SriLankaTimelineYear2013

January2

Sri Lanka Police Department has removed the Police personnel who were
deployed in and around the Jaffna University premises following the clash
between the university students and SFs on November 27, 2012 when the
universitystudentstriedtocommemoratetheLTTEHeroes'Day.

January6

Higher Education Minister of Sri Lanka S.B. Dissanayake said that the Jaffna
University would be closed if academic activities are not resumed this week.
Jaffna University students and academic staff started to boycott classes
demandingthereleaseoffouruniversitystudentswhowerearrestedon charges
of supporting terrorist activities following the clash between university students
and the SFs on November 27, 2012 when the students tried to commemorate
theLTTEHeroes'Day.

January8

The Tamil NationalAlliance (TNA) Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said

that the party wouldvote against the amended Divi Neguma Bill (Enhancement
ofLife)whenitistakenupforavoteinParliament.
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), an ally of the Government, also said
thatitisyettoreach a final decision on the party's stance on the Bill as some
SLMC members have expressed concerns over the bill since it interfered with
subjectsvestedwiththeprovincialcouncilsunderthe13thAmendment.
Parliament passed the amendedDivi Neguma (Enhancement of Life) Bill aimed
at poverty alleviation in the country with a majority of 107 votes. 159 voted in
favorwhile42votedagainst.

January9

The Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms has made arrangement to

release another batch of former combatants of the defeated terror organization,
LiberationTigersofTamilEelam(LTTE)tothesociety.TheMinistrywillrelease
another 313 rehabilitated cadres in Vavuniya District on January 13 to coincide
withtheupcomingHinduharvestfestivalofThaiPongal.
PresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidSriLanka'sSecurityForces(SFs)foughtthe
separatist terrorists and liberated the country not for their personal gain but for
theyetunbornfuturegeneration.HetoldthattheGovernmentisnotpreparedto
reverse the massive development programme beingimplemented as a free and
sovereignnation.

January13

The Sri Lankan Government has increased the allocations for rehabilitating the
former of LTTE cadres from SLR 300 million to SLR 500 million. Sri Lanka
Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Chandrasiri Gajadeera revealed
this while releasing a batch of former cadres of LTTE. A group of 313 former
LTTErebelswerereintegratedintothesocietytomarktheHinduculturalfestival
"ThaiPongal"thatfallsonJanuary14.

January16

The official website of Sri Lanka's MCNS has been hacked and defaced by a
hacker, known as Game Over. The hacker has not only defaced the site at
nationalsecurity.lk, but redirected it to another site and gained access to the
server,takingawayandleakinghundredsoflogininformationofthesiteusers.

January17

MediaandInformationMinisterKeheliya Rambukwella said Sri Lanka will focus

on the need to amend the Constitution to add a 19thAmendment due to the
recent conflict raised between the judiciary and legislature. He said there is
discussioninseveralGovernmentcirclesontheneedtoamendtheConstitution
andtheGovernmentwillhavetomakeadecision.However,thecountrywillbe
informedbeforesuchadecisionistaken,theMinistertold.

January18

Construction, Engineering Services Housing and Common Amenities Minister

and NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa said the eradication of LTTE terrorism is
the only reason for all foreign interferences in Sri Lanka's internal matters. The
Ministersaid"ThoughtheLTTEwasdefeated,westillhaveexternalandinternal
enemies. All Sri Lankans should recognize these enemies and support the
governmenttodefeattheseenemies."

January21

TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that the Government has failed to honor the
pledges given to the UN on post war reconciliation. Sampanthan observed that
1/40

the Government had made several pledges to the UN and the international
community on reconciliation in the country, and one was the demilitarization of
the Northern Province. He pointed out that there were concerns on the
resettlementofthewardisplacedintheiroriginalhomes.Healsoaddedthatthe
delayinreleasingortakinglegalactionagainsttheTamilpoliticalprisonerswas
alsoanissuethattheGovernmenthasfailedtoaddress.
January22

Sri Lanka Parliament passed the Code of Criminal Procedure (Special

Provisions)BilltoextendthedetentiontimeforsuspectsarrestedbythePolice
for48hours.TheBillreceived110votesinfavorand33againstandpassedby
the House with amendments. The main opposition UNP and the Marxist party
JVPdecidedtovoteagainstthebill.

January23

Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya said that theArmy will hand over its first
report on January 24 in response to observations and recommendations made
bytheLLRCwithregardstotheSriLankaArmy.

January24

DefenceandUrbanDevelopmentSecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksasaidnoLTTE
cadre that surrendered to the Security Forces during the final stage of the
humanitarian mission went missing. The Defence Secretary said all allegations
are baseless and ever since, LTTE cadres who have surrendered were
rehabilitatedandreintegratedtosociety.
A Board appointed by the Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath
Jayasuriya to study the recommendations made by the LLRC asserted the Sri
Lankan Government's "absolute"right to maintain its armed forces anywhere in
the country. The Board recommended appointing special boards covering the
five security forces headquarters in the North and East regions, namelyJaffna,
Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Wanni and East Districts, toevaluate the land needs by
thoseunitsintheregion.

January27

TNA requested the three USAssistant Secretaries of State DeputyAssistant

Secretary of State James Moore, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
Vikram Singh, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jane Zimmerman
arrivedinSri Lanka on January 26 on a mission to mainly assess the progress
onimplementingmeasuresrecommendedbythecountry'sownLLRC.TheTNA
delegation led by R. Sampanthan and including parliamentarians M.A.
Sumanthiran and S. Sridharan met the US officials at the residence of US
Ambassador,MicheleSisson.
ExternalAffairs Ministry Secretary KarunathilakaAmunugama said that he has
briefed India about the progress it has achieved in the areas of postwar
reconciliation and the implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC
reportduringtheeighthmeetingoftheIndiaSriLankaJointCommission,which
washeldinDelihilastweek.

January28

US DeputyAssistant Secretary of the State Department James R. Moore said,

"AsameasuretoforceSriLankatoexpeditetheimplementationofthepledges
given on reconciliation, the United States will sponsor a new resolution against
Sri Lanka at the upcoming UNHRC Sessions in Geneva in March. It is a
straightforwardresolutionthatwillbuildontheresolutionbroughtinMarch2012."
Headdedthattheresolutionwillbetoexpeditereconciliationandimplementation
oftheLLRCReport.

January29

Two US Senators called for an independent investigation into the potential war
crimes committed by the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE during the civil
warinSriLanka.InaletteraddressedtotheoutgoingSecretaryof State Hilary
Clinton, Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania Bob Casey and Democratic
Senator from Vermont Patrick Leahy said an independent investigation is
needed because the Sri Lankan Government has not answered the legitimate
concerns of the people. "During the years following the end of the war, the Sri
Lankan people have waited for the Government to address these concerns,yet
notangibleorsubstantialprogresshasbeenmade,"theSenatorswrote.

February1

HRW in its World Report 2013 said the Sri Lankan Government continued its
assault on civil society and failed to take meaningful steps towards
accountability for war crimes during the country's armed conflict that ended in
2009. There was no fundamental progress on key human rights issues in Sri
Lankaoverthepastyear,HRWsaid.Overlybroaddetentionpowersremainedin
place under various laws and regulations, leaving several thousand people
2/40

detained without charge. State SFs committed arbitrary arrests and torture,
including sexual assault, against ethnic minority Tamils. Repatriated Tamils
allegedly linked to the defeated LTTE were at particular risk, HRW research
found.
Sri Lanka Army facilitated a group of IDP of Sampur town in the Trincomalee
District of the Eastern Province to revisit their village. The 224 brigade of Sri
LankaArmy provided facilities to the villagers to revisit their homesin the High
Security Zone and 138 families of the Navarathnapuramvillage visited their old
houses which were in dilapidated conditions. Sampur town, located in close
vicinity to the Trincomalee harbor was under the control of the LTTE until the
ArmyrecapturedtheareainSeptember2006.
February3

TNAcalledforfurtheraction bytheUNHRCagainsttheSriLankaGovernment.
ThepartyinastatementsaidthatappropriateactionattheUNHRCisabsolutely
necessary to persuade the Sri Lankan Government to adhere to the UN
resolutionadaptedbytheUNHRCandtodiscontinuewithwhatit called 'harmful
agenda'againsttheTamilPeopleofSriLanka.TNAaccusedtheGovernmentof
refusingtoconsidertheproposalsofferedbytheTNAwhiletheGovernmenthas
repeatedly asked the TNA to join the PCS appointed to work out a solution for
theethnicissue.
TNAparliamentarian,S.Sritharan saidthatthousandsofciviliansinSriLanka's
North will launch a hunger strike to protest against the lack of access to their
lands. Over 20,000 civilians in the North are to participate in the hunger strike
scheduledtobeheldattheTellippalaliDurgaDevitemplepremisesonFebruary
15.The protestors will demand the withdrawal of the SFs from lands owned by
the civilians prior to the end of the war and will continue until the authorities
addressthecivilians'demands.

February4

Ruling out granting minority Tamils of the North any political autonomy as a
solutiontothethreedecadeslongethnicconflict,SriLankanPresidentMahinda
Rajapaksa said "It is not practical for this country to have different
administrationsbasedonethnicity.Thesolutionistolivetogetherinthiscountry
with equal rights for all communities."The President said this in his address to
thenationontheoccasionoftheSriLankanIndependenceDayfromtheeastern
port town of Trincomalee the administrative capital of Eastern Province. Mr.
Rajapaksa claimed that though nearly four years had passed since the LTTE
wererouted,SriLanka"hadtofacecontinuedchallengestoprotectthefreedom
andindependenceofourmotherland.Forthisveryreasonwehavenowcometo
a very strong situation. Similarly, facing up to thesechallenges have increased
ourdesiretobecommittedtoourfreedom".

February5

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for South Asia Alistair Burt
confirmedthattheBritishGovernmentwillsupportaUnitedNationsresolutionon
Sri Lanka sponsored by the United States at the upcoming 22nd UNHRC
session in Geneva later this month. Burt said UK will continue to urge the Sri
Lankan Government and the major Tamil party, TNA to make serious progress
towardsapoliticalsettlementinthecountry.

February6

Sri Lanka Parliament moved a draftrevision bill to revise legislation on terrorist

financingasthecountryneedsacompletelegalframeworkinordertosuppress
thefinancingofterrorism.ThedraftbilltoamendtheConventionon Suppression
ofTerroristFinancingActNo25of2005waspresentedtoParliamentbyMinister
Nimal Siripala de Silval. The Sri Lankan Government, as a response to the
threat from the LTTE, which is still active overseas, has launched legislative
effortsfocusedonlimitingfinancialsupportfortheremnantsofLTTE.

February8

Parliament approved the draft bill to amend the Convention on Suppression of

Terrorist Financing Act No 25 of 2005 without a vote after its Third Reading in
Parliament.

February11

Secretary of Defence and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa while

delivering a keynote address in Colombo said "The international pressure
broughttobearonSriLankaespeciallybytheWesternnationsmisledbyLTTE
sympathizers can cause international investors and even tourists to stay away
from the country." He further said the Government will not compromisewhen it
comes to providing security to the nation as a part of LTTE remains active
outsidethecountry.
3/40

The report by human rights experts, which was submitted to the UNHRC, said
thatSriLankahasfailedtohonorpromisestoinvestigateseriousrightsabuses
and allegations that thousands of civilians were killed in the final stages of its
ethnic war. The document said grave human rights violations, including the
killingof17aidworkersofaFrenchcharityinAugust2006hadnotbeenprobed
despiteGovernmentpromisesswiftlytobringperpetratorstojustice.
February12

Speaking at the Special DevelopmentCommittee meeting atTilco City Hotel in

Jaffna District, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said all countrymen have a
responsibility to ensure no room is left for the reemergence of terrorism which
broughtsufferingtothepeopleofallcommunitiesforoverthreedecades.

February13

Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas

Devananda said TNA leaders are following in the footsteps of the LTTE in
spreading falsehoods about the country. The minister said LTTE leaders were
also in the habit of traveling in many countries and cities including Oslo and
propagatingfalsehoods.

February15

The Court of Inquiry appointed by Sri Lanka Army Commander Lieutenant

General Jagath Jayasuriya investigating into the controversial instances of
shellingreferredtotheLLRCReportsaidthatinstancesofshellingmentionedin
the LLRC report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army and the civilian
casualtiesmighthaveoccurredduetounlawfulactsbytheLTTE.

February17

TheGovernmenthasdecidedtoacquirethelandthatisnowbeingusedasHigh
Security Zones permanently. The acquisition is to be done under the Land
AcquisitionAct and the Ministry of Defense had already made a request inthis
regardfromtheMinistryofLandsandLandDevelopment.TheGovernmentisto
acquireanextentofover2000acresofland.
A TNA spokesman said that they had received complaints from the family
members of three rehabilitated cadres of the former rebel group LTTE in
Batticaloa District of Eastern Province that they have been arrested by the
Policeagain.

February18

Sri Lanka Ministry of Land and Land Development said that it will resolve the
disputearisenduetotheoccupationofcivilianlandsformilitaryestablishments
immediately.TheMinistryhasstartedastudyonthelandintheHSZofNorthern
and Eastern Provinces.The civilians who resided in the lands now taken under
HSZ have been asked to submit their proof to the ownership of lands to the
DivisionalSecretariesofthearea.TheMinistrysaidthatthelandthatisneeded
toberetainedwillbeacquiredandtheownerswillbecompensated.
International terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna said that all three proLTTE
factions have started lobbying ahead of the UNHCR sessions in Geneva in
March. Gunaratna said the three factions are the Tamil Eelam People's
Assembly led by Perinpanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyawan in Norway, the
Global Tamil Forum led by Father S J Emmanuel in London and the
TransnationalGovernmentofTamilEelamledbyVRudrakumaraninNewYork.
TheEUdecidedtosupporttheUSsponsoredresolutionagainstSriLankaatthe
forthcoming UNHCR in Geneva. The document reads that, "the EU will also
support efforts aimed at keeping the issues of accountability and reconciliation
as well as the current human rights situation in Sri Lanka onthe agenda of the
HumanRightsCouncil."

February19

FreshquestionshavebeenraisedoverSriLanka'sarmedforcesconductduring
thefinalstagesoftheoperationagainsttheLTTErebelsafternewphotographs
emerged claiming that the 12yearold Balachandran Prabhakaran son of the
LTTE'sleaderVillupillaiPrabhakaranwassummarilyexecuted.
Sri Lanka flatly rejected the latest documentary by a British channel that is
featuringanewsetofimagesofLTTEchiefVelupillaiPrabhakaran's12yearold
soninthefinalbattle.

February20

HRWinalettertotheUNHRCmemberssaidthatatitsMarch2013session,the
UNHRC should authorize an independent, international investigation into war
crimescommittedduringthefinalmonthsofSriLanka'sarmedconflict.
Land and Land Development Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon said in
Colombo that measures will be taken within the next two years to resolve
4/40

disputes of the conflict in the Northern and Eastern Provinces arising from the
requisitionofcivilianlandsformilitaryestablishments.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Rodney Perera said the Sri Lankan
GovernmentwillseekthesupportofseveralcountriesincludingChinatofendoff
a resolution to be brought against the country by the United States at the
upcoming22ndsessionoftheUNHRCnextmonth.
February24

TheALRC, an independent regional NGO in a written statement suggested the

UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances to study the situation and
conduct inquiries into to the remains of the 200 or more persons found in the
graveinMataletownofJaffnaDistrict.

February25

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay making the opening
statementatthe22ndsessionoftheHumanRightsCouncilinGenevasaidthat
'massive'humanrightsviolationshaveoccurredinSriLankaduringthewarthat
endedin2009.
Sri Lankan Information Department said that the Government under its NAP to
implement the recommendations of LLRC prepares to conduct an island wide
censusondeathsandinjuriestopeopleandondamagestothepropertiesduring
thethreedecadesofethnicconflict.Thecensus,tobeconductedjointly by the
Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs and the Department of
Census and Statistics, will cover the conflictperiod from 1983 up to the end of
warinMay2009.

