Families of missing in Sri Lanka seek answers at conference facilitated by ICRC

The families of the missing in Sri Lanka emphasized the importance of acknowledging their suffering and the need to receive answers, at a conference facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The 2nd National Conference for Families of Missing Persons in Sri Lanka took place from 25 – 27 June 2025 in Colombo.

Facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the conference brought together 62 representatives of families of missing persons from all communities and diverse regions in Sri Lanka.

The conference provided a neutral humanitarian space for families of missing persons to interact with families from other communities, exchange views and discuss common issues and challenges faced in the continuous search for their missing loved ones and how to overcome them collectively.

The need to know the fate and whereabouts of their missing loved ones was reiterated throughout the conference by the participating families of missing persons.

The 2nd National Conference for Families of Missing Persons also served as a forum for families to engage in a direct, interactive dialogue with the relevant authorities on improving the existing processes and mechanisms available in Sri Lanka to address the multifaceted needs of families of missing persons.

Speaking to the families, Minister of Justice and National Integration, Harshana Nanayakkara, highlighted the importance of justice, acknowledgment, and economic and psychosocial support for families of missing persons, while the officials from the Office on Missing Persons responded to queries from families.

The participants also benefitted from a presentation on the use of the certificate of absence, delivered by the representatives from the Registrar General’s Department.

Further, the families engaged in a dialogue on their needs and challenges with members of the international community.

At the event, the findings from a recently concluded review of needs and expectations of families of missing persons in Sri Lanka, conducted by the ICRC, was shared with the participating families, representatives of the international community, and civil society actors.

The conference also included a panel discussion with two psychologists specializing in dealing with ambiguous loss or ‘frozen grief’.

The representatives of families of missing persons emphasized the importance of acknowledging their suffering and the need to receive answers on the fate and whereabouts of their missing loves ones while drawing attention to the necessity for comprehensive support from authorities.

The 2nd National Conference for Families of Missing Persons in Sri Lanka was conceptualized, in consultation with families of missing persons from the East, North and South of Sri Lanka, reflecting their priorities.

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Starlink’s high speed internet available in Sri Lanka: Elon Musk

Sri Lanka has now access to Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet. Elon Musk, billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla said in his X social media platform.

“Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet is now available in Sri Lanka!”, Musk tweeted in his verified X account.

Sri Lanka started discussions with Starlink under the previous government headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sri Lanka’s telecommunication regulator last year granted a telecommunications service provider license to a locally incorporated firm of Starlink satellite system founded by Musk. The island nation has already amended its Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Act to accommodate the Starlink satellite system.

Sri Lanka initiated the move after former President Wickremesinghe met Musk on the sidelines of the 10th World Water Forum in Indonesia three months ago.

The collaboration with Starlink is expected to provide internet facilities via satellite technology, marking a significant transformation in the technology sector with a fast internet service.

Starlink is not yet established as a telephone network company in Sri Lanka.

Starlink is a low earth orbit satellite network, connected to Musk’s SpaceX group.

The network connects around 4.5 million people around the world with high-speed internet across nearly 100 countries, territories and other markets.

Sri Lanka Unlocks $350M in IMF Support After Fourth Review Approval

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Fourth review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement, allowing the authorities to draw about US$350 million, said Evan Papageorgiou, IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka.

This brings the total IMF financial support disbursed so far to about US$1.74 billion.

“The EFF arrangement for Sri Lanka was approved by the Executive Board on March 20, 2023 in an amount of SDR 2.286 billion (395 percent of quota or about US$3 billion). The program supports Sri Lanka’s efforts to durably restore macroeconomic stability by (i) restoring fiscal and debt sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, (ii) safeguarding price and financial sector stability, (iii) rebuilding external buffers, (iv) strengthening governance and reducing corruption vulnerabilities, and (v) enhancing growth-oriented structural reforms.”

Petition against MP Archchuna fixed for hearing

The Court of Appeal yesterday (02) granted leave to proceed with the hearing of the petition filed seeking to nullify the parliamentary membership of Jaffna District Independent MP Ramanathan Archchuna.

However, the Appeals Court bench stated that it would not issue an interim injunction preventing MP Archchuna from sitting in Parliament and voting, as requested in the petition.

