(PTI) Ahead of a key UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session where the US may move an anti-Sri Lanka resolution, leaders of the main Tamil party here on Tuesday met visiting US diplomat Stephen Rapp and discussed matters relating to the minority community.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan and the party’s national list MP M A Sumanthiran held talks with Rapp, the US Ambassador at Large on Global Criminal Justice who is on a 4-day visit to the [...]

(PTI) A close ally of Sri Lankan President on Monday claimed that US was working to "haul" Mahinda Rajapaksa before the international court in the Hague over war crimes.

"The US has got busy collecting signatures to move the resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council session in March", Wimal Weerawansa, the minister of engineering services and construction told a public gathering at Matale in the central province.

"They (US) will frame charges against Sri Lanka for [...]

(PTI) The talks with the Sri Lankan government for the release of jailed former Army chief Sarath Fonseka has been positive, family and his political party claimed on Monday.

"Talks have been positive", Anoma Fonseka the wife of the former Army chief told reporters.

Despite speculation that Fonseka might be released on a pardon from president Mahinda Rajapaksa marking the independence day yesterday, the former Army chief continues to serve his prison terms.

Fonseka, 61, was jailed for 30 [...]

(PTI) Pointing to a smear campaign against it by international rights groups, Sri Lanka on Saturday said it is confident of facing the UN Human Rights Council at its next session later this month as it has a clean slate.

Human rights envoy and minister Mahinda Samarasinghe slammed international rights groups for what he called were attempts to slander the image of Sri Lanka for political gain. Samarasinghe said the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has commenced a [...]

(PTI) Sri Lankan government on Thursday claimed that it had succeeded in resettling over seven lakh war- displaced people in the north and eastern regions, leaving behind a little over 6,000 refugees in camps.

Gunaratna Weerakoon, the minister of resettlement told reporters that the resettlement process had made commendable progress, and that over 700,000 had been already resettled. "Since the end to the war we have successfully resettled 724,135 people or 216,412 families," Weerakoon said.

Officials said this included all [...]

(IANS ) India’s External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Wednesday flew by chopper to Kilinochchi on way to Jaffna in the northern province of Sri Lanka to meet ethnic Tamils.

He will gift medical equipment to the district general hospital at Kilinochchi on the third day of his four-day visit after fruitful official talks on Tuesday with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister DM Jayarathna and his counterpart GL Peiris in this scenic capital.

"Krishna will hand over a [...]

(PTI) Rameswaram: Thirteen fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in Lankan territorial waters.

The fishermen, hailing from Akkaraipettai in Nagapattinam district, had put to sea in two mechanised boats when they were arrested last night and taken to Trincomalee police station, official sources said today.

Earlier, the Lankan navalmen had allegedly hurled a bomb but it missed the target and the fishermen escaped, fisheries department officials said.

Meanwhile, some 442 fishermen, who had [...]

The anti-Tamil stand of the Sri Lankan government on Tuesday saw some supporters of the MDMK and Nam TamizharIyakkam venting their anger on a close relative of the Island nation’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he was about to perform a ‘pooja’ in Rameshwaram.

According to reports, the mob barged into house of the Ramanathaswamy Temple priest and pelted stones and slippers, when they learnt that Tirukumaran Natesan, husband of Sri Lankan MP Nirupama Rajapaksa, was going to perform a ritual. [...]

(PTI) A Sri Lankan national has been arrested after his passport was found attested with fake seals of Chennai and Tiruchirappalli immigration authorities, police said today.

Police said M Ahsan Mohamed (26) of Kandy district in Sri Lanka had been in India for over three years after expiry of his tourist visa.

He had come to the airport here to board a flight to Colombo on Sunday when immigration officials detained him for forgery after cross-checking with their Chennai counterparts. [...]

(PTI) Mechanized boat fishermen began an indefinite strike here today,demanding immediate release of 13 fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel since November 28, last year.

A decision in this regard was taken at an emergency meeting of fishermen’s associations, which urged the Centre to take steps to release all the fishermen, B Seshuraja, District Secretary of Tamil Nadu Coastal Mechanized Boats Fishermen Association and Emerit, leader of Rameswaram Fishermen Welfare Association told reporters here.

They also urged both Sri [...]

(PTI) The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday appeared to soften its stance on the issue of transferring land and police powers to the provinces in the devolution package being discussed with the major Tamil party TNA.

The thorny issues have kept the ongoing talks between the government and the Tamil National Alliance heated up, and the government said in a statement that it was ready to consider its scope as demanded by the Tamil group.

"Though the government is concerned about [...]

(PTI) Rameswaram: Protests over detention of five of their colleagues in Sri Lanka and rough sea conditions under the influence of severe cyclone ‘Thane’ have brought a sour end to the year for the fishermen of Rameswaram in south Tamil Nadu as they could not go for fishing for several days.

Fishermen here were cooling their heels on the shores since the beginning of the month demanding the release of the five and were unable to put out to sea [...]

(PTI) A ruling party politician has been arrested in Sri Lanka and remanded to custody in connection with the last week’s killing of a British national in a southern coastal resort.

A ruling party local politician was among the six people remanded in custody till January 6 in connection with the killing of Kuram Shaikah Zaman, a 32 year old British national.

His girlfriend was also injured in the attack.

Reacting to the killing, the Lanka government said better security [...]

(PTI) India on Sunday said it expected Sri Lanka to "act decisively" to achieve meaningful devolution of powers to its provinces in the backdrop of the military operation against the LTTE.

In its first comments on the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), India also asked Sri Lanka to set up an "independent and credible" mechanism to probe allegations of human rights violations.

"The LLRC report has underlined that the present situation provides a great window of [...]

(PTI) Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party TNA has said it wants to see a "positive conclusion" to the current dialogue with the government to address grievances of the minority ethnic community.

Amid criticism that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had been going slow in addressing the issues of Tamil minority, party leader Rajavayothi Sampanthan said it was not possible for the TNA to come out with all details on the ongoing talks with the government.

But, he said his party [...]