February26

HRW in a report reveals that Sri Lankan SFs are accused of continuing to use
rapeandsexualassaultnearlyfouryearsaftertheendofthewartotortureTamil
detainees suspected of having links with the vanquished terrorist outfit LTTE.
According to the HRW report, the military, military intelligence and the police,
including specialized units such as the CID and TID took part in the alleged
crimes.
Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya dismissed the HRW report
that alleged the country's SFs continued to use sexual violence on suspected
LTTEs in detention.Wanigasooriya said that theArmy is ready to investigate if
therearepropercomplaintsfiled.

February27

Plantations Minister and President's Special Envoy on Human Rights Mahinda

Samarasinghe addressing the 22nd UNHRC sessions in Geneva said "Undue
pressure exerted by external parties on the issue of 'retributive justice and
accountability',isnothelpfulintheresolutionoftheseissues."
Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka's former Army Commander and the leader of
unregistered Democratic Party said in a press conference in Colombo that he
was ready to answer any alleged war crime charges brought by international
investigators.

February28

Patrick Ventrell, acting deputy spokesperson of U.S. Department of State said

at the daily press briefing that the Government of Sri Lanka to date has not
initiatedanykindofinvestigationintotheallegedrightsviolationsyet.

March1

Voice Against Corruption called on the Government to reveal details of the

wealthandassetsthatwere seized from the LTTE during the war. Coconvener
of Voice Against Corruption Wasantha Samarasinghe said that the Government
had taken into custody large stocks of gold, vast amounts of moneyand ships
belongingtotheLTTEduringthewar.

March2

President Mahinda Rajapaksa denied that the Army killed LTTE chief
Prabakaran's12yearoldsonBalachandran.HeSAID"Hadithappened,Iwould
have known it. It is obvious that if somebody from the armed forces had done
that,Imusttakeresponsibility.Wecompletelydenyit.Itcan'tbe."

March4

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Navi Pillay,
addressingtheUNHRCgeneraldebateonthematicreportsbySecretaryGeneral
and High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva at the 22nd session of
UNHRC,saidsheremainedconcernedaboutthelackofmeaningfulprogressin
terms of accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, and welcomed the
Council's engagement in monitoring domestic processes regarding
accountability.
UNSecretaryGeneralBanKimooninreplytoaquestiononSriLankaduringa

5/40

March5

UNSecretaryGeneralBanKimooninreplytoaquestiononSriLankaduringa
pressbriefingsaid"Irecognisedtheimportantstepstakenbythegovernmentof
SriLankasincetheendoftheconflict."

March6

A group of about 1,500 representatives of the organization called 'Dead and

Missing Persons Front' representing the family members killed by the LTTE
handed over a petition to the UN over their loved ones killed in LTTE attacks.
TheorganizationholdsTNA,theproxypartyofLTTEbeforetheendofthewar,
as equally responsible as the LTTE for the deaths of their familymembers and
injusticesclaimedtohavebeencommittedtothem.

March9

The Secretary to the Ministryof PublicAdministration in Colombo said that Sri

Lankawillconductacensusonpeoplediedandinjuredduringthecivilwarwith
the LTTE and the Marxist insurrection in the 80's. The census will cover the
periodoftheterroristwarsince1983includingtheunrestprevailedinthecountry
in1983andtheinsurrectionoftheMarxistpartyJanathaVimukthiPeramunain
theyearsof1988and89.

March11

Minister of Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena addressing a

public meeting in Colombo said the groups supporting LTTE who could not
defeat Sri Lanka through war are now trying to attack the country by creating
conflictsusinginternationalforces.TheMinisterallegedthatinternationalforces
envious of Sri Lanka's rapid development process are exerting pressure on Sri
Lankaandhatchingconspiraciestomakearegimechangeinthecountry.

March12

CanadareiterateditscallforanindependentinvestigationintoSriLanka'shuman
right violations at the UNHRC sessions at Geneva and urged the Sri Lankan
Government to implement without delay the recommendations of the LLRC
throughitsNAP.

March13

LandandLandDevelopmentMinisterJanakaBandaraThennakoonsaidthatthe
Governmentwillvestaround21,000acresoflandintheJaffnaPeninsula,taken
overformilitarypurposesduringthewar,amongtheiroriginalowners.Hesaidall
problemsrelatedtolandsinthoseareasaretobesolvedwithinnexttwoyears.
AddressingamediabriefinginColombo,theconvenerofthe'DeadandMissing
Persons Front' Ananda Perera questioned why the UNHRC is silent about the
atrocities committed by the LTTE during the three decades of terror. He further
said the UNHRC should also focus its attention on TNA, which was the proxy
partyoftheLTTEduringthewarandassistedtheterroristorganization.
Vavuniya prison authorities said that no LTTE suspects were located in the
Vavuniya prison due to security reasons. The Vavuniya prison was opened on
March12afterbeingrefurbishedandtherelocatingofprisonerswouldbe carried
outgradually.

March15

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Dr. Palitha

Kohona said that Sri Lanka undertook a task never undertaken by any country
that faced terrorism, by even rehabilitating suicide bombers of the LTTE and
releasing them to the Sri Lankan community. He said, "LTTE suicide bombers
struckover230times,killingthousandsofcivilians.Theytargetedmen, women
andchildrenindiscriminatelyandleftthousandsdeadandmaimed.Theycreated
amassivewaveofterrorinthecountry."
The UNHRC adopted the outcome of the UPR on Sri Lanka in Geneva. Sri
Lanka's Special Envoy of the President on Human Rights and Minister of
Plantation Industries Mahinda Samarasinghe briefed the Council that the
Government is actively engaged in removing military involvement in civil
administration, demining, and rehabilitation, and had launched national
reconciliation and peacebuilding initiatives. Sri Lanka had accepted 113 out of
204recommendationsreceived,andhadalsomade19voluntarycommitments.
Sri Lanka was currently evaluating the implementation of the NAP for the
PromotionandProtectionofHumanRights.
Mahinda Samarasinghe answering a question during the sessions at the 22nd
Session of the UNHRC also asked the International Community as to why "it
keepssilentontheatrocitiescommittedbytheLTTE."

March16

US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said the

U.S. is disappointed that Sri Lankan Government rejected all UPR
recommendations from States that called upon it to implement the LLRC
6/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

recommendationsandcalledonthegovernmenttoexpeditiouslyimplementboth
theUPRandLLRCrecommendations.
March17

TNAleaderR.Sampanthanaccused theGovernmentofchangingdemographics
in north east. He said, "Most regrettably, the time and space that the
Governmentseeksisnottofulfillitscommitmentsandobligationsbutratherto
fulfill its own agenda, which is to change the demographic composition of the
North and East Provinces further and dilute and alter the cultural and linguistic
identityofthoseareas."

March18

TamilactivistsinTamilNadusupportingSriLanka'sdefeatedTamilTigerterrorist
outfit LTTE have assaulted Sri Lankan Buddhist monk identified as Bandara,
whowaspartofagroupofSriLankanpilgrimsattheCentralRailway Station in
Chennai.
SriLankanHighCommissionertoIndiaPrasadaKariyawasamsaid,"Resolution
onSriLankainUNisuncalledfor.Wedon'tthinkthereisaneedforinternational
communitytogetinvolvedinSriLankaatthispoint."
United States presented the revised version of its resolution 'Promoting
reconciliationandaccountabilityinSriLanka'atthe22ndsessionoftheUNHRC
in Geneva cosponsored by 32 countries. The final draft welcomes and
acknowledges the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding
infrastructure, demining, resettling the majority of internally displaced persons,
while noting that considerable work need to be done in the areas of justice,
reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods. It welcomed the announcement by
the Sri Lankan government to hold elections to the Provincial Council in the
NorthernProvinceinSeptember2013.

March19

In letters addressed to Foreign Ministers of Council member countries, Sri

Lanka's External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris rejecting the new resolution
wrote "Just as the Government of Sri Lanka did not recognize the last HRC
resolution,itrejectsthenewresolution.SriLankaintendstorequestavotewhen
the draft resolution is taken up at the Human Rights Council on 21st March
2013."

March20

Sri Lanka expressed 'strongest' reservations on the content of the report

prepared by the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights
Navanetham Pillay on Sri Lanka following a technical mission to the country at
the22ndsessionoftheUNHRCinGeneva.
Tens of thousands of Tamils from the North joined a rally in Jaffna city of the
Northern Province to condemn a US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at
theUNHRCinGeneva.

March21

UNHRCadoptedtheresolutionsponsoredbytheUnitedStateswith25votesin
favor, 13 against and 8 abstentions. Adopting the resolution, the 47member
UNHRCreiterateditscallmadeintheresolutionadoptedlastyearforSriLanka
toeffectivelyimplementtheconstructiverecommendationsmadeinthereportof
the LLRC and to take all necessary measures to initiate credible and
independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation
forallSriLankans.

March22

In a rejection of the resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC, President's Special

EnvoyonHumanRightsMinisterMahindaSamarasinghesaidthattheresolution
wasclearlyunacceptableduetoitsinherentflaws.Theministerpointedoutthat
preambular part of the text is 'intrusive, bears misinterpretations and focuses
disproportionately on the negative and eliminates or is dismissive of the
positive.'
PresidentMahindaRajapaksa,atthepresentationofPresidentialColourstothe
Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment in Boyagane town of Kurunegala District in the
NorthWesternProvincesaidthattheGovernmenthasmadetheLTTEaspiration
ofanEelamstateadream.
MinisterforYouthAffairsDallasAlahapperumawhileaddressingamediabriefing
held in at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo said "The UNHRC has
becomeaninstitutionthatimplementsanew'colonialpolicy'ofrulingbycreating
divisionsininternationalcommunity.

March24

Environment Minister Susil Premajayantha said that preparations are being

7/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

made to hold the Northern Provincial Council elections in 2013. He explained

that holding elections to the Northern Provincial Council was delayed until the
completionofthedeminingandresettlementprograms.Electionscouldnowbe
heldintheNorthsincethedeminingofmostoftheareashasbeencompleted.
HumanRightsCommissioner,PrathibhaMahanamahewasaidthattheresolution
passedbytheUNHRCcouldbedescribedasasoftbutdangerousone.Hesaid
when the text was analysed it was very 'soft' as terms such as "urge", "note",
"welcome"and"request"wereused,whichimpliedthattheywerenotamust.A
dangerous fact is that it urges Sri Lanka to allow an opportunity to the UN
rapporteur to make observations in the following areas the freedom of
expression and the independence of the judiciary, the independence of the
judges, the independence of the lawyers, abductions, disappearances and
women'srights.
SecretaryoftheExternalAffairs MinistryKarunatilakaAmunugamasaidthatSri
Lankan Government expects to meet the deadline set by the United Nations
resolutiontoimplementtheremainingrecommendationsmadebytheLLRC.He
toldthatmostoftherecommendationshavealreadybeenimplementedand the
restwillbeimplementedbyMarch2014.
March25

ElectionsCommissionerMahindaDeshapriyasaidthatelectionsintheNorthern
Province could not be held as the Northern Provincial Council was yet to be
constitutedbythePresident.
Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the resolutions
adopted at the UNHRC in Geneva in 2012 and 2013 are not indicative of an
agendatopromoteandprotectHumanRights.
DefenceandUrbanDevelopmentMinistrySecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksawhile
delivering a talk in Galle District said "Certain politicians who are slavishly
devotedtotheserviceofLTTEterroristsareengagedinadirtygameofcreating
problemsamongtheTamilpopulationtoclingtopower."

March28

BradAdams,theAsiadirector atHRWsaidthatSriLankashouldactonthecall
bytheDeputyMinisterVMuralitharan,knownasColonelKaruna,toinvestigate
warcrimesbyexamininghisownroleinseriousabuses.Hesaid"LTTEforces
under Karuna''s command was directly involved in some of the worst crimes of
SriLanka's26yearlongarmedconflict,whichendedinMay2009."

March31

Minister of National Language and Social Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara

saidthattheGovernmentisseekingabanonnationalistandreligiousextremist
groups disrupting the ethnic harmony in the country. The Minister said his
ministry is preparing to submit a Cabinet paper seeking a ban on extremist
groupsthatarecreatingriftsbetweentheethnicandreligiouscommunitiesinthe
island.According to the Minister, the Cabinet paper will seek to bring new laws
tocrackdownonsuchgroups.
TNA Spokesperson and parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran told that the
partywouldcontinuetopushforaUNmechanismtoinvestigateallegedhuman
rights abuses in the island nation. He said "We need an independent
internationalprobe to find out what happened.The Government has proved that
it cannot handle the matter properly as there is no faith in their own
investigations.WecannotexpectjusticefromtheGovernment."

April1

AheadoftheNPCelectionlikelytobeheldinSeptember2013,theriftwithinthe
TNA has widened, opening up avenues for a possible split in the party in the
nearfuture.TheTNAisanamalgamoffivepartiesITAK,EPRLF,TELO, TULF
andPLOTE.

April2

S.B.Divaratne,whoheadsthePresidentialTaskForceoverseeingresettlement,
said that the LTTE is known to have taken over more than 2,000 acres of
residential properties belonging to Muslims in the North and given them to its
supportersduringthewar.HesaidthishasresultedintheGovernmenthavingto
findalternativelandtoresettlethedisplacedMuslims.

April3

An unidentified gang attacked the office of the Jaffnabased Tamil language

newspaper The Uthayan in Kilinochchi District in northern Sri Lanka. At least
three people including two paper distributors and the Kilinochchi office manager
have received injuries in the attack while the building and a vehicle were
8/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

damaged.
April5

Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, the secretary of Sri Lanka's ill famous

Buddhist extremist organization BBS said that the country's fate would be
changed within two months. He further said that BBS will not allow the casinos
andotherbettingbusinessestosurgeintheguiseofdevelopingtourism.

April7

ExecutivedirectorofthePAFFRELRohanaHettiarachchisaidelectionmonitors
inSriLankahavebeguntheiroperationsintheNorthernProvinceinpreparation
for the provincial council elections. He said public awareness campaigns have
been commenced in the North and programs have been started from Mannar
District. The election monitor in collaboration with the Registrations of Persons
DepartmenthasorganizedamobileserviceforthevotersintheNorthtoobtain
nationalidentitycards.

April8

A man engaged in demining in Muhamalai of Jaffna District was injured

accidentally by a land mine and succumbed to the injuries on admission to the
hospital.Thedeceased,identifiedasK.Murugesu,wasanemployeeoftheHalo
Trust,aNGOinvolvedindeminingoperationsinMuhamalai.
External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris reaffirmed in Parliament that it did not
concur with the USsponsored resolution adopted at the UNHRC sessions on
March 22. He said the resolution seeks to incorporate both the report of the
panel of experts, dubbed by Sri Lanka as the Dharusman report and the report
byUnitedNationsHumanRightsHighCommissionerNaviPillay.

April10

Tamil representatives who met the Indian MPs in Jaffna District demanding an
interim administration told the Indian delegation that the Provincial Council
system under the 13thAmendment to the Constitution are inadequate to solve
theirproblems.
DefenceSecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksasaid"HadthethenIndianGovernment
acted with responsibility, Sri Lanka wouldn't have experienced a 30year
protracted war with LTTE. He said former Indian Permanent Representative to
the UN Hardeep Singh Puri had been directly involved in the Indian operation
against the then J. R. Jayawardene Government in the runup to the July 1987
IndoLankaAccord.
The first part of the Army's CoI report which was handed over to Defence
SecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksabyArmyCommanderJagathJayasuriyastated
"TheinstancesofshellingsreferredtointheLLRCreportwerenotcausedbythe
SriLankaArmyandciviliancasualtiesmighthaveoccurredduetounlawfulacts
byLTTE."

