MP) Rasavarodhayam Sampanthan said that the TNA will continue to
holdtalkswiththeGovernmentdelegationtoreachconsensusonaneffectiveandworkablesolution
to the grievances of people in the North and the East and would not quit the talks under any
circumstances.
January2122
Sri Lanka Navy on January 21 arrested two people, including a former Sea Tiger [cadre of the Se
Wing of the LTTE] attempting to enter the island illegally under cover from the northwestern coast,
the Navy reported on January 22. The two ethnicTamils were dropped off by a hired Indian boat at
the9thSandBankoffthecoastofThalaimannarandwereswimmingtothe8thSandBankwhenthe
navalpersonnelattachedtotheNorthwesternNavalCommandspottedthemandarrested.
Leader of the House and Chief Negotiator in the TNAGovernment talks Minister Nimal Siripala de
Silva affirmed that they have not suspended or withdrawn from the ongoing negotiations to find a
workableframeworkforthedevolutionofpower.
January22
TheGovernmentceremoniouslyreintegratedanotherbatchof78rehabilitatedformerLTTEcadresto
thesociety.Another750exLTTEcadresarecurrentlybeingrehabilitatedandover800morecadres
will be rehabilitate on the orders of courts, according to the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation
Major General Chandana Wanaguru. During and immediately after the final phase of the war 11,700
LTTEcadreshadsurrenderedtotheGovernmentSecurityForces(SFs)orarrestedbytheSFs.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that even after the end of the war, LTTE elements
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were still trying to act from behind some political parties. Rajapaksa also said that the Government
couldnotbeheldresponsibleforthepersonswhogomissingduetoterroristactivities.
January24
FormerArmyCommanderSarathFonsekapleadednotguiltytoallchargesagainsthimwhenhewas
produced before the Colombo High Court. The Government has charged Fonseka and his personal
assistant Senaka Haripriya de Silva mainly for harboring Army deserters during his presidential
election campaign, conspiring against the Government to commit mutiny and insubordination to the
Government.TheStatehasservedanindictmentagainstthetwoaccusingthemof41charges.
Fonseka is currently serving a threeyear prison sentence imposed by the Colombo High Court
havingfound him guilty of inciting violence in the famous 'white flag' case. He is also serving a 30
monthprisontermimposedbyacourtmartialin2010afterfindinghimguiltyoffourchargesrelated
toallegedirregularitiesinmilitaryprocurementsduringhistenureasArmyChief.
The TNA said that President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Government has gone back on its
agreementwiththe Indian Government.TNA spokesman and Jaffna District parliamentarian Suresh
Premachandran said that the President after agreeing to provide a political solution to the ethnic
issue that goes beyond the 13th Amendment has now backtracked. "The President has taken an
undertaking during the discussions with Indian ExternalAffairs Minister S.M. Krishna where he has
saidthesolutionwouldbebeyondthe13thAmendment,"heexplained.
January25
AsuspectedLTTEcadrealleged to have been involved in a bomb blast in Wilpattu National Forest

onMay27,2006,thatkilledsevenpeople,wasarrestedbythePolice.Policesaidthesuspecthas
beenidentifiedasaresidentofMannarandhewasinvolvedinLTTEactivitiesduringthewar.
National Freedom Front leader and Construction Engineering Services, Housing and Common
Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa said that a foreign spy service may be guiding the rebel
group of the JVP which had always adopted a two pronged policy of democracy and revolution. He
saidthesmallrebelgroupiswaitingforthedawnofthe'dayofstruggle'liketheBenghazirebels.
January26
External Affairs Minister G L Peiris said that LLRC implementation getting off to good start. "The
government has made a good start to implementing the recommendations of the LLRC. Within the
next two months, the process of implementing the LLRC recommendations will get fully underway,"
Peirissaid.
Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that Sri Lanka needs a local
modelofdecentralization of power invented by Sri Lankans. "Thirteen Plus is correct and accurate.
The meaning of Thirteen Plus is establishing a Senate. The entire thirteenth amendment is a vast
decentralization of powers.There is no big issue when it comes to decentralizing land powers, but,
thereisaseriousissueonthesystemofdevolvingPolicepowers.Therefore,thequestioniswhatis
wrongwithdiscussingthissingleissueintheParliamentarySelectCommittee(PSC),"hesaid.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that only politicians in the Northern and
Eastern Provinces demand land and Police powers, not the. Minister Rajapaksa explained that the
people in the North and East wanted land to cultivate and carry out their livelihoods and protection
from terrorism and abductions. The Government, Rajapaksa has said, would provide these
necessitiesofthepeople.However,hepointedoutthattheGovernmentdidnothaveanyintentionto
devolvelandandPolicepowerstotheprovinces.
Deputy Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Weerakumara
Dissanayake says that a political solution that goes beyond the 13th Amendment needs to be
thoughtoutverycarefully.HetoldthemediathattheGovernmentfacingagreatrisksincethewhole
concept of 13th plus could spread like a germ. He noted that it could be used to obstruct the
Government'sdevelopmentpath.Therefore,heobservedthatthegovernmentinthisscenarioneeds
toworkaccordingtoaproperlegalframework.
January27
President Mahinda Rajapaksa suggested people to learn three languages: Tamil, Sinhalese, and
English. If Tamils were taught Sinhalese and Sinhalese were taught Tamil, Sri Lanka would have
been in lesser problems. He also said that he is committed to safeguard the country's sovereignty
andhewillnothesitatetotakeanydecisiontoprotectthepeopleandthecountryfromanythreat.
January29
The Government said there was no logical reason in continuing talks with the TNA on finding a
politicalsolutiontotheethnicissuewhenthefinalsolutionwouldbedecidedbytheproposedPSC.
Government Spokesperson and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Government's
stancewasthattheproposedPSChastodecideonthepoliticalsolutiontotheethnicissue.Hesaid
there was no logical reason to continue with talks with the TNA since matters discussed with the
TNAwouldalsohavetobediscussedanddecidedatthePSC.
Minister of National Languages and Social Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara said that while the
Government pursues a 'one nation policy', theTNA is doing the opposite, by adopting a 'twonation
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policy'. The Government aims at uniting all communities under one banner, while developing the
linguistic, cultural and religious values of every community, under the 10year national plan for
TrilingualSriLanka.
ThemainoppositionUNPsaidtheGovernmentneedstoinformparliamentandthecountryifitwas
looking at a political solution that goes beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. UNP
GeneralSecretaryTissaAttanayakesaid theGovernmentneededtoexplainexactlywhatPresident
MahindaRajapaksahaspromisedtoIndianExternalAffairsMinisteraboutthepoliticalsolution.
TMVPleaderandEPCCMSivanesathuraiChandrakanthanaliasPillayanhasdemandedthatPolice
and land powers be given to the Provincial Councils, according to Colombo Page. The EPC led by
Pillayanhasunanimouslypassedaresolutiondemanding Police and land powers for the council.A
copyoftheresolutionhasbeensenttothePresidentialSecretariat.
AspokesmansaidthattheCMwill alsodiscusstheissuewiththeTNAleaderR.Sampanthan."We
are willing to work jointly with the TNA in winning these demands," the council spokesman was
quotedassaying.
TNA Member of Parliament Premachandran confirmed that the CM has written to the TNA
expressingwillingnessfordialogue.Hesaidthatthepartyisreadytodiscusswiththerulingpartyof
the EPC about the power devolution and the political solution to the ethnic problem. TMVP is a
political party formed by the former breakaway rebel group of LTTE. TMVP which won the 2008
ProvincialCouncilelectionforwhichtheTNA didnotcontestisthemajorpartyoftherulingcoalition
oftheEasternProvince.
PresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthatinfindingsolutionstowhateverissuesthecountryfaces,the
Governmentwouldalwayslookforhomegrownmethodsthatmeettheaspirationsandneedsofthe
people.Hesaidthatsolutionstocountry'sproblemsshouldcomefromwithinbasedondialogueand
understanding and stressed that he and the Government were always prepared to listen and were
openfordiscussiontoresolveanyissuesonbehalfofthepeople.
The Government in addition to the 2012 budgetary allocation to develop the North has allocated an
additionalLKR10billionfornewdevelopmentactivities.Ofthis,thebiggestslicehasbeenallocated
for the development of agriculture in the north, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises
DevelopmentMinisterDouglasDevanandasaid.
Presidential Envoy on Human Rights and leader of the delegation to the UNHRC, Mahinda
Samarasinghe said that Sri Lanka will not be presenting the LLRC report to the UNHRC as it was
nevertheintentionoftheGovernmenttodoso.MinisterSamarasinghesaidthatheanticipatesthat
there will be references to the LLRC report and if that happens, the delegation will be prepared to
present the government's view with respect to the report that was presented to Parliament in
December2011.
January30
PresidentMahindaRajapaksesaidonJanuary30thattheissuesconfrontingnormalizationprocess
inthecountryshouldberesolveddemocratically,throughthePSCprocess."Whetheritbe13plusor
13minus,theseandmoreissuesshouldbesortedoutthroughthePSCmechanism.TheOpposition
must join in this effort as the problems at hand should be resolved democratically," the President
explained.ItisthePSCwhichmustclearupalloutstandingquestions,hesaid.
January31
UNP called on the Government to implement the recommendations made by the LLRC to show its
commitment to finding a political solution to the ethnic issue and addresses the needs of theTamil
people. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake says the UNP was ready to participate in any
discussionandsupportthe Government in its endeavour to implement the LLRC recommendations.
He says the President Mahinda Rajapakse after saying he would implement the recommendations
madebytheLLRC,wasnotdoingso.
CommentingonthecriticismbyvariousNGOsandWesterncountriesofSriLanka,theSecretaryof
Ministry of External Affairs, Karunathilaka Amunugama said that "Sri Lanka is not going to make
decisionstomakeNGOsandothercountrieshappyandwhatisbestforourcountryandourpeople
willbedecidedbythepeopleofSriLanka".
February1
TheHeadofthePNM,anallyofSriLanka'sgoverningUPFA,Dr.GunadasaAmarasekerasaysthat
the Government should not hold discussions on finding a political solution with the major Tamil
political party, the TNA. He blamed TNA for representing the LTTE ideology of separatism and
pushing forTamil Eelam. He also demanded for the legal action against TNA as well as immediate
action against the comments made by some of the government ministers who have defecting from
themainoppositionUNP.
February3
Sri Lankan Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said that nobody can say that the
GovernmentdoesnothaveaproposaltobepresentedtotheproposedPSCtofindasolutiontothe
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ethnic issue and the Government's proposal will be presented to the PSC. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa will abide by the final decision taken by the PSC. There are proposals on solving the
ethnic issue in the Mahinda Chinthanaya Vision for the future. President Mahinda Rajapaksa
mentioned about 13 + on various occasions.This issue has been discussed everywhere for a long
time.Problematicareasoftheissuehavebeensolved,"hesaid.
AccordingtoMinisterYapa,theTNAhasneverstatedtodatethatitwillrefrainfromparticipating in
the PSC. He further said, "Things stated by theTNA on solving the ethnic issue are not justifiable.
Wehavetoconsiderpracticalitiesinconnectionwithcertainsituations.HesaidthatSriLankais an
independent state and local solution is needed. Commenting on relation with India", he said, Sri
LankaalwaysdealsdirectlywiththeIndianGovernmentandnotwithIndianstates.TamilNaduisnot
India. It is only a state in India. He asked all political parties to participate in the PSC proposed to
find a political solution to the ethnic issue, if they wished to know the Government's stance on the
matter.
Inlessthanthreeyearsafterthewar,SriLankahasresettled98percentofthenearly300,000war
displacedpeopleintheNorth,SriLanka'sMinisterofResettlementGunaratneWeerakoonsaid.
February5
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the PSC was the best forum to resolve the
national question and asked all parties to participate in the PSC rather than relying on imported
solutions and foreign influences. The President cautioned against conspiracies and propaganda of
terroristsbasedoverseasaimedatdestabilizingthemotherland."TheyhopetoachieveinSri Lanka
certainresultssimilartothoseinsomeothercountries.ThefuelforthisstruggleinSriLankacomes
from separatism which is active in foreign lands." He told the nation that the country would neither
benefit by trying to please selfish groups, nor implementing the proposals of extremist groups.The
LLRC has said that all are responsible for this problem. Therefore, we have already started
implementing what was in the Commission report. He also addressed various issues like economic
andagriculturaldevelopmentalongwithfuturechallengesandexpectations.
OppositionandUNPLeaderofSriLanka,RanilWickremesinghehascalledonthepeopletorallyto
safeguard democracy in the country. Government has failed to establish democracy, the opposition
parties would work towards it together with the people. He further stated that democracy law and
order have collapsed in the country while there was no independent police, public service, electoral
systemorfreeeducationandhealthservices.Heassertedthatdemocracyplusistheneedofhour,
whichwillinturnhelptofindasolutionto13pluspolicy.
The Marxist party JVP parliamentarian KD Lal Kantha blamed TNA of using the power devolution
issues to achieve their political objectives. He said that devolving land and police powers to
provinces under the 13th will never solve the national issue of the country and no result can be
expectedfrom the measure. He further blamed the western colonial occupation for creating disunity
among the Sinhala,Tamil and Muslim communities in order to achieve their political and economic
objectives, has said the Tamil National Alliance, the SLMC, India and the Sinhala parties in the
Southpreventedamityamongthepeople.
February6
TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that the Government is telling one thing to India and
anotherthingtoSriLankaregardingasolutiontotheethnicproblemandaccusedtheGovernmentof
notfinalizingadatefordiscussionswiththeTNA.Herestatedthatafairpoliticalsolutionwasapre
condition for the reconciliation, equity and peace of the country and therefore, TNA is demanding
selfGovernment.
The skepticism over the implementation of LLRC still persists in the minds of various political
parties. TNA said that regardless of the statements by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the
recommendationsmadebytheLLRC,hasnotyetbeenimplemented.
UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake calls on the Government to implement the
recommendations made by the LLRC without delay. He added that Government needed political
consensusonitandimplementingtheLLRCrecommendationsweremoreimportantthantryingtore
conveneanAllPartyConferencetodiscusstheethnicissue.
Inamoveforfuturesolidarity,theGovernmentofSriLankaimplementedaprogrammetomakeSri
LankatrilingualandeverychildofthecountryshouldlearnSinhala,TamilandEnglish.
February7
CommentingonthechargesbyTNA ofheavymilitarizationinthenorthandinsistingthatthetroops
"are maintaining absolutely essential presence" and there would be sizeable military presence to
ensure that the "past does not revisit," the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa completely
rejectedthechargesas"unfairassessment."
February8
A Canadian Tamil man pleaded guilty in a United States district court to charges of conspiring to
providematerialsupporttoSriLanka'sTamilTigerterrorist groupLTTE,aproscribedorganizationin
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the U.S. The United States State Department in 1997designated the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist
OrganizationandtheLTTEthereforemaynotlegallyraisemoneyorprocureequipmentormaterials
intheUnitedStates.
InalaunchingceremonyofaDVDTheRUTHLESSLTTE'sFinalCrimesAgainstHumanity,MCNS
Director General Lakshman Hulugalle said that this video is not for the political gain, but to give a
correctunderstandingabouttheexperiencesoftheTamilcommunityoftheNorthandEastduringthe
warperiod.
February9
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed the lawsuit
againstaformerGeneralofSriLankaArmyShavendraSilva,filed bytherelativesoftwoSriLankan
Tamils alleging war crimes. The court dismissed the lawsuit on the ground that Silva is currently
serving,andisanaccrediteddiplomatentitledtoimmunityfromciviljurisdictionintheUnitedStates
underfederalstatuteandtheViennaConventiononDiplomaticRelations.
Sri Lankan opposition party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe says the country is in need of the
establishment of democracy plus to address issues faced by it. He also announced series of
proteststobeheldunderthePeople'sMovementagainstLawlessness.
February10
Sri Lanka's opposition UNP has agreed with TNA on the issue of non participation in the PSC,
proposed by the Government. The news came, a day, after TNA and UNP discussed the issue on
February9atparliamentarycomplex.
RejectingSriLankanPresidentMahindaRajapaksacalltoparticipateinPSC,theoppositionparties
UNP,TNAandtheMarxistpartyJVPhavedecidedtoignorePresident'scall.
February12
Two high ranking officials of United States' Department of State arrived in Sri Lanka. The visit is
viewedasacrucialstepbytheUSGovernmentinitspreparationtosupportaUNHRCresolutionthat
will ask Sri Lanka to take more concrete actions on the accountability issue and implementing the
recommendations put forward by the LLRC. The 19th session of the UNHRC will be held from
February27March23.
LeadersofseveralreligiousandcivilsocietycondemnedOppositionLeaderRanilWickremesinghe's
statement which devalued the LLRC report and described it as a preemptive, image tarnishing and
antiSriLankastatement.
February13
TheUSdelegatesinSriLankaconfirmedtheirsupporttoaresolutionagainstSriLankatobetabled
at the UNHRC sessions later this month to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to take prompt
measures to implement the recommendations made by the LLRC and address the accountability
issues.
TheUSofficialruledoutaninternationalinvestigationintotheallegedwarcrimechargesatthistime
andsaidthatinsteadtheUSwouldfocusontheUNHRCresolution.
February14
Chief Government Whip and Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena showed his
disagreement over United Sates attempt to force the Sri Lankan Government to implement the
recommendationsoftheLLRCreport,whentheGovernmenthasalreadytakenthenecessarysteps
to do exactly that step by step. He blamed US's failure to defeat the Taliban for nine years as the
mainreasonbehindtheirattitudeastheyarenotwillingtoacceptSriLanka'svictoryoverterrorism.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the LLRC report contains constructive proposals for
advancing reconciliation and reconstruction. He added that it is critical now to implement the
recommendationsofLLRC.
TheCriminalInvestigationDepartmenthasarrestedapersonwithsuicidevestinGalle.Accordingto
the Police, the suspect is an ethnicTamil resident of Badulla. He was a former cadre of LTTE and
hasbeenposingasaMuslimwhileworkingattheresortwherethesuicidevestwasfound.
February15
TheNorwegianPostalAuthority, Posten Norge issued an apology to the Sri LankanAmbassador in