The order was issued by a bench Court of Appeal Justices comprising Justices Mayadunne Corea and Mahen Gopallawa.

The petition was submitted by activist Oshala Herath, chairman of the ‘Abhinawa Niwahal Peramuna’.

The counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner said before the court that the respondent MP had been serving as a government doctor and was under interdiction at the time of his election to Parliament, making him constitutionally ineligible to be elected as a Member of Parliament.

Accordingly, he further argued that MP Archchuna does not have the legal right to sit in Parliament or cast votes in the House.

However, Attorney-at-Law Senany Dayaratne, appearing for MP Archchuna, stated that his client was under interdiction without receiving a salary at the time of his election and therefore could not be considered a government employee at that point.

Therefore, the attorney argued that there was no legal impediment to Archchuna’s election to Parliament.

After considering the arguments presented by both parties, the Court of Appeal granted leave to proceed with the hearing of the petition.

The petition has been scheduled to be taken up for hearing on August 01, 2025.

Child skeleton exhumed on sixth day

The sixth day of the second phase of excavations at the Chemmani-Sinthubathi area suspected mass grave site was carried out yesterday (2). A human skeleton, believed to be that of a child, was fully exhumed.

Attorney-at-Law Ranitha Gnanarajah, who is overseeing the excavation process on behalf of the affected families, previously identified by the presence of a school bag (UNICEF), was completely excavated on 1 July. During the process, a child’s sandal (Bata) and a toy were also recovered, raising suspicions that the remains are of a child.

Additionally, five more sets of skeletal remains were identified at the site. However, experts note that it is not yet possible to confirm with certainty that these are five distinct individuals. Multiple skeletons buried together were also excavated.

With these findings, at least 38 sets of human skeletal remains have been identified so far.

Attorney Ranitha Gnanarajah also raised concerns about several social media accounts creating AI-generated images of the skeletons, giving them a misleading human appearance. She warned that such actions could distort the findings and undermine the purpose of the excavation. Those attempting to derail the mission should be held legally accountable, she added, further noting discussions are underway regarding this.

Forensic pathologist Dr. K. Rajiva de Alwis and former Judicial Medical Officer Dr. Kalubowila Perera, who was also involved in the previous Chemmani mass grave investigation, were present at the excavation.

Meanwhile, an area earlier identified as a suspicious grave site by archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva has also been cleaned with the assistance of students from the University of Jaffna’s Department of Archaeology and the Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha. Excavations are expected to begin at that site as well. The seventh day of excavations is scheduled to take place today (3).

Attorney Ranitha Gnanarajah stated that discussions are underway to amalgamate the current Chemmani excavation with the original mass grave investigation conducted in 1999. During yesterday’s excavation, former attorney Clifford Perera, who led the 1999 Chemmani investigation, was present at the site and shared details from the earlier case.

Although the two cases are technically separate, efforts are being made to explore legal avenues to consolidate them, as requested by the families of the victims.

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Sri Lanka India relations probably the best ever: envoy

The relationship with India and Sri Lanka is strong and the business community and take links further, High Commissioner Santosh Jha said in Colombo speaking to a group of visiting Indian chief executives and local business leaders.

India had so far given 7 billion dollars in development aid to Sri Lanka including 800 million dollars in grants. Recently 100 million dollars in loans were written off into grants.

“And there is, of course, the debt restructuring and the softening of the loans that were extended during the emergency assistance that we provided Sri Lanka in 2022,” High Commissioner Jha said.

“It is basically to convey that India remains Sri Lanka’s most reliable friend and the most
dependable partner. And that we do so without condition. We are not asking anything in return.

“We just need your help in building trust and goodwill, in building relationships that are enduring, that are to the mutual benefit of both countries.”

The CEO delegation from the Confederation of India Industry had met the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the Energy Minister and was due to meet the President.

“I would say we are today having a relationship that has been probably the best ever that we have had,” High Commissioner Jha said to an audience that also included key senior politicians from the ruling party and opposition at the Indian invested ITC Ratnadipa Hotel.

“The range of sectors, the intensity of contacts, the depth of the partnership, the impact – in terms of the potential it has – on respective sectors of our economies will be really, really immense.