April11

TNA dismissed the report by an Army's Col that absolved the Army troops of
any civilian deaths during the final phase of the threedecade long war with the
LTTE rebels. TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran rejecting the report
saidthatitisa"joke"fortheArmyCourttoconclude thatArmyhadnotkilleda
single civilian during the war. The TNA parliamentarian rejected the facts
containedinthereportascompletelyuntrue.

April13

An unidentified group set fire to the printing press of The Uthayan Newspaper
officeofJaffnaDistrictintheNorthernProvince.TheUthayanisaJaffnabased
Tamilnewspaperwhichhassurvivedforalongtimeamidstrepeatedattacks by
unidentifiedgroupsinthepast.

April15

UKForeignSecretaryWilliamHaguesaidthehumanrightssituationinSriLanka
in 2012 remained of serious concern, with a number of negative developments,
including with regard to freedom of expression and media and judicial
independence.

April16

A group of BGHH, called Ablaze Ever, hacked and defaced three Sri Lankan
Governmentwebsitesin protest of "disrespect of Islam".The sites are Ministry
of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms (reprimin.gov.lk), the Chief Government
Whip of Parliament (govtwhip.gov.lk), and the Deyata Kirula Exhibition
(deyatakirula.gov.lk).

April17

A LTTE cadre who was arrested by the CID in November 2011 and imprisoned
after being found guilty of killing 10 persons escaped from Pottuvil Court
premises at Pottuvil town ofAmpara District in Eastern Province.The escapee
isidentifiedasMahendraRajahShashidharanaliasCristy.
Secretary Defence and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa opened

9/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

April18

Secretary Defence and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa opened

Toppigala Heritage Park Complex, the former hideout of the LTTE in the
Batticaloa District of Eastern Province. The Complex comprises an exhibition
center, hiking trails, obstacle course to the rock, souvenir shop, cafeteria and
othercommonamenitiesforthevisitors.

April20

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the Government is planning to hold

elections to the NPC most likely in September. This will be the first time,
provincial council elections will be held in the Northern Province, since the PC
system came into existence under the 13th amendment to the Constitution in
1987.
National Mine Action Center established in the Ministry of Economic
Development announced that only 96 square kilometers of the land which
amountstoonly5percentofthelandremaintobedeminedinthewarbattered
NorthernProvince.

April21

Former spokesman of LTTE Velayutham Dayanithi alias Daya Master said that
hewouldannouncehisdecisiontocontesttheNPCelectionwithinthenexttwo
weeks. Daya Master is slated to contest under the ruling party United People's
FreedomAlliance.

April22

PresidentMahindaRajapaksavehementlyrejectedtheallegationsmadeagainst
thecountrybytheUSinitshumanrightsreportreleasedonApril19.The2012
Human Rights Report said although the overall number of extrajudicial killings
appeared to have decreased from previous years, killings and assaults on
civiliansbyGovernmentofficialscontinuedin2012.
SFs in Sri Lanka have resumed security checks in Elephant Pass in the North
since last week. Military Spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said
thesewererandomsecuritychecksthatwerebeingcarriedoutforthesafety of
thecivilians.

April23

PresidentMahindaRajapaksastatedthat"theonlywaytoeliminatethescourge
ofterrorismfromtheworldistounderstanditstruenatureandfightitforwhatit
is, instead of giving terrorism various definitions and tags." However, he
lamented that when fighting against the LTTE, Sri Lanka had to seek foreign
helplargelytogetweapons.
Tamil People's National Front announced that the party would not contest the
NPC election which is scheduled to be held in September. The leader of the
party Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said in a press conference that the party
would not contest the NPC election since it does not accept the 13th
amendmenttotheconstitutionasaviablesolutionfortheTamil'sproblems.

April25

TNAthreatenedacontinuousprotest campaignagainstthemilitary'sacquisition
of private lands in the North. TNA says the military has acquired over 6,400
acres of private lands in the North.TNA will commence a protest campaign in
JaffnafromApril29againstthemilitaryacquisitionoflands.

April26

SLFP, the largest ally of the ruling coalition, officials said they will call for
applications from prospective candidates soon to contest the elections for the
NPC in September. The SLFPled alliance will handpick 19 candidates for the
JaffnaDistrict,eightfortheMannarDistrict,andeightfortheMullaitivuDistrict,
ninefortheVavuniyaDistrictandsevenfortheKilinochchiDistrict.

April27

Sri Lankan Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Major

GeneralShavendraSilvaspeakingtothe national radio said bombs used in the
Boston attack of US are similar to the bombs used by the LTTE in Sri Lanka.
Highlightingthatstillarmsandammunitionsarebeingrecoveredfromtheformer
battlefieldsintheNorthandEast,theUNenvoysaidplacingSFsinthoseareas
isnotamattertobeconsideredinadifferentperspective.

April28

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will table a document

comprising the names of 472 people who are known to have disappeared in
MannarDistrictduringthewar.ThedocumentwillbetabledinParliamentatthe
request made by Mannar Bishop the Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph and the
AssociationofFamiliesSearchingforDisappearedRelations.

April29

National Mine Action Centre said that 95 percent of the Confirmed Hazardous
Area has been cleared of mines and an area of 96 kilometers remains to be
10/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

cleared at the end of March 2013. A total of 1,968,369,553 square kilometers

have been completely cleared of mines in the North, Eastern and North Central
Provincesduringthelastfouryears.
April30

Police arrested three Police officers for allegedly killing three civilians in
Gomarankadawala village in Trincomalee District in 2008. The Police officers
included an Inspector, a Sergeant and a Constable. They were arrested from
Thambalagamuwa, Serunuwara and Udamaluwa Police Stations of Trincomalee
District. Earlier, the Police believed the killings were committed by LTTE
militantswhowereactiveintheareaatthetime.

May1

SriLanka'sMarxistparty,JVPPropagandaSecretaryandParliamentarianVijitha
Herath said the party has plans to present affidavits to court from family
membersofindividualswhohaddisappearedfromtheMataleDistrictduringthe
19881989 period. The Matale mass grave was uncovered last November and
154skeletalremainshavebeenunearthedfromthegrave.

May2

TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran said that TNA is planning to file at least 5,000

cases in various courts demanding the lands taken over by the military for
securitypurposesfromNorthernProvince.TNAandotherTamilgroupssaythat
6,000acresoflandaretakenoverbymilitaryfortheHighSecurityZones.

May5

The Sri Lankan Government has allocated Rs. 400 million to pay as
compensation to owners of the land in the HSZs in the North.The Government
has decided to acquire 6,381 hectares of the land in Jaffna District that is now
being used as HSZs permanently and the owners of the land will be paid
compensation.
TNA has requested the Elections Commissioner to invite foreign poll observers
for the Northern Provincial Council elections. TNA representatives have made
thisrequestduringameetingwithElectionsCommissionerMahindaDeshapriya
onaninvitationextendedbyhim.

May6

Marxist party JVP says the Government should take steps to repeal the PTA.
JVPPropagandaSecretaryandparliamentarianVijithaHerathsaidthatthePTA
isadraconianpieceoflawthatneedstoberepealed.

May7

AtleastsixArmypersonnelsustained injuries following an accidental explosion

in Oddusuddan town of Mullaitivu District. According to the Army spokesman,
preliminaryinvestigationshaverevealedthatastockofdetonatorshiddenby the
LTTEhadexplodedwhenasoldierdugthegroundfortheconstructionwork.
TheGovernmentruledoutthepossibilityof repealing the PTA despite requests
by opposition political parties. In response to a question by opposition UNP
Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne told Parliament
thatthoughtheLTTEwasmilitarilydefeated,therewereattemptstorevampthe
organisation in different parts of the world. The Prime Minister said the
provisionsofthePTAwererequiredto dealwiththediscoveryofweaponhauls
hiddenbytheLTTE.HesaidthePTAwasneededtotakeactionwithregardto
LTTEsuspectswhodidnotsurrenderafterthewarendedin2009.

May8

Tamil political sources said that several parties in the TNA are planning to
register the TNA without the support of the major Tamil party ITAK. ITAK also
known as Federal Party says the TNA could not be registered due to legal
barriers.However,theotherpartiesinthealliancearemountingpressureonthe
ITAKtoformallyestablishthealliance.

May9

Rehabilitation and Prisons Reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera said that

several rehabilitated former LTTE cadres have expressed interest to enter
politics. He noted that measures would be taken for them to contest in future
localGovernmentelectionsinademocraticmanner.

May10

Matale Magistrate and Additional District Judge Chaturika de Silva, after

studying 13 affidavits filed by the relatives of missing in the area, ordered the
CID of Police to investigate the mass grave discovered in the Matale town of
MataleDistrictinCentralProvinceandsubmitafullreporttocourtbytheendof
this month. Skeletal remains of 154 people were found during excavations
carriedoutfromNovember26,2012untilMarch12,2013.
Gunasundaram Jeyasundaram, a childhood friend and close mate of LTTE
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, while making a statement before the Colombo
11/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

Supreme Court deplored the acts of his one time leader and expressed his
desiretoundergoarehabilitationprogrammeconductedbytheSriLankaArmy.
Jeyasundaram said he was profoundly disturbed by the role of the LTTE and
condemned its aggressive and violent methods, urging his onetime fellow
sympathisers of the outfit to follow suit. Gunasundaram also asserts that
factionsoftheLTTEscatteredacrosstheglobeshouldimmediatelyceasetheir
actions as they continue to inflict more harm on the Tamil community in Sri
Lanka.
May11

In the wake of the NPC elections likely to be held in September, the Cabinet
approvalwasgrantedtoenact'RegistrationofElectors(SpecialProvision)Billto
enablethosewhoweredisplacedfromtheNorthbetweenMay1,1983 and May
18, 2009 to vote at the election. The bill, if enacted, will enable 15,000 people
whoareknowntohavebeendisplacedbetweenMay1,1983andMay18,2009
toberegisteredasvotersintheNorth.

May12

GovernmentsourcessaidthatPresidentMahindaRajapaksahasscheduledtwo
crucial meetings with the coalition parties of the ruling UPFA and the TNA to
mainly discuss the NPC election.According to sources, the discussion will be
focused on the ideological division in the coalition regarding the NPC elections,
whichisscheduledtobeheldinSeptember.
FormerLTTEarmsprocurerKumaranPathmanathanalsoknownasKPsaidthat
reducing the army presence in the warhit areas in the country and introducing
civiladministrationwould help improve the living conditions of the people there.
Healsosaidthatinthe1970s,Tamilpoliticiansbrainwashedyoungsterslikehim
intojoiningtheTamilcause.

May13

Tamil political parties, both within the fold of the TNA and outside decided to
agreetoacommonpolicy on the political solution to the national question.The
decisionwasarrivedatameetingconvenedbynortherncivilsocietymovements
withTNAMPM.A.Sumanthiran,TamilPeople'sLiberation FrontleaderGajendra
KumarPonnambalamandcivilsocietyactivistK.Gurubaran.
Vanni Security Forces Commander and OfficerinCharge of Displaced Persons
in the Northern Province Major General Boniface Perera said, "Not a single
civilianhadgonemissingintheVanniDistrictaftertheendofthewar.Ifanyone
sayssomeonehasgonemissingaftertheendofterrorismandiftheyareready
to give information on who had gone missing etc, and when and where, I am
ready to debate with any person at any international forum on behalf of the
Government."

May15

TNAprovidedlegalassistance to1,474landownersinJaffnaDistricttofilethe
cases in court challenging the Government's occupation of land for security
purposes. The TNA has appealed to people to file at least 5,000 cases in
variouscourts.
Opposing the NPC election, JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, "The
provincial council system in the 13th Amendment is not devolution of power it
will only extend the power of councils pressuring the people especially in the
north if the Provincial Council election was held. Therefore it is essential to
establish a new constitution that would treat all ethnic groups equally,
safeguardingtheirrightsandculture."

May16

Former LTTE leader Gunasundaram Jeyasundaram who pleaded guilty to the

charge of not disclosing the LTTE's international arms deals was sentenced to
15 months rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court. Gunasundaram
wasarrestedonSeptember5,2007,onchargesofhelpingtheLTTE,hassince
beenarbitrarilydetainedwithoutcharge.

May18

VanniCommanderMajorGeneralBoniface Perera while celebrating Victory Day

in Vavuniya District said "Any organisation or individual will not be allowed to
venerate a terrorist organisation. Anyone participating in a commemoration
ceremony for LTTE cadres will be arrested. There is only one military in a
country.Any citizen has the right to commemorate their loved ones but no one
cancommemorateterroristswhoweredisloyaltotheGovernment."

May20

Commenting on an article in Udayan newspaper, Dharmapuram Citizen

CommitteeChairmanWanniMurugesuclaimedthatthenewspaperneverspoke
ofconditionsduringtheLTTE.
12/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

The Udayan newspaper recently commenting on conditions related to the

Northern Provincial Councils election in its editorial states that holding the
NorthernProvincialCouncilElectionisnotconducive.
US said in a report that Sri Lankan Government generally respected religious
freedomin2012althoughinsomeinstances,localauthoritieswerenoteffective
inrespondingtoattacksonmembersofminorityreligiousgroups.
May22

Petroleum Industries Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa stated that the

Government has not taken any decision to amend the 13thAmendment to the
Constitution.
MinisterYapasaidtheelectionstotheNPCwouldbeheldinSeptember2013as
decidedbythegovernmentearlier,andthiswouldnotchange.
UNP parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella said that the party believes that the
devolutionofpowerwouldaddress the ethnic issue and it was the best method
tosolvetheethnicissueinthecountry.

May23

The CID of Sri Lanka Police has commenced a probe on the German NGO
Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which is operating in Sri Lanka since 1974, to
ascertain whether the NGO has acted within the country beyond its given legal
mandate.
The investigation commenced after the organization held a workshop for the
opposition UNP parliamentarians. Progovernment media reported that the
workshopwasaploytooverthrowthegovernment.
TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran has said that the US is looking into the
progressmadebytheSri Lanka government following the resolution adopted at
theUNHRCinMarch2013.
Thero'scalltoabolishthe13thAmendment came in response to the statement
by Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa that the
Governmentwouldnotabolishthe13thAmendment.
Technology Research and Atomic Energy Minister and JHU leader Patali
Champika Ranawaka called on the government to initiate a comprehensive
programme to wipe out the idea of Eelam from Sri Lankas social, economic,
intellectual and cultural life. Ranawaka said members of TNA still espouse the
notionofTamilEelam.

May24

DefenceSecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksahassaidthatPolicepowerscannotbe
vestedwiththeprovincialcouncils.
TheJHU,acoalitionpartyofrulingUPFA,saiditwilltakemeasurestomobilize
the public to urge the government to abolish the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution.
GovernmentstressedthattheUSembassyasanyotherforeignmissionbased
in Colombo should get prior approval to engage with local government
authorities.
TNA insisted on complete power devolution to the provinces through the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution since problems over the provincial councils are
due to the incomplete devolution of power by successive governments. TNA
parliamentarian, Premachandran said the TNA expects nothing less than
complete devolution of financial, Police and land powers to the provinces
throughthe13thAmendmenttotheConstitution.

May25

Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya told that only three
campswouldbekeptintheJaffnapeninsulaandtherestofthecampswouldbe
withdrawn. The lands where the camps are presently established would be
returnedtothelegalowners,theArmyCommandersaid.

May27

TNAparliamentarianSureshPremachandran observedthatthethreeministers
Leader of the LSSP and Minister of Technology and Research, Prof. Vitarana,
General Secretary of the CP and Minister of Human Resources, D.E.W.
Gunasekera, and Leader of the DLF and Minister of National Languages and
Social Integration, Vasudeva Nanayakkara had said the 13th Amendment
should not be weakened and the Northern Provincial Council polls should be
13/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

conductedinamannerwithoutdestabilizingtheamendment.The ministers had

also said that land and Police powers should not be stripped off the 13th
Amendment.
Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and Leader of the
Sri Lanka Delegation to the 23rd session of the UNHRC Ravinatha Aryasinha
said that the Government has established a mechanism to ensure the right of
informationtotherelativesofLTTEsuspects.
May29

TissaAttanayake,GeneralSecretaryofmainoppositionUNP,criticizedDefence
SecretaryGotabhayaRajapaksa'sstatementontheholdingofprovincialcouncil
elections in Northern Province. Attanayake observed that Rajapaksa has
breached the role of a public servant by stating that holding the Northern
ProvincialCouncilelectionwouldposeathreattonationalsecurity.