Oslo, E Rodney M Perera, for the recent issuance of LTTE stamps in Norway. NorwegianAuthority
alsoclearedthattheLTTEstampsarenotrelatedtoanyofficialNorwaypostalstampsissuedbyhis
institution.
Sri Lanka Army has appointed the Court of Inquiry to inquire into the observations, made by the
LLRCinitsreportonallegedciviliancasualtiesduringthefinalphaseofthehumanitarianoperations
andprobeasregardsChannel4videofootageirrespectiveofitsauthenticity.
TheSecretarytotheExternalAffairsMinistryK.AmunugamasaidthatSriLankaisdisappointed on
the fact that US to support a resolution against Sri Lanka in the UNHRC session in Geneva to be
heldbetweenFebruary27March23.
DG of the MCNS Lakshman Hulugalle said that the HRW is promoting proLTTE propaganda. In an
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February17
DG of the MCNS Lakshman Hulugalle said that the HRW is promoting proLTTE propaganda. In an
attempt to defend announcement made by the army appointing a fivemember Court of Inquiry to
investigateallegationsthatitsforceshadcommittedseriousviolationsofthelawofwar,Lakshman
HulugallecriticizedHRWforlevelingCOItobeananotherGovernmentdelayingtacticinthefaceof
mountinginternationalpressure.
Hulugalle, further, said that they have been against Sri Lankan from the beginning and the
Government is doing everything for the betterment of all Sri Lankans. "Even when the LLRC was
establishedtolookintotheseallegations,theyhadanegativeapproachandcriticizedit,"Hulugalle
said.Earlier,theHRWchargedthattheannouncementmadebytheArmy appointingafivemember
Court of Inquiry to investigate allegations that its forces committed serious violations of the law of
warappearstobeanotherGovernmentdelayingtacticinthefaceofmountinginternationalpressure.
February20
The Sri Lankan ministerial delegation attending the 19th sessions of the UNHRC beginning on
February 27 has left for Geneva, Switzerland. Sri Lanka has to face a resolution that is to be
presentedagainstthecountryattheUNHRCsessions.
SriLankanEnvironmentMinisterAnuraPriyadarshanaYapasaidthatcertainelementsaretrying to
create unrest in the country using non existent 'issues'. They are trying to incite people into
violenceastheseelementsareactingaccordingtoprivateandforeignagendasandtryingtheir best
torealizetheDiaspora'sobjectives.
February21
EconomicDevelopmentMinisterBasilRajapaksainstructedhisMinistryofficialstoworkwithUnited
Nations (UN) agencies, INGOs and NGOs on a joint Action Plan of Assistance for the Northern
Provincein2012.
February22
The Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe termed Sri Lankan Government plan to propose
NHRAP at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva next week, without discussing it in the parliament as a
violationoftheConstitution.
ActingMediaMinisterLaxmanYapa Abeywardena responding to the Opposition Leader's statement
saidthattheGovernmentwillanswerthequestionsonFebruary23.
February23
Construction, Engineering Services, Housing & Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa
asked people across the island to protest against the UNHRC resolution and show their solidarity
with Government, on February 27, the day 19th session of the UNHRC are to begin in Geneva,
Switzerland.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that the TNA will have to answer for the
humanrightsviolationscarriedoutbytheLTTEterrorists,ifit participates in the UN Human Rights
Council'ssessionsinGeneva.
February24
ChiefGovernmentWhip,MinisterDineshGunawardenahastoldtheparliamentthattheGovernment
was prepared to discuss the LLRC report in the PSC and asked the UNP to propose names to the
PSC.
A letter sent by the Sri Lankan mission to UNHRC member states and other sections of the world
communitysays."SriLankacategoricallystatesthatatnotimehas the Government or its mission
inGeneva,everworkedwithrepresentativesoftheUnitedStatesonanyResolutionwhatsoever.
The Sri Lankan delegate, External Affairs Minister Prof G.L Peiris, to the UNHRC sessions in
Geneva said that resolving the grievances of Sri Lanka's communities after the conflict, is an
exclusivelyinternalmatterandthattheissuecouldberesolvedbySriLankaindependently.
February25
Nearly 8,000 people, including 550 children below the age of 10, were killed in the Northern area
during a final offensive to crush LTTE in May 2009, said the census department. Another 6,350
peoplewentmissing,thedepartmentsaidinan80pagereport.
Thecensusreportsaid6,858peoplewerekilledinthefirstfivemonthsof2009whenfightingpeaked
just before the military claimed victory in its noholdsbarred offensive. The census did not cover
Security Forces killed in the war zone, but the military had previously said 6,000 personnel were
killedinthefinalstagesofthewar.
ThedepartmenthadcarriedoutthecensusbetweenJuneandAugust2011,butdisclosedthefigures
onlyovertheweekend.Thefiguresareinstarkcontrasttoestimates by international rights groups,
which say up to 40,000 civilians perished in the final months of the civil war and have heavily
criticisedSriLanka'streatmentofcivilians.
February26
CommissionerGeneralofRehabilitationBrigadierDharshanaHettiarachchisaidthat931formerLTTE
cadresundergoingrehabilitationwouldbereunitedwiththeirfamiliesbeforetheendofthisyear.
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Brigadier Hettiarachchi also said that rehabilitation authorities are to implement a comprehensive
postmonitoringsystemtohelpcadreswhohadreintegratedintothemainstreamsociety.
An unnamed senior Sri Lankan diplomat alleged that various LTTE front organizations scattered
aroundtheworldareknittingthemselvestogetherina''humanrights''shield.
February28
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the Protest in North and East along with other parts of
country on February 27, irrespective of all differences, against a resolution before the UN Human
Rights Council in Geneva against Sri Lanka proved that ruthless terrorism was defeated without
rousing racist passions by the State. The President also stated that the international community
doesnothaveagenuinedesiretobuildunityamongpeoplesofthiscountry.
Main opposition UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake claimed that Minister Mahinda
Samarasinghe in his speech at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva had agreed to implement the
demands being made by the UNHRC and US contradicting to Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa's stand that the Government would not bow down to the UNHRC .Attanayake said the
Government could have avoided all these issues had it implemented the recommendations of the
LLRC.
February29
A group of 52 Sri Lankan asylum seekers deported from the UK arrived in Sri Lanka. The British
ForeignOfficesaidthattheyaresendingpeoplebacktoSriLankaonlywhentheBritishgovernment
and the courts are satisfied that an individual does not need protection.This flight is the third such
flightofdeporteesarrivedfromtheUK.
SinhalaNationalandBuddhistOrganizationshavecommencedcollectingonemillionsignaturesfor a
petitiondemandingtheabolitionof13thAmendmenttothe Constitution,whichinturnwillabolishall
power devolution measures and bring state back to total unitary nature. The organizers of the
campaign named 'This is the Last Chance' will hand over the petition with one million signatures to
PresidentMahindaRajapaksa.
March1
According to Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington, a US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed
against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa noting that President Rajapaksa is immune from
lawsuitasasittingHeadofState.ThecourtnotedthatHeadofStateimmunityisawellestablished
legalprincipleintheUnitedStates.
The lawsuit alleged human rights abuses occurred during the Sri LankaLiberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTEE) conflict, and attempted to hold President Rajapaksa responsible. The case was
brought by Bruce Fein, an attorney who has been accused of working closely with the proLTTE
DiasporaintheUnitedStates.
TheSriLankanGovernmenthasreleasedLKR300milliontotheMinistryofRehabilitationandPrison
Reforms to provide loans up to a maximum of LKR 250, 000 to the rehabilitated former LTTE
combatantstostarttheirownemployment.Thereintegratedcadreshavereceivedvocationaltraining
asapartoftherehabilitationprocesstoenablethemtobeselfemployed.
March3
Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said that the Army is to scale down its
presenceintheNorthernandEasternProvinces.TheArmyisnowcompletely ready for farreaching
reforms in its structural composition regarding ground realities, security and needs of islandwide
ongoingdevelopmentprojects,headded.
March5
TheTamilNationalAlliance(TNA)hassplittothreefactions.Thethreefactionsareledbyincumbent
leader R. Sampanthan, Suresh Premachandran and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam. Reportedly, the
other two factions have blamed TNA leader R. Sampanthan for rejecting to participate in the UN
HumanRightsCouncilbeingheldnowinGeneva.
March6
The CPI (M) central committee leader T K Rangarajan stated that his party was against an
internationalinquiry into alleged human rights allegations against the Sri Lankan Government during
the offensive against the LTTE. He said that a decision should not be imposed on the Sri Lankan
peoplefromoutside.Itwasforthepeopleoftheislandtodecide.
March7
TheUnitedStatessubmittedthedraftresolutionagainstSriLankatotheUNHRCatits19thsession
in Geneva. The draft resolution calls on the Sri Lankan Government to implement the constructive
recommendations in the LLRC report and take all necessary additional steps to fulfill its "relevant
obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity,
accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans. it also notes with concern that the report does
notadequatelyaddressseriousallegationsofviolationsofinternationalhumanitarianlaw.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state of India J. Jayalalithaa in a letter to India's Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh urged not to back Sri Lanka at the UNHRC sessions currently underway in
Geneva. The CM, taking exception to India's stance against "country specific resolutions" and
suggestiontotakeupdiscussionsonlyunderUPRasaroutinematterattheUNHRC,saiditmeans
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directsupporttoSriLanka.
March8
SriLanka'sdelegatetoUNHRCMs.PruyangaWickremasinghesaidthatSriLankahasrehabilitated
nearly 600 child soldiers recruited by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group LTTE within one year.All child
soldierswererehabilitatedunderaUNICEFassistedprogramandreturnedtotheirfamiliesdespite,
theirparticipationinterroristactivitiesandnotasinglecombatantwasprosecuted.
India's ExternalAffairs Minister S. M. Krishna said that India will carefully consider the overall ties
with its neighbor and the sentiments in its own country before making a decision at the United
NationsHumanRightsCouncilmeetinginGenevaontheresolutionagainstSriLanka.
Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Tamara
Kunanayakam said it will fight the resolution submitted to the UNHRC by the United States against
SriLankaoverallegedwarcrimes"totheverylastminute.""What,infact,istheUStryingtotellus
withtheirdraftresolution?TheyarenotsayingthatourLLRCreportisbad.Theyarenotsayingthat
therearegrossandsystematicviolationsofhumanrightsinSriLanka.Whattheyaresayingis that
they don't have confidence that we will implement the recommendations. They are judging our
intentions,notthegroundreality!"theAmbassadoradded.
Activists of various proLTTE movements disrupted an international conference and forced the
organiserstosendawayaSriLankanacademic.ThemembersofNaamTamizharIyakkamMay17
Movement, Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Federation, as well as MDMK cadres barged into the
conference venue at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) in Tamil Nadu and protested
againsttheparticipationofJeevaNiriella,facultyof law, lecturer, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
This is the second such incident of a Sri Lankan visitor facing a protest by proTamil outfits. In
January this year, Thirukumaran Nadesan, husband of Nirupama Rajapaksa, niece of Sri Lankan
presidentMahindaRajapaksa'ssufferedanevenharshertreatmentwhenslipperswerehurledathim
inRameswaramwherehevisitedtoofferprayersinthetemple.
March9
SriLanka'sMarxistpartyJVPpointsoutthatthereisnodifferenceinthecontentsoftheresolution
presented by the United States on the Sri Lankan Government to the UN Human Rights Council in
GenevaandthestanceexpressedbyMinisterMahindaSamarasingheinGeneva.TheUShascalled
for the implementation of the LLRC recommendations while the Government has informed the
UNHRC that it would implement the recommendations. He, further, said that the Government while
admitting to adhere to the demands of the international community is trying to push for patriotism
amongthepeople.
Media spokesperson for Sri Lankan Australians in Melbourne, Nagesha Wickramasuriya said that
separatist activists and LTTE supporters are attempting to lobby support from federal
Parliamentarians inAustralia into making a statement and to pressurize the UNHRC to take action
against Sri Lanka. These activists are trying to mislead politicians across the globe and are posing
ashumanrightsactivists.TheseelementshavealsostartedafundraisingcampaignOnedollarper
week. The amount of money they are collecting annually is staggering. "There is a misconception
amongstsomeSriLankansthattheLTTEhavebeenfinished.TheyareactiveinAmerican,Canada,
France,andLondonandeveninAustralia,"saidWickramasuriya.
TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said the resolution presented by the United States on Sri
Lanka to the UNHRC sessions in Geneva only seeks the implementation of the LLRC
recommendationsandwasnotagainstthecountryandnoted that it was a belief that the resolution
wasagainstthecountry.
March10
Sri Lanka's ambassador to Germany, Sarath Kongahage, said that the LTTE and its sympathisers
are fast fading in Germany. Several attempts made by them to raise funds by holding campaigns
havefailed.TheywantedtoholdamassprotestonSriLanka'sIndependenceDayonFebruary4and
tarnishtheimageofSriLanka.However,theirplanswereanutterfailureasonlyeightpeopleturned
out for the event, he added. The Sri Lankan community in Germany is around 60,000, of which
around8,000areTamils.
ACatholicmovementhascondemned thecallbyagroupofTamilCatholicpriestsfromSriLanka's
North for an international investigation on the alleged war crimes and violations of humanitarian law
duringthefinalstagesofwar.
PresidentMahindaRajapaksapointedoutthatcertaincountries,whichremainedsilentduringthe30
years of unspeakable terror unleashed by the LTTE with suicide bombs and mass murders of
civilians, are now trying to prosecute Sri Lanka for human rights violations after the Government
eliminated the terror. Noting that some members of the international community are thinking of
humanrightsonlywhenthekillingsnolongertakeplace,thePresidentsaidafterdefeatofterrorism
killingsofyouthfromallcommunitieshavestoppedandthepeopleareonceagainabletolivefreely
inanundividedcountrythatbelongstoeveryone.
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March12
AnActionPlandetailinghowrecommendationsofLLRCreportcouldbeimplementedinthecountry's
North,willsoonbehandedovertotheMinistryofDefensebySriLankaArmy.ActingSpokesmanfor
theSLA,BrigadierGVRavipriyasaid,aboardcomprisingseniorofficersoftheSLAformulated the
Action Plan on how to implement the recommendations stipulated in the LLRC report. Army
Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya had appointed the board about a month ago to
formulatetheActionPlan,hesaid.
ThemysteryaroundthelastdaysoftheassaultonLTTEdeepenedafteradocumentaryfilmmaker
claimed to have a "chilling piece of footage" showing the bulletridden body of the son of its slain
chief Prabhakaran. Prabhakaran's 12yearold son Balachandran's body is shown stripped to the
waistandwithfivebulletholestothechest.ThefootagedatingfromMay18,2009willbebroadcast
onMarch14inaChannel4filmSriLanka'sKillingFields:WarCrimesUnpunishedasequeltothe
controversial investigation broadcast in 2011 which accused both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan
Government of war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, the authenticity of the video is
unknown.
March13
The SLA is considering making a documentary film about LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran's
death. Army Commander Jayasuriya told that a film would be made to explain to the international
community how Prabhakaran died in the battlefield. The movie would be made with a view to
dispellingvariousdoubtsandfalsehoodthathadmanifestedaroundhisdeath.
Special Presidential envoy Namal Rajapaksa said that a large number of former LTTE cadres
rehabilitated by the Government have been reintegrated with their families. Special assistance and
schemesarebeingfacilitatedbytheGovernmentfortherehabilitatedyouthsandwidowstofindself
employment,headded.
March14
According to a group of rehabilitated LTTE cadres in Kandy, the Sri Lankan soldiers treated them
well.ItwastheLTTEterroristsratherthantheGovernmentSecurityForces who severely harassed
them.
SriLanka'sHighCommissionertoIndiaPrasadKariyawasamsaidthattheallegationofcoldblooded
killing of slain LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran's 12year son is another concoction by British
Channel4TV.
March15
UK'sMinisterforSouthAsia AlistairBurt,afterthebroadcastofsecondvideoonSriLankaconflict
by Britain's Channel 4, asked for "an independent, credible and thorough investigation" into the
bloodyconflictandurgedtheUNHRCtopasstheresolutionagainstSriLanka.
Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena informed that President
Mahinda Rajapaksa has told the Cabinet of ministers that no matter what happens in Geneva,
GovernmenthastospeedilysolveproblemsoftheTamilpeopleandupgradetheirlivingstandards.
March16
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka has the courage to face challenges posed by
externalforcesanddoesnotrequiresanimportedsolutiontosolvethecountry'sinternalissues,asit
iscapableofsolvingitsissuesthroughpeacefuldialoguewithallpartiesconcerned.
Media Centre for National Security DG Lakshman Hulugalle denied the wild allegations contained in
thesecondvideofootagereleasedbyChannel4andtermeditasanotherattemptaimedattarnishing
the country's reputation. He also blamed Channel 4 News for relying largely upon sensationalist
materialsmadeavailabletoitbyantiGovernmentgroupsandindividuals.
March18
Sri Lanka Army Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasekera has asked Channel 4 to present the
allegationstheymakeagainstSriLankaArmywithevidencetotheLLRCinsteadofdramatizingtheir
oldvideoclipstakenfromopensourcesofproLTTEwebsites.
March19
A new video documentary by the Government a sequel to Lies Agreed Upon to counter the
allegations leveled at the Sri LankanArmed Forces in the Channel 4 documentary will be screened
onMarch20formembersattendingtheUNHRCsessionsinGeneva.TheSriLankandelegationwill
alsopresentanothervideodocumentarytitledSriLankatheEmergingWonderconflict,peace and
prosperity for the UNHRC members.The first documentary will try to showcase that the Channel 4
videohasfailedtoshowtheLTTEatrocities.
March22
UNHRC adopted resolution proposed by the United States with 24 votes in favor, 15 against and
eight abstentions. In a resolution (A/HRC/19/L.2/Rev1), regarding promoting reconciliation and
accountabilityinSriLanka,theCouncilnoteswithconcernthatthereportoftheLLRCofSriLanka
doesnotadequatelyaddressseriousallegationsofviolationsofinternationallaw and calls upon the
GovernmentofSriLankatoimplementtheconstructiverecommendationsmadeinthereportofthe
LLRC session and to take all necessary additional steps to fulfill its relevant legal obligations and
commitmenttoinitiatecredibleandindependentactionstoensurejustice,equity,accountabilityand
reconciliationforallSriLankans.
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March23
SriLankanPresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthatnoexternalforceswillbeallowedtothreatenthe
country's sovereignty and pledged to continue the Government's development and reconciliation
programs. He assured Sri Lankans that there will be no threat directed on the integrity and
sovereigntyofthecountrybytheUNresolutionagainstSriLanka.
March25
Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's Eastern Province Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan said that the people
in the East would have to decide on whether or not to merge the Northern and Eastern Provinces,
reportsColomboPage.HenotedthattheEastwouldnotbeabletodevelop,asithasinthepastfew
years,iftheNorthandEastweremerged.
The Sri Lankan Government has planned to hold a press conference on March 26th to clarify the
actionstakenbytheSriLankandelegationatthe19thsessionoftheUNHRCinGeneva.
The press conference is to be conducted by the leaders of the Government delegation that
participatedintheUNHRCsession.
March26
ExternalAffairsMinisterProf. G.L.PeirisassuredpeoplethattheUNHRChasnopowerstoimpose
economicsanctions.
The TID of Sri Lanka Police reopened a case pertaining to a plane crash that happened 12 years
ago. The Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said the plane crash, earlier suspected as an
accident,wasaresultofamissileattackbyLTTE.HesaidthattwoLTTEcadresarrestedrecently
from Kilinochchi have confessed to firing missiles at the aircraft causing the AN26 to crash. The
suspectswereproducedbeforetheAnuradhapura Magistrate.The case will be heard again onApril
23.
March29
Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development Nihal Somaweera said that the
government had set aside LKR 425 billion for the reconstruction activities in the Northern and
Easternprovincesfromtheyear2006to2011.Healsoclaimedthat95percentofthereconstruction
activitiesinthetwoprovinceshavebeencompleted.
Another384formercombatantsoftheterroristgroupLTTEinSriLankagottheopportunitytorejoin
their families. With this new batch, the government had successfully reintegrated 10,490 former
LTTE combatants, including 2,170 females into civil society after the end of the war in May 2009.
The last remaining group of former LTTE cadres will be released by mid2012 after providing them
themandatory12monthstraining.
April1
The Island newspaper titled "Tigers return from India on a destabilization mission SL intelligence,
three arrested, others at large", said that state intelligence services have received information that
around 150 terrorists, who underwent a special arms training at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu,
have returned to Sri Lanka and are hiding in the North and the East to carry out a destabilization
campaign.
April2
The Indian High Commission in Colombo rejected a news report which claimed LTTE cadres were
beingtrainedintheIndianStateofTamilNadu.
The SFs have begun search operations in the Eastern Province, where the murder of the EPDP
member took place, for the LTTE suspects who have reportedly returned to the country, military
sourcessaid.
April3
TheUSrejectedmediareportsthatsaidtheTNAhasbeeninvitedtoWashingtonforameeting with
theSecretaryofStateHillaryClinton.
Resettlement Minister Gunaratne Weerakoon said that Sri Lanka needs at least six months to
resettletheremainingInternallyDisplacedPersonsIDPs.
April4
The USsponsored resolution on the implementation of the recommendations stipulated in LLRC