“And I hope that this delegation today and tomorrow has taken this process forward in a business sense.”

The group of 15 CEOs who visited Colombo and met Sri Lankan counterparts were a ‘serious delegation’ , some of whom had already invested in Sri Lanka and would like to expand, while others were new, he said.

And Indian firm said last week it was buying the controlling stake of Colombo Dockyard from its Japanese shareholder in the first major private investment in the country after the latest currency crisis.

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Corruption Costs Sri Lanka Billions—Funds That Could Save Lives : UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has issued a stark warning about the scale of corruption in Sri Lanka’s revenue administration, estimating annual losses of approximately Rs. 72 billion.

Speaking at the launch of a new anti-corruption initiative, Azusa Kubota, UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, emphasized that these losses represent funds that could otherwise be invested in the country’s health, education, infrastructure, and essential public services.

“Public distrust and administrative inefficiencies have severely limited tax compliance,” Kubota said. “By restoring credibility, we can expand the tax base and strengthen public financing in a more equitable and sustainable manner.”

The newly launched project builds on years of collaboration between UNDP and Sri Lanka, particularly in the area of tax policy reform. A key focus of the initiative is the operationalisation of internal affairs units (IAUs) across more than 100 public institutions. These units are designed to detect, manage, and respond to corruption risks from within, promoting a culture of preventive governance.

“Empowering IAUs will enhance public sector integrity from the inside out,” Kubota noted, adding that institutional accountability is essential for long-term development and public trust.

China shares new development opportunities with South Asian nations: Sri Lankan Minister

China is sharing new development opportunities with South Asian countries and is committed to achieving win-win outcomes, said Wasantha Samarasinghe, Sri Lankan minister of trade, commerce, food security and cooperative development.

Samarasinghe made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua after returning to Colombo from the 9th China-South Asia Expo in Kunming, south China’s Yunnan Province.

The minister noted that the expo fully demonstrated China’s achievements in economic development, scientific and technological innovation, and technological transformation.

As the theme country for the expo this year, Sri Lanka highly values cooperation opportunities with China and looks forward to learning from China’s development experience and further deepening bilateral economic and trade relations.

“This is my eighth visit to China since 2005. Over these 20 years, there is a big difference and big development in China’s economy, cities, and people’s living standards,” Samarasinghe said.

He added that while achieving its own development, China has steadfastly advanced high-level opening-up, continuously injecting stability and certainty into the world economy. There is no other country like China that has provided such important development opportunities for the entire South Asia, he said.

Samarasinghe specifically highlighted the 8th meeting of the China-Sri Lanka Joint Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation held in Colombo, where both sides signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening economic cooperation in industrial and supply chains.

“Time to time, the world is going here and there. In this situation, the stability of industrial and supply chains is crucial,” said the official.

Deepening alignment with China’s industrial and supply chains will help enhance Sri Lanka’s capacity building and create significant development opportunities in industry, technology, business, and infrastructure, he said.

Samarasinghe said Sri Lanka, with its geographical advantage in a crucial position along Indian Ocean shipping routes, will gain new opportunities by deepening cooperation with China.

“We have a good traditional friendship with China,” he said, concluding with the wish to continue expanding bilateral investment and economic and trade cooperation and creating more benefits for the people of both countries.

Source: Xinhua

What next from the UNHRC? By N Sathiya Moorthy

Reading between the lines, the visiting UNHRC chief’s Volker Türk’s message was that the Government should take (back) the ownership of the accountability mechanisms — and make it credible and functional. It is a significant departure from the past position of the human rights affiliate of the UN system, which had always insisted on ‘independent investigations’, ever since the UNHRC began passing periodic resolutions and thus strictures over allegations of war-crimes and accountability issues.

It is still anybody’s guess what the visitor had in mind – or, if he, too, wanted Colombo to work with international experts in the matter. But in eastern Trincomalee, he did say that it was for the Government to make things work. What shape his balanced and diplomatically vague observations, in Trincomalee, Jaffna and finally in Colombo, when the Human Rights Council started on a fresh resolution on the matter, after the previous one had run out its three-year term.

