Category: News

Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Subramaniam Jaishankar, who arrived in Sri Lanka on an official visit this morning, has met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in separate meetings today.

Earlier today, Jaishankar had called on Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo and also met with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath at the Foreign Ministry.

Posting on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), after meeting Sri Lanka’s new prime minister, the Indian foreign minister said he conveyed good wishes for her new responsibility.

“Discussed Digital Public Infrastructure, training and capacity building. Agreed to work together to advance our partnership,” he said.

Following his meeting with Wickremesinghe, Jaishankar said he was glad to see the former President today and that he “thanked him for his efforts in advancing our ties in the last two years.”

The Indian Foreign Minister also said he “assured him that India will continue to commit to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and development.”

After meeting with former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, Jaishankar said India appreciates his continued support for the India-Sri Lanka relationship.

An electoral alliance between the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the United National Party (UNP) is now going to be a non-event, with each of them planning for different strategies to contest the upcoming General Elections, Daily Mirror learns.

Following defeat at the Presidential Election concluded on September 21, there were attempts to unite the two parties for a broad electoral alliance in view of the General Elections. The SJB led by Mr. Sajith Premadasa insisted that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe should step down as a condition for a possible electoral pact. It stood in the way of uniting the two parties.

After that the UNP has now decided to forge ahead with the parties that backed Mr. Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Election and form a broad alliance under the gas cylinder symbol.
Accordingly, Podujana Eksath Peramuna (People’s Alliance) led by Mr. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and the alliance led by former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who is the leader of Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), will continue to remain aligned with the UNP to contest the General Elections.

A discussion was held with the Election Commission yesterday to allocate the gas cylinder symbol to the proposed new alliance, the ‘New Democratic Front’, which otherwise operates under the swan symbol.

“We decided to contest under a common symbol. That is the gas cylinder symbol. It has to be allocated to the new alliance which we all are party to,” he said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe used the gas cylinder symbol as an independent Presidential candidate. Otherwise, it is not a symbol so far assigned to any political party by the Election Commission. Once an election is declared, a political formation cannot be registered but a new symbol can be assigned to an existing party.

Meanwhile, an SJB source said it will contest the election under the leadership of Mr. Premadasa in alliance with the parties that stood with it at the Presidential Elections.

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (02) at the Presidential Secretariat.

They shared progress in the upward trajectory of the India-Sri Lanka partnership and discussed ways to further strengthen the longstanding friendship.

In another courtesy meeting yesterday (02), Australian High Commissioner Paul Stephens congratulated President Dissanayake and reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to deepening ties with Sri Lanka.

High Commissioner Stephens emphasized the importance of economic transparency in building investor confidence and attracting FDI from Australia.

He also expressed the Australian Government’s support to Sri Lanka’s IMF program.

 
In the continuing saga of mass graves in Sri Lanka, two skeletons have been found on day three of the second phase of excavations in the mass grave within the country’s main commercial port premises.

Further digging has been put on hold, while budget estimates for future work have been submitted to authorities.

Two mass graves were found within the last two years in Sri Lanka. One was huge where over fifty skeletons and clothing were found, a final report of which has been submitted to the Mullaitivu court. The exhumation in the other is in progress.

Forensic Archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva says the inquiry into the skeletons found in the mass grave inside the Colombo Port cannot be paused for a long time. Once the budget estimates are approved and the money is made available, he says the excavation is likely to begin on 17 October or even earlier than that.

“It could take at least another month to fully excavate the mass grave. The budget estimate for the same has already been submitted to the Port police”.

When the exhumation was put on hold on the 13th of September after the first phase of excavation, at least two skeletons were found. The second phase of excavation commenced on the 26th of September and ended two days later. Journalists present during this phase say they understand more skeletons to be there.

Prof. Raj Somadeva, who led the exhumation in the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave in the war-affected Vanni region submitted his final report on 26 September to the Mullaitivu Magistrate Court.

The mass grave in Kokkuthoduvai was discovered accidentally when the water supplies department was laying pipelines along the Kokkuthoduvai -Kokkilai road on June 29, 2023. Body parts with pieces of clothing were found on that day. Subsequently laying of the pipes was halted and the excavation process began.
The excavation process was conducted in three phases which was closed on July 15 this year (2024) as per the court order.

Senior Tamil Attorney Vallipuram Sandirapragasam Niranchan who was representing the families of the victims of the Enforced Disappearances told local journalists the final report presented to the court confirmed the bodies belonged to the erstwhile LTTE cadres who were shot dead during the 1990’s and buried unceremoniously without following the proper ritual and cultural procedures.

Exhumation activity at the site of the mass grave inside Colombo Port began in July this year.

The first phase of exhumation at the Colombo Port mass grave was temporarily stopped on the 13th of September after 8 days of operation, during which at least two skeletons were exhumed, while four skulls were found inside the grave.

A local journalist at the site during the second excavation phase on 27th September 2024 observed that one skull was recovered during the day.

The body parts found and exhumed from the mass grave during the first phase of excavation at the Colombo Port are kept in safe custody at the office of the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer.

Excavation at the Colombo Port is done under the supervision of the Consultant Judicial Medical Officer Sunil Hewage and Forensic Archeologist Raj Somadeva.

Body parts were found inside the Colombo Port when earth was cleared for the express highway leading towards the port. Those human remains were found in the complex that housed the old secretariat.

Upon being informed to the court, the excavation at the spot commenced on 05 September this year (2024) in the presence of Magistrate Bandara Ilangasinghe.

The United Nations Human Rights Council should adopt a resolution on Sri Lanka to enable continued UN monitoring, reporting, and evidence collection of rights violations for future prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today.

HRW said that Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected on September 21, 2024, should reverse the policies of his predecessors by cooperating with the UN’s investigation mechanism, ending the use of repressive laws to stifle dissent, and preventing security forces from targeting activists, survivors of abuses, and victims’ families with threats and reprisals.

HRW said that numerous domestic and international investigation commissions, as well as United Nations human rights experts, have made recommendations for reform, which successive Sri Lankan administrations have disregarded.