report is nonbinding because bringing out the report was the State's responsibility, Human
ResourcesSeniorMinisterDEWGunasekeratold.AddingthatonlySriLankacanresolveitsethnic
question."TheUScannotresolveSriLanka'sethnicquestion,"theministersaid.
UKparliamentarygroupchairmanLordNasebydisapprovedoftheUKGovernment'ssupportforthe
USsponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva. Over the past two to three
weeks, Naseby has visited several parts of the country, including Jaffna, Hambantota and Galle,
wherehemetbothciviliansandthecivilsocietymembers.
April5
TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofStatereleasedareport,titled"MeasuresTakenbytheGovernment
of Sri Lanka and International Bodies to Investigate and Hold Accountable Violators of International
Humanitarian and Human Rights Law", prepared by the Office of Global Criminal Justice of the
DepartmentaddressingSriLanka'saccountabilityandallegedviolationsofinternationalhumanitarian
lawsduringthecountry'sthreedecadelongwarwithTamilTigerterrorists.
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PoliceandtheSecurityForceshaveaskedthemembersoftheEPDPtobecautiousinviewofthe
recent killing of one of its members at Periyakulam, allegedly by the LTTE. Security forces have
issuedtheinstructionsafterreceivingintelligencereportsonagroupofLTTEmembersattemptingto
createtroubleinthearea.
UKparliamentarygroupchairmanLordNasebymettheSriLankanPresidentMahindaRajapaksaat
the Temple Trees. He also met the Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Industry
andCommerceMinisterRishadBathiyutheen.
April6
The TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that TNA is not opposed to the Parliamentary Select
Committee,butdonothavemuchtrustinit.
IrrigationandWaterResourcesManagementMinisterNimalSiripaladeSilvatoldthe126thsession
oftheInterParliamentaryUnionthatSriLankanGovernmentistakinguniqueanddurablemeasures
toexpeditethereconciliationprocessattheendofathreedecadesruthlesswar.
Chairman of PNM, Gunadasa Amarasekera says that the Government must not implement the
resolution passed at the UNHRC on Sri Lanka without a referendum. He further said that the
implementationoftheUNHRCresolutionwithoutamandatewouldbeabetrayalofthecountry.
April8
Sri Lanka's former President, Chandrika Kumaratunga said that Sri Lanka has a "marvelous
opportunity"to heal and reconcile its twin populations after 25 years of civil war. However, she said
thatsheismorethanalittlebaffledattheslownesswithwhichtheMahindaRajapaksaGovernment
is building postcivil war "bridges." "Such opportunities do not last forever," she warned. She
suggested that while the civil war has seen some repair work accomplished, still more needs to be
doneintermsofphysicalreconstructionandrehabilitation.
A 15member multiparty delegation with representatives from the Congress, BJP, DMK, AIADMK
and Left parties, led by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will travel to Sri Lanka
fromApril16toApril21toassessthe resettlement and political process in the wartorn areas.The
visitisaimedatreinforcingIndia'scommitmenttowardsethnicSriLankanTamils.
Sri Lanka's former President, Chandrika Kumaratunga said that Sri Lanka has a "marvelous
opportunity"tohealandreconcileitstwinpopulationsafter25yearsofcivilwar.Shesaidthatsheis
morethanalittlebaffledattheslownesswithwhichtheMahindaRajapaksaGovernmentisbuilding
postcivilwar"bridges."
Naval personnel attached to the Eastern Naval Command had recovered 12.7mm antiair craft gun
andaMultiPurposeMachineintheseasoffKuchchavelifromaLTTEattackcraftintheseasduring
asalvageoperation.
April9
AccordingtoEconomicDevelopmentMinistryreport,theoverallGovernmentinvestmentforeastern
revival, up to end of 2011 is Rs 125.35 billion. This amount has been allocated for the Eastern
ProvincedevelopmentprogrammesundertheNegenehiraNavodayaprogrammefrom2006to2011.
SLFP Treasurer and Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma asked
TamilNationalAllianceTNAnottoactlikeagentsoftheLTTEandrisk dividingsocietyonceagain.
HesaiditisnowtimefortheTNA totakeanewturnandemergefromthegripoftheLTTEthatdoes
not exist anymore. The minister noted President Mahinda Rajapaksa's stand that there are no
minoritiesinthiscountry.
April10
UNResidentCoordinatorinSriLanka,SubinayNandysaidthatdeminingprocessinSriLanka'swar
ravagedNorthernandEasternprovinceshasrecordedsatisfactoryprogress.Thecountry'sNorthand
theEastwereheavilyminedbytheLTTEpriortotheirdefeatinMay2009.
SriLanka'sLeaderofoppositionRanilWickremasinghemetwiththeIndia'sExternalAffairsMinister
S.M.KrishnaandhelddiscussionsontheresettlementofthedisplacedTamilciviliansintheNorth.
April11
PresidentMahindaRajapaksesaidthattherewillbenoroomtocreateethnicdisharmonyamongthe
Sinhala,Tamil and Muslim communities in the country although some quarters in the world attempt
totearupcohesionamongethnicgroupsandpromoteseparatism.
April12
S.Sritharan,aTamilMPfrom SriLankasaidthatthereisseriousviolationofhumanrightsagainst
Sri Lankan Tamils. He appealed to the Indian MPs' delegation arriving in Sri Lanka to visit
Mullivaikkalanddoathoroughinvestigation.
April16
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that identities of those arriving illegally in Australia
and other countries, particularly in Europe, seeking political refuge are protected. Thousands of Sri
Lankans had received new identities and it therefore denies Sri Lanka an opportunity to target
organizedcriminalgangsresponsibleforsendingpeopleabroad.
Agroupoffourpersonswasarrestedshowingandviewingavideofilmcontainingscenesofthepast
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April17
April19
Agroupoffourpersonswasarrestedshowingandviewingavideofilmcontainingscenesofthepast
LTTE victories in the warfront and its training programmes in an attempt to promote LTTE
organisation. They were taken into custody during a raid on a house at Mohontuwarama in
EechalanpattuareainTrincomaleeDistrict.
MediaMinisterLakshmanYapaAbeywardena reiteratedGovernment'sstancethataclearsolutionto
the power devolution issue could only be provided through a parliamentary select committee and
urged Tamil national Alliance to join the process. "After discussion at the parliamentary select
committeethedecisionshouldbeapprovedintheparliamentwithtwothirdmajority.
PartyleadersoftherulingUPFA havebeenaskedtohandinproposalsontheimplementationofthe
LLRCreport.TheGovernmenthassoughttheproposalsofall coalitionpartymembersoftheUPFA
ontheLLRCreportanditsimplementation.
April22
A major search operation by TID and other State Intelligence bureaus is in progress in the eastern
region in search of exLTTE cadres, who had not gone through Government rehabilitation programs
aswellascadres,whohadreturnedfromoverseas.
Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda instructed
Government Agents and officials of Kilinochchi and Jaffna Districts to conduct a census of public
andprivatebuildingsabandonedinKilinochchiandJaffnaDistrictsduetothewarandotherreasons.
April24
UNP parliamentarian Harin Fernando said that Government needs to make a clear statement about
its stance on the 13th Amendment and the claim about going beyond the 13th Amendment. He
observedthattheGovernmentneedstotellthecountryifa13Pluspoliticalsolutionwouldbegiven
tosolvetheNorthandEastproblem.
April26
TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that there had been no favorable response from the Sri Lankan
Governmentontheissueoflocalpoliticalsolutiontothenationalproblem in Sri Lanka. He recalled
thatthepresentGovernmenthadbeengivingassurancessince2006buthadfailedtodeliverthem.
Unexploded cluster munitions have been found for the first time in Sri Lanka, a UN expert on land
mines Allan Poston has claimed. Poston is the technical adviser for the UN Development
Programme'smineactiongroupinSriLanka.
April27
The Sri LankaArmy onApril 27 denied reports that security forces had used cluster bombs during
thewarandrequestedtoprovideanyevidencesothataninvestigationcanbelaunched.
The denial came after a report citing a top UN demining expert, Allan Poston, claimed that
unexplodedclusterbombswerediscoveredinthePuthukudyiruppuareainthenorth.Theareaknown
asPTKwasaLTTEnervecentreduringtheirdecadesoldfightwiththeGovernmenttroops.
A Presidential Task Force for a Trilingual Sri Lanka had been appointed under the Chairmanship of
Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga to implement the 10 year national plan which was
launchedofficiallyonJanuary21.
April28
EasternProvinceChiefMinisterofSriLankaSivanesathuraiChandrakanthanaliasPillayansaidany
decisiontodissolvetheEPC2012,wouldbemadeonlyafterdiscussingaboutthematter.
April29
A Presidential Task Force for a Trilingual Sri Lanka had been appointed under the Chairmanship of
Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga to implement the 10 year national plan which was
launched officially on January 21. The Task Force would ensure that Sinhala and Tamil will be the
languages of modern intellectual discourse, debate, perception and discussion within the country
alongwithEnglishasalifeskillandaninstrumentofcommunicationwithinandoutsidethecountry.
April30
TNA leader R. Sampanthan sought President Mahindra Rajapaksa's intervention to secure the
release of several youth taken into custody during the recent search operations in the Eastern
Province,particularlyintheTrincomaleeDistrict.
TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofJusticeisseekinga15yearprisonsentenceforaCanadianTamil
manwhopleadedguiltyinaUnitedStatesdistrictcourttochargesofconspiringtoprovidematerial
support to the LTTE, a proscribed organization in the US. Mylvaganam, a Canadian citizen who
previouslylivedintheUS,wasarrestedbyCanada'sRCMPofficersinToronto andextraditedtoUS
in 2009, following his indictment in the Eastern District Court of New York. He pleaded guilty on
February 8, 2012 to conspiring to procure sophisticated technology, including submarine design
softwareandnightvisionequipmentfortheLTTEin2006.Mylvaganamfacesamaximumtermof15
years''imprisonment.
May1
PresidentMahindraRajapaksasaidthatpeoplefromforeigncountrieswithoutnameoraddresscome
to Sri Lanka to destabilize the country with their antinational campaigns, and, unfortunately, some
countriesassisttheminthehopeofaregimechangebut,heclearedthataregimechangewould be
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possibleonlybythepeopleforthepeopleofthiscountrythrough free and fair elections and not by