Already, the Core Group founded by the US years back and now loosely headed by the UK has come out relatively harsh on Sri Lanka for not doing enough – something that High Commissioner Türk too could be interpreted to have said while in the country. It can be argued that the visitor kept it vague because he did not want to be harsh while on his maiden visit to the country as the UNHRC boss, the first one to visit Sri Lanka after 2016.

The answer for that doubt / question will be known only when Türk’s report on his visit is presented to the Human Rights Council subsequently. It will show if he and his office were with the Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans. Rather, it will show if he and his office were with the Core Group, whose aim and objective was to ‘fix’ (past) Government(s) on war-crimes and accountability issues.

‘Anaiya Vilakku’

Yet, in and on Chemmani in the North, where the High Commissioner visited a grave-site, where court-ordered digging is progressing in instalments, he was forthright. He appreciated the space for ‘memorialisation’ of the dead, which he too implied was not available under previous regimes, post-war. The Chemmani visit was a late addition to his Jaffna itinerary, pressured as he was by human rights groups of the Tamils and those in Colombo.

It was shocking or moving or shockingly moving to see the picture of a mother clutching her infant in one of the dug-up graves. Both were in skeletal form. There were others, too, both adults and children. Definitely, they were not the ‘child soldiers’ of the LTTE, which was a well-known and well-established fact.

It was sad that some miscreants from within the Tamil polity embarrassed the apolitical organisers of a three-day memorial lamp-rites at the Chemmani site through their antics. In Tamil, it reads as ‘Anaiya Vilakku’ protest.

It is also true that despite the hype and social media publicity given to the hurriedly-organised memorial, aimed at attracting the UNHRC chief’s attention, it did not draw as much crowds as should have been the case. It would have been the case in a bygone era, but not anymore. The new-generation Tamil youth have been repeatedly demonstrating in every anti-government protest organised by their much-divided political leaders, and the so-called civil society.

Yet, on the Chemmani finds, High Commissioner Türk said that it needed renowned forensic experts to dig deeper into the past events (to fix accountability?). There was no clarity if like the Tamil victims of the war, he too believed prima facie that the armed forces had brutally killed and buried those innocent infants and children, along with their mothers, parents and others.

In Colombo later, he shared his experience with a mother in the South, who reportedly said that she was still searching for her dear ones since the eighties – and that she could identify with those similarly placed people in the Tamil areas.

Was the High Commissioner too alluding to Sinhala victims of the ‘Second JVP insurgency’? Whether or not, he did not explain if the missing person was a JVP cadre, possibly done to death by the armed forces along with an estimated 60,000-plus Sinhala-Buddhist youth – or, to a victim of JVP’s violence of the time.

Tanzanian definition

Yet, the High Commissioner’s Sri Lanka visit was not without positive outcomes. In meetings with government leaders, which included President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, the High Commissioner was given an assurance about the inevitability of scrapping the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Previous governments had done it too, but under a new regime that had no association with the politico-administrative past, it sounded more credible and reliable. Simultaneously, of course, the government was discussing a new PTA with UN experts. Reports said that the Tanzanian definition of ‘terrorism’ was under consideration.

At a time when the UN, too, is grappling with a definitive definition for the term, in Tanzania, terrorism is defined as acts intended to seriously intimidate a population, unduly compel a government or international organization, or destabilize fundamental political, constitutional, economic, or social structures. These acts can involve violence against persons, damage to property, endangering life, or creating serious public health or safety risks. A 2002 PTA in Tanzania also gives a broad list of examples.

Creature of the West

As an institution, the UNHRC is a creature and creation of the ‘international community’ (read: West), not just to fix rights-offending member-States. It was also a tool for them to circumvent the UN Security Council, where again the five permanent members with veto-power cast their lot, not on matters of facts but of international politics, as evolving at the time. The UNHRC fitted their bill, fine.

Hence, from the very appointment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights, resolutions and everything else concerning the UNHRC are part of international politics, in the name of international human rights. The result is there for everyone to see. The Sinhala side and the Sri Lankan State feels the pinch and the pressure. The Tamil victims, despite the decade-plus involvement of the UNHRC, have not seen the promised ‘closure’ anywhere near them than would have been without the UNHRC.