May30

Vanni Security Forces Commander and OfficerinCharge of Displaced Persons

MajorGeneralBonifacePererasaidthatcivilianslivingintheNorthernProvince
donotwanttheArmytoberemovedfromtheNorthernProvince.
Two excadres of LTTE were indicted before theAnuradhapura Provincial High
Court over charges of shooting down a military aircraft on March 30, 2000.The
two LTTE cadres are accused of shooting down an Antanov32 plane firing
missilesfromWilpattuWildlifeParkkilling32militarypersonnel.
TNA said that the Government was covertly backing the move to abolish the
13th Amendment to the Constitution. TNA parliamentarian, M. A. Sumanthiran
said the move by the JHU to propose the abolition of the provincial council
system under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is backed by the
GovernmentsincetheJHUisaconstituentmemberoftheGoverning party with
amemberintheCabinet.
SLMC said the party would not support the abolition of the 13thAmendment to
theConstitution.SLMC Leader and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said that the
SLMCwouldnottakeanyactiontosupporttheabolitionofthe13thAmendment.
A court in Bangalore city acquitted 10 LTTE suspects who were being tried for
allegedly possessing explosives and substances used for making bombs. The
tenwerearrestedbyPoliceinthecityin2002.Theywereinjudicialcustody and
weresubsequentlygrantedbailbySupremeCourtandKarnatakaHighCourt.

May31

US Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 released by the US State Department

said that LTTE's financial network of support continued to operate throughout
2012 and there were multiple reports of increased LTTE involvement in human
smugglingoutofrefugeecamps.
TNA parliamentarian Mavai Senathirajah said that a power sharing arrangement
under a unitary State would not solve national question. He said that power
sharingundera unitary system is questionable in today's context of domination
byBuddhistextremistsandthepartyisyettodiscussanddecideits stance on
thedraftConstitutionpresentedbytheUNP.

June2

Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Colombo commemorated the massacre of 33

BuddhistmonksinAranthalawa area ofAmpara District of Eastern Province by
theLTTEonJune2,1987.LTTEbrutallyhackedtodeathandshot33Buddhist
monks,mostofthemnovicemonksasyoungas8yearsoldwhentheywerein
abusheadingtoKandycityofCentralProvince.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Badulla District of Uva Province said that
recallingatrocitiesperpetratedbyLTTEterroristsinthepastwasnotintendedto
sow seeds of hatred in society, but to ensure that such a gruesome period will
notberepeatedinthefuture.Hesaid"Weshouldtelltheyoungergenerationthat
the country faced such a gruesome period in the past in order to avert such
situations in the future through forging closer and amicable ties between
communities."

June4

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to the UK, Dr. Chris Nonis, in an interview with
BBCs Mishal Husain in London said that the country has made tremendous
progress towards reconciliation since the end of conflict in 2009. The High
Commissionersaid297,000peoplehavebeenrehabilitatedandthereisabillion
14/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

dollarprogrammegoingintotheNorthandEastofthecountryfortherebuilding.
Colombo High Court sentenced three LTTE cadres suspected of blowing up a
train 17 years ago killing 66 people. Colombo High Court Judge Kumudini
Wickremasinghe sentenced two of the suspects Saverimuttu Loganathan and
RobertMaxillanto 10 years of rigorous imprisonment while the female suspect,
SiththirasenamThirumagaltofiveyearsofrigorousimprisonment.The suspects
were accused of placing two bombs in two carriages of a highly crowded train
and detonating it while stopped at the Dehiwala station in Colombo on July 24,
1996.Theattackkilled66peopleandinjuredover400people.
The Government decided to appoint the PSC proposed some time ago to work
out political proposals for the resolution of the national question. The decision
wastakenatameetingwiththeleadersoftherulingparty'sallies.
MinisterofWaterSupplyandDrainageandChiefGovernmentWhipofSriLanka
Dinesh Gunawardena announced that an urgent bill will be tabled in Parliament
forapprovalonJune5regardingtheNPCelection.
Addressing the Foreign Correspondents' Association, TNA leader R.
Sampanthansaidthatinregardtothepeopleofthenorthandeast,affectedby
thewar,theAlliance had endeavoured to avoid an attitude of confrontation with
theGovernmentandhadofferedtocooperate.M.A.Sumanthiran,TNA MP,also
saidthattheTNAhasofferedtoworkwiththeGovernment.
June5

TNA spokesman Suresh Premachandran said the 'majoritarian principle' would

augur well for the Government and the Sinhalese majority since the other
provincesexcepttheEasternprovinceisgovernedbytheSinhalese.

June6

TheGovernmentwillsubmitaproposaltothecabinetofministerstodayseeking
approval to reamend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The proposed
amendment reportedly aims to remove the provisions provided for a merger of
theadjoiningprovincialcouncilswhichallowsbillsandactstogetpassedbyall
provincial councils before they are passed in Parliament. The draft bill in this
regardhasbeenapprovedbythepartyleadersoftherulingUPFAonJune4.
TNAhasopposedtheGovernment'smovetoamendthe13thAmendmenttothe
Constitution. TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said the 13th
AmendmentwhichwasaimedatsolvingthenationalissueandtheGovernment
mustconsulttheTNAasarepresentativeoftheTamilpeoplepriortoanymove
toamendthe13thAmendmentsinceitwouldaffectthepeopleof theNorthand
East. However, Premachandran noted that the Government has not yet made
anyofficialcommentonitsstanceonthe13thAmendment.

June7

ElectionsCommissionerMahindaDeshapriyasaidthattheElectionsDepartment
hadbegunpreparationstoholdtheNPCelectionsinSeptemberalthoughitwas
yet to receive an official confirmation regarding the holding of the election. He
further said as of now the status quo regarding the registered voters would
remainunlessthereislegislationtoeffectchangetoincludeanewvoterlist.

June9

TNA said that it would be useless to hold elections to the NPC after amending
the 13th Amendment and reducing powers vested with the provinces. TNA
parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said, "The current President and the
Government are going against this (implementing the 13th Amendment and
goingbeyond)."

June10

SecretarytothePresidentLalithWeeratungasaidthatthethenGovernmentwas
so much under pressure that it accepted the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution without calling for a referendum in the face of a threat of invasion.
He said many countries including the United Kingdom, United States, France,
and neighboring India exerted pressure to stop the humanitarian operation
launchedbytheGovernmenttofreethecountryfromterrorism.
The Parliamentary Group of SLMC unanimously resolved to express opposition
toanymovestomakechangestothe13thAmendmenttotheConstitution.The
SLMC parliamentary group met at the Colombo residence of party leader and
Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem and all eight MPs of the party came to the
decision unanimously to oppose any moves that curtail the powers allocated to
theProvincialcouncils.
15/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

The Catholic Bishops of Sri Lanka in a statement at Catholic Bishops'

ConferenceinColomborequestedtheGovernmentnottoproceedwithamending
the13thAmendmentortotallyrepealitbuttodiscusswithallrelevantpartieson
drawing up a totally new Constitution which is fair by all communities. The
bishops advised the Government to discuss the 13th Amendment through a
PSC and consider a totally new Constitution which would guarantee "justice,
peace and prosperity for all citizens of the country regardless of their ethnic,
religiousorsocialdifferences."
June11

Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion Faiszer Musthapha and SLFP

Batticaloa District organiser Arun Thamabimutthu said that the Provincial
Council system was a 'white elephant' and called for the repealing of the land
and police powers enshrined in the Constitution if the Government were to
proceedwiththeNPCelections.

June12

Faizer Mustapha, the Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion said that it is

dangerous to hold election to the NPC with land and Police powers since TNA
still harbors a separatist line. According to Mustapha, if Police powers were
grantedtotheprovincialcouncilsitwouldinterferewiththeindependence of the
Police.
Leader of LSSP and Senior Cabinet Minister Tissa Vitarana said that 13th
Amendment to the Constitution needs to be changed. The Minister said the
shortcomings in the Amendment should not be a reason to postpone the NPC
electiontobeheldinSeptember.Hemaintained,althoughthe13thAmendment
needschange,anymodificationtoitisnotaprerequisitetoholdelectionsinthe
North.
In a letter addressed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Opposition Leader and
leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremasinghe requested the Government to take
measures to ensure a free and fair of the NPC scheduled to be held in
September this year. Further, the Opposition leader requested the President to
scheduleameetingforadelegationheadedbyhimtodiscussthemeasures he
suggested.

June13

Sri Lanka's Cabinet approved the revisions to the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution and asked the Parliament Speaker to appoint a PSC to study the
issuesregardingthelegislation.
AnorganizationcalledtheNationalGroupannouncedthatitwouldcampaignfor
theabolitionoftheProvincialCouncilsystemandhascalledontheGovernment
to remove Police and land powers vested on the Provinces by the 13th
Amendment.
The Central Committee of SLFP decided to hold the elections in September for
three provincial councils Northern Provincial Council, Northwestern Provincial
Council and the Central Provincial Council. The Central Committee appointed
three committees to handle the party organizational work in the three provincial
councils. The committee for the Northern Provincial Council is headed by the
secretary of the ruling UPFA Minister Susil Prema Jayantha while UPFA Vice
SecretaryMinisterNimalSiripaladeSilvawillheadthecommitteefortheCentral
Provincial Council. The committee for the Northwestern Provincial Council is
headedbyGeneralSecretaryofSLFPMinisterMaithripalaSirisena.

June14

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, during his bilateral discussions in
Berlin with Dr. Guido Westerwelle, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal
RepublicofGermanyurgedGermanytokeepaclosewatchontheseveralLTTE
frontorganisationsinGermany,breachingtheEuropeanUnionproscription.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Rajitha Senaratne addressing a
press briefing held in Colombo said that he was ready to sacrifice his cabinet
portfolio to stop further reducing the powers devolved to the provinces through
the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. He further said that the Government
would be defeated before the international forces unless it fails to stop the
movestofurthercurtailthepowersoftheprovincialcouncils.

June16

UNP Assistant Leader Joseph Michael Perera said that the confrontation over
the scrapping of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in particular would
ultimatelycreatea situation where the separatists would achieve their objective
overnight.
16/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

JVP announced that it would bring a political package to replace the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution. JVP proposes solutions to the problems of the
Tamil people in their package while proposing to abolish the 13th Amendment
completely. JVP package is based on constitutional recognition of state as a
multinational state and acceptance of freedom of all nationalities. The package
willbelaunchedwithintwoweeks.
SLMC said the party will take legal action if the PSC that will be appointed to
revisethe13thAmendmenttotheConstitutionapprovestheproposalstocurtail
thepowersdevolvedtotheProvincialCouncils.NationalorganizeroftheSLMC,
Rafeek Rajabdeen said the party was against the amendments brought to take
awaypoliceandlandpowersfromProvincialCouncils.
June17

Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne at a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in

Colombo said giving Police and Land powers to Provincial Councils will create
needlessissuesinasmallcountrylikeSriLanka.Hesaidthe13thAmendment
totheConstitutionhasopenedupadialogueinthemediaandthepublicspace.
Itisacharacteristicofdemocracy.Hefurthersaid"Equityisthemainfeatureof
a society. When creating an equal society, the differences among nationalities,
races,castesandreligionsshouldbeeliminated."

June18

Leader of JHU and Minister of Technology, Research andAtomic Energy Patali

ChampikaRanawakawarnedofapossibleoutcomedetrimentaltothecountry's
unity from the NPC election if the NPC election is held without amending the
Constitution. He said that the Tamil separatists might use this election as a
referendumfortheircause.
A Bill was presented to Parliament by the JHU to abolish the 13thAmendment
totheConstitution.The Bill was presented by JHU Member of Parliament (MP)
Ven. Aturaliye Ratana and is titled the 'Twenty First Amendment to the
Constitution'. The Bill was seconded by UNP Puttalam District MP Palitha
RangeBandara.
TheParliamentpassedabilltoensurethevotingrightsofthedisplacedpeople
in the North. The Bill tabled by the Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem will allow the
IDPs displaced from the North between May 1, 1983 and May 18, 2009 to
registertovoteiftheyhavenotbeenregisteredasvotersinanyotherelectoral
District. The Supreme Court ruled that the special bill is consistent with the
Constitution.

June19

SLFP invited all political parties to forward their suggestions to the PSC on the
13th Amendment, and to be parties to the forthcoming NPC election. SLFP
General Secretary Minister Maithripala Sirisena said the Government is
committedtoconductatransparent,freeandfairelectioninthethreeProvinces
includingtheNorth.
JohnAmaratunga, Chief Opposition Whip of UNP, told that UNP is considering
boycottingtheproposedPSCtodiscussamendmenttothe13thAmendmentto
theConstitution.AmaratungatoldthattheUNPwilltakepartintheprocessonly
ifsomeconditionsaremet.AmongtheconditionsfortheUNPto be part of the
PSC process is the full implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC.
Amaratunga added that the UNP also wanted the 17th Amendment to be
implementedandthemedia,policeandstateinstitutionstobegiventhefreedom
tooperateindependently.
Stating that there are continuing activities by LTTE front organizations in
Australia, the Sri Lankan Government pressed for their proscription inAustralia
under the Australian Criminal CodeAct. Visiting ExternalAffairs Minister Prof.
G.L. Peiris made this request when he held talks with Brendan O'Connor, the
AustralianMinisterforImmigrationandCitizenshipinAustralia.

June20

Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella explained the

reasonsbehindtheGovernment'sinitiativetorevisethe13thAmendmenttothe
Constitution. He said the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the Indo
Lanka Agreement were imposed on the country without the consent of the
people. "However, the sovereignty of the people is supreme. Therefore, the
Governmenthasfocusedtheattentiononbringingincertainamendments to the
13thAmendmentasitsuitstothecountryinthepresentsituation,"hesaid.
Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the main
17/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

opposition UNP and TNA have requested more time to decide on the proposed
PSC to decide on constitutional amendments. According to de Silva, some
opposition parties use wasting time as a strategy. The Minister added that the
NPCelectionwouldnotbepostponeduntilconclusionofthePSCproceedings.
June21

PSC on constitutional changes for the 13th Amendment was appointed. It

comprises19membersandisheadedbyMinisterNimalSiripalaDeSilvaasits
Chairman. The other members are ExternalAffairs Minister G.L. Peiris, Health
Minister Maithripala Sirisena, Petroleum Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa,
Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardane, Traditional Industries and Small
Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda, Environment Minister
SusilPremajayantha,ProvincialCouncilsandLocalGovernmentMinisterA.L.M.
Athaullah, Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, Senor Minister
D.E.W. Gunasekara, Science and Technlogy Minister Patali Champika
Ranawaka, Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, Economic Development
Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Sugar Industries Development Minister Lakshman
Seneviratne, National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva
Nanayakkara, Deputy Minister Muttu Sivalingam, Government MP Mrs.
SudarshaniFernandopulleandGovernmentMPJanakaBandara.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressing his views on 13thAmendment to the
ConstitutionsaidtheGovernmenthasappointedaPSCforthepoliticalpartiesto
discuss the issue and take a decision not because of the upcoming NPC
election."TheseamendmentsarenotsolelyfortheNorthandEast.Itisthe rest
of the Provincial Councils in the country that has to be changed and it is the
viewofthegeneralpublic,"thePresidentsaid.
ChiefOppositionWhipofUNPMP JohnAmaratungasaidinParliamentthatthe
party will nominate its members to the proposed PSC to study the revisions to
the 13th Amendment to the Constitution only if the Government agrees to
conditionssetbythepartyonJune19.

June22

Former spokesman of LTTE Velayutham Dayanithi alias Daya Master received

the membership of the SLFP, the main coalition party of ruling UPFA alliance.
Daya Master received the SLFP membership following an extensive interview
with a ministerial panel consisting of Ministers Susil Premajayantha,
MahindanandaAluthgamage and C.B. Ratnayake at the SLFP Headquarters in
Colombo.DayaMasterexpressedinterestincontestingtheupcomingNPC polls
inSeptember.
ForeignMinisterProfessorG.L.PeirisduringalonginterviewinSydneyclaimed
that remnants of the defeated LTTE are involved in the peoplesmuggling
businessofbringingSriLankanboatpeopletoAustralia.Hestated,althoughthe
war between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE is over, Tamil Tiger
networks still intimidate Tamil families in the diasporas and extort money from
them, while also engaging in a range of other criminal activities. He also
requestedAustraliatoproscribetheLTTEasaterroristorganisation,makingany
supporttotheterroristorganisationfromAustraliaillegal.

June23

National organizer of the SLMC Rafeek Rajabdeen said that the party will
nominate its representative for the PSC on June 29. He said there will be a
special meeting of the party on that day and at that meeting the Executive
Council will discuss the SLMC proposals regarding the constitutional issue and
makedecisiononthepartyrepresentativetothePSC.

June24

ElectionCommissionerMahindaDeshapriyasaidthattheelectionsforthethree
provincial councils will be held in late September. The Election Commissioner
told"MostlikelyitwillbeeitheronSeptember21or28."Hefurthersaidthatthe
actualdateofelectionwilldependonthenumberof political parties and groups
that will submit the nominations to the North Central, Northern and Central
Provincialcouncilsthatareupforpolls.
Chief Government Whip and Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said the
constitutional amendments proposed to amend the powers granted to the
ProvincialCouncilsunderthe13thAmendmenttotheConstitutionwouldbesent
totheSupremeCourtforadvice.
FormerleadingarmsprocurerandinternationalwingleaderoftheLTTEKumaran
PathmanathanaliasKPtoldthathehasnoambitiontocontestfortheNorthern
18/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

ProvincialCouncil.Pathmanathanrejectedtherumorsthathewouldcontestthe
electionastheChiefMinistercandidateoftherulingUPFA.
Former spokesman of LTTE Velayutham Dayanithi alias Daya Master said that
he was invited to contest the election for the Northern Provincial Council by
higher authorities of the Government. He said that the Tamil people are
concerned of the efforts to curtail the powers of the Provincial Councils and
urgedthe"Sinhalaextremistparties"tojoinhandswiththeTamilpeople.
June25

TwoProvincialCouncilstheSabaragamuwaandSouthernpassedresolutions
in support of the Government's initial move to repeal two provisions of the 13th
Amendment, enabling Parliament to legislate on subjects allocated to the
provincialcouncilsandpreventingthescopeformergeroftwoormoreprovincial
councils.
SLMCvowednottoallowtheGovernmenttogettwothirdmajoritytoamendthe
power devolution mechanism of the Constitution. SLMC national organizer
Rafeek Rajabdeen pointed out that the Government would need the support of
theTamil,MuslimpartiesandtheoppositionUNPforamendingtheConstitution.
He further said that the party would not support any moves to take back the
powers granted to the Provincial Councils through the 13th Amendment of the
Constitution.
Prisons and Prison reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera said that there are
810 former LTTE cadres in remand custody and they are not political prisoners
but hardcore LTTE cadres who ordered the killings and other heinous terrorist
activities. He further said most of the arrested LTTE cadres have been
rehabilitatedandreleasedtothesocietybutthesehardcoreLTTEcadresremain
detainedbecausethereisevidenceagainstthem.
Main party in opposition UNP said that it opposes the dilution of the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution as proposed by the Government.Addressing a
media briefing in Colombo, the UNP General Secretary TissaAttanayake, said
that the 13th Amendment was a result of an accord between two sovereign
nationsandnotaprivateagreementbetweenIndianPrimeMinisterRajiv Gandhi
and the former Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene, as claimed by their
critics.

June26

Sri Lankan authorities released the former female political wing leader of the
LTTE Subramaniam Sivathai alias Thamalini after undergoing a oneyear
rehabilitation program. The Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier
Dharshana Hettiarachchi said thatThamalini was handed over to her parents at
thePoonthottamRehabilitationCentreinVavuniyaDistrict.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa during a meeting with the leaders of the leftist
partiessaidthebasisofthePSCprocesswouldbetherecommendationsofthe
APRC headed by Prof. Tissa Vitharana. The APRC headed by Prof. Tissa
Witharana formed on July 11, 2006, was boycotted by UNP and JVP. The final
reportofthecommitteewaspresentedtothePresidentonAugust 16,2009with
noneoftheproposalsbeingimplementedthusfar.
ExternalAffairs Professor G.L. Peiris met the foreign diplomats at his Ministry
and explained the provincial council system in the country and the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution which introduced the provincial council system
under the 1987 IndoLanka Accord. The Minister noted that a complete study
needs to be conducted before the Constitutional Amendment is moved in
Parliament.
Marxist party JVP decided not to participate in the PSC appointed to discuss
constitutional amendments. JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva told a press
conference that the JVP would not name representatives from the party to the
PSC.

June27

NMAPC said thousands of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka will hold a rally in
Colombo on July 2nd calling for the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution. The NMAPC stated that 3,0004,000 monks from all over the
countrywouldparticipateintherally.
Main opposition UNP held discussions with the Government ally SLMC on the
constitutionalreformsthataretobereviewedbyacommitteeoftheSriLankan
19/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

Parliament next month. During the meeting, the UNP General Secretary Tissa
Attanayake handed over a copy of its draft for a new constitution to SLMC
leader,JusticeMinisterRaufHakeem.
June28

UNP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera said "I do not think the President
would act against the 13th Amendment, if he is to take a decision on his own.
He has been taken hostage by extremist groups led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Whatweshoulddoisnottoabolishthe13thAmendmentbuttocarry it forward.
Itshouldbe13++not13."

June29

TNA decided not to participate in the PSC appointed to find solutions to the
nationalissue.TheTNAtookthedecisionwhentherepresentativesoftheparty
met in Colombo to discuss their participation in the PSC proposed by the
Government.

June30

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa announced that he will leave

for India on July 4 to appraise the Indian leaders of proposed revisions to the
13thAmendmenttotheConstitution.

July1

Minister of State Languages and National Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara

announced that he would leave the Government if it takes steps to abolish the
powersoftheprovincialcouncilsystem.

July2

Former LTTE Spokesperson Velayutham Dayanithi alias Daya Master will

prepare governing party UPFA's manifesto for the NPC election. He told that
candidateswhoaretocontestundertheUPFAincludinghimhaveidentified the
issues faced by the Tamil people and the solutions to these issues would be
includedintheparty'selectionmanifesto.
Former Women's Political Wing leader of LTTE Subramaniam Shivathavi alias
Thamalini is to get the membership in the SLFP. Thamalini will contest as a
candidateoftheSLFPtotheupcomingNPCelection.
A Canadian LTTE operative extradited to the US to face charges of supporting
theLTTEpleadedguiltyinBrooklyninNewYorktothechargesagainsthim.The
suspect, Suresh Sriskandarajah (32), could face up to 25 years in prison after
admitting that he provided material support including sophisticated military
technologytotheLTTE.Hehasusedstudentsascourierstosmuggleprohibited
items into LTTEcontrolled Wanni region in Sri Lanka and also helped the LTTE
launderitsproceedsintheUSandelsewhere.
JHUGeneralSecretary,MinisterPataliChampikaRanawakasaidthattheIndo
Lanka Accord and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution are invalid. The
Minister noted that India had failed to disarm the LTTE as agreed in the Indo
Lanka Accord. He explained that India had pledged to disarm the LTTE in 72
hoursafterenteringintotheagreementbuthadfailedtodo.

July3

Former Army Commander of Sri Lanka and Leader of the Democratic Party,
Sarath Fonseka said that amending the 13thAmendment to the Constitution at
thisjuncturewoulddisrupttheethnicharmonyinthecountry.

July4

Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Chandrasiri Gajadeera requested

approvalfromthecabinettoprovideloanfacilitiestoover4,700rehabilitatedand
reintegrated persons in the North for selfemployment. According to the
Government, 11,573 people have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into the
societyaftertheconflictintheNorthernandEasternProvinces.
Governmentdecidedtoadd53morerecommendationsmadebytheLLRCtothe
National NAP established to implement the LLRC recommendations. Those 53
recommendations were not included in the initial stage NAP prepared in July
2012 to implement the LLRC recommendations since a majority of the
recommendations overlap with other recommendations or form part of the
recommendationscontainedintheNationalHumanRightsActionPlan.

July5

The official website of the NAP for the implementation of the LLRC
recommendationswaslaunched.Thewebsitewww.llrcaction.gov.lkwillprovided
information relating to the progress of implementing recommendations of the
LLRC.
FormerleadingarmsprocurerandinternationalwingleaderoftheLTTEKumaran
Pathmanathan alias KP criticized theTNA for deciding not to participate in the
20/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

PSC to discuss constitutional amendments. He said "If theTNA believes there

shouldnotbeanychangestothe13thAmendment,itcould very well articulate
suchconcernsatthePSC,insteadofshoutingfromthesidelines."
July7

LeaderofEPDP,MinsterDouglasDevanandasaidthatatleast38ministersare
supportive of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. He told that he has
collectedthesignaturesof38Governmentministersexpressingtheirsupportto
the 13th Amendment in its current form and observed that the Government
would not be able to get the required twothirds majority in parliament to pass
anyamendmentstothe13thAmendment.
TNAparliamentarianSureshPremachandran called for independent international
monitorstoobservetheNPCelection.HesaidthatforeignobserversattheNPC
pollswouldensuretheholdingofafreeandfairpoll.

July8

Buddhist extremist group Sinhala Ravaya announced that it will organize a

protest march against the attack on Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya in India.
TheactivistsplantomarchtotheIndianHighCommissiontoprotesttheIndian
Governmentinregardoftheincident.

July9

PresidentMahindaRajapaksa,duringadiscussionwithIndia'sNationalSecurity
Advisor Shivshankar Menon, in Colombo said the PSC is the best forum to
reachaconsensusontheimplementationofthe13thAmendment.
External Affairs Minister Professor G.L. Peiris told Parliament the Indian
governmenthasinformedSriLankathataccordingtorevelationssofarintothe
bombattackinBodhgaya(Bihar,India),theincidenthadnoconnectionwithSri
Lanka.
DPF Leader Mano Ganeshan said that his party would contest the Central
Provincial Council election under the UNP. The DPF will field candidates from
theUNPintheKandyandMataleDistrictsfortheelection.
GCBreleasedbyTIshowsthat 64%ofSriLankansbelievethatcorruptionhas
increased in the past two years in the country and Police were corrupt or
extremelycorruptinstitutioninthecountry.
ThePSCmetforthefirsttimeintheParliamentcomplexunderleadershipofits
Chairman, the Leader of the House Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. The
Opposition parties, including the main opposition party UNP, JVP and TNA,
however, have decided not to participate in the Committee despite the
Government'srequest.

July11

Implementing the recommendations made by the LLRC, a program to pay

compensation to the residents of Northern Province affected by violence during
the war has initiated. Under the first phase of the program, President Mahinda
Rajapaksasymbolicallyhandedovercompensationtothefamiliesofpeoplewho
lostlovedonesandpropertyandsustainedinjuries.
PSC appointed to discuss amendment to the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution decided to call for public opinion. Secretary of the PSC Neil
Iddawala said that opinions could be forwarded in written form to the special
CommitteefromJuly11tillAugust9.

July12

CabinetspokesmanMinisterKeheliyaRambukwellasaidthatifthePSCdidnot
come up with proposals to amend the 13thAmendment to the Constitution, the
NPC elections and other Provincial Council elections will be held according to
theexistingprovisionsofthe13thamendment.
The Government ruled out the need to bring in international polls observers in
view of the forthcoming elections to the Northern, Central and North Western
Provincial Councils. Ruling UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha told
journalists after a meeting with Elections Commissioner that political parties
shouldhaveconfidenceinthelocalmechanismsinthiscase,insteadofseeking
internationalsupportforeverything.

July14

BASL will appear for the land owners in the Northern Province whose lands are
to be acquired by the Government. The BASL sources have observed that
hundredsofacresoflandownedbyTamilsintheNortharetobeacquiredbythe
government ahead of the Northern Provincial Council polls. Over 300 land
owners had approached theAssociation for help and the lawyers of the BASL
21/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

hadrespondedpositively.
FSP,asplinterpartyofmainMarxistpartyJVP,announcedthatthepartywould
not contest the upcoming provincial council elections. FSP said that the
electionsareheldonagroundwhichisadvantageoustotherulersandbranded
theupcomingelectionasatrap.
July15

TheVavuniyaHighCourtindictedtwocadresoftheintelligenceunitoftheLTTE
at Vavuniya District for the killing of 26 personnel of state military, burning and
buryingtheirbodies.ThetwoLTTEcadresidentifiedasMadaarayan Sulakshan
andGaneshanDarshanareaccusedofexecutingthe26military personnel who
were captured and detained at the LTTE torture camp in the LTTE's Victor 1
campinPuthukudiyirupputownofMullaitivuDistrict.
SLMC decided to contest the NPC elections alone scheduled to be held in
September 2013. Shafik Rajabdeen, SLMC national organizer said "We will
contestthenorthernelectionunderourownpartysymbolof'tree'."

July16

The Navy arrested two persons along with explosives hidden in a fiber glass
dingyinTrincomaleeDistrict.NavaltroopsattachedtoSLNSWalagambaofthe
Eastern Naval Command arrested the two persons and seized gelignite sticks
weighing 200 grams, five nonelectric detonators and nine safety fuses during
theirsearchoperations.
Minister of External Affairs Professor G.L. Peiris told a visiting EU delegation
that LTTE front organizations continue to raise funds in foreign countries and
therefore, sustained vigilance over such activities is necessary. He reiterated
this when he met the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with South
AsiaattheMinistryinColombo.

July19

Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya assured political party secretaries

that foreign poll observers would be invited to observe the forthcoming PC
election,buttheywouldnotbefromcountriesthatvotedagainstSriLankaatthe
UNHRCinMarch2013.
Economic Development Minister and Sri Lankan President's younger brother,
BasilRajapaksasaidthatSriLankacannotriskaprovincialGovernmentforming
its own army through Police powers devolved to provinces under the 13th
AmendmenttotheConstitution.

July20

The Election Secretariat of Sri Lanka announced that three international

organizations will be invited to monitor the upcoming election of the three
provincial councils. SAARC, Commonwealth, and ASEAN are the three
organizations that will be invited to monitor the polls for Northern, Central and
NorthWesternprovincialcouncils.

July21

Minister of Social Services Douglas Devananda presented a cabinet

memorandumtotheCabinetofMinistersto amend the Provincial CouncilsAct.
The proposed amendment would enable the Chief Minister of a Provincial
Counciltobeappointedoutsidetheoriginalnominationlist.
Sri Lanka Army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said it will not get
involved in security activities in the North during the forthcoming provincial
councilelections,unlessarequestismadebythePolice.

July22

CaFFE said that over 85,000 voters in the Northern Province do not have ID
cards.CaFFEExecutiveDirector,KeerthiTennakoonsaidthatoutofthe85,000
persons in the North without ID cards, according to the 2012 voter register,
45,000wereintheJaffnaDistrictalone.

July23

UNPsaidthatthecountryisonthepathofmilitarizationwhichhasabadeffect
oncivilsociety.UNPGeneralSecretaryTissaAttanayakesaidthatthesectors
likesportsandForeignServicehaveseverelyaffectedbythemilitarization.

July24

ArmyspokesmanBrigadierRuwanWanigasooriya said thatArmy is planning to

furtherreducethenumberoftroopsithasstationedintheJaffnapeninsula.The
Armyhastakenadecisiontomovetroopsfrom13smallmilitarycamps located
intheWalikamamsectorofJaffnaDistricttothePalalyCantonmentinnorthern
edgeofthepeninsula.
JVPleaderSomawansaAmarasinghe saidhispartywouldabolishtheprovincial
22/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

council system under a JVP Government and that it would restore the rights of
allcommunities.HesaidthatPresidentMahindaRajapaksaandhisGovernment
has failed miserably to find a political solution to the national question though
theyhadampletimetoresolvethematter.
July26

Minister Susil Premajayantha said that the proposed revisions to the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution would not be possible before the forthcoming
Provincial Council elections. He also noted that the government has not taken
anystepstodilutethe13thAmendmentasallegedbysomeelements.
NCAPCS, a movement against the Provincial Council system, called on the
PSCtodiscussamendmentstothe13thAmendmentandannounceitsdecision
beforetheNorthernProvincialCouncilelections.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa directed Secretary to the President Lalith
Weeratungatoappointacommissiontolookintotheincidentsofdisappearance
thathavetakenplaceduringthe30yearsofconflict.ThePresident'smediaunit
said his move to appoint such a commission is a clear indication of his
unwavering commitment to ensure that Human Rights are well protected in the
country.

July28

PM D.M. Jayaratne suggested the Government to take steps to remove the

nationality name of Indian origin Tamils that live in Sri Lanka for generations.
ThePMsaid,"WehopetonamethemasSriLankansinsteadofIndianTamils.
Similarly, we are planning to call them estate employees instead of estate
workers."
The General Secretary of the ruling party UPFA Susil Premajayantha said that
there are no former leaders of the LTTE in the party's nomination list to the
Northern Provincial Council polls. Around 40 individuals from the Northern
Province, including the former LTTE spokesman, Velayutham Dayanithi alias
Daya Master and former LTTE women's political wing leader Subramanium
Shivathavi alias Thamilinihas, have sought candidature of the main constituent
partyofrulingalliance,SLFP.

July29

TNAparliamentarianSureshPremachandran saiditwillnotaccepttheproposed
Presidential Commission to probe the disappeared during the period of the war.
Premachandran said, "Since the Government has deliberately failed to
implement the LLRC recommendations over the past three years they are now
appointing commissions after commissions to show the world that they are
implementingLLRCrecommendations.AlthoughtheGovernmentcanfoolsome,
theycannotfooltheTamilsortheInternationalcommunity."

July30

Attorney General of Sri Lanka filed charges against six former LTTE cadres at
Colombo High Court over the attack on a Navy vessel, SLNS Sayura, in 2006.
The SLNS Sayura was attacked in the seas near Negombo city of Western
Province.TheshipwasinstrumentalforSriLankamilitaryintheirbattleagainst
theLTTE.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said his stance on the issue of distribution of
Police and land powers to Provincial Councils has not changed and reiterated
thatthepowerswillremainwiththeFederalGovernment.
TNA spokesperson parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran alleged that the
Army had intimidated two of its candidates soon after they had filed their
nominationsonJuly29.Themilitarypersonnelhadgonetotheresidencesof S.
Sayanthan, a TNA candidate from Chavakachcheri town of Jaffna District and
Ananthi Sasitharan, the wife of the LTTE's former Trincomalee political wing
leader,Elilan,andhadquestionedthemontheirpoliticalactivities.

July31

Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution would not be completely abolished but will be
changedtomakeitmoremeaningful.

August1

ECsetthedateforelectionstothewartornNorthernProvincialCouncilandtwo
othersforSeptember21aftertheconclusionofacceptingnominations.The EC
has taken measures to invite three international organizations SAARC,
Commonwealth,andtheASEANtomonitortheelections to assure a free and
fairelection.
A former LTTE cadre revealed information on 'detention and execution' of over
23/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

August4

A former LTTE cadre revealed information on 'detention and execution' of over

80 captives, including a Tamil inspector of the TID of Police and an Army
Captain. The former cadre disclosed to the Police how the LTTE held the
captives in illegal prisons named 'Alpha05' and 'Alpha02' in Pudukuduirippu
townatMullaitivuDistrictalsorevealedthelocationwherethevictimswereburnt
aftertheywerekilled.
Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, Security Forces' Commander of Jaffna
rejectedaclaimmadebytheTNAonthetroopstrengthinthepeninsula.Major
General Hathurusinghe, responding to the allegation by the TNA Spokesperson
and Jaffna District Parliamentarian, Suresh Premachandran, that 150,000
SecurityForcesarepresentinJaffna,saidevenduringthepeaktimeofthewar
in2008,therewereonly43,000securitypersonnelinJaffna.
TNA expressed disappointment over President Mahinda Rajapaksa's stance on
land and Police powers to provinces. Leader of the TNA, R. Sampanthan said
"He (the President) does not seem to have any steady decision. The TNA is
observinghiscommentsandattherighttimetheAlliancewillcomeout with the
responsetothePresident."

August6

Minister Wimal Weerawansa said that TNA's Chief Ministerial candidate for the
NPC,C.V.Vigneswaran,isinanagendatoweakentheCentralGovernmentata
futureelection.HefurthersaidthatVigneswaranwouldstarttograbpowerwhen
he becomes the Chief Minister and merge with the Eastern Provincial Council
withthesupportoftheSLMCledbyMinisterRaufHakeem.

August9

General Secretary of the SLFP and Minister Maithreepala Sirisena made an

announcementthattherulingallianceUPFAwillcommenceitscampaignforthe
forthcomingprovincialcouncilelectionsonSeptember2coincidingwiththe62nd
anniversary of the UPFA's main constituent, SLFP. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa will launch the inaugural campaign with a rally at the Maliga Pitiya
GroundinKurunegalaDistrictofNorthWesternProvince.
TNA said that the party has planned to meet the officials of the United States
Department of State to brief the U.S. officials on the forthcoming Northern
Provincial Council election. A delegation of TNA led by party leader R.
Sampanthanand M.A. Sumanthiran is scheduled to leave for the United States
onAugust12.

August10

Department of Elections said it has recorded 68 polls related violations so far.

The most number of complaints were reported from the Kurunegala District in
NorthWestern Province while the least number of incidents have been reported
intheVavuniyaandKilinochchiDistrictsintheNorthernProvince.

August12

Representatives of TNA met with officials from the US Department of State in

Washington.TNAleader R. Sampanthan and parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran
met with officials from the US State Department. Details of the meetings in
Washingtonhavehowevernotbeenreported.

August14

Chief of Defense Staff General Jagath Jayasuriya revealed that four professors
of Jaffna, Peradeniya and UvaWellassa universities had left for the UK after
obtaining government leave from their work claiming to participate in a special
training from August 12 to 20 in London. However, the four academics had
attended a conference on establishing a Tamil interim government and
participatedinLTTEactivities.

August15

TheGovernmentbegananinvestigationonfouruniversityfacultymemberswho
reportedlyattendedan'Eelam'seminarandparticipatedintheLTTEactivitiesin
Londonwhileonacademicleave.

August16

Army Commander Daya Ratnayake said that the SFs invented their own
methods to fight against the LTTE. He said "We were required to adapt and
remain ahead of our enemy. We did adapt. We did think out of the box. We
inventedourownmethodsandwesucceeded."

August19

President Mahinda Rajapaksa told his political rivals not to internationalize Sri
Lanka's problems and instead look to settle them internally. Rajapaksa said,
"SomegotoIndiaandutterdifferentthingswhileothersgotoUSanddo same.
People must engage with the government in order to look for solutions and not
clashwithit."
24/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

TNAcandidateoftheJaffnaDistrict AnandiElilansaidthatshewouldmeetthe
UNCommissionerforHumanRightsNavanethamPillaytobriefherexperiences
oflaststage of war against the LTTE.Anandi is the wife of LTTE political wing
leader ofTrincomalee District Elilan. She claimed that Elilan surrendered to the
military following the end of the war and he was taken in a bus before he
disappeared.
August20

Representatives of TNA announced that they will meet the UN High

CommissionerforHumanRightsNaviPillayonAugust30duringhervisittoSri
Lanka. The TNA will explain to Pillay the need to demilitarize the North and
request for the UNHRC to intervene to secure the release of Tamil political
prisoners.

August26

Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said that several army

camps in the Jaffna peninsula of Northern Province were closed down, further
reducingthepresenceoftroopsinthearea.

August28

MassMediaandInformationMinisterKeheliyaRambukwellasaidthatSriLanka
didnotencounterasingleincidentofterrorafterthedefeatoftheLTTEinMay
2009. He further said during a short period of four years after the war ended,
300,000 displaced persons have been resettled while another 12,000 have
successfullybeenrehabilitatedandintegratedintosocietyandalargenumberof
TamilshavebeengiventheopportunitytoenlistwiththeSFs.

August29

DefenceIntelligenceUnitssaidthatnearly5,000SFsandPolicepersonnelwho
arebelievedtobeabductedanddisappearedduringthe30yearswarperishedat
the hands of LTTE terrorists, having being subjected to torture. The total
breakdown is 3,484 SFs personnel, 1,189 Police personnel and 1,175 civilians
that disappeared at the hands of LTTE terrorists. This is in addition to the
abductionandforcedconscriptionof609Tamilsintoterroristranks.
TNAMPSureshPremachandranat themaidenelectionrallyoftheTNAforthe
NPC poll held in Mannar District said that Tamil people can begin talks on a
federal solution only if 'we have weapons'. TNA MP P. Ariyanendran also said
"ThearmedconflictwascontinuedbyleaderPrabhakaran.Buttoday,weliveon
withoutanything."
Representatives of the Dead and Missing Persons' Parents' Front said that the
UNHRChastostudytheatrocitiesperpetratedbytheLTTEontheTamilpeople
duringtheentirethreedecadesthattheyoperatedwithimpunityandnotjustthe
last few months of conflict when efforts were made to eradicate terrorism from
thecountrytoguaranteehumanrightsofallSinhala,TamilandMuslimpeople.

August30

UNHighCommissionerforHumanRightsNaviPillayacknowledgedthepostwar
progress when a meeting between the UN official and the President Mahinda
Rajapaksa took place at the Temple Trees in Colombo. Pillay said "This is a
visit long overdue, but I felt that it's much better that I come so that I'll be in a
positiontoreportontheverymanyachievementsthathavebeenmade.Firstly,
it was very visible to me in the North how much you have invested in
reconstruction."
The 'Q' Branch of Tamil Nadu Police arrested the two LTTE suspects,
Sivaneshwaran alias Nesan (34) and Gopi alias Manoharan (37) from an
apartmentinChennaicity.PolicesaidSivaneshwaranwasformerlyanimportant
functionary in the political recruitment wing of the LTTE while Gopi had
completed his training and was a member of the outfit. The two suspects were
reportedlymakingIEDstotriggerexplosionsinSriLanka.

August31

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an exclusive interview in his Colombo office

accused proLTTE networks of using money to bribe politicians in key Western
nations, in order to get them to agitate against the Sri Lankan Government on
Human Rights issues. He described the leader of the LTTE, Prabrakaran, who
diedinthefinalconflictof2009,as"apsychopathwhotookadelightinkilling."

September2

TNAparliamentarianSureshPremachandran said the Government should either

apologize to the families of missing persons or accept that such crimes have
happened and ensure that will not happen again in future. He asked, "If the
government is adamant that what they did was correct and is not willing to
accepttheirmistakes,howcantherebereconciliationinthiscountry?"
TNAcalledforthemergeroftheNorthernandEasternprovincesinitsmanifesto
25/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

September3

TNAcalledforthemergeroftheNorthernandEasternprovincesinitsmanifesto
presented for the NPC election. The manifesto also states that devolution of
power should be on the basis of shared sovereignty, necessarily over land, law
and order, socioeconomic development including health and education,
resourcesandfiscalpowers.
TNAcalledforthemergeroftheNorthernandEasternprovincesinitsmanifesto
presented for the NPC election. The manifesto also states that devolution of
power should be on the basis of shared sovereignty, necessarily over land, law
and order, socioeconomic development including health and education,
resourcesandfiscalpowers.

September4

President Mahinda Rajapaksa observed that in the present era the country is
witnessingarevivalofreligiousactivityamongallfaithsfollowingtheendofthe
30 year long conflict. He stressed that his Government at all times was
committedtoprotecttherightsofallreligionsinthecountryandalsotreatthem
onanequalfooting.
Ranjini,aTamilrefugeeinAustralia, admittedtohavingtrainedchildsoldiersof
LTTE during Sri Lanka's civil war to justify her indefinite detention inAustralia.
ShealsotoldAustralianimmigrationofficialssherosetotherank of 'Lieutenant
Colonel'intheLTTEandfoughttwobattlesinthelate1990sagainstSriLankan
forces. Ranjini is the most wellknown of a group of 47 refugees held in
immigrationdetentionbutnotpermittedavisatoliveinAustralia.

September5

Aman,believedtobeasupporterofLTTE,committedselfimmolationinfrontof
the United Nation's Human Rights Committee building in Geneva, Switzerland.
TherewasaphotoofasoldiernexttohimwithasymboloftheLTTEaswellas
documentsonselfimmolationofTibetansinTibet.

September8

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that TNA is trying to

mislead the people in the Northern Province. He said the TNA has prepared a
manifestotosatisfytheexpectationsoftheDiasporatopaveapathforanother
chaoticsituationinthecountry.
TheCommissionerGeneralofRehabilitation,MajorGeneralJagathWijethilakein
Colombo said that 107 former LTTE cadres who have successfully completed
the rehabilitation program at the Maradamadu and Poonthottam rehabilitation
centersinVavuniyaDistrictwillbereleasedonSeptember9.

September9

110 rehabilitated former LTTE cadres were released from their respective
rehabilitation centres at a ceremony in Colombo. 75 former carders who were
rehabilitated at the Welikanda rehabilitation camp and 35 former carders
rehabilitatedatthePuththotamcampinVavuniyaDistrictwereamongthosewho
werereleasedaftercompletionoftheirprogrammes.
Sri Lanka Lawyers' Guild said that they will file a case in the Supreme Court
againsttheelectionmanifestooftheTNA.KapilaGamage,theconvenerofthe
SriLankaLawyers'GuildsaidtheTNAmanifestowasagainsttheConstitution of
the country. He said that the proclamation of selfrule in the manifesto is a
violationoftheSriLankaConstitution.

September10

JVPGeneralSecretaryTilvinSilvasaidthattheTNAwithitselectionmanifesto
has not addressed the issues faced by the Tamil people, but has instead
providedtheMahindaRajapaksagovernmentanothertopictobeusedduringits
electioncampaign.
Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that
themanifestooftheTNA isa'cyanidecapsule'toinnocentTamilyouthfreedby
thepresentleadershipofthecountry.

September11

TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that the party's election manifesto
for the NPC election is prepared to uphold the right of selfdetermination of the
Tamilsinthecountry.

September12

TheGovernmentsaidthatitcannotaccepttheelectionmanifestooftheTNAfor
theNPC.Initselectionmanifesto,theTNA,onceconsideredasaproxyforthe
terrorist group LTTE during the war, has called for establishing power sharing
arrangementsinaunitofamergedNorthernandEasternProvincesbased on a
Federalstructure.
26/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

September13

Leader of the EPDP and Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise

Development Minister, Douglas Devananda said that theTNA has betrayed the
peopleintheNorthtothedollars,eurosandpoundsoftheDiaspora.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the United States had given
itsfullestsupporttodestroyLTTE'sfloatingarmouriesinthedeepseabetween
2006 and 2008. Rajapaksa said "Between 2006 and 2008 we destroyed 12 of
these floating armouries. The Americans were very, very helpful. Most of the
locationsoftheseshipsweregiventousbytheAmerican."
EightpersonswerearrestedatKodikarmamareainJaffnaDistrictonchargesof
having in their possession posters containing the picture of former LTTE leader
Vellupillai Parabhakaran while they were campaigning for the TNA at the
electionstotheNPC.

September14

ThetrainserviceontheNorthernLineuptotheformerLTTEstrongholdresumed
after23yearswiththeopeningoftheNorthernlinefromOmanthaitoKilinochchi.
PresidentMahindaRajapaksainauguratedthetrainserviceatOmanthaitown in
VavuniyaDistrict.

September15

President Mahinda Rajapaksa appealed to the people in the North not to get
misled by the false propaganda of the TNA. The President pointed out that the
TNA is misleading the people by promising selfGovernment and independence
butnotinapositiontoupliftthepeople'slivesorprovidethebasicfacilities they
need.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that the TNA is
attempting to pushTamils in the North to vote for the by spreading racism and
separatism. He said that the pledges made by the TNA in their election
manifestocouldnotbefulfilledthroughaProvincialCounciladministration.
TNA rejected the allegation that its election manifesto demanded a separate
state of Tamil Eelam. The leader of the TNA, R. Sampanthan said "We have
never asked to divide the country. We have very clearly said, without any
attemptstohide,thatasolutionshouldbefoundwithinthecountry."

September17

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an interview said that he will not allow any
countrytoactagainsttheinterestsofIndiafromSriLankansoil.
Commander of the Army in the Jaffna peninsula, Major General Mahinda
Hathurusinghe said there was a possibility of about 4,000 former LTTE
combatants, who are still at large regrouping, with the TNA glorifying the slain
LTTEleaderVelupillaiPrabhakaraninitscampaignfortheNPC.
TNA's Chief Ministerial candidate, a retired Supreme Court judge C .V.
VigneswarancameunderseverecriticismfromtheGovernmentandstatemedia
forastatementhehasmadeovertakingupanarmedstruggleagainifthepower
was not devolved to the North after TNA's victory at the upcoming Northern
ProvincialCouncilpollsonSeptember21.

September18

Trincomalee High Court Judge Amal Ranarajah ordered to release the former
Eastern area LTTE leader Sivasubramaniam Varadanathan alias Paduman due
to poor evidence. The suspect, a resident of Trincomalee was accused of
carryingoutattacksonarmycampsintheEastandkillingsoldiersbetween July
andDecember,2001.
TheSupremeCourtissuednoticeontheleadersoftheTNAtoappearbeforethe
court on 2nd October to show cause regarding the constitutionality of the TNA
electionmanifesto.
Former LTTE arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP in Kilinochchi
District accused the TNA of obstructing the immediate release of most of the
LTTEsuspectsincustody.Hesaid"They(TNA)demandoftheauthoritiesnotto
release those senior exLTTE members in government custody fearing they
wouldnotbeabletoengageinpoliticsopenly."

September19

UnitedNationsSecretaryGeneralBanKimoonsaid"Theforthcomingprovincial
elections in Sri Lanka, especially in the Northern Province are an important
opportunity for reconciliation in the country". He welcomed the provincial
electionsandalsocalledonallparties"toparticipatepeacefullyin the elections
andtoworktogetherintheperiodfollowingtheelectionstoaddressthenational
27/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

andpostwaragendaconstructivelyandcollaboratively."
Ananthy Sasitharan, a TNA female candidate contesting the NPC elections,
cameunderattackatherresidenceinValakamparaiofJaffnaDistrict.Thegroup
ofunidentifiedassailantsseverelyassaultedabout10supportersofAnanthyand
alawyerattachedtothelocalelectionmonitoringgroupPAFFREL.
September20

Chief Ministerial candidate of TNA former Supreme Court judge C. V.

Wigneswaran compared a national hero to the slain LTTE leader Velupillai
Prabhakaran. He said "Prabhakaran was a freedom fighter. He may have been
brutal,butsoisthegovernment."

September21

Amid heavy security historic elections were held in the first ever provincial
council elections since the establishment of the provincial council system in
1987intheTamildominatedNorthernProvince.
TNA secured a landslide victory for the Northern Provincial Council winning all
fiveDistrictsintheProvincewithaclearmajorityandsecured30ofthe38seats
(28directand2bonusseats)whilerulingUPFAgotseven seatsandtheSLMC
wononeseat.
UPFA secured a convincing victory in the North Western Province and Central
Province Council elections obtaining 34 seats in the NWP and 36 seats in the
CP.
Local election monitoring group, CaFFE said that one of its election monitors
Gunarasa (43) had been attacked at Kilinochchi District. CaFFE accused that
the attack was launched by the supporters of the ruling coalition partner EPDP
whoweredistributingfoodamongvoters.
CMEV, another local poll monitor reported that Bodyguards of Minister Rishad
Bathiyutheen have allegedly assaulted Mannar Dstrict candidate of Our Nation
Party,AbdulSalamMohomadHilmyneartheentranceofapollingstationatthe
KokkupaddayamRomanCatholicTamilMixedSchoolinMannarDistrict.
AfterthevotingendedtheElectionCommissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said the
provincial council elections held for the Northern, Central and North Western
provincesarebyandlargefreeandfairexceptforsomeminorincidents.
The Government charged the TNA Chief Ministerial candidate, former Supreme
Court Judge C.V Vigneswaran has given an interview for about one hour to the
Tamil TV Channel "Thanthi" on September 20 and has indulged in his election
propagandaactivitiesmakingextremistviewstomisleadtheTamilpeople.

September22

PresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthatholdinganelectiontoprovidethepeople
intheNorth,whowereunderterroristcontrolforthreedecades,therighttoelect
theirownadministrationisavictoryfortheGovernment.
Addressing a media briefing in Jaffna District following the party's landslide
victory,theTNA leaderR.Sampanthansaidthathispartyisreadytoassistthe
Government to fully implement the 13thAmendment to the Constitution and is
ready to participate in the PSC appointed to resolve the national issue if the
Governmentagreestoameaningfulmeasuretodevolvepower.

September23

Issuing a preliminary report the Commonwealth Observer Mission which has

beenpresentinSriLankasinceSeptember14toobservetheprovincialcouncil
election in the North commended the Government for largely peaceful well
administered election but expressed concern over the heavy military presence
andinvolvementintheelections.
International Election Observer Mission of South Asia headed by team leader,
former Chief Elections Commissioner of India N. Gopalaswami said that not a
single negative incident was observed in any polling centre or counting centre
duringtheProvincialCouncilelections.

September24

President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with the UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Kimoon

on the sidelines of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly at the UN
headquarters in New York and exchanged views on the postconflict situation.
The SecretaryGeneral noted the Sri Lankan Government's latest efforts to
conduct the provincial elections and to implement the recommendations of its
28/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

LLRC. The SecretaryGeneral also addressed the remaining challenges in

reconciliationandemphasizedtheneedforamoreholisticapproach.
September25

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanetham Pillay called
for the continued attention of the UNHRC to the human rights situation in Sri
LankaandwillbemakingrecommendationsinMarch2014onappropriateways
theCouncilcouldcontinuethatengagement.

September26

SupremeCourtinarulingstatedthat the land powers in Sri Lanka were vested

withtheCentralGovernmentandnotwiththeProvincialCouncils.

September27

ProsecutorsintheNewYork,U.S.askedSureshSriskandaraja,aCanadianman
toservethemaximumsentenceof15yearsafterheadmittedtohelpingLTTEin
SriLanka.Hewasarrestedin2006andfreedonbailthreeyearslaterbefore his
extraditiontotheU.S.in2012.WhileinCanada,Sriskandarajahhelped research
and acquire aviation equipment, submarine and warship design software, night
visionequipmentandcommunicationstechnologyfortheLTTE.
Supreme Court issued notice on TNA Secretary General Mavai Senadhirajah to
appear in court on October 2 to show cause in respect of the TNA election
manifestocirculatedduringtherecentlyconcludedProvincialCouncilelections.

September28

CaFFE issued a statement saying that "frequency and gravity" of postelection

violence have increased in the last few days. According to CaFFE, highest
number of incidents have been recorded from the Kurunegala District in North
WesternProvince.

September29

Chief Minister elect of TNA, C.V. Vigneswaran said that it plans to hold
discussionswiththeGovernmenttoobtainthelandandPolicepowersrightfully
given to the provinces in the Constitution. Vigneswaran further said that the
party will demand the Government to immediately remove the military from the
lands that belonged to the Tamil people and are currently occupied by the
military.
EPDP Leader, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise
Development Douglas Devananda asked the Government to appoint an EPDP
candidate as the opposition leader of the Northern Provincial Council.
KandasamiKamalendranoftheEPDPcontestingundertherulingUPFAgained
thehighestnumberofpreferentialvotesreceiving13,632preferentialvotes.

September30

External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugam said that most

recommendations in the LLRC report have been implemented. However, he
observed that there are some shortcomings in the process, which the
Governmentwilladdressinthefuture.

October1

PresidentMahindaRajapaksainaninterviewtoAlJazeerasaidthattherewillbe
no withdrawal of the army from the north. Explaining his position, the President
asked "Then, if the other Provincial Councils also asked me to withdraw their
armycampsalloverthecountrywherecanIhavethearmy?"
A resolution in the EPC calling for the full implementation of the 13th
amendment was passed. SLMC Group Leader Mohamed Jameel proposed the
resolution asking for the meaningful implementation of the 13th Amendment
which provided for the establishment of provincial councils in Sri Lanka. TNA
supportedtheresolutionwiththeSLMCandtheUNP.

October2

EPDP, aTamil ally of the governing party called on the Government to allocate
powers meant for the NPC. EPDP said the Government should assign powers
meantfortheNPCwithoutheedingtoracialandreligiousextremists.

October3

The Chairman of Commission to Investigate Missing Persons appointed by

PresidentMahindaRajapaksasaidthatithasreceivedover60complaintssofar
since its establishment on August 14. The threemember Commission chaired
byAttorneyMaxwellParakramaParanagamaistaskedwithinvestigating cases
of persons from the Northern and Eastern Provinces who went missing during
thewar.

October4

TNAleaderR.SampanthanmetPresident MahindaRajapaksaatTempleTrees,
the President's office in Colombo. The TNA leader discussed about the
swearingin ceremony of the newly elected members of the NPC before
PresidentRajapaksa.
29/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

Military demolished an underground bunker of slain LTTE leader Velupillai

Prabhakaran in Pudukuduirippu town of Mullaittivu District. The wellfortified
bunker had four stories under the ground. The camouflaged bunker was
discovered after theArmy ended the offensive in 2009. It was built to keep the
LTTEleaderandotherseniorLTTEleadersprotectedfromGovernmentforces.
Lord Rogan of the United Kingdom, a Member of the House of Lords while
meeting President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees in Colombo said "The
military presence in the North is substantially less than what has been often
portrayed."
TNAisinacrisisovertheassignment ofministerialportfoliosintheNPCtothe
constituents of the alliance. The four constituent parties of the TNA PLOTE,
TELO, EPRLF and ITAK have been requested to nominate suitable
representativesforMinisterialpositionsoftheCouncil.
October6

Extremist Buddhist monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, the leader of the

BBS addressing a meeting of the movement held in Anuradhapura District
blamed the Government for allowing the TNA to engage in politics. Introducing
TNAasthepoliticalfrontofthemilitarilydefeatedrebelLTTE,GnanasaraThero
said the Government should be responsible for the consequences of TNA
comingtopowerintheNPC.
TNA MP Mavai S. Senathiraja from Jaffna District in an interview to The Hindu
saidthatthefirstpriorityforthenewGovernmentshouldbetoensurethat lands
destroyed in the war be reclaimed and livelihood programmes for the people
introduced.Thesecondpriorityshouldbetopasslawstobringinmoneyforthe
developmentofprovincialcouncils.Thethirdthingshouldbetogivethepeople
therighttoselfrule,forwhichIndia'ssupportwasnecessary.

October7

Issuing a media statement following a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart
Prof.G.L.Peiris,thevisitingExternalAffairsMinisterofIndia,SalmanKhurshid
saidIndialooksforwardtoanearlyresumptionofthedialogueprocessto reach
a political settlement in Sri Lanka based on the full implementation of 13th
AmendmenttotheConstitutioninatimelymanner.

October8

President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressing his view to Indian External Affairs

MinisterSalmanKhurshidwhenthe latter called on him at President's House in
Colombosaid Parliament is the best forum to address the issue of
implementationofthe13thAmendment.
The visiting Indian ExternalAffairs Minister Salman Khurshid during his visit to
JaffnaDistrict8said"Indiaremainscommittedtoupliftingthelivesofthepeople
of the Northern Province through its efforts to restore the social, educational,
economic and cultural infrastructure, which were devastated by the armed
conflict".

October10

TNA has appointed four provincial ministers to the Northern Provincial Council.
The party has elected P. Aingaranesan of ITAK as the Minister of Agriculture,
Livestock, Water Supply and Environment. Former Director of Education in
Kilinochchi District, T. Kurukularajah has been appointed as the Minister of
Education and Cultural Affairs. P. Sathyalingam has been appointed as the
MinisterofHealthwhileP.DeniswaranistheMinisterofFisheries,Transportand
RuralDevelopment.

October11

TNA constituent party members elected to the Northern Provincial Council

boycotted the oath taking ceremony held to appoint its ministers and members
to the Northern Provincial Council at Weerasingham Hall in Jaffna District.
MembersofEPRLF,PLOTEandTELOboycottedtheceremony.

October13

FormerMPM.K.Shivajilingam ofTELO,oneoftheconstituentpartiesofTNA
said that although the TNA is an alliance of five parties, the party is controlled
by the ITAK.As a result, nine members of EPRLF,TELO andTULF boycotted
theswearinginceremonyheldattheWeerasinghamHallinJaffnaDistrictunder
thepatronageofChiefMinisterC.V.Vigneswaran.

October14

TNA parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran speaking to reporters in Jaffna District

saidthatthecoalitionisagainstthestagingoftheCHOGMinSriLanka.Hesaid
"TheSriLankanGovernmenthasviolatedthenormsoftheCommonwealthand
thatiswhyweareagainstit.Theoustingofthecountry'sChiefJusticeisoneof
the instances where the Government had violated the basic foundations of the
30/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

Commonwealth."
October15

Mohammad Muzammil, spokesperson of NFF, an ally of the governing party

UPFAsaidthattheTNA hasestablishedaprovincialcouncilintheNorthbased
on a separatist agenda. Muzammil told that the TNA was continuing with the
agendaofforminganEelamthroughanewprogramme.
Army Commander Lt. Gen. Daya Ratnayake said there will be no room for
separatismonSriLankansoilinthefuture,andthosewhoadvocateseparatism
willbedealtwithseverely.Hestated"Noonewillbeallowedtostepoutsidethe
boundariesofdemocracytopromoteextremismandseparatism.Theworld saw
howwerespondedtothosewhoattemptedtodothingsthiswayinthepast.'''

October16

NorthernProvinceChiefMinisterC.V.Wigneswarannotedthattheimportanceof
unity between Tamils and Muslims in the Northern Province and calls for the
Muslims and Tamils to join hands. He said that it is time now to cast aside
religiousdifferencesandtomakethepeoplelivetogetherinharmony.

October17

SevenyearsafterhewasarrestedbytheRCMPinToronto,CanadaPiratheepan
Nadaraja (37), a Canadian LTTE supporter pleaded guilty in New York, U.S. to
conspiring to buy antiaircraft missiles for LTTE. The FBI in a statement said
"Nadarajah and his associates attempted to acquire these weapons at the
directionofseniorLTTEleadershipinSriLanka.Theantiaircraftweaponswere
tobeusedbytheLTTEtoshootdownaircraftusedbytheSriLankanmilitary."
The members of the House of Lords of the British Parliament in London, UK
pounded on Sri Lanka's human rights issues during the debate on the future of
theCommonwealth,inlightofSriLankahostingtheCHOGMinNovember.Lord
David Chidgey said despite the charter's intention to strengthen the
Commonwealth, the controversy over Sri Lanka hosting this year's CHOGM
while claims of war crimes committed against the LTTE remain unresolved
threatenstounderminetheCommonwealth'sfundamentalvalues.