conspiracies hatched with the assistance of foreign powers. "This Government commands the
confidence of the people. Sri Lanka is one of the oldest democracies in Asia. Therefore,
conspiracies, uprisings or rebellions have no place in this land and this Government will never let
themhappen,"heasserted.
DefenceSecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksasaidthattheinternationalcommunityshouldasktheLTTE
rumptorevealthenumberofchildrenkilledandmaimedwhile'inservice'withthegroup.Hesaidthat
those seniors, who had managed to flee the Vanni during the final phase of the conflict and take
refuge abroad, would be able to shed light on casualty figures as LTTE was known for maintaining
battlefieldrecords.
SLMC has appointed a committee to study the report of the LLRC. The committee was appointed
sincetherulingUPFAhassoughttheopinionofthecoalitionpartiesregardingtheLLRCreport.
ImmigrationandRefugeeBoardofCanadahasissueddeportationordersagainsttwomoreofthe492
SriLankanrefugeeclaimantswhoarrivedin2010aboardthesmugglingshipMVSunSea.Onehad
beenamemberofaTamilrebel groupinbetween2005and2006,whenhewasinhismid20s.The
casesbringto19thenumberofSunSeamigrantswhohavebeenissueddeportationorderstodate.
AllhavebeendeclaredinadmissibletoCanadaduetotheirinvolvementinterrorismandcrime.
May2
Former Trincomalee LTTE leader Sivasubramaniam Waradanadan alias Pathuman, who was
remandedonchargesofhavingattackedArmycampsandattemptedtokillArmy personnel, will be
furtherreremandedtillMay21.Hewasarrestedonanunspecifieddate.
May3
Presidential spokesman Bandula Jayasekara said that the circumstances leading to ongoing
operations in Northern and Eastern Provinces had been clearly explained and emphasized that the
President was keen to further improve security in these Provinces. According to spokesman, a
strong presence of security forces would be necessary to ensure stability. "MP Sampanthan, who
hadremainedsilentwhiletheLTTEforciblyconscriptedchildrentobeusedascannonfodder,today
criticized the police and armed forces, engaged in legitimate internal security operations," the
Presidential spokesman said. The TNA Member of Parliament R. Sampanthan on May 1 had
criticizedsuchoperations.
Colombo High Court ordered the Prison Commissioner to transfer Sarath Fonseka to the NHC from
theprivatehospitalwhereheisreceivingtreatmentforsecurityreasons.Thecourtobservingthefact
thatthereisathreattoFonsekafromtheLTTEandotherorganisationsandtheprisonauthoritiesare
unabletoprovidemaximumsecurityforFonsekawhileattheprivatehospital,orderedhistransferto
NHC.
May4
Australiahasallocatedover$2.7millionfor201213financialyeartofundfiveprojectsinSriLanka
supportingdisplacedpeoplethroughimprovedhealthservicesandprovisionofshelterandprotection.
May5
SriLankaDefenceintelligencehasfoundthattheLTTEoperates428schoolsinthemaincountries
of Europe, reports Colombo Page. These school functions in Germany, Switzerland, France,
Netherlands,Italy,Belgium,Denmark,Finland,NorwayandSwedenandprovideeducationto22,500
students across the Europe. Germany has the highest number of such schools with 145 and there
are 133 schools in Switzerland, and 65 schools in Denmark. Sri Lanka's defense authorities have
complainedtotheauthoritiesofsuchcountries.
May6
Sri Lankan cabinet has recommended the appointment of a presidential committee to decide which
recommendationsofLLRCareappropriateforimplementation.
TheTNAsaidtotheLeaderof theSLMC,RaufHakeem,whoiscurrentlytryingtomediatetogetthe
TNA back to the discussion table, that it would resume talks with the Government only on the
agreementthattheconsensusreachedinthediscussionswiththeGovernmentearlierisusedasthe
basis of discussion for the proposed parliamentary select committee on formulating a political
solutiontotheethnicissue.
May8
TheTNAistodiscussseveral keypoliticalissues,includingthestalledtalkswiththeGovernment,
thisweek.ThepartymemberswoulddiscussthetalkswiththeGovernmentthatcametoastandstill
in January 2012. Some of the TNA party members also want to discuss the issue of waving the
nationalflagbytheirownleaderR.SampanthanatthejointMayDayrallyinJaffnaonMay1.
May10
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa stated that the Government has made
arrangements to develop the war affected East as well as the North. Minister Rajapaksa said the
Government has initiated programmes to develop infrastructure, livelihood and the living
environment, along with several programmes to develop the SME sector and outsourcing of
garments,foodprocessing,etchashelpedtobuildupagoodSMEsectorintheEast.
SFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena, the Minister of Health, accused that the defunct LTTE
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activistswhoareactiveinforeigncountriesareusingtheTNA asabridgetoreenterthecountry.He
alsoaccusedUNPofAssistingTNAtogetLTTEreemerge.
ThesevenmemberPresidentialTaskForceforaTrilingualSriLankahelditspreliminarydiscussion
underthechairmanshipoftheSecretarytothePresidentLalithWeeratunga.Duringthemeetingthe
membershavediscussedvariousissuesandpracticalitiesaboutlearningasecondlanguage.
May11
UnitedStatesfederaljudgeinNewYorksentencedatopTamilTiger,whopleadedguiltytoterrorism
charges,totimeservedinjailandfreedtheman.Thedefendant,KarunakaranKandasamy(55),had
pledguiltytoamongothers,achargeofconspiringtoprovidematerialsupporttoLTTE.
May13
Sri Lankan Government has established a mechanism to provide details of the current and past
detaineestakenintocustodybytheTIDofSriLankaPolice.Theinformationwillbeprovidedonlyto
thecloserelativessuchasthespouse,children,parentsandsiblings.
TheresettlementprogrammelaunchedbytheGovernmentintheNorthernandEasternProvincesis
now in its final stage.According to theArmy Spokesman around, 284,000 persons in Northern and
Eastern Provinces have been already resettled with another 6,022 persons to be resettled. These
6,022 are the persons who have to be resettled in Mulathivu, Pudukuduirippu, Wellamulla and
Waikkalareasandalsotoberesettledincertainareasaftercompletingclearanceoflandmines.
The largest C4 explosive stock of 6250 Kilograms was recovered from the Pudukuduirippu area by
themilitary.PudukuduiripputownliesinMulathivuDistrictinNorthernProvince.
A man identifying himself as Jeeva Ratnam and claiming to be a LTTE suicide bomber, who
requestedasylumatUSembassyinColombo,washandedovertoSriLankanPolice on November
7,2005.
Gen. Sarath Fonseka will be released soon, as a result of President Mahindra Rajapaksa's oneon
one talks with DNA MP Tiran Alles. Gen. Fonseka could leave Nawaloka hospital, where he was
receivingtreatmentforalungcondition,assoonasMPAllesreturnsfromanoverseasvisit.Hisjail
termtechnicallyendsJuly2013.
May15
ImmigrationdepartmentofAustraliahasrejectedanofferbySriLankatoprovideanescapeforTamil
refugees branded a threat by security agencies and locked in indefinite detention in Australia. The
offerwasmadebytheSriLankaenvoyinAustralia,ThisaraSamarasinghe,andseveralmonthsago.
Amajorityofthe47refugeesareTamilsandaregivenanadverseassessmentbyASIO.Theyhave
been refused a visa for release into the Australian community and are not permitted to see the
evidence against them and are effectively barred from appeal. A spate of suicide attempts among
those blackbanned by ASIO have occurred in the past month, including by two Tamil men in a
detention centre in Melbourne's north and a third who threatened to take his own life before being
restrained.
May16
TNAhasdecidedtoinformitspositionregardingtheParliamentarySelectCommitteenextweek.
SanmugalingamSuriyakumar,whohadbeeninremandcustodyformorethan6yearsinconnection
withtheassassinationattemptofFormerArmyCommanderSarath Fonsekainasuicidebombblast
wasfurtherremandedtillMay30.
May17
TID to rehabilitate K.P. Lankasewaran, who had acted as the legal draftsman for the LTTE
organization.TheformercadrehadalsoworkedasalawyerandlaterasajudgeintheLTTEcourts.
Hehadperformeddutiesasalegaldraftsmanduringtheperiodof2007to2009.
A group of 80 exLTTE prisoners who are being held at the Colombo Remand Prison in Welikada
havecommencedahungerstrike,urgingauthoritiestohastencourthearingsortoreleasethem.
Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa has received the cabinet approval to pardon the former
military chief Sarath Fonseka, from his threeyear prison sentence. Fonseka is currently serving a
threeyearprisontermafterhewasfoundguiltybyacivilcourtforincitingviolenceintheWhite Flag
case. He was arrested on February 8, 2010 and court martial action was initiated against him. He
served a 30month prison term given by a Court Martial in 2010 after finding him guilty of four
charges related to alleged irregularities in military procurements during his tenure as Army Chief.
ThatprisontermendedinApril2012.
May18
Prof.G.L.PeirismetwiththeUnitedStatesSecretaryofStateHillaryClintonforadiscussionon Sri
Lanka'smeasuresandprogressontheimplementationofrecommendationsmadebytheLLRC.
TNAheldacommemorationofwarvictimsinVavuniyaoftheNorthernProvince.
Another 100 former LTTE in remand prison joined the hunger strike launched by 80 of their
colleagues on May 17, demanding that the authorities either expedite their court cases which
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accordingtothemhadbeendraggingonforyearsorinthealternativetoreleasethem.
President Mahindra Rajapaksa signed the papers to enable the release of Sarath Fonseka and
handed over the papers to Chief of Staff Gamini Senerath. Papers will be sent to the Ministry of
JusticeonMay21.
PresidentMahindraRajapaksasignedthepaperstoenablethereleaseofSarathFonsekaandhandedover
thepaperstoChiefofStaffGaminiSenerath.
May19
SriLankanPresidentMahindraRajapaksasaidthatSriLankawillnotabandonitsresponsibilitiesto
the Tamil community. Marking the threeyear anniversary of the military victory over the LTTE, the
PresidentsaidtheLLRC,commissionthatinvestigatedthewar,wasappointedtobringreconciliation
amongcommunities,notdivisions.
President Mahindra Rajapaksa said that the Sri Lankan Government will not remove any military
camp from their current locations in the country as long as threats exist to national security. "The
militarystillhasakeyroletoplay,tosecurethepeacethathasbeenwon,"hesaidaddingthatthe
troops are also involved in the development work. He noted that it is not advisable to remove any
military camp or reduce the strength of the forces while threats to national security exist from
overseas, especially from the Tamil Diaspora, who has not given up the Eelam dream yet. He
dismissedtheallegationsthatthemilitaryisinvolvedincivilianadministrationintheNorth.
May20
TNA has softened its stance on its long standing demand for the remerger of the northern and
eastern provinces, and has instead noted that the modalities for such a merged unit could be
discussedsubjecttotheinterestsoftheMuslimcommunity.
May21
FormerArmyCommanderGeneral SarathFonsekareleasedonanunconditionalpresidentialpardon
grantedbyPresidentMahindraRajapaksa.
TNAhasonceagaincalledforthereductioninmilitarypresenceintheNorthandEast.
May22
TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that as many as 234 Tamil prisoners had been on a hunger strike
since May 17 and their health condition had deteriorated. He requested for the release of all 'Tamil
politicalprisoners'.
According to Rehabilitation and Prisons Reform Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera, Sri Lankan
authorities have taken measures to accelerate the legal procedures regarding persons detained in
prisons.
May23
National Police Commission of Sri Lanka has received 224 complaints since its reinstatement on
February 23 2012.Among them, 129 complaints have been selected for investigations in the initial
stage.TheactivationoftheNationalPoliceCommissionwasoneoftherecommendationsmadeby
theLLRC.
Government will establish three new High Courts in Anuradhapura, Vavuniya and Mannar within a
monthtoexpeditetheprosecutionofLTTEsuspects.
May24
The2011countryreportsonhumanrightspracticespublishedbytheUSStateDepartmentclaimed
that unlawful killings by SFs and Governmentallied paramilitary groups are a major human rights
problem in Sri Lanka, often in the predominantly TAMIL areas. In addition, attacks on and
harassment of civil society activists, persons suspected of being LTTE sympathizers, and
journalists, by persons allegedly tied to the Government created an environment of fear and self
censorship,thereportsays.ThereportalsomentionedthattheSriLankanGovernmentprosecuteda
very small number of officials implicated in human rights abuses but had yet to hold anyone
accountableforallegedviolationsofinternationalhumanitarianlawandinternationalhumanrightslaw
that occurred during the conflict. The report recognized that although enforced and involuntary
disappearances continued to be a problem, the number of such disappearances appeared to have
declinedfrompreviousyears.
Over200suspectedLTTEprisonershavecalledofftheirhungerstrike,afterauthoritiespromisedto
addresstheirissues.TheyhadstartedtheirhungerstrikeonMay17.
Sri Lanka's exarmy Chief Sarath Fonseka is barred from political office for seven years, despite
being freed from jail on May 21, his lawyer said.Terms of his release prevent him from running for
office.
May26
The proLTTE lobby in the United Kingdom is planning to stage protests when President Mahindra
Rajapaksa arrives in London to participate in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Queen
ElizabethIIwillcelebrate60yearsonthethroneonJune5.
May27
TNA is yet to announce its official position regarding its participation in the committee. TNA MP
SureshPremachandrasaidthattheirpartyhasnotdecidedabouthaving talks with the Government
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onparticipatinginthePSCsessions.
Sri Lankan authorities are to release another 75 former LTTE cadres next month, who have
successfullycompletedtheirrehabilitationprogramme.
May28
Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has said it is not appropriate to view the North of the
countryasapredominantlyTamilarea
Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe said that military was
gradually reducing its presence in Jaffna and are being replaced by the Police since civil
administrationhadbeenestablishedinJaffna.
May29
Government will complete the demining process in all land areas required to resettle the remaining
IDPs in the North, by the end of July. He also said there are only 6,031 IDPs in the only two
remainingwelfarecentres.Thereareonly2,562IDPsintheKadirgamarWelfareCentreandanother
3,469atAnandakumaraswamyWelfareCentre.
TNA MP Suresh Premachandran reacting to a remarks made by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
RajapaksainwhichhesaidthatNorthisnotpredominantlyTamilareasaidthatthestatementwas
apreludetochangingthedemographicpatternsoftheNorth."Themostrecentcensusrevealedthat
out of the 954,000 residents in the North, 900,000 are Tamils and 23,000 Sinhalese." MP
Premachandranasked.
June1
A group of 36 asylum seekers that included 28 Tamils returned to Sri Lanka on a special charter
flightfromLondonaftertheBritishGovernmentrejectedtheirasylum requests. Britain court granted
alastminutereprieveto40otherasylumseekers.
June2
A school boy was injured due to a blast believed to have occurred from anti personnel mine on the
ChalaiChundikulamlagooninMulathivu.
R.Sampanthan,theleaderoftheTNA,hasdeniedreportsofariftintheparty.
June4
A15yearoldboywaskilledinabombblastintheNainathivuislandsofJaffnaDistrict.Accordingto
MCNS,thebombiscalled'Arulbomb',whichwasmanufacturedbytheLTTE.
Former TNA MP M.K. Sivajilingam revealed that TNA leadership had ignored a request by some
partymembersandparliamentarianstoformanNGOtoraisefundsfromtheTamilDiasporatohelp
waraffectedpeopleintheNorthandEast.Thisrequestwasmadesoonafterthewarendedin2009.
GovernmentisdevelopinginfrastructureintheNorthernProvincetosetupmassiveIndustrialZones
withinayear,whichwillseethecreationofhundredsofthousandsofemploymentopportunitiesand
bring development to the region on an unprecedented scale. The development of infrastructure in a
fewIndustrialZonesinActchuveli,Jaffna,Kilinochchi,MannarandVavuniyahasbegun.
CanadaRevenueAgencyhasfinedtwoHindutemplesintheTorontoareaforsendingmoneytoTRO
forSriLankanrebelsfollowingthe2004IndianOceantsunami.TheRichmondHillHinduTempleand
the Hindu Mission of Mississauga, both registered charities, have been hit with $140,000 and
$300,000finesovermoneytheysentto"nonqualifieddonees,"theCRAsaid.
BritishSriLankansinLondonheldaPeacefuldemonstrationagainstviolentmethodsadoptedby the
LTTErumpinUK.
June5
The Government is demanding the release of a vital UN report on the war, mentioned in the UN
SecretaryGeneral'sPanelofExpertsreportonaccountabilityissuesinSriLanka,asthenumberof
deathsduetowarcontainedinthedocumentrunscountertoclaimthatover40,000peopleperished
inthefinalstagesofthewarfromJanuarytoMay2009.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankanborn Channel 4TV channel, journalist Shirani Sabaratnam and her husband,
also a Director London based Channel4 TV station, Stuart Cosgrove, who managed to enter Sri
LankaonJune3despitebeingblacklisted,weredetainedanddeportedbacktoUK.
June6
Sri Lanka military said that it had further reduced the number of military personnel deployed in the
former war zone of Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province. "The number of troops in the Jaffna
Peninsula, at present has been further reduced to around 15,000, a reduction of over 60 percent
troopsdeployedatthebeginningofthehumanitarianoperation,"saidMilitarySpokespersonBrigadier
RuwanWanigasuriya.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to cancel his speech at the Commonwealth Economic
Forum in London, amid demonstrations by hundreds of Tamil and human rights activists protesting
against human rights violations in his country. Hundreds of Tamils and human rights activists
carrying LTTE flags gathered outside Marlborough House in central London protesting Rajapaksa's
presenceatalunchforQueenElizabeth.
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Swiss Director of Prosecutions revealed that the LTTE had taken fraudulently substantial funds as
loans from financial institutions on the basis of false documents, reports Lank Web. It was also
revealedthatthesefundswerechanneledtoLTTEforpurchaseofarmsthroughS.Ramachandran,a
leaderintheLTTEoverseasfront.
June7
SriLankanministerReginaldCoorayhadtocancelhisparticipationinafunctionandleaveduetoa
plannedprotestbytheLTTEsupportersinCoimbatore,TamilNadu.
June8
The murderers of Andrew Mahendrarajah Anthonipillai, a Canadian of Sri Lankan origin, who was
killedatKaagncheepuramlane,nearParanthanjunction,onMay3,havebeenarrested.Policehave
arrestedfivepersons,includingaformerLTTEmilitant,identifiedasA.Akilan.Allfivewereproduced
beforetheKilinochchiMagistrate'sCourtonMay24andremandedpendingfurtherinquiries.
June10
FormerSriLankanArmyChiefSarath Fonseka said that his life is under threat and he needs to be
providedwithtightersecurity.Fonsekasaidhewasnotsatisfiedwiththecurrentsecurityprovidedto
him,andheneedsmorebasedonthreatshefaces.
June11
Swiss prosecutors have planned to interview the head of finance of the LTTE who is imprisoned in
Netherland. They have also planned to question some 25 senior ranks LTTE members some of
whomarecurrentlyimprisonedinSriLanka.Theyareinvestigatingintosuspectedmoneylaundering
by12membersoftheSwissLTTEtotheNetherlandsandSriLanka.Theprosecutorofficesuspects
thattheTamilsusedfakepayslipsofSriLankansresidentinSwitzerlandtoobtainloansof$73,000
$104,000.
June12
According to the 2012 GPI released, Sri Lanka has achieved great improvement in the GPI. Sri
Lanka's GPI score experienced the largest yearonyear improvement of the 158 nations surveyed
anditclimbed27placesto103rdpositionoveralland17thintheAsiaPacificregionaheadofIndia
(142)andPakistan(149).
June13
According to Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, President Mahinda Rajapaksa ran the
riskofbeingphysicallyattackedbytheUKbasedLTTEactivistsduringhisrecentvisittoLondon.
ThetaskforceappointedtooverseetheimplementationoftherecommendationsmadebytheLLRC
has selected 33 recommendations out of the 135 listed by the LLRC to be implemented at the
nationallevel.
June14
TheTNAblamedthetranslator,whohastranslatedtheconstitutionofthealliance'smainconstituent,
ITAKthathadcalledforaseparatestatefortheTamilpeopleinSriLanka.TheTNAleaderstoldthat
acertifiedtranslatorhasmadea"deliberatefalsetranslation"oftheITAKconstitution,whichwasin
Tamil,toEnglishandthetranslatedswornaffidavitfiledintheSupremeCourthasportrayedtheITAK
asapartythatstoodforsecessionoftheTamilpartsfromSriLanka.
Sri Lanka's former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka said that he would continue to pursue his
political ambitions amidst obstacles. Fonseka said he will topple the Government at the 2016
elections with the help of other opposition parties although he himself is barred from contesting in
politicsforsevenyears.
June17
The Government has allocated LKR 46,211 million for infrastructure development in Vavuniya,
Mannar and Mullaitivu district. Under the development programme LKR 14,479 million has been
allocated for Vavuniya district, LKR 11,584 million for Mannar district and LKR 20,148 million for
Mullaitivudistrict.
AccordingtoNorthernGovernor,MajorGeneralG.A.Chandrasirisaidthatstatelandwillbeprovided
torelocatetroopswhoarecurrentlyoccupyingcivilianpropertyintheJaffnapeninsulawithinthenext
23months.Hesaidthat56percentoftheprivatelandoccupiedbytroopshadbeenhandedover
alreadyandatpresenttroopswereonlyoccupying400privatehouseswithinthepeninsula.
BelgiumGovernmentsaidthatitwouldcontinuetoremainvigilantagainstanyactivitiesbytheLTTE
onitssoil.
June18
SriLanka'sRepresentativeatthe20thsessionoftheUNHRCinGeneva,ManishaGunasekera,said
thatSriLankaremainscommittedtoimplementtherecommendationsofitsLLRC.
June19
ResidentsintheValikamamareaofJaffnaprotested,sayingtheirlandswerestillbeingheldunder a
HSZ. Close to 12,000 families have applied to resettle in the HSZ claiming their original lands are
locatedinthearea.MostfamiliesclaimedthatthelandshadbeentakenundertheHSZin1990.
TheUNHCRsaidthatitwouldprotestifSriLankadeportedregisteredasylumseekersandrefugees
livingwithinitsterritory.
June20
MavaiSenathirajah,SecretaryGeneraloftheITAKsaidthatTNAhasdecidedtobringtothe notice
oftheUNagainsttheillegalacquisitionandforcefuloccupationoflandsintheJaffnaPeninsula.
A Sri Lankan court ordered the authorities to rehabilitate former female political wing leader,
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June22
A Sri Lankan court ordered the authorities to rehabilitate former female political wing leader,
Subramaniam Sivathai alias Thamalini of LTTE. Thamalini has been in remand custody since her
arrestbyaspecialPoliceteamonMay27,2009attheIDPscampinVavuniyaDistrictofNorthern
Province. She was charged with training LTTE cadres and establishing connections with LTTE
membersoverseas.
TheSriLankanGovernmenthastakenstepstorecruittherehabilitatedcadresoftheLTTEintothe
country's Civil Defense Force. The Civil Defense Department is to recruit 300 rehabilitated LTTE
cadresfromeachofthefiveNorthernProvinceDistrictsJaffna,Kilinochchi,Mannar,Mullaitivuand
Vavuniya.
June24
TheSriLankanGovernmentstronglydeniedtheallegationsthatSFsintheNorthareforciblytaking
over the land belonged to residents of the Vanni region, Northern Province. The TNA had accused
the Sri Lankan SFs of forcibly occupying the lands belonging to civilians in the Northern Province.
The TNA is to launch an agitation campaign on June 25 in Vanni demanding release of occupied
lands.
June28
A group of LTTE suspects at the Vavuniya Prison have taken three jailers hostage, demanding the
authoritiestorecalltheLTTEsuspectswhohadbeentransferredtoBoossa.Threejailersareforced
intoacellandlockedupbytheLTTEsuspects.
June29
Police STF rescued the three prison officials taken hostage by the LTTE inmates at the Vavuniya
prison in Northern Province of Sri Lanka. No reports of threats or assaults on the hostages have
beenreported.TheinmatesattheVavuniya prisonwhowereengagedinahungerstrikehavebeen
transferredtotheAnuradhapuraPrisonsComplex.
Vavuniya Police arrested three persons, two men and a woman, who the Police believe are LTTE
spies.TheywereallegedofpassinginformationonSTFmovementstotheLTTEsuspectsdetained
intheVavuniyaprison.
July2
The Government is to take measures to recruit another 5,000 former LTTE combatants to the
country's Civil Defense Force. Director General of the Civil Defense Department Rear Admiral
Ananda Peiris said that steps will be taken to recruit 5,000 rehabilitated former LTTE cadres to the
Department.The Government earlier recruited 1,500 former cadres, 300 each from the five districts
intheNorthernProvince.
July3
The recent unrest in the Vavuniya Prison in Northern Sri Lanka is a wellplanned conspiracy of the
LTTE international network, Prisons and Rehabilitation Minister, Chandrasiri Gajadeera said. He
notedthattheLTTEsuspectsattheprisonhavehadintheirpossessionsatellitemobilephonesand
various communication equipments and added that some of the suspects transferred to Colombo
followingtheincidentwerepreparedtoconfesstothateffect.
July4
ALTTEsuspectwhowastransferredfromtheVavuniyaPrisontotheMaharaaftertheunrestdied,a
prisonspokesmansaid.Thedeceasedhasbeenidentifiedasa29yearoldresidentofNelumkulama
inVavuniya.
TheCIDinformedtheColomboMagistrateCourtthattheAttorneyGeneral'sadvicehasnotyetbeen
received regarding the two former leaders of the LTTE. The two former leaders are Velayuthan
Dayanidhi alias Daya Master, who was the media spokesman of the LTTE, and Velupillai Kumaru
PancharathnamaliasGeorgeMaster,whowasthetranslatorforslainLTTEleaderV.Prabhakaran.
Security Forces on clearing operations discovered a massive cache of weapons and ammunition,
includingsomeantiaircraftmissiles,belongingtotheLTTEinKilinochchiDistrict.
People'sMovementoftheEastforNationalHarmonycoordinatorSAmarasinghesaidmanyEPRLF
and PLOTE activists of Eastern province have decided to support the UPFA at the upcoming
election.Around 15 members of Batticaloa, Ampara, Wawunathivu, Kalawanchikudi, Kokkadicholai
andWellawaliPradeshiyaSabhasandmorethan600chieforganisersservingasactivemembersof
theEPRLFandPLOTEforanumberofyearswillsupporttheGovernmentatthepolls,hesaid.
July5
TheSriLankanGovernmentassuredthattheelectionstotheNorthernProvincialCouncil(NPC)will
beheldbeforeSeptember2013.YouthAffairsandSkillsDevelopment MinisterDullesAlahapperuma
said that the Government expects to hold NPC elections when the country is celebrating the 25
yearsofprovincialcouncilsystem.
Senior Cabinet Minister and former chairman of theAPRC ProfTissa Vitarana said that the lack of
commitmentbyTNAleaderstomaketheirparticipationinthePSC to find a progressive solution to
the national question has raised various uncertainties in regard to where they stand as a political
party.
The Sri Lankan Government through a special Gazette Notification has banned the use of dog and
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tiger as party symbols by any political party in the country. Elections Commissioner Mahinda
Deshapriyasaidthataccordinglynorecognizedpoliticalpartywillbepermittedtousethetigerorthe
dogastheirpartysymbol.Atpresent,thereare64recognizedpoliticalpartiesinSriLanka.
July6
The leader of the TNA R. Sampanthan making a special statement in the parliament urged the
government to pardon all the LTTE detainees, who he described as political prisoners, without
prosecutingthem.TheTNAleadertoldtheparliament thatthegovernmenthadfailedtoexpeditethe
judicialprocesswithregardtotheprosecutionofthesedespiteassurancestodoso.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in response to demands of the public, focused his attention on the
increasing crime in the country and called for establishing new Police Stations and checkpoints in
thecountrytobattlecriminalactivities.PresidentRajapaksaadvisedtheInspectorGeneralof Police
(IGP)N.K.IlangakoontosubmitareportonwherethenewPoliceStationsandcheckpointsshould
beestablished.
National Freedom Front (NFF) Politburo member Piyasiri Wijenayake said that the government is
carryingoutahostofdevelopmentprojectsintheNorth.
July7
PresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthatdespitethecountryhavingaconciseforeignpolicythethreat
of the pro LTTE Diaspora in the West remains to be a massive challenge and asked the country's
diplomatic envoys to counter them. The President said the Sri Lankan diplomats in overseas
missions, especially in countries where, the proLTTE Diaspora is active, to be aware of the
relentlesscampaigncarriedoutbythemtodiscreditSriLanka.
TheTNAannouncedthattheywill contesttheEasternProvincialCouncilelectionseparatelywithout
aligning with major parties.The leader of theTNA R. Sampanthan said that theTNA would contest
the election to show the unity and the strength of the Tamil people appearing for remerging of the
NorthernandEasternProvinces.
July8
DefenceandUrbanDevelopmentMinistrySecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksasaidthatopportunitywill
be given to North and East youth and also excadres of LTTE during enlistment to man police
stationswhicharebeingestablished.HesaidthattheycouldjoinhandswiththeCivilSecurityForce
personnel in the development drive while doing a prestigious service and assist in the development
oftheirareas.
Ruling UPFA decided to nominate the incumbent Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan for
the chief minister post of the Eastern Province. The General Secretary of TMVP P. Prashanthan
confirmedtherulingparty'sdecisioninamediarelease,localnewssiteAdaDeranareported.
TNA called for remerging the Northern and Eastern provinces demerged by a court decision. The
TNA national list parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that according to the Constitution any two
provincesinthecountrycanbemergedandthetimehascometopermanentlyremergetheNorthern
andEasternprovinceswhichhadbeenoncetemporarilymerged.
July9
CommanderofSecurityForcesinJaffna(SFJ)MajorGeneralMahindaHathurusinghesaidthatthe
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has no plan to acquire civilians' lands in the Jaffna peninsula to establish
Army camps. He rejected the allegations of land grabbing as "media exaggerations spread with
hiddenagenda."
July10
SriLankanPresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthatelectionstoNorthernProvincialCouncil(NPC)will
take just over a year from now. "We want to hold elections in September 2013. We are working
towardsit[theelections]inasystematicmanner,"thePresidentsaid.
July11
Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya categorically denied the statement that
thereisanArmystrengthofonetofiveciviliansintheJaffnapeninsula andstatedthattherewasa
population of half a million in Jaffna while the strength of the army was 10,000. He added that the
ArmyremaininginJaffnaisconfinedtobarracks.
Election monitoring group, CaFFE, complained of election law violations even before the handing
over of nominations for the three provincial councils scheduled to hold polls in September. It
complained to the Elections Department of election law violations in the Kegalle District of North
CentralProvinceandTrincomaleeDistrictofEasternProvince.
July12
Amemorycardcontainingasix minuteLTTEwarvideowasseizedandtwosuspectedformerLTTE
cadres were arrested by the Muthur Police in Trincomalee District. The memory card was seized
whilethesuspectswerewatchingthevideo.Inadditiontothememorycardthesuspectshadintheir
possessioncashtothevalueSLR50,000.ThearrestedwereresidentsfromthePathanapuramarea
inMuthur.
SriLankanprisonauthoritiesattheMagazineprisoninColomborecovered32mobilephonesinthe
possession of LTTE detainees at the prison. According to the Ministry of Rehabilitation & Prison
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reforms,fiveamongstthe32recoveredmobilesweresophisticatedinnature.
July15
National Language Unit Director General Prasad Herath said they have started Sinhala language
courses for former LTTE combatants at the Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Center
(PARC) in Welikanda in Polonnaruwa District. He said 90 former militants are being given Sinhala
language training at the rehabilitation centre. There are 698 former LTTE cadres remaining in the
PARCs at present and the Government has released over 11, 000 former LTTE cadres after
rehabilitatingthem.
July17
PolicehavegatheredinformationthattherecentunrestintheVavuniyaPrisonwasaconspiracywith
links to the LTTE international network and it was the same evil forces that tried to mask the
particularincidentbyVavuniyaprisoninmates,asahumanitarianact.
Theincidentoccurredwhenthreeprisonofficialswereheldhostagefor19hoursbyinmatesduringa
protest by prisoners at the Vavuniya remand prison against the transfer of a suspected LTTE
prisonertoanotherlocation.ThesuspectwhowasaformerLTTEleaderwasbeingtransferredona
courtordertobehandedovertotheTerrorismInvestigationUnit.
SriLankaPolicearrestedSinnatambiPathmanathan,aformerLTTEleaderfortheBatticaloaareain
the Eastern province, at the Colombo airport upon his return to Sri Lanka. Pathmanathan was
arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Bureau when he returned to Sri Lanka after staying abroad.
Pathmanathan had fled the country in 2002. He had reportedly led several terrorist attacks in the
East.
July19
TheelectionsforthreeprovincialcouncilsinSriLankawillbeheldonSeptember8.Electionswillbe
held for the North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils. The three provincial
councilsweredissolvedonJune27beforetheirtermsweretoexpire.
July23
Anunnamedseniorgovernmentmembersaid"Thegovernmentwillmakesomeamendmentsinorder
toaddtheprogressmadewithregardtotheimplementationofLLRCrecommendationsonthehuman
rightsfront".ThechangestotheUPRreportregardingtheLLRCrecommendationsaretobemadeby
Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga who is heading a Presidential Committee to oversee the
implementationoftheLLRCrecommendations.SriLanka'sUPRistobetakenupinNovemberatthe
UNHRCinGeneva.TheUNHRChasappointedIndia,BeninandSpaintothetroikathatisscheduled
toreviewSriLanka.AllthreecountriesvotedinsupportoftheUNresolutiononSriLanka.
July24
TNArequestedfromtheElection Commissionertodeployinternationalmonitorstomonitorthepolls
of the Eastern Provincial Council.TNA sources said that the Election Commissioner has agreed to
discussthematterwiththepoliticalpartysecretariesthatcontesttheelection.
DefenceandUrbanDevelopmentMinistry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the members of
the SFs have not been involved in any sexual assault in North and East. He said according to the
statistics and revelations of a study conducted at hospital level no evidence was found that the
personnelattachedtotheSFswereinvolvedinsexualassaultsinNorthandEast.
Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera said low interest loans will be
provided to the rehabilitated former LTTE cadres to start selfemployment, small industries,
agricultural projects and other vocational training programmes. He said over 1,200 rehabilitated ex
LTTEcadresreintegratedintomainstreamsocietywillreceivetheloansonJuly30.Theloanswitha
maximum limit of SLR 250,000 will be administered through Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank and
NationalSavingsBank.Itwillhaveafourpercentinterestratewitha10yearrepaymentperiod. Only
theinterestisrequiredtobepaidbackduringthefirstyear.
Over750SriLankanrefugees,whowerelivinginIndia,havereturnedtoSriLankain2012withthe
monetary support from the UNHCR. The UNHCR paid the air fare for their travel and another 4,000
rupeesallowanceforroadtransportationfromColombototheirhometowns.Thereturnsarepartofa
voluntary, facilitated repatriation programme, supported by the governments of both India and Sri
Lanka.
Three persons, including a TNA candidate for the upcoming Provincial Council elections in the
Eastern Province, were arrested by the CID in connection with a mega human smuggling racket
wheremorethanSLR25millionhadbeenswindledfromunsuspectingpeoplewhosoughtasylumin
othercountries.
July25
Ambassador RavinathaAryasinha, who presented credentials as new Permanent Representative of