Thus, motives would have been read into High Commissioner Türk not giving time to meet army veterans who wanted to complain against what they considered as the unjustified ‘sanctions’ imposed by the US, the UK and a few other nations on their colleagues from the past. It is anybody’s guess what the UNHRC could do to interfere with individual decisions of sovereign governments – or, if it ever wanted to address that side of the nation’s violent past.

They have been arguing that during the time these ‘sanctioned’ commanders (and political leaders) were charged with committing ‘war crimes’ and worse, the dreaded LTTE had branch offices in their cities. As they have been recalling at every turn, the LTTE was also using these branches also for coordinating terrorist acts and battles, back home in the Tamil North and East.

Yet, Türk did not visit the Mullivaikkal venue of the end-game of the ethnic war, as some Diaspora Tamil groups had urged him. Reports claimed that the government had no problems if he visited even the very site where the armed forces shot and killed LTTE leader Velupillai Prbhakaran.

If so, it’s saying a lot about the de-politicisation of accountability issues under the JVP-NPP regime – as they at least would want the world to see it. Or, is it politicisation of another kind? Whatever that be, this government, like those before it, cannot be seen as sacrificing the personal safety and security of individual veterans at the altar of political expediency of a different kind.

It is heartening to note that there are still sane voices that keep cautioning the Government against ‘triumphalism’ from the war era. Those like veteran politician Milinda Moragoda need to do more to be seen, heard and acted upon. Others of the ilk need to convince the Sri Lankan State that they are not ‘stooges of the West’ – which tag they are unable to get rid of, not that they have tried hard or hard enough.

Pound of flesh

It is one thing for the Government to work for another ‘consensus resolution’ at the UNHRC this time, like the reformist ‘Yahapalanaya’ regime did after assuming office – after defeating incumbent war-victorious President, Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015. If the Core Group proposes it, or concedes it, it could ease the international situation for this Government, as the nation is still dependent on the IMF doles for sustenance. Or, that is the perception.

But it is not the same as the Government getting to be seen as exposing war veterans to the waiting ranks of international investigators, who are queuing up for their own pound of flesh. The upcoming UNHRC session, thus, promises to be as easy as it can be for the present Government. It can also be as difficult as it was for past Governments – at least occasionally.

But then, they all remembered that at the end of the day, they had to come back home to face successive elections, to be able to retain power for another term. In that milieu, international human rights law and best practices do not. Instilling a sense of safety, yes, in the minds of those who had fought a long war, matters the most.

It is another matter that the idea of ‘inclusivity’ in terms of victimisation and victimhood attaching to the Tamil victims of the ethnic war has penetrated through the echelons of Government leadership, both political and bureaucratic, to the last man. That has not happened earlier. Will it happen under the new regime? Will the current leadership take meaningful initiatives in the matter?

It’s so even more, considering that the UNHRC’s unending probe has gone beyond war crimes and accountability issues. Through previous resolutions, it has become a ‘rolling probe’, where everyday occurrences that have an element of rights violation in it, have come to be added to the UNHRC’s ground-level investigation. Such add-ons go beyond the ethnic war and Tamil victims.

Where is it heading? When will it end? That’s the question.

(The writer is a Chennai-based Policy Analyst and Political Commentator. Email: sathiyam54@nsathiyamoorthy.com)

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US Names Jayne Howell as Deputy Chief of Mission in Colombo

The U.S. Embassy in Colombo has welcomed Jayne Howell as its new Deputy Chief of Mission, marking a significant addition to the diplomatic team working to strengthen U.S.–Sri Lanka relations.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Howell brings a wealth of experience from her previous assignments in Pakistan, Türkiye, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan, as well as senior leadership roles in Washington D.C. within the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Most recently, she served as Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs in Pakistan and Türkiye, where she advised ambassadors on immigration and visa policy and coordinated services for thousands of American citizens annually.

Her leadership in Washington included serving as Deputy Executive Director, Supervisory Regional Consular Officer, and the inaugural Director of 1CA, a program focused on leadership and management excellence. For her contributions, she received the Luther I. Replogle Award for Management Improvement.

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Howell holds a B.A. in Archaeological Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

She will be based in Colombo, where she will support the U.S. mission’s efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation.