Category: News

Sri Lanka will engage with the Tamil diaspora and continue the domestic mechanisms, which were proposed to address the past human rights abuses, Foreign Minister G L Peiris had told British Foreign Secretary Affairs Elizabeth Truss when both met on Tuesday (26) in London, the island nation’s foreign ministry said.

The United Kingdom sponsored a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council in March this year in relation to Sri Lanka’s progress in addressing alleged human rights violations.

It was done after more than 250 Tamil diaspora groups based in the UK came together in January to push Sri Lanka’s former colonial rulers to do so.

Amid the UN human rights probe as per the March resolution, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has been gradually taking some steps to address the past human rights issues while engaging with the affected parties “for the time being”, analysts say.

“He (Peiris) also informed that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has encouraged him to engage in a dialogue with
the diaspora and the Government are also reaching out to the Tamil National Alliance,” Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday (29).

“The Government has also commenced an engagement with the civil society organisations, has released some suspects held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and is revisiting the PTA to make changes that are
not cosmetic but substantial.”

“He also stated that the offices such as Office of Missing Persons, Office for Reparations and Office for National Unity and Reconciliation are engaged in useful work.”

Sri Lanka is facing risks of losing over 500 million US dollars worth of European Union trade concession due to the government’s failure to fulfil some requirements including abolishing PTA, to continue the benefit.

The country is also facing a risk of sovereign debt default as rating downgrades by all three international rating agencies have compelled the Sri Lankan authorities to seek funds from global capital markets due to high-risk premiums.

The Foreign Minister, since his appointment two months ago, has been seeking to deepen bilateral trade and investment from many countries.

“Referring to the Free Trade Agreements Sri Lanka has signed with India and Pakistan, he (Peiris) stated that such agreements provide an opportunity to British companies and act as a conduit to manufacture in Sri Lanka for export to these markets,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss had told Peiris that the two countries need to engage more in investments.

“She added that the UK is developing a broader investment portfolio which Sri Lanka could
be a part of,” the ministry said in the statement.

The People’s Bank of Sri Lanka has been blacklisted by the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka for failing to make the payment according to the Letter of Credit and the contacts between two parties.

The decision has also been submitted to the Ministry of Commerce of China. All Chinese enterprises are reminded to tighten risk control and avoid accepting L/C issued by People’s Bank of Sri Lanka in international trade with Sri Lanka.

In recent weeks, the Chinese fertilizer enterprise Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd requested to get the payment of L/C by People’s Bank of Sri Lanka according to the contracts.

Ignoring the contract, the business rules and international trade customs, the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka defaulted the payment of L/C and caused huge losses to the Chinese enterprise, sources said.

According to the contracts terms, payment should be made by means of a Letter of Credit established through the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka upon submission of all the required documents:

75% of the contract value is based on the quantity shipped as per the Bill of Lading and the quantity stated in the Commercial Invoice.

25% on a final acceptance certificate issued by the purchaser to the Bank confirming delivery of the quantity of fertilizers in complete conformity with the specifications.

Projections across Scotland, including on the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh, called for international accountability for the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka ahead of the island’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa visiting the country next week.

“Wanted for Genocide, President of Sri Lanka,” warned the projections which were placed in several locations across Scotland, by Scottish Tamil activists.

In Edinburgh, the Scottish Parliament Building and the historical Tron Kirk were lit, whilst in Glasgow the famous Barras market, the People’s Palace museum and McLennan Arch all bore projections ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, next week.

“We will not rest until Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other war criminals like him are brought to justice,” said Durga, one of the organisers of the projections.

The campaign follows several full page adverts that have been taken out in Scottish papers, including The Herald and The National, as Rajapaksa prepares to visit Glasgow.

Rajapaksa previously served as Sri Lanka’s defence secretary and oversaw a military campaign that saw hospitals shelled and tens of thousands of Tamils killed. He has repeatedly vowed not to prosecute those accused of war crimes, which includes senior military generals and his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is currently Sri Lanka’s prime minister.

Efforts have continued across Scotland and around the world to ensure Rajapaksa faces justice, with a legal submission filed to the International Criminal Court earlier this week, naming him as a violator of international law.

“Rajapaksa is a war criminal and a perpetrator of genocide,” continued Durga. “He will not have any safe havens in Scotland or anywhere around the world until he is held accountable for his crimes.”

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), a coalition partner of the government, is on the verge of a split in the North, an electorate through which it won a seat in the General Election after one of its Pradeshya Sabha members is pushing to register a new political party, the Daily Mirror learns.

According to sources from the Elections Commission, one of the Pradeshya Sabha members from Jaffna representing the SLFP, has put in an application to register a new party under the name ‘Ilankai Tamilar Sudanthira Munnani’.

The member who has made the application is Sathasivam Ramanathan, father of SLFP MP Angajan Ramanathan who is also the private secretary to the MP. Sources said this application was made to register a new political party in the north, in 2020 but his application was rejected as the political party did not meet the necessary requirements.

This application, sources said has signaled a split in the SLFP lower ranks. After the party application was rejected last year, sources said S. Ramanathan has made an application to register the party again this year, in documents seen by the Daily Mirror, bypassing the protocol of having to wait for a minimum of two years, if a political party application is rejected by the Elections Commission.

The SLFP is already in shaky waters with the ruling party, the SLPP, after it said it would go its separate way at future elections rather than in alliance with the SLPP.

A party spokesman said the party had already appointed a five-member panel of top party officials to select suitable members as district and electoral organisers aimed at the Provincial Council polls expected to be held early next year.

The Department of Agriculture in Colombo detected the highly contaminated organic fertilizer sent by China and cancelled the fertilizer and requested India to export nano nitrogen liquid fertilizer.
According to a news piece published in Colombo Gazette, the organic fertilizer samples were sent by Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd., China, in August 2021, Upon being termed ‘contaminated’ by Colombo, China hit back calling the decision of the SL Agriculture Department “hasty”.

The samples were reportedly tested twice and were found to be contaminated. Despite this, the Chinese company loaded 12,150MT of the fertilizer on a vessel from Qingdao Port to Singapore Port which came as a surprise to the Ministry of Agriculture, reported Colombo Gazette.

However, there is no clarity on the transit of the ship back to China.

The SL Agriculture Department cancelled the Chinese fertilizer upon the lack of time for the paddy cultivators, the ministry requested India to import the nano nitrogen liquid fertilizer worth Rs 9bn.

India has already exported 45,000 litres filled in 90,000 bottles of nano urea by air, reported Colombo Gazette.

The Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, Dr Ajantha de Silva informed India would export 2.1 million litres of urea.

China challenged the report and forcefully sent the ship to SL leaving the scientists of the country angered who further accused the Chinese Embassy of humiliation over China’s challenge to the testing results.

The news website informed that Qingdao Seawin was selected for the import of the fertilizer through the issue of a tender.

The Director-General of the Agriculture Department was said to have the authority to permit the import of the fertilizers from the Chinese company, however, he denied having issued the permit. He further added that he did not understand how did the fertilizer reach the country despite the cancellation of the order.

He further added that the Minister of Agriculture, Mahindananda Aluthgamage too was in opposition to the fertilizer from China, reported Colombo Gazette. (ANI)