SriLankatotheUnitedNationsinGenevalastweekurgedtheUNnottoallowoverseasbasedrump
elementsofthedefeatedTamilTigerterroristgroupLTTEandsomeTamilDiasporagroupsto"'hijack
multilateralprocesses"toservetheirnarrowagendas.
Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers approved the National Action Plan submitted by the President
Mahinda Rajapaksa and appointed a Task Force headed by the Secretary to the President Lalith
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WeeratungatomonitortheimplementationoftherecommendationsoftheLLRC.
July27
Hundreds of Muslims in Sri Lanka took to the streets in the capital Colombo to express support to
the government minister who has been ordered to appear before courts for allegedly threatening a
judge and demand justice to the Muslim IDPs in the country.Thousands of Muslims in many other
parts of the country also protested in their local areas following Jumma prayers to support the
IndustriesandCommerceMinisterRishadBathiyutheen.
Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga said the Sri Lankan government is to release the
SinhalaandTamilversionsoftheLLRCreportnextweek.HesaidtheLLRC report that was initially
released in English last December has now been translated into Sinhala and Tamil and the Sinhala
andTamilversionswouldbereleasednextweek.Heattributedthedelayinreleasingthereportwas
to the delay in the Government Printer's Department. According to the Secretary, some of the
recommendationswillbeimplementedthisyearwhiletheothersmaybeimplementednextyear.
July28
JusticeMinistrySecretarySuhadaGamlathsaidsome20hardcoreLTTEcadreswhoareallegedto
have committed war crimes will be prosecuted within the next six months under the PTA and
EmergencyRegulations,thusbringingtoaclosuretheuncertaintyoverthefateofthedetainees.He
saidtheremaininggroup was believed to have participated in LTTE military activities because they
had no other option but to carry out the dictates of the LTTE under severe threat. He said the
investigations were not easy or simple because many LTTE cadres maintained links with the LTTE
networkandrefusedtograbtheopportunityofferedbythegovernmenttoberehabilitated.
Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said, "The resettlement
of IDPs in the North will be accomplished 100 percent by midAugust this year. He said vast
development projects have been initiated in the North and East including the A9, rail track,
electrification, construction and developments in the irrigation systems and most of all a peaceful
environmenttolive.
July29
PowerandEnergyMinisterPataliChampikaRanawakasaid,"TNALeaderR.Sambandanistryingto
start a second Eelam war, while Tamil racists are trying to revive Eelam racism through countries
and towns such as New York, London, Australia, France and India. The Secretary General of the
United Nations is also helping this movement with Suresh Surendran a spokesman of Global Tamil
Forum (a British based LTTE front) and Tamil Nadu politicians such as Muthuvel Karunanidhi,
JayalalithaaJeyaram,SumandiramwhoarehavingdiscussionstocreatetheTamilEelamagain."
Senior Minister of Scientific Affairs Prof Tissa Vitarana said that TNA's non participation in the
proposed PSC remains a major fetter to implement LLRC recommendations even as the
government'sNationalActionPlantoimplementLLRCrecommendationswithinaspecifictimeframe
ismadeknowninternationally."IfTNAshouldpersistwiththeirknownnonparticipationtothe PSC,
thegovernmentwillbecompelledtotakeactiontoresolvemattersregardlessoftheir"objections"to
keeptothebroadernationalview,"hepointedout.
July30
A batch of 1,250 rehabilitated exLTTE cadres reintegrated into mainstream society received
livelihoodloansataceremonyheldunderthepatronageofPresidentMahindaRajapaksaatTemple
TreesinColombo.TheformercombatantsfromJaffna,Vavuniya,MullativuandKilinochchidistricts,
whohaveundergoneayearofvocationaltrainingatrehabilitationcenters,receivedtheloanstostart
selfemploymentofsmallindustries,agriculturalprojectsandothervocationaltrainingprograms.
UN Office for the Coordination of HumanitarianAffairs (OCHA) and response division director John
GingsaidSriLankahasachievedexcellentresultsinitsNorthEastrehabilitationandresettlement
programme and postconflict economic development drive. Ging said OCHA will provide assistance
toresettleallInternallyDisplacedPersons(IDPs).
July31
Country Reports on Terrorism 2011, an annual report mandated by the US congress noted "The
government of Sri Lanka, although not immediately concerned over a possible resurgence of the
LTTE, remains concerned over its overseas financial network." The report said that in 2011, there
were no incidents of terrorism in Sri Lanka and most counterterrorism activities undertaken by the
governmenttargetedpossibleLTTEfinancesasthegovernmentremainedconcernedthattheLTTE's
internationalnetworkoffinancialsupportisstillfunctioning.
ExternalAffairsMinisterG.L.PeirisandSecretarytothePresidentLalithWeeratungametColombo's
diplomatic community for a 'comprehensive briefing' on the work carried out to implement the
proposalsoftheLLRC.TheLLRChas comeupwithanumberofproposalstoincreasetheliberties
of all citizens, justice and rule of law, some of which may involve deep rooted changes to the
structureofthestate.
TNAparliamentarianSureshPremachandran saidtheLLRCActionPlanwouldnotprovideasolution
to the ethnic issue. He noted that according to the Action Plan it takes around five years to
implement some recommendations. He charged that the Action Plan was yet another time buying
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exercisebythegovernmentputforwardfortheconsumptionoftheinternationalcommunity.
August2
AseniorpoliceofficerfromtheBatticaloaRangesaidSriLankaPoliceandArmywillcarryoutajoint
operation in the Eastern Province to disarm groups and people possessing unauthorized weapons
aheadoftheEasternProvincialCouncilelectioninSeptember.Hehasbeenquotedassaying,"We
havereceiveddetailsfromthepoliceheadquartersinColombototightensecurity,inordertoconduct
theelectioninafreeandfairmanner.
United States welcomed the National Action Plan presented by the Sri Lankan government to
implement the recommendations made by the postwar LLRC. The US Embassy in Colombo in a
statementsaid,"Wehavelongencouragedthefullimplementationoftherecommendationsoutlined
bytheLLRC.
August3
The Director of Operations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
John Ging, who finished a threeday visit to the country, said "The scale of what Sri Lanka has
accomplished over the past three years, the pace of resettlement and the development of
infrastructure,isremarkableandveryclearlyvisible".
Sri Lanka's Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya ruled out the possibility of having foreign
electionmonitorsfortheupcomingPCpolls.DeputyCommissionerofElectionsM.M.Mohamedalso
saidthattheElectionCommissionerhasinformedhisdecisionatameetingheldwithsecretariesof
contestingpartiesandtheleadersofindependentgroupsattheElectionSecretariat.
August5
Aseniorgovernmentofficialsaid SriLanka'sreportfortheUPRattheUNHRCinGenevascheduled
for November 2012 has been amended to include the latest developments in the country's human
rightsfrontandtheimplementationofthepostwarreconciliationLLRC'srecommendations.
August6
SriLankaMinisterofFisheriesandAquatic Resources Rajitha Senaratne said that the Government

does not need to protest theTESO conference to be held in Chennai, the capital of Indian state of
Tamil Nadu on August 12 under the aegis by DMK leader Muthuvel Karunanidhi. The Minister
expressedhisviewsinresponsetoastatementbytheGovernmentcoalitionSinhala Buddhist party
JHUwhichsaysSriLankaGovernmentneedstoprotesttheconference.
August7
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said resettlement in Kollonkath, Selvapuram,

MavattapuramandMavattapuraminValikamamNorthDivisionalSecretariatDivisionwaseffectedon
July 20. During the war, all these villages were within the High Security Zone. However, lands are
nowreturnedtotheiroriginalowners.Accordingly,650familieswereresettled.
August8
Another LTTE suspect, who was transferred from the Vavuniya Prison to the Mahara prison of
Gampaha District after the June unrest died at the Ragama Hospital in Colombo District. The
deceased,identifiedasMariyadasNevilDilrukshan(36),wasarrestedbythesecurityforcesin2009.
He was injured during a hostage rescue operation at the Vavuniya prison where a police STF
operation was launched on June 29 to rescue three prison officials who were taken hostage by the
LTTEsuspectsintheprisonwhenthepolicetriedtoremoveadetaineefromtheprisonunderacourt
order.
ExternalAffairsMinisterG.L. PeirissaidSriLankawillsendtotheUNHRCadocumentoutliningits
performanceinareasofinternationalconcerntobetakenupattheUPRnextmonthinGeneva.The
UNHRC adopted a resolution against Sri Lanka in March, urging the Sri Lankan government to
address accountability issues during the last stages of the war and to implement recommendations
by the LLRC. The government has already prepared a National Action Plan to implement these
recommendations.
August9
External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugama said Sri Lanka's UPA report that
outlines the country's latest progress on the Human Rights front will become a UN document from
August10.Theministersaidthereportcouldbeaccessedbyanynationwishingtoknowaboutthe
UPRreport.
August10
TheTESOConference,sponsoredbytheoppositionDMKscheduledtobeheldatYMCAgroundsin
Royapettah in Chennai, India on August 12 to support the rehabilitation of Sri Lanka's Tamil
population ran into trouble with the Tamil Nadu Government telling the Madras High Court that it
cannot grant permission for the event. State advocategeneral A. Navaneethakrishnan told judges
ElipeDharmaRaoandM.Venugopalthatthevenuewillgiverisetoseveralproblemsasitislocated
inthecentreofthecity.Healsopointedoutthat100,000peoplewillattendtheevent,butthevenue
cannotholdmorethan8,000people.
JanathaPartypresidentDr.SubramanianSwamysaidinColombothatIndiawasamajorbeneficiary
ofSriLanka'sdecisivemilitaryvictorythatendedthethreedecadeslongterrorismunleashedbythe
TamilTigerterroristgroupLTTE.
Special Envoy for Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the Sri Lankan
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governmentwillseeka'fairandimpartialhearing'onitshumanrightsreviewwhenitispresentedto
the UPR on human rights process at the UNHRC in Geneva in November. He said Sri Lanka will
sharetheprogressithasmadeinallaspectsofthepromotionandprotectionofhumanrightsbefore
theinternationalhumanrightsforum.
August12
After Chennai police denied permission to hold the planned TESO conference in public grounds,
India's DMK leader, M. Karunanidhi held an assembly on the issue in a private hotel. Describing
Eelam,aseparateTamilhomelandinSriLanka,ishis'unfulfilleddream',Karunanidhisaidthathewill
continue to struggle towards realizing that and will strive for a separate homeland with the help of
other stakeholders. The TESO conference passed several resolutions at the conclave seeking
greater UN intervention to pressure Sri Lanka into granting selfgoverning rights to the Sri Lankan
Tamils.
Sri Lanka's Collective of Nationalist Organizations staged a demonstration march in the capital
ColombotoprotesttheTESOConference.TheChairmanofSriLanka'sSinhala nationalist Patriotic
NationalMovementGunadasaAmarasekeracalledtheTESOConferenceanattemptbyIndia'sTamil
Nadupoliticiansto divide the country and is launched with the support of the central government of
India.TheactivistscarryingplacardsandshoutingslogansmarchedtotheHighCommissionandset
firetoeffigiesofDMKleaderM.KarunanidhiandSriLanka'sTNAR.Sampanthan.
The senior Minister of Good Governance & Infrastructure Facilities and former Prime Minister
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said the government needed to arm the three armed forces with modern
arms and increase the defense expenditure since the threat of dividing the country still prevails as
theelementsthatobstructthefreedomofthecountryareactivebothlocallyandinternationally.
External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris said it is incorrect to think that all challenges before the
country ended with the defeat of LTTE. He said some segments of the diaspora were very keen in
investingintheNorthandEastareastoupliftlivingstandardsofpeopleinthepostwarscenario.The
ministersaidtheobjectivesofproLTTEgroupsamongthediasporaarethesame,eventhoughtheir
methods are different. He said these groups possess a mammoth wealth and possess a highly
effectivecommunicationnetworkwithlatesttechnologyandtheiraim is to isolate Sri Lanka amidst
theinternationalcommunity.
August13
ResettlementMinisterHMGunaratnaWeerakoonsaidhundredsofdisplacedfamilieslivinginManik
FarmWelfareVillageinVavuniyaDistricthaveleftfortheiroriginalhomestoresettleintheirhomes
oforiginintheKilinochchiDistrict'sPudhikudiiruppuDivisionalSecretariatarea.
August15
PresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthattheEelamprojectisstillalive."TheaimoftheEelamistsis
to break the unity and trust among us and reduce the feeling for the country and make us criticise
themotherland",thePresidentsaid."Ontheotherhand,patrioticSriLankansshouldnotallowthose
criticising their motherland abroad or allow foreigners to criticise the country in their presence. We
shouldnotplayintothehandsofEelamists,"thePresidentsaid.
United Nation's Resident Representative Subine Nandy said, "Sri Lanka has achieved excellent
resultsinthe demining programme.The country can complete demining process soon in continuing
thepresentinstitutionalsetupandmachinery.TheworkscarriedoutbytheMinistryandthecentrein
this humanitarian movement is tremendous and now Sri Lanka can share its demining experience
withothercountries."
FormerLTTEChiefArmsProcurer KumaranPathmanathansaidagroupof22membersoftheTamil
Diaspora from Canada,Australia and five European Countries had visited Sri Lanka last week and
held talks with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo. Pathmanathan said that
Rajapaksahadassuredthedelegationthattherehabilitationofexcombatantswouldbeexpedited.
Sinhala settlers in Sri Lanka's eastern district of Trincomalee say that a conspiracy is underway to
evictthemfromthelandtheyhavebeenlivingforalongtime.ThesettlersintheAndankulamarea
ofTrincomaleedemandedthegovernmenttograntlandlicensesto154familiesthathadbeenliving
inthelandforover45years.
August16
The translation of the whole text of the LLRC Report, into Sinhala and Tamil, undertaken and
completedbytheCentralBankofSriLanka,washandedoverbyCentralBankGovernorAjithNivard
CabraaltoExternalAffairsMinisterProfGLPeirisandSecretarytothePresidentLalithWeeratunga,
attheExternalAffairsMinistry.
August17
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said progress of academic activities and development
projectsinSriLanka'sconflictaffectedWanniregionisatahigherlevelwhencomparedtotheother
districtsofthecountry.
August19
Head of the Presidential Task Force on the implementation of the LLRC recommendations and
Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga said the Sri Lankan Government will allocate funds in the
2013budgettoimplementtherecommendationsoftheLLRC.Hesaidfundingwasrequiredformost
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ministriestocarryouttheimplementationwork.
An office of the EROS was attacked by a group of unidentified persons in Sri Lanka's Eastern
Province at Batticaloa city. The Police said the attackers had caused severe damage to the party
officeandhadalsoattemptedtosetfireEROSleader'svan.
August20
TheMinisterofResettlementGunaratneWeerakoon said that Sri Lank has begun the final stage of
resettlement process to resettle the remaining IDP families in the Northern Province. According to
theMinistry,266,695displacedpersonswhohadtakenshelterintheMenikFarmWelfareVillagein
VavuniyahadbeenresettledundertheNorthernResettlementprogramme.
ExternalAffairsMinistrySecretary KarunathilakaAmunugamasaidthegovernmentofSriLankawill
not accept any mediator or facilitator roles by foreign governments or organizations in finding
solutionstoitsinternalproblems.Hesaid'PresidentMahindaRajapaksa'spositionwasveryclearin
thisregardrightfromthebeginningofhisofficeasthePresident'.
TheGovernmentofJapanprovidedUS$89,825ingrantaidforaprojecttoimprovelivelihoodsofthe
resettledpeopleintheVavuniyaDistrictofNorthernSriLanka.
August22
Sri Lanka's major Tamil political party, the TNA said theAction Plan for the implementation of the
LLRC recommendations has been prepared without due consultations with parliament. TNA
parliamentary group leader, R. Sampanthan made this comment during the adjournment motion
debatedintheparliamentontheimplementationoftheLLRCrecommendationsandtheActionPlan.
Headdedthatelectedrepresentativesofthepeopleaffectedbythewarhavenotbeenconsultedas
well.
Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told parliament that a solution to the national
issuewouldhavebeenfinalizedbynowiftheproposedPSCtofindapoliticalsolutionwasactivated.
HeblamedthenoncooperationofTNAinconstitutingthePSCwhichinfactis delaying the process
tofindasolutiontothenationalissue.
August23
CabinetapprovalwasgrantedtoaproposalbyExternalAffairsMinisterProfGLPeiristoinstructthe
Legal Draftsman to draft amendments to the Convention on Suppression of Terrorist FinancingAct
No 25 of 2005. Information Department Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya
RambukwellasaidthisisinkeepingwiththerecommendationsoftheFinancialAction TaskForceof
the G 7 countries to eliminate the remaining deficiencies in the law. He pointed out that primarily a
legalframeworkisrequiredtomoveforwardtopreventfinancingterrorism.Onlythereafterthataction
can be taken to suppress financing terrorists. The proposed amendments will cover all uncovered
areas.Thisisthefirststeptomoveforward,hesaid.
August29
The leader of TNA R. Sampanthan said that the party will negotiate with other parties to forge an
alliance to form the provincial government of the Eastern Provincial Council in case of loss of a
majority. He said that the party has focused mainly to form an alliance with the Tamil speaking
MuslimpoliticalpartySLMCwhichispowerfulinAmparaandBatticaloaDistricts.
August30
PresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidSriLankawillcontinuouslysupportmultilateraleffortstoprevent
allformsofterrorismandtosafeguardglobalpeaceandsecurityaddressingthe16thHeadsofState
Summit of the NAM in the Iranian capital of Teheran. The President noted that a domestic
mechanismsimilartoSriLankathatisbasedonthepeopleofthecountryisrequiredtothwartsuch
a threat. International community should support countries that have faced threat of terrorism, he
saidstressingthatthereshouldbenodoublestanceorpoliciesfavoringonesideoftheissue.
August31
PoliceHeadquarterssaidthat48977suspectswerearrestedinraidscarriedoutaroundthecountry.
TheraidswerecarriedoutoninstructionsfromPoliceChiefN.KIllangakone.This is sequent to the
arrest a few months ago of underworld gangster JulampitiyeAmare. The highest number of arrests
wasrecordedfromtheCentralProvincewith7329suspectstakenintocustody.
September2
Senior DIG of Elections Gamini Navaratne said that about 21,000 officers will be deployed for
securityduties.AccordingtoNavaratne,securityhasbeenstrengthened intransportingballotboxes,
at the voting centers and counting centers.The Police have received 76 complaints of election law
violationsbuttheyareminorincidentsandtothemostparttheelectioncampaignhasbeenpeaceful,
thePoliceofficialsaid.
DeputyElectionsCommissionerM. M. Mohammed said the situation of polling Districts in Eastern,
North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, is conducive to a free, fair and peaceful Provincial
Councilelection.
Resettlement Minister Gunaratne Weerakoon said Sri Lanka Government will welcome more Tamil
refugeeswhofledthecountrytoIndiaandwanttoreturnhomeafternearlythreedecadesofwarwith
the LTTE. He told "They have been returning from time to time, in small groups. My ministry along
withthedefenceministrywouldjointlywelcomethemifmorewanttoreturn.Theycouldberesettled
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intheirplacesoforigin".According tostatisticsmorethan100,000SriLankanrefugeesareinTamil
Nadu,outofwhichsome68,000arehousedin112governmentruncamps.Morethan5,000Lankans
havereturnedtotheislandnationunderaUNHCRfacilitatedvoluntaryrepatriationscheme.Theyare
theTamilswhofledfightinginthenorthandeastduringtheseparatistmilitarycampaignofLTTE.
September5
As a special measure to ensure a free and fair election, Deputy Elections Commissioner M.M.
MohammedsaidthattheElectionsDepartmentofSriLankawilldeployagroupofspecialofficerson
September7totheelectioncentersintheprovincialcouncilswhereelectionswillbeonSeptember
8. The Department will assign three officers to each election center in the Sabaragamuwa, North
CentralandEasternprovinces.Theofficerswouldbeassignedthetaskofevaluatingtheprogressin
eachelectioncenterandwouldremainintheirpostsuntiltheconclusionoftheelections.
TheCaFFEstatedthatMuslimdominatedAkkaraipattutowninAmaparaDistrictislikelytobecome
anotherKolonnawawithseveralMuslimpartiescontestingforthepowerintheCouncil.Kolonnawain
Colombo District turned violent last October during local government elections with a shooting
incident that killed four persons including a Presidential advisor and severely injured a governing
partyparliamentarian.
September7
TNAlawmakerM.A.SumanthiransaidthatavictoryintheEasternProvincialCouncilwouldbeakey
stepthoughthepartywantsmorepowertobedevolvedbasedon federalism. Sumanthiran told that
with Sri Lanka's human rights periodical review at the United Nations approaching, the Government
was trying to portray to the international community that the Tamil people are not seeking political
rightsbutaresatisfiedwithinfrastructuredevelopment.
September8
Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody said the parliamentarians attending the CPA's 58th annual
conference from September 7 15 could travel to the North during their visit to the country to see
firsthandthehumanrightsandlawandordersituationandthedevelopmentinthepostconflictareas.
HepointedoutthatthedelegatescouldusethevisittoSriLankatoclearanydoubtstheymayhave
hadaboutthesituationinthecountry.
Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said over 35,000 officials have been deployed to
ensureafreeandfairelectionintheEastern,SabaragamuwaandNorthCentral Provinces. He said
only persons permitted by the Elections Commissioner are allowed to enter counting centres. The
officialaddedthatanyunlawfulactduringtheelectionwouldbeseriouslydealtwithbytheElections
Commissioner.HesaidofficialsonelectiondutyhavereportedtoSeniorPresidingOfficers.
TheUPFAledbyPresidentMahinda RajapaksahaswonallthreeprovincialcouncilsNorthCentral,
Eastern and Sabaragamuwa election. The UPFA was able to win all the three Provincial Councils
obtaining 51.05 per cent of the total votes and securing 63 seats out of 114. The main opposition
UNPobtained27.67percent,TNAobtained9.63percentandthe SLMC6.46percent.Significantly,
theUPFAwon14seatsintheEasternProvincialCounciloutof35seats,whiletheTNAsecured11.
September10
TNA which secured the second highest number of seats at the EPC said it would stake a claim to
formthecouncilwiththesupportoftheSLMCandtheUNP.TheTNA won11seatsattheelection,
the UNP four and the SLMC four. Commenting on the outcome, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said
"TheUPFAgot14seatsanditsallyNationalFreedomFrontwonasingleseat.Altogether,theyhave
15memberselectedbutthepartiesthatareopposedtotheUPFAexceedthat.Therefore,westake
a claim for the formation of the council". Mr. Sumanthiran said the TNA initiated a dialogue with
theseparties.'WewillwritetotheGovernorstakingaclaimtoformthecouncil,"hesaid.
September11
UPFAGeneralSecretary,Minister SusilPremajayanthasaidthegoverningpartyhasnotyetmadea
finaldecisiononthechiefministerialappointmentsintheSabaragamuwa,NorthCentralandEastern
Provinces.Hesaidthegoverningpartyistodecidethisweekontheappointmentstobemadetothe
chief ministerial posts. The appointment of chief ministers to the North Central and Eastern
Provinces has now come under focus with the SLMC demanding one of its representatives to be
appointedastheEasternprovinceChiefMinister.
Minister Rauf Hakeem, the leader of Sri Lanka's major Muslim party, SLMC pledged the support of
his party to the ruling party to establish the EPC administration. Minister Hakeem expressed his
support when the leaders of constituent parties of the ruling alliance met with the President. The
SLMCwinning7seatsattheEPCelectionsheldonSeptember8becamethekingmakerwhennone
ofthepartieswonaclearmajority.
SLFPGeneralSecretaryandMinisterMaithripalaSirisenasaidthattheUPFAwoulddefinitelyform a
coalitionwiththeSLMCtogoverntheEasternProvince.The Ministeralsotoldinalighterveinthat
theTNAcouldalsojointhecoalitionasithadnootheroptionleftnow.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited the Commonwealth members to see for themselves the post
wardevelopmentinthecountry.Addressingthedelegatesof54Commonwealthnations at the 58th
CommonwealthParliamentaryAssociationConference inColombo,thePresidentsaidtheirpresence
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inthecountrygivesthemagoodopportunitytoseeforthemselvestheprogressofdemocracyinSri
Lanka, after the major threat the country faced under terrorism. He added that the conference is
extremely important to show the international community the manner democracy has been
establishedinthecountryafterdefeatingterrorism.
September12
UPFA General Secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha told that the Alliance would decide on
September 13 on the appointment of chief ministers to the Sabaragamuwa, North Central and
EasternProvinces.HesaidthedecisionwouldbemadeaftertheElectionsDepartmentgazettesthe
names of elected candidates. Speaking on reaching an agreement with the SLMC, Premajayantha
saidthegoverningpartywashopefulofreceivingaresponsefromtheSLMC.
SLMChaslaidoutconditionstosupporttheUPFAtoformtheadministrationoftheEPC.SLMChas
demandedtwoministerialportfoliosoftheEPCplusabonusseatof the council. In addition, SLMC
has also demanded a cabinet portfolio or three posts of deputy ministers from the central
government.SLMCalsowantstoguaranteeMuslimdemandsinpowersharingaswell.
IrrigationMinisterNimalSiripaladeSilvasaidthattheworkoftheproposedPSConfindingapolitical
solution to the ethnic issue has been delayed by the major Tamil party TNA. De Silva during a
meeting with visiting United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and CentralAsia Robert
O.BlakesaidtheTNA'sfailuretonamerepresentativestothe PSC has delayed its work. De Silva
howeverhasexplainedtoSecretaryBlakethatthePSCcouldcommenceitsdeliberationsevennow
iftheTNAnominatesitsrepresentativestothecommittee.
September13
TNAdecidedtoofferthechief ministerialpostintheEasternProvincetotheSLMCforthefirsthalf
ofthetermoftheEPCifthetwopartiesagreetoformajointadministration.
A UPFA administration will be set up in the EPC, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya
Rambukwellasaid.HesaidinaccordancewiththeresultoftherecentProvincialCouncilelectionfor
the Eastern Province, the UPFA obtained the majority returning 14 members. Therefore, the UPFA
as the party, which obtained the majority, has the right to set up the administration in the Eastern
Province.WhentheministerwasaskedwhethertheUPFAreceivesthesupportofthe other parties
tosetuptheadministration,theMinistersaidthatdiscussionsarebeingheldwithseveralpartiesin
afriendlymannerforsettingupadministration.
SriLankanPresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthatSriLankawouldnothaveeliminatedthescourge
ofterrorismwithoutthehelpandsupportofPakistan.ThePresidenttoldthePakistani Parliamentary
delegationledbyDr.NafisaShah,MemberoftheNationalAssemblyofPakistanandChairpersonof
National Commission for Human Development when she paid a courtesy call on the President at
Temple Trees in Colombo. The President noted that Pakistan extended unflinching support to Sri
Lankaduringthe3decadeinternalconflictandimmenselyhelpedintheeliminationofthemenaceof
terrorismfromtheSriLankansoil.
September14
USAssistant Secretary of State for South and CentralAsian region and former US ambassador to
Colombo Robert O Blake stressed the importance of early resumption of talks between the Sri
LankanGovernmentandtheTNAtoagree onpowerdevolutiontotheprovinces.Heemphasisedthe
needtohaveanacceleratedprocesstoimplementtheLLRCrecommendationsanditsactionplan.
September15
SriLanka'smajorTamilparty TNAleaderR.Sampanthansaidthatfiveoftheparty'snewlyelected
councilors of the EPC have fled to Colombo in fear of their lives. He said that they have been
promisedperksandprivilegesinreturnoftheirsupport.TNAwon11seatsintheEPCandtheruling
UPFAwon14seatsofthe35memberCouncil.Hesaidthatthepartywasawaitingtheresponseof
theSLMCtoformacoalitionruleintheEPC.TNAhasagreedtooffertheChiefMinisterposition to
theSLMC.
September17
Leader of SLMC and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said the post of Chief Minister of the Eastern
ProvincialCouncilwoulddefinitelybegiventoaMuslim.HeobservedthattheSLMChasdiscussed
with the government and the TNA about the Eastern Provincial Council.According to Hakeem, the
SLMC wanted to act in the best interest for the people in the East, keeping in mind their diverse
nature.
September18
UPFA'sM.N.AbdulMajeedwas appointedChiefMinisteroftheEasternProvincialCouncil.Hetook
hisoathsbeforePresidentMahindaRajapaksaatTempleTrees, Colombo.Hecamethirdinthelist
from the Trincomalee District obtaining 11,726 preference votes at last week's EP poll where the
UPFAemergedaheadofallcontenders.
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the Election Commissioner of Sri Lanka will decide the right
timetoholdtheelectionsfortheNorthernProvincialCouncilwhentheenvironmentisconducivefor
anelection.Hesaiditis the duty of the Election Commissioner to decide when to hold elections in
thewarbatteredProvinceandnotuptothegovernmentortotheheadofstate.
Ruling UPFA decided to appoint S. M. Ranjith as the Chief Minister of the North Central Province.
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September19
Ruling UPFA decided to appoint S. M. Ranjith as the Chief Minister of the North Central Province.
Ranjith, the councilor of the NCP who received the highest number of preferential votes at the
election held on September 8. Ranjith gained over 100,000 votes surpassing former Chief Minister
BertyPremalalDissanayaka.
Konstantin Dolgov, Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the
Rule of Law said in Colombo that the Sri Lankan government is making serious efforts in
rehabilitation of former LTTE combatants, their reintegration into society and reconciliation with the
minority. Dolgov expressed his view that the Human Rights situation in the country is improving
rapidlyfollowingtheendofwar.
September20
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue of devolution of power in Sri Lanka with
visiting President Mahinda Rajapaksa in order to allow the Tamil population "to look forward to a
futurewheretheycanlivewithdignityandrespect".
September21
TNAsaidtherearedoubtsoverthegovernment'scommitmenttoimplementtherecommendationsof
the LLRC.TNA has expressed their doubts during a meeting with the members of the UNHRC who
are currently in the country. The TNA team delegation led by R. Sampanthan discussed matters
about lands being taken over ostensibly for development purposes and on which, persons of the
majority community were being settled, cultural and religious places being denied to the Tamil
people, issues relating to demilitarization, disappearances, detainees, changes in the demographic
composition in the North and the East, accountability and the evolution of an acceptable political
solution.
UPFA informed the newly elected councilors of the North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa
Provincial Councils to come to the Presidential Secretariat on September 24 to take oaths as the
members of the relevant Provincial Councils. The swearing in of the councilors as well as the
Ministers and Chief Ministers of the three Provincial Councils is to be taken place before President
MahindaRajapaksa,UPFAsourcessay.
September22
PublicAdministrationandHome AffairsMinisterWDJSeneviratnesaidtheministrywillrecruitover
300 administrative officers, including 88 Assistant Divisional Secretaries to the North and East.
Eighty eight officers who have completed training are to be appointed as Assistant Divisional
Secretaries. The majority of the officers are to be deployed to Divisional Secretariat Offices in the
NorthernandEasternProvinces,speciallyMannar,Mullaitivu,Jaffna,BatticaloaandTrincomalee.
September23
MajorGeneralBonifacePerera,whoistheCompetentAuthorityforIDPsintheNorthernregion told
that the last group of over 300,000 displaced persons during the war in the North will return to their
original hometowns in the Mullaitivu District on September 24. Maj.Gen. Perera said "The
resettlement in the northern region was delayed because of demining in these areas. We have to
make sure that there are no remnants of any land mines in these areas, because civilian safety is
important for the government". He added that the military would continue to assist the resettled
peopletobuildtheirhousesand commence their livelihoods although the government has met their
needs.
AccordingtotheCompetentAuthorityforIDPsintheNorthernregion,1,186peoplebelongedto361families
lefttheManikFarmIDPcampinVavuniya.TheManikFarmintheNorthernProvincehousednearly300,000
IDPsjustaftertheEelamwarendedin2009.
September24
NewchiefministersforSriLanka'sNorthCentralandSabaragamuwaprovincesweresworninbefore
PresidentMahindaRajapaksaattheTempleTrees,Colombo.MaheepalaHerathasChiefMinisterfor
Sabaragamuwa Province and S.M. Ranjith as Chief Minister for North Central Province took oaths
fromthePresident.Bothchiefministershavesecuredthehighestnumberofpreferentialvotesatthe
provincial elections held on September 8. However, the former chief minister of the North Central
ProvinceBertyPremalalDissanayakecontestedtheexpectedappointmentofS.M.Ranjith.
The newlyelected councilors for the three councils of Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern
provinces took oaths from the President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat.
Speaking to the new provincial ministers and councilors, President Rajapaksa asked them to
dedicatetheirservicetothewelfareofthepeopleoftheprovincesandensuretheirwellbeing.
September25
TheUNwelcomedtheclosureofSri Lanka's last IDPs Manik Farm camp in Vavuniya District.The

UN,however,saidthatitisconcernedabout346people(110families)whoarereturningfromManik
Farm to Kepapilavu in Mullaitivu District, as they are unable to return to their homes which are
occupiedbythemilitary.
September26
Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said that 11,500 exLTTE combatants out of the
12,000 surrendered or in the custody of the state have been reunited with their families after
rehabilitation. He said that out of the 500 that remained around 320 would be reunited with their
families soon. Brigadier Wanigasuriya said that the main reason for the delay to reunite them with
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theirfamiliesisthatthevocationaltrainingcoursestheyarefollowinghavenotyetbeencompleted.
Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said that the government is always ready to
negotiate and this is why President Mahinda Rajapaksa displayed his sincerity by saying he is
prepared to accept any collective decision taken by the PSC in connection with the ethnic issue.
MinisterYapa said unfortunately the TNA and other political parties are still dithering. The minister
said President Rajapaksa has stated that if political parties come to an agreement at the PSC, he
willacceptit.
September28
JVPparliamentarianSunilHandunnettiobservedthattheGovernmentcannotwashitshandsoffthe
whole issue by settling the IDPs in a cleared jungle land. He notes that claims made by the
PresidentandtheGovernmentaboutresettlingalldisplacedpersonsintheNorthhavenowprovento
be false. He explained that the Government had said that the last 361 families in Menik Farm of
Vavuniya District have been resettled, but they have not been resettled in their original homes and
110familieshave been resettled in a newly cleared jungle area in the Seenimotta area of Mullaitivu
District.
Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that no other country in the world has
achieved rapid post war development like Sri Lanka. He explained that the government had also
taken steps to rehabilitate former LTTE cadres to reintegrate them to society while also assisting
their families. According to Rajapaksa, 80 percent of the demining work in the North has been
completed.Referringtotheconstructionandrenovationofhouses,henotedthatover6,000houses
havebeenconstructedandanestimated7,000housesrepairedorrenovatedforuse.
September30
TNAparliamentarianSureshPremachandransaidthepartywouldparticipateintheproposedPSCon
finding a political settlement if the Indian Government could guarantee that an agreement would be
reached at the committee. He explained that there have been many committee reports in the past
yearsonproposalsforapoliticalsolutionthathavebeendiscardedwithoutconsideration.TheIndian
GovernmenthasinvitedtheTNA fortalksinNewDelhionOctober9thtodiscussthereconciliation
processandapoliticalsolutiontotheethnicissue.
October2
UNSecretaryGeneralBanKiMoonwelcomedthepositivedevelopmentsinSriLanka,includingthe
complete resettlement of IDPs and the closure of the resettlement village at Menik Farm, holding
ProvincialCouncilelectionsintheEasternProvince,stepstakentoreachouttocivilsocietyand the
action plan to implement the recommendations of the LLRC. He said mutual understanding and
continuedcooperationwouldassistSriLankatobenefitfromUNexpertise.
AntonioGuterresobservedthatUNHCRwilltrimitsoperationalroleinSriLankaasthecountryhas
shown considerable progress three years after the country emerged from defeating terrorism.
Guterressaidthe"UNHCRwillcontinuetobecommittedtosupportingvoluntaryrepatriationof some
of the refugees of Sri Lanka from India, as well as with the resettlement of the remainder of the
internallydisplacedintheirplacesoforigin."
The second phase of Indian Housing Project to construct and repair 43,000 housing units for the
resettled families in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka got off to a start. Minister of
Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa and High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha jointly
launchedtheproject.
October4
MinisterofMassMediaandInformationKeheliyaRambukwellasaidSriLankanGovernmentwilltake
everymeasuretocurtailextremistactsofviolence,andwillnotallowextremist groups in Sri Lanka
totakeundueadvantagetocreateunwantedviolenceinthecountry.
TwoSinhalaBuddhistorganizationslodgedacomplaintinpoliceagainsttheleaderoftheLeftFront
Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne over his views on ethnic problem of the country. The two
organizations,SNFandSRlodgedthecomplainttotheInspectorGeneralofPolice.
October5
Sri Lanka's main opposition UNP said that the controversial Divi Neguma Bill cannot be passed in
parliamentwithouttheapprovaloftheNPC.UNPparliamentarianLakshmanKiriellasaiditwouldbe
unconstitutionaltotablethebillinparliamentwithouttheapprovaloftheNPC.Henotedthatthe 13th
Amendmenthasnotedthatlegislationhavetobepassedbytheprovincialcouncil.
October6
Sri Lankan Government announced that it will initiate legal action against some former hardcore
LTTEcadres.Acommitteeoflegalcouncilappointedtolookinto thependingcasesunderthePTA
has announced that it has finalized the prosecution process. Additional Solicitor General Suhada
GamlathtoldthemediathattheGovernmentwouldfilecasesagainst60formerLTTEcadresinthe
nextfewweeks.HesaidthattheTID wasinvestigatinginto80moreformerLTTEcadresbasedon
newevidencereceivedontheirinvolvementinthewar.
October7
TNAsoughtassurancesfromIndia's centralGovernmentforconstructivesuggestionsinnegotiating
withtheSriLankanGovernmentontheethnicissue.TheTNAsaid thatitwillparticipateinthePSC
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proposed by the Government to resolve the ethnic issue if the Indian government can provide an
agendafortalks.
October8
SriLankanGovernmenthasrecruitedanother2,000formerLTTEcombatantsfromtheMullaitivuand
KilinochchiDistrictstothecountry'sCSD.TheGovernmentaimstoutilize the service of the former
LTTE members who have received vocational training in development activities. The Sri Lankan
Governmenthassaidthatitwillrecruit5,000formerLTTEcombatantstothecountry'sCivilDefense
Force.
Dr.Ajay Chhibber, the UNAssistant Secretary General said that allocation of land and job creation
for the people resettled in the conflictaffected areas are the key issues that needed greater
attention.
October10
A sevenmember delegation of TNA will leave for India on an invitation extended by the Indian
Government to hold discussions on the ethnic issue. The delegation, led by TNA Leader R.
SampanthanwillincludeTNAparliamentariansSelvam Adekkalanadan, Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh
Premachandran, M. A. Sumanthiran, Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy, and P. Selvarasa. During their
fourday tour to New Delhi, the TNA delegation is scheduled to hold discussions with Indian Prime
MinisterDr.ManmohanSinghandothergovernmentofficialsinNewDelhionasolutiontotheethnic
issue.TheywillhowevernotholddiscussionswiththeTamilNadupoliticiansduringtheirshorttour,a
TNAmemberhassaid.
India'sExternalAffairsMinister S.M.KrishnainastatementsaidthatthevisitbytheTNAis part of
India's continuing engagement with Government and political parties of Sri Lanka on an ethnic
solution.
October11
TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that they will consider joining the PSC proposed by the Indian
GovernmenttosolvetheethnicissueiftheSriLankanGovernmentassures them that they will not
be cheated again. During his hourlong meeting with the External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in
New Delhi, the visiting Leader of the TNA discussed the party's stance on the Sri Lankan
Government'sproposalsforpowerdevolutiontotheminorityTamils.
IndianPrimeMinisterManmohanSinghtoldtheTNAdelegationthatIndiawillnotbacktrackfrom its
position that Tamils in Sri Lanka should lead a life of "dignity and selfrespect" in a peaceful
environment.
October12
TheSriLankaNavysaidthatithasfoundthewreckageofapassengerplanebelievedtohavebeen
shot down by LTTE 14 years ago. The Navy searched the seabed on the request of the TID and
locatedthewreckageofthe'LionAir' domesticpassengerplane.TheLionAirflight602fromPalaly
to Ratmalana carrying 48 civilians and 8 crew including two Ukrainian pilots went missing on
September 29, 1998 over the northern seas. It was believed that, the LTTE terrorists in a missile
attack shot down the Antonov 26 over the Iranativu Island just ten minutes after it took off from
Palaly.
October15
The Sri Lankan Government has identified 12 new divisional secretariats in nine Districts that are
required to use both Sinhala and Tamil as their languages in administration. Sri Lankan President
MahindaRajapaksahasdeclaredthatDehiwalaMountLavinia,GangaIhalaKoraleandthe Kandy
FourGravetsandGangawataKorale,Matale,LankapuraandWelikandainPolonnaruwa,Ratnapura,
Balangoda,Mawanella,Kekirawa,VavuniyaSouthandDehiattakandiyadivisionalsecretariatsshould
usebothlanguagesintheiradministrations.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's special envoy for human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe
will lead the Government delegation to participate in the 14th session of the UPR in Geneva from
October22November5,2012.TheSriLankanreportissaidtohavefocusedontheresettlementof
theIDPsandtheprogressmadeontherecommendationsoftheLLRC.
Sri Lankan authorities will hold a special discussion next month on the HSZs established in Jaffna
during the decadeslong ethnic conflict.The discussion would be based on the HSZs in Jaffna and
theprivatelandsthatarecurrentlyoccupiedbythemilitaryinthearea.
October16
TheUNSecretaryGeneralBanKimoonurgedtheSriLankanGovernmenttofindaspeedypolitical
solutiontotheunderlyingfactorsbehindthecountry'scivilwarwhichended three years ago in May
2009.TheUNChief,whilenotingtheSriLankanGovernment'slatesteffortsonaccountabilityaswell
as the steady progress on resettlement issues, has raised the issue of a political solution and
emphasizedtheneedforaquickmeasurewhenhemetwithSriLanka'sSpecialPresidentialEnvoy
onHumanRights,MinisterMahindaSamarasingheatUNHeadquartersinNewYork.
TNA said the Government needed to agree to have bilateral talks with the party based on the five
documentspreparedearlierinrelationtoapoliticalsolution.TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran
saidthatfollowingtheparty'svisittoIndiathatthepartywouldparticipateintheproposedPSC,ifthe
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Governmentagreestoholdbilateraltalkswiththeparty.
October17
TheSriLankanGovernmentsaidtheformerinternationalwingleaderandchiefarmsprocurerofthe
LTTE Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP is free from prosecution as there was no evidence against
him.LakshmanHulugalle,thehead of the MCNS said the 58yearold former LTTE leader is free to
carry out work for a charity he founded for the welfare of the conflictaffected people in the North.
Hulugalle said KP was no longer in detention and he is running a nongovernment organization and
doingworkforthebenefitofthepeopleduringthelastfewmonths.
October18
TheUnitedStatessaidthatitremainsconcernedabouttherushedresettlementofthefinalIDPsto
close the Menik Farm camp in Vavuniya District. The U.S. Embassy in Colombo in a statement
noted that "many of the most vulnerable families of the waraffected population in the North have
been placed on land hastily cleared without adequate shelter, water and sanitation, or provisions to
continuetheirlivelihoodswhilemany long term IDPs remain unable to return home or access basic
servicesfromthegovernment."
October19
TheUnitedStatesGovernmentawardedover $ 3 million to three organizations supporting resettling

communitiesintheMullaitivuandKillinochchiDistricts.The USAID's Office of US Foreign Disaster
Assistance awarded funding to ZOA Refugee Care, Sewalanka, and PracticalAction to provide the
basic needs that many Sri Lankans urgently require. The support will provide help to nearly 50,000
Sri Lankans with basic services such as adequate shelter, access to potable water and proper
sanitation and food security. The programmes will also put these individuals on the road to a
sustainable future, with support to start generating needed income, and connect farmers and
fishermenwithmarkets.
MinisterofMassMediaandInformationKeheliyaRambukwellasaidatthecabinetpressbriefingthat
the Sri Lankan Government is planning to hold discussions with the Tamil Diaspora soon. The
Minister said the planned dialogue will be held shortly under the patronage of President Mahinda
Rajapaksa. He further added that the Government has taken initiative in this connection and there
arepositivedevelopmentstoholdadialoguewiththeTamilDiaspora.
SriLanka'sMarxistparty,JVPPropagandaSecretaryVijithaHerathsaidthatthe13thAmendmentto
the Constitution would not provide a solution to the ethnic issue. He explained that the
implementation of the 13thAmendment should be able to protect the equal rights of the Tamil and
Muslim communities, but it has not happened.According to Herath, the 13th Amendment that has
beenforcedonthecountryasaproductoftheIndoSriLankaaccordof1987hascompoundedthe
ethnicissue.
October21
TheSriLankanGovernmentcommencedhearingcasesofformerLTTEmembersintwoofthefour
special courts set up for that purpose. Justice Ministry Secretary Kamalini de Silva said that two
courts have been established in Mannar and Vavuniya Districts to expedite the hearing of cases
againstLTTE suspects. She noted that two more courts are to be established inAnuradhapura and
ColomboDistrictsforthepurpose.TheGovernment inMayhadinformedparliamentthattherewere
some359LTTEsuspectsinlocalprisonsand309caseshavetobeheard.
The Sri Lankan Government is considering repealing the PCS that was established under the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution to devolve power. The Government is under pressure from both
insideandoutsidetorepealthePCSsincethe13thAmendmenthasbecomeathreattotheunityof
the country. Organizations and individuals supporting the Government have pointed out that a 19th
Amendment to the Constitution can be brought to decentralize the power and abolish the 13th
AmendmentsincetheGovernmenthasatwothirdmajority.
October22
ThreerehabilitatedformerLTTEcadreshavebeenselectedasbestshooterstonationalshooterpool
representingSriLankaattheSAARCgamesnextyear.TheGovernmentassessed135formerLTTE
combatants,whohaveundergonerehabilitationaftertheirsurrendertotheSriLankansecurityforces
at the end of the war, for their sports abilities. The Minister of Sports MahindanandaAluthgamage
presentedKanakasanthuramRajeevan,ThayabaranThaventhiran,andSellamuttuSureshkumar,who
havebeenselectedfortheshootingevent,withAirRifles attheSportsMinistry.Theywillbepartof
the national pool of the Shooting Federation that will represent Sri Lanka at the SAARC sports
festivaltobeheldinNewDelhiin2013.
October24
TheclosureofMenikFarmcampwhichoncehoused300,000Tamilsdisplacedduringthecountry's
decadelong ethnic war is a milestone in addressing the issue of displacement in Sri Lanka said
UnitedNation'sResidentandHumanitarianCoordinatorinSriLankaDoctorSubinayNandy.
October25
NFF Leader and Housing and Construction Minister Wimal Weerawansa said that the 13th
AmendmenttotheConstitutionissimilartoatimebombwaitingtoexplode.Explainingthatthe13th
Amendment would result in a federal governing structure where powers are devolved to the
provinces, Minister Weerawansa noted that the Government and the country would be faced with
manyproblemsinsuchaneventuality.
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MassMediaandInformationMinisterKeheliyaRambukwellasaidthegovernmenthasnointentionof
abolishingthe13thAmendment.RambukwellatoldthePresidenthasstressed thatthegovernment's
intention is to implement the 13 plus. "By the reference of 'Plus' it is envisaged to converge all
minoritygroupsintheprovincesinaSenate,"theMinistersaid.
October26
SeniorMinisterD.E.W.Gunasekerawarned that abolishing the 13thAmendment to the Constitution

wouldbeaninvitationtoseparatism.HesaidthatarmedmovementsintheNorthhadlaiddowntheir
armsandenteredthedemocraticpoliticalprocessduetothe13thAmendmenttotheConstitution.
October27
TNAleaderR.Sampanthansaid thattheongoingdiscussionontheinternalriftthathadarisenin the

TNA would not impede the headway being made in achieving the objectives of Sri Lanka's Tamil
speakingpeople.Hesaidtherift had arisen mainly over the administration of the party. "This rift is
notinanywayrelatedtothepoliticalgoalsandaspirationsoftheTamilpeopleorthepartiesinthe
alliance.Ourpoliticalaspirations,effortsandcommitmentstowardstheTamilpeople of this country
remainsteadfastasalways,"hesaid.
October28
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the Sri Lankan Government is looking at seeking
legal means of stopping existing illegal operation of the LTTE, operating from the overseas.
Rajapaksasaid"MostofthehierarchyoftheLTTEwaskilledatthefinalstagesonlyafewlowrung
cadres have managed to escape and are now engaged in false propaganda operations in order to
collectfundsfromtheDiaspora.Theywereengagedinillegaloperationslikegunrunningandhuman
smuggling using their shipping fleet various organizations and front offices in many parts of the
world.Thegovernmentislookingatseekinglegalmeansofstoppingexistingillegaloperationofthe
LTTErump".
AnAustralianreportsaidthatformerLTTEcombatantswantedfortheircrimesinSriLankaarebeing
funded to migrate to Australia as asylum seekers by the former members of the terrorist group
alreadymigratedtoAustralia. Thereportsaidthatsixformercombatantsposedasasylumseekers
werearrestedleavingSriLankathisyear,withanothersixpeoplewhowereapprehendedasalleged
smugglers.
October29
Minister of Housing, Construction and Common Amenities Wimal Weerawansa met the Chief
PrelatesofBuddhistSiyamNikayatoseekblessingsforthestruggleledbyhimtoabolishthe13th
Amendment to the Constitution under which the Provincial Council system was introduced as a
power devolution mechanism. The Minister pointed out to the Chief Prelate of Asgiriya Chapter of
Siyam Nikaya Ven. Udugama Buddharakkhitha Thero that the Provincial Council system has
becomeachallengetotheSupremeCourtaswell.
October31
TheArmyrecoverdfiveartilleryguns130mmand152mmandaboatfittedwithtwopowerfulboats
hiddenbytheLTTEattheVellamullivaikkalbeachinMullaitivuDistrict.
November1
ThemuchanticipatedsecondUPRofSriLanka'shumanrightsrecordgotunderwayattheUNHRCin
Geneva. President's Special Envoy for Human Rights, Plantation Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
led the Sri Lankan. Addressing the assembly Minister Samarasinghe stated that it is Sri Lanka's
consistent stand that the UPR provides the best opportunity to raise questions and seek
clarificationsaboutthepresentsituationinthecountry.
DuringtheUNHRCUPRofSriLankainGeneva,atotalof99memberstatesoftheUNcommended
Sri Lanka for its progress in the resettlement of the IDPs and the development of the conflict
affectedareas.Thecountriesexpressed theirviewsinbriefstatementsaftertheopeningstatement
bytheMahindaSamarasinghe.Meanwhile,thewesternnationsincludingtheUS,BritainandCanada
calledontheSriLankanGovernmenttoimprovetheremainingconcerns.
November2
DPF, a minor Tamil political party in Sri Lanka, accused the Government of trying to disregard the
minority communities in the country. DPF leader Mano Ganesan told that comments made by
several ministers indicate that the Government was against the devolution of power. He noted that
Ministers Dinesh Gunawardena, Champika Ranawaka, Wimal Weerawansa, and Defence Secretary
GotabhayaRajapaksahavespokenagainstthe13thAmendmenttotheConstitution.
November5
SriLankahassupported20recommendationsmadeduringtheUPRattheUNHRCinGeneva.Major
recommendationsfollowingthereviewwereforSriLankatofullyimplementtherecommendations of
theLLRCandtheNHRAPfortheProtectionandPromotionofhumanrights.
November6
The remains of nearly 2,500 vehicles, burnt or damaged by the LTTE during the final stages of the
battle in Pudukudirippu in 2009, were handed over to their owners by the Government following the
authenticationofownership.Theownershipofanother900vehicleswasidentifiedtohandoverto the
claimants in due course. The process of handing over the vehicles to the owners is being
coordinatedbytheRMVandtheGovernmentAgent.SixtyEightBrigadeDivisionCommanderMajor
General Jagath Wijethilake said a small number of vehicles cannot be identified and remain
unclaimed.TheMajorGeneralsaidalmostallvehiclesbelongedtociviliansandmosthadbeenused
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bytheLTTE."ThevehicleshadbeentakenbytheLTTEforciblyandtheyweredumpedorsetonfire
atthetailendofthebattle."Hesaidhowevernoneofthevehicleswereinworkingcondition.
November7
JHU and NFF led by Construction, Engineering, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal
Weerawansacalledforthewithdrawalofthe13thAmendmenttotheConstitution. PowerandEnergy
Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka of the JHU also said that the country has to face a series of
complicated issues due to the provincial council system that was established under the 13th
AmendmenttotheConstitutionandcalledfortheimmediatewithdrawaloftheamendment.
November8
AprominentLTTEleaderandleaderoftheProLTTETCCNadarajahMatheenthiranaliasParithywas
killed in Paris, France, as a result of internal rift. Police said that Parithy belonged to LTTE's
Nediyawan faction. Since the death of Prabhakaran, an internal rift occurred between LTTE Europe
LeaderNediyawanandV.RudrakumaranwhowasalsoaprominentLTTEleaderbasedinUSA.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that a change in the prevailing Provincial Council
system is necessary to make devolution more meaningful to the people. The President noted that
devolution should not be a political reform that will lead the country to separation but a mechanism
thatwouldunifythecountry.Headdedthatdevolutionshouldnotinvolvehighspendingandcomplex
governancestructuresthatwillimposefurtherburdenonpeople.
November11
Sri Lanka Government is considering introducing 19thAmendment to the Constitution as a solution

tothecurrentnationalissueofpowerdevolutionwhilethemomentumtoabolishthe13thAmendment
isgatheringmomentum.ThedraftamendmentwillbepresentedtothePSCthathasbeenproposed
toformulateasolutiontothecurrentethnicissue.The19th Amendment will include options for the
devolutionofpowerandwillreplacethe13thAmendmenttoeliminatetheexistingprovincial council
system.
November13
UNPsaidthatthe13thAmendment shouldbeamendedtorectifyanyshortcomingsbutitshouldnot
beabolished.UNPGeneralSecretaryTissaAttanayakesaid"The governmentshouldcomeupwith
analternateunitofdevolutionintheeventitdecidestoabolishprovincialcouncils."Hetoldthat the
13thAmendmenttotheConstitutioncontainedseveral shortcomingswhichneededtoberectifiedto
prevent provincial councils bypassing Parliament. He admitted that the 13th Amendment was
enactedinahurryunderanagreementbetweenthenPresidentJ.R. Jayewardene and Indian Prime
MinisterRajivGandhi.
Two Sri Lankan men were charged with the murder of Paithy, a former commander of Sri Lanka's
LTTEinParis.Thetwosuspects,bothborninSriLankain1979,werearrestedonNovember11and
arebeingheldincustodyinParis.Oneofthemissuspectedoforderingthemurderandtheotherof
carryingoutthehitontheSriLankanbornFrenchnational.Theyhavebeenchargedwithmurderand
immigrationoffences.
November14
House Leader and Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva expressed that the Government is ready to
discuss the repealing or amending the 13thAmendment to the Constitution with all political parties
includingtheTamilparties.HetoldParliamenttheGovernmentiswillingtotakeupthismatterinthe
proposed PSC, which is to be set up to work out a political solution to the national question. The
minister said repealing the 13thAmendment was not the official stance of the Government though
someofitsallieshadcalledforit.
November15
The SecretaryGeneral of the UN, Ban Kimoon said that the IRP appointed to review the agency's
actionsduringthefinalstagesofSriLanka'swarthatendedinMay2009hasconcludedthattheUN
system failed to meet its responsibilities. Ban admitted that the UN system failed to meet its
responsibilities highlighting, in particular, the roles played by the Secretariat, the agencies and
programmesoftheUN CountryTeam, and the members of the Security Council and Human Rights
Council.
SriLankaArmyspokesmanBrigadierRuwanWanigasooriyasaidtheArmyhastakenstepstorecruit
100 female LTTE soldiers to the force. TheArmy will hold a special ceremony in the former LTTE
strongholdofKilinochchiDistrictonNovember17toselect100womenintheagegroupof1822to
undergo training as soldiers. The women will be recruited from Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts.
The female Tamil soldiers are to be mobilized in peace building and reconciliation programs
conductedbythesecurityforcesintheseareas.
November16
TNA Leader, R. Sampanthan said that any move to repeal the 13thAmendment to the Constitution
would cause harm to the country's future. He observed that the 13th Amendment was the only
provisionthatrecognizedthediversityofthecountrytoacertainextent.AccordingtoSampanthan,
the Government should do away with the system of devolution based on the nine provinces and
insteadmustbringaboutadevolutionandadministrativesystemofthreeorfourzones,sothatthe
expendituretomaintainnineProvincialCouncilscanbereduced.
Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa said that thousands of Tamilspeaking Muslim
people languishing in refugees camps for 22 years after their forcible eviction from their homes in
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NorthernProvincebytheLTTEwillberesettledintheiroriginalplacesofresidenceimmediately.
November21
A large LTTE flag was hoisted by an unidentified proLTTE group at Velvettithurai in Jaffna, the
hometown of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The Valvettithurai Police said the flag that
hadbeenhoistedattheValvettithuraimainjunctioninJaffnatownwasremovedlaterandagroupof
suspects were taken into custody. They said investigations were being carried out to arrest those
behindtheincident.LTTEheroes'weekusedtobecelebratedfromNovember21to27.
Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda said in
Parliament that the resolution of the present conflict through dialogue entirely rests on the TNA's
participationinthePSC.
November23
The Sri Lankan Government expressed serious concern over the practice of leaking United Nations
panelreportsonthecountry'scivilwartomediabeforereleasingthemtopublic.TheUNreportwhich
theGovernmentcalledas"Petriereport"wasmadepublicbytheUNSecretaryGeneralBanKimoon
onNovember14,adayafteritwasleakedtothemedia.
A local court in Chennai, Tamil Nadu closed a criminal charge filed against slain LTTE chief
Prabhakaran, pending before it for many years. The VII Additional Sessions Judge (In charge)
Kaliamoorthydeclaredthechargeas"abated,"followingtheCrimeBranchCIDrequesttocloseiton
thegroundthatPrabhakaran'sbodywasrecoveredfromtheNandikadalareaofSriLankain2009.
November26
AheadofthenextsessionoftheUNHRCinGeneva,theUShasdecidedtoholdtalkswiththeTNA
forareviewofactiontakenbytheGovernmentofSriLankainconformitywiththeresolutionadopted
early this year, officials said. The US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka was adopted at the
UNHRC session in March this year. The resolution called for the implementation of constructive
recommendationsbytheLLRCandaddressingaccountabilityissuesduringthelaststageofthewar.
SomeproLTTEposterswhichwerepastedbyanunidentifiedgroupintwoplacesinUppuweliareaof
TrincomaleecityhavebeenremovedbytheSF.
November27
FivesuspectsdistributingproLTTE hand bills to mark the 'LTTE war heroes' day were arrested by
thePoliceinAkkaraipattufromAmparaDistrict.
TheTNAMPSelvamAdaikalanathan threatenedtocommenceafastuntodeathiftheGovernment
failstoprovideapoliticalsolutiontotheethnicissuebynextyear.
November28
StudentsatJaffnaUniversity(JaffnaDistrict)inNorthernProvinceclasheswithsecurityforcesSFs.
The tensions arose as some students marked the death of LTTE guerrillas at small candlelit
memorials,whilewellproducedproTigerpostersappearedinvariouspartsoftheformerlyTigerheld
territory.
November29
TNAsaidintheParliamentthat stepsshouldbetakentoimmediatelyreleasethepoliticalprisoners
inthecountry.TheTNAsaysthatthereare810politicalprisoners inthecountry.Hesaidwhycan't
thesepeople,whowerearrestedforminoroffenceslikegivingwaterorfoodtotheLTTEcadres,be
released.
November30
Students at Jaffna University (Jaffna District) in Northern Province started a twoday boycott of
classesafterclasheswithSFsonNovember28.
December2
TID arrested four students of Jaffna University (Jaffna District), Northern Province on suspicions of
terrorist activities while an unknown Jaffnabased Tamil movement planned to stage a massive
demonstrationonDecember3.Thefourstudentsarebeinginterrogatedoverapetrolbombexplosion
attheTELOpoliticalpartyofficeinJaffnaandovertheproLTTEactivities.
Students of the majority Sinhala community have begun to leave the tension stricken Jaffna
university(JaffnaDistrict)inNorthernProvinceintheTamildominatedcity.
December4
TNA,TNFandseveralothercivilsocietyorganizationsbasedinJaffnaheldamassprotestagainst
thearrestoffouruniversitystudents.
December5
TheUNsaidthatagrouptoreviewthefindingoftheUN'sactionsandinactionsinSriLankain2009
orknownasCharlesPetriereportisbeingsetup.
TIDhasarrested25formerLTTEcadresinNorthernProvince,BBCNewsreportedonDecember6.
Policearealsoreportedlyhuntingseveralstudents.
10 former LTTE cadres were taken into custody by the TID in Jaffna on the basis of intelligence
reports.MostoftheinformationwasgatheredfromfellowcadrescurrentlyincustodywiththePolice.
December6
Leader of the DPF, Mano Ganeshan said the Tamil people have been deprived of the right to
commemoratetheirdeadontheMartyr'sDayalsoknownasMahaveerDay.
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Sri Lanka Government has made arrangements to employ 400 rehabilitated cadres of the LTTE as
preschoolteachers.ThesepreschoolteachersaretobeputinserviceinKilinochchiandMullaitivu
Districts.
December7
Sri Lanka Army has withdrawn its personnel serving the areas near the Jaffna University (Jaffna
District)inNorthernProvinceinresponsetoarequestmadebytheVCoftheUniversity.
TNAtoldParliamentthatitwas wrongtoassumethatthepartywantedthearmedforcesoutofthe
NorthandtheEast.
December8
ThehighlevelUNdelegationintheSriLankatoobservetheprogressontheimplementationofLLRC
recommendationsvisitedtheformerLTTEterroriststrongholdofKilinochchiinNorthernProvince.
TNAsaidthatthepartyisopposedtoanymovetoalterthedemographicpatternintheNorth.
Aspecialteamofofficialshas beendispatchedtoKilinochchitoprobethetragedyofLionAir flight
602.TheLionAirflight602fromPalaly(JaffnaDistrict) toRatmalana,Colombocarrying48civilians
and 8 crew including two Ukrainian pilots went missing on September 29, 1998 over the northern
seas.FlightallegedlytargetedbyLTTE.
December10
CitizensinNorthernProvincetoldavisitingUNdelegationthattheGovernmenthasnottakenaction
toimplementtherecommendationsoftheLLRCreport.
President of the Jaffna University Students' Union V. Pavanandan together with another student
activist surrendered to the HRC office in Jaffna. The HRC is to study their case before presenting
thembeforecourts.
SevenoftheelevenJaffnaUniversitystudentsinTIDcustodywerereleased.
December12
Three days of digging of the coast near Pooneryn in Northern Province has not been successful in
locating any remains of 31 passengers of a Lion Air Flight 602 aircraft shot down by the LTTE
terroristgrouponSeptember29,1998.
SriLankanGovernmenthaspavedwayfor46formerLTTEcadrestotaketheGeneralCertificateof
EducationOrdinaryLevelexamination.
December13
UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon said its review of its actions and inactions in Sri Lanka will be
finishedinthesecondquarterof2013.Healsoclaimedthatithadnopowerover,andcouldnotstop,
GeneralShavendraSilvaoftheSriLankaArmy,depictedinBan'sreportonSriLankaas engagedin
warcrimes,from"inspecting"UNpeacekeepersinLebanon.
December14
Canada'sSupremeCourtruledthatCanadacanproceedtoextraditetwoallegedLTTEterroristsfrom
USA.
December16
TNA said that women from the North have been forcibly recruited to the military and are prevented
fromleavingevenwhentheyhaverequestedtodoso.
Decemebr17
ArmyspokesmansaidtheLTTEDiasporaandotherinterestedpartiesaremakinga"hueandcry"on
theissuesincetheyseemtobeworriedthatthesuccessoftheprocesswouldmarktheendoftheir
campaignforfalsepropaganda.
December18
TheMinistryofRehabilitationandPrisonReformshasmadearrangementtoreleaseanotherbatchof
formerterroristsoftheLTTEtothesociety,
Anotherbatchof48formerfighterswillbereleasedonChristmasEveandonDecember30.
December19
TamilNadu'Q'branchinvestigatorarrestedfourmilitantsofLTTE,includingtheir'electronicsexpert'
fromNallathambiStreetinPammalnearPallavaramofKanchipuramDistrict.
December20
TheJaffnaofficeofSriLanka'sHRCsaidthat43peoplehavebeenarrestedintheNorthwithinthe
lastmonthforterrorismrelatedactivities.
HRC Coordinator in JaffnaT. Kanagaraja said that theTID had arrested 43 people since November
27thunderthePreventionofTerrorismAct.
Tamil National Alliance commenced a hunger strike in Jaffna, Jaffna District in Northern Province
demandingthereleaseoftheJaffnaUniversitystudentsinthecustodyoftheTID.
December21
Three more LTTE cadres are moving around in Tamil Nadu, said investigators questioning the four
LTTEoperativesarrestedonDecember19.
December24
TNASpokespersonandparliamentarianSureshPremachandransaidthatitwouldmakesubmissions
at the next UNHRC sessions in Geneva in March 2013. He told that the party would make its
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submissions based on the nonimplementation of the LLRC recommendations and the issues faced
byresidentsoftheNorthernProvince.
December26
Atleast45formerLTTEcadres,whowerehidingsincelongperiodwithoutsurrenderingtotheSFs,
werearrestedintheJaffnaPeninsula(NorthernProvince)bytheTID.
December27
TheUNSCWorkingGrouponChildrenandArmedConflicthasdecidedthatchildreninarmedconflict
are no longer an issue in Sri Lanka. The Working Group has adopted the 'Draft Conclusions on the
situation of children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka' on December 19, 2012, thereby closing the
dossieronSriLankaintheSecurityCouncil.
TwomenextraditedtoUSfromCanadaonchargesofsupportingLTTE,thathasbeendesignateda
foreignterroristorganizationbytheUSwereorderedtobeheldwithoutbondduringanappearancein
FederalDistrictCourtinBrooklyn.
December28
UNP MPs Jayalath Jayawardene, Ven. Dambara Amila Thera and Mannar Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr.
RayappuJosepharetovisittheLTTEdetaineesattheWelikadaprisonsinColombotoprovidethem
aChristmastreat.
SeveralTamilpoliticalpartiesinSriLankasaidthattheyareonlyopposedtomovesatcolonization
that are aimed at changing the demographic patterns. DPF Leader Mano Ganesan has said the
parties opposed and would continue to oppose only the planned colonization projects. TNA
parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran agreed with Ganeshan saying that the Tamil parties opposed
movestochangethedemographicpattern.
December31
TheSriLankanGovernmentisreadyatanytimetoholdtalkswiththeTNA,saidIrrigationMinister
Nimal Siripala de Silva. The Minister was responding to the allegation made by the TNA that the
GovernmentwasnotseriousabouttalkswiththeTNA.
Source:Compiledfromnewsreportsandareprovisional.
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AsuspectedLTTEcadrealleged to have been involved in a bomb blast in Wilpattu National Forest

TheNorwegianPostalAuthority, Posten Norge issued an apology to the Sri LankanAmbassador in

The USsponsored resolution on the implementation of the recommendations stipulated in LLRC

possibleonlybythepeopleforthepeopleofthiscountrythrough free and fair elections and not by

Ambassador RavinathaAryasinha, who presented credentials as new Permanent Representative of

SriLankaMinisterofFisheriesandAquatic Resources Rajitha Senaratne said that the Government

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said resettlement in Kollonkath, Selvapuram,

TheUNwelcomedtheclosureofSri Lanka's last IDPs Manik Farm camp in Vavuniya District.The

TheUnitedStatesGovernmentawardedover $ 3 million to three organizations supporting resettling

SeniorMinisterD.E.W.Gunasekerawarned that abolishing the 13thAmendment to the Constitution

TNAleaderR.Sampanthansaid thattheongoingdiscussionontheinternalriftthathadarisenin the

Sri Lanka Government is considering introducing 19thAmendment to the Constitution as a solution

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