October18

TheRavanaBalaya,aBuddhistorganizationsaidtheywillprotestifTNAMPS.
Sridharan demanded Sinhala people to leave Jaffna. Secretary of the Ravana
Balaya, Ven. Iththekande Saddhatissa Thero has said that Sridharan cannot
makeJaffnahisbirthplaceandexpectSinhalesetoleaveJaffna.
TheGovernmentdecidedtosummontheCMsofallnineProvincialCouncilsto
the cabinet meetings once a month. This is a practice which will be restarted
after a lapse of some time. The Government says that the restart of the
programme is specifically aimed at summoning the newly appointed Chief
Minister of the Northern Provincial Council C.V. Vigneswaran with whom the
Governmentisbuildinguparapidrapportforreconciliation.
Army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya vehemently denied a recent
reportreleasedbytheLondonbasedMRGthatthemilitarizationofthenorthand
eastfrom2009hascontributedtocontinuedinsecurityforminoritywomen.Inits
reportthegroupsaysthatTamilandMuslimwomenintheNorthandEastofSri
Lankaareincreasinglymarginalizedandfacechronicinsecurityduetopresence
ofsecurityforcesandgovernmentactions.

October22

TNA leader R. Sampanthan speaking to the reporters following a meeting with

BJP leaders in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (India) said that the Central Indian
GovernmentshouldlistentothesentimentsofTamilNadupoliticalleadersover
India'sparticipationintheCHOGMinSriLankanextmonth.

October24

Anuradhapura High Court sentenced the LTTE suspect, Mahilingam

Muthulingam, also known as Indran, to five years of rigorous imprisonment for
his role in the 2006 bomb attack on a bus in Kebithgollewa in North Central
Province.
UNcommendedtheSriLankanGovernment'spostwardevelopmentsayingthat
the Government has set an example to other countries with the impressive
progressmadeinresettlement,reconstructionandrehabilitationefforts.

October26

TNAdecidedtoboycotttheCHOGMtobeheldinColombofromNovember15to
17. Mavai Senathirajah, a senior TNA legislator said "We will not take part in
CHOGM. But our staying away does not mean we are protesting against the
participatingnations.Wewillbeeagertomeetthem."
31/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

October29

ANewYorkcourtinU.S.sentenced aCanadianLTTEoperativetotwoyearsin
prison.SureshSriskandarajahwasarrestedin2006andextraditedtotheU.S.in
2012. While in Canada, Sriskandarajah helped research and acquire aviation
equipment, submarine and warship design software, night vision equipment and
communicationstechnologyfortheLTTE.
PresidentMahindaRajapaksaaddressingthe23rdconvocationceremonyofthe
KDUinColombostressedthatthedemandsforremovalofarmycampsfromthe
Northmadebysomeelementswillneverbeareality.
Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral Kamalesh Sharma issuing the report of the
Commonwealth Observer Mission to NPC, held on September 21, 2013,
described the election as an historic election for Sri Lanka and found the
conductofElectionDayitselftobeimpressive.

October31

TNA said the party will boycott the CHOGM in Colombo next month, but would
meet the foreign dignitaries who will be visiting the country during the period.
TNAparliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiranhassaidthepartywillmeetwithforeign
dignitariestodiscussthesituationinSriLanka.
Muslim Brotherhood, a Muslim organization called for the resettlement of
Muslims and Sinhalese evicted from the Northern Province. The organization
saidthatstepsshouldbetakentoresettletheMuslimsandSinhalesewhowere
evictedfromtheNorthbytheterroristorganizationduringthewar.
Australian and Indian Foreign Ministers said that they will not follow Canada in
boycotting the CHOGM in Sri Lanka due to concerns over the country's human
rights issues. Speaking at a press conference with her Indian counterpart
SalmanKhurshidinPerth,JulieBishopsaiditwasimportanttoengagewithSri
Lankaasitrebuiltitselfintheaftermathof30yearcivilconflict.
MassMediaandInformationMinisterKeheliyaRambukwellasaidthat37Heads
of Government have already confirmed their participation at the forthcoming
CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka. He further said despite heavy lobbying by certain
quarters not to hold the summit in Sri Lanka the attendance will exceed that of
theprevioussummitinPerth,Australiawhichstoodat32.

November1

Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid at the IORA in Perth, Australia held
talkswithhisSriLankancounterpartProfessorG.LPeirisonthesidelinesofthe
meetingandsaidthatahighestlevelofdelegationofhiscountrywill participate
intheCHOGMinSriLanka.

November2

The Government summarily dismissed a video documentary released by the

Britain'sChannel4justaheadoftheCHOGMthatistotakeplaceintwoweeks.
The Government dismissed the Channel 4 video which shows the killing of a
Tamilwoman who was said to be a television presenter for the LTTE, as "fake"
andsaidtheChannel4asusualismakinganotherattempttodiscreditSriLanka
astheCommonwealthSummitapproaches.

November6

President of the Jaffna Tamil Buddhist Association Association, Ravi Kumar

issuing a statement said that Sinhalese and Tamils in the North should be
encouraged to live in harmony without any differences. He pointed out that
TamilslivepeacefullywithSinhaleseincertainareasintheSouth.Hemadethis
comment in reference to statements made by some TNA members against
SinhalesesettlingdownintheNorth.
Police recovered a cache of 13 kilos of C4 explosives hidden in a lorry which
had been abandoned near a vehicle check point in the District. Police media
spokesman Ajith Rohana said that the recovery was made when the lorry was
thoroughly inspected at an Army camp in the District. The search also
discovered36detonators.

November7

British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote in an article for a Londonbased

Tamil newspaper "I will demand that the Sri Lankan government independently
and transparently investigates alleged war crimes and allegations of continuing
human rights abuses". Cameron further wrote "Four years after the conflict, no
one has been held to account for grave allegations of war crimes and sexual
violence, journalists are routinely intimidated and thousands of people have yet
tofindoutwhathashappenedtotheirmissingrelatives."
32/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

TNA, which formed the Northern Provincial Council Government recently, say
they are not opposed to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Sri
Lanka,especiallyifitincludesatriptoJaffnaDistrict.SpeakingtoTheHindu on
conditionofanonymity,aTNAmember whoearlierpubliclysoughtaboycott
said"ThebenefitsofDr.Singh'smeetingswithTNAleadersinJaffnaarebound
to accrue over time." Echoing the sentiment, another member said "Dr. Singh's
visitmaybehelpfulandgiveIndiamoreleverage,butwejustcannot antagonise
TamilNadu."
November8

India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, facing strong opposition within his
own party as well as from the Tamil political parties, is unlikely to attend the
CHOGM. The Prime Minister is in a dilemma as some of his party members
suggest Singh to attend the summit while Tamil members of the congress and
TamilpoliticalpartiesinTamilNaduurgethePM toboycotttheeventinprotest
ofSriLanka'sallegedtreatmentofTamils.
LeaderofWPF,ManoGaneshansaidthatthevisitsplannedbyseveralheadsof
states to the Northern Province indicate the interest shown by the international
community in the post war situation in the North. He said the planned visits by
theheadsofstatetoNorthareaslapinthefaceoftheSriLankan Government.
He explained that the visits would show the international community's focus on
the North and the Sri Lankan Government will be unable to ignore the issues
overthe13thAmendmenttotheConstitution.

November9

The Commonwealth Secretariat will assist Sri Lanka in setting up a National

Inquiry on Torture, its SecretaryGeneral Mr. Kamalesh Sharma said in an
interview to The Hindu at the Secretariat headquarters at Marlborough House in
LondonontheeveofhisdeparturetoColombotoattendtheCHOGM.Tobeset
upundertheaegisoftheSriLankaNationalHuman Rights Commission and to
be assisted and monitored by the Commonwealth Secretariat, the inquiry will
investigateallallegationsoftorturecommittedbyGovernmentagenciesorarms
ofthestatefrom2009(thefinalstagesofthecivilwar)tothepresent,he said.
Theinquirywouldtake18monthstocompleteitswork,Mr.Sharmasaid.
External Affairs Ministry Additional Secretary Rodney Perera said international
participation at CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka at summit level will be no less in
comparisontothelevelofparticipationatanypreviouslyheldCHOGMsummits.
Pererasaid"TheparticipationatCHOGM2013willbenodifferentfromanyother
previouslyheldsummit.Whowillwanttobeisolatedandwhowillnotbe,bynot
participatingisamattertobediscernedlater."

November10

President Mahinda Rajapaksa while addressing the Ninth Commonwealth Youth

Forum under the theme 'Inclusive Development Stronger Together' after its
inauguration in Hambantota town of Hambantota District said terrorism that
plaguedSriLankafornearlythreedecadesdeprivedtheyouthofmanyvaluable
opportunities.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to President Mahinda Rajapaksa
regretting his inability to attend from November 15. However, it is believed that
the letter, whose contents were not disclosed, does not talk about the reasons
for Dr. Singh skipping the meet. The Prime Minister has decided against
undertakingthevisitinviewoftheoppositionbypartiesinTamilNaduaswellas
asectioninCongress.
Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa invited the world leaders who attend
the CHOGM this week to travel to the Northern Province to see firsthand the
work carried out by the Government following the end of the war.According to
Rajapaksa,itwouldbegoodfortheGovernmentiftheCHOGMleadersvisitthe
North and see the former war torn areas and would be interesting to see the
rehabilitation work carried out by the government with the former LTTE carders
andchildsoldiers.

November11

A large number of demonstrators protested outside the Bandaranaike

International Airport in Colombo against the arrival of Channel 4 journalists
sayingtheywereinanattempttotarnishthecountry'simagewithastrategically
drivenmediacampaignbasedonfalsehoods.
Affirming his participation in the CHOGM in Sri Lanka this week, theAustralian
PrimeMinisterTonyAbbottsaidthemostimportantcivilrightistherightto live
33/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

withoutthethreatofdeathorviolencethroughacivilwar.
External Affairs Minister GL Peiris said that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh'sdecisionnottoattendtheCHOGMsummitherewasnotasetbackandit
isunderstoodthedomesticpoliticalcompulsionsbehindthemove.
November12

President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the CBF, being held on the sidelines of
the CHOGM 2013, at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo. The CBF 2013,
themed "Partnering for Wealth Creation and Social Development The
Commonwealth, Indian Ocean and SAARC," will be held from November 1214,
2013, with the participation of Heads of Government and several international
businessleaders.
MauritianPrimeMinisterNavinRamgoolambecamethethirdleadertoannounce
aboycottofCHOGMsummitinColombooverSriLanka'shumanrightsrecord.
MrRamgoolamtoldMauritius'Parliament"MyinformationthatIhavetriedtoget
fromdifferentquartersisthattheSriLankanGovernmentisnotdoingenough.I
cannot, with the principle that I have taken all this time I am in politics, attend
thesummit."
General Secretary of main opposition UNP, Tissa Attanayake said in a
statement that UNP does not expect the Government to implement the
CommonwealthChartervoluntarilyonceitassumedthechairoftheorganization
and the party will commence a campaign to compel the Government to uphold
theCommonwealthrights.

November13

Despite the call by the Tamil political parties in Tamil Nadu for a total boycott,
India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrived in Sri Lanka on
November 13 to attend the CHOGM 2013. Khurshid along with the Foreign
SecretarySujathaSinghandotherIndianofficialsarrivedinaspecialIndianAir
ForceplaneattheinternationalairportinColombo.
Speaking at the closing session of the Commonwealth People's Forum in
HikkaduwatownintheSouthernProvince,UK'sForeign&CommonwealthOffice
MinisterHugoSwiresaidtheCommonwealthlookstoSriLanka,todemonstrate
its respect for the values of the Commonwealth Charter which commits the
memberstorespectthehumanrightsofeveryone.

November14

President Mahinda Rajapaksa speaking at a media briefing ahead of the

CHOGM said that Sri Lanka has nothing to hide noting "We are very open, we
have nothing to hide." The President also expressed satisfaction over India's
ExternalAffairsMinisterSalmanKhurshidattendingtheCommonwealthsummit.
UNP decided to boycott the CHOGM following several attacks on the party's
headquarters. The UNP accused the Government of harassing the party and
saiditwouldthereforeboycottCHOGMentirely.
Visiting UK Foreign Secretary William Hague held talks with members of the
TNA on the devolution and reconciliation in Sri Lanka at the British High
CommissioninColombosaid"AnimportantpartofmypurposeofcomingtoSri
Lanka was to meet members of theTamil community as well as those working
across Sri Lanka to promote human rights, reconciliation and accountability for
pastcrimes."

November15

The much awaited 22nd CHOGM got underway ceremonially under the
chairmanship of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. At a lavish opening ceremony
held at the Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) in Colombo, Britain's Prince Charles,
representing The Queen who is the Head of the Commonwealth, declared open
thebiennialsummitofthe53memberorganization.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa welcoming the leaders and delegates of 53
member countries of the Commonwealth at the opening ceremony of the 22nd
CHOGM in Colombo said the CHOGM 2013 will provide the opportunity for the
members of the organization to assess its achievements with regard to
developmentgoals.
British Prime Minister David Cameronvisited the Uthayan newspaper office in
Jaffna District after concluding a meeting with the Northern Province Chief
MinisterC.VWigneswaranattheJaffnalibrary.AfterthatCemerontweeted"I'm
thefirstleadertogotothenorthofSriLankasince1948.Iwanttoshinea light
34/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

onchillingeventstherefirsthandandPoliticalleadersin the north of Sri Lanka

tellmetheyaregladI'vecometohelphighlightwhatishappeninghere."
Police said an individual arrested on November 14 near the UNP headquarters
under suspicion of being a LTTE cadre was released. The person identified as
SudarshanofMullaitivuDistrictwasreleasedafterquestioning.
November16

BritishPrimeMinisterDavidCameronsaidthathewill"fullybackaninternational
investigation" into alleged war crimes, if Sri Lanka fails to establish a credible
mechanismtoinvestigatetheallegations,byMarch2014.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the CHOGM media conference
asserted that Sri Lanka has necessary resources and the capability to tackle
issuesinthecountryandthereisnoneedforaninternationalintervention.
Dismissing a deadline set by the British Prime Minister David Cameron, the
Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said it is confident of
facinganychallengebeforetheUNHRCinGeneva.

November17

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he needed time to address postwar

challenges, including allegations of human rights violation. He stressed, "We
need time...this cannot be done overnight. A process [to probe allegations] is
alreadyinplace."Hewasrespondingtoaquestionhowmuchtimeheneededto
completetheprobeintotheallegations.
British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that UK will fund a new
programme to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war from areas of
NorthernSriLanka.TheUKGovernmentwillfund2.1millionover2yearsfora
new demining programme which will clear landmines from some of the most
heavilyminedareasofthecountry.
Deepak Obhrai, a parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister of
Canada said that Sri Lanka's Tamil minority continues to be fearful of the
country's leadership. Obhrai was sent after Prime Minister Stephen Harper
decided to boycott the Commonwealth leaders' summit over Sri Lanka's human
rights'record'.
NPC appointed a special committee to address problems faced by Muslims
resettling in the Northern Province following the end of the war. The NPC
appointedthecommitteefollowingadiscussionbetweenmembersoftheMuslim
communityandNorthernProvinceChiefMinisterC.V.Wigneswaran.

November18

Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the allegations leveled against
the Government by the Western nations have been answered through the
implementationoftherecommendationsintheLLRCreport.
ReferringtothewarningofaninternationalinquiryagainstthecountrybyBritish
Prime Minister David Cameron, JHU General Secretary, Minister Patali
ChampikaRanawakachargedthattheBritishPremierhadnorighttocallfor an
international inquiry in violation of the sovereignty of a country. According to
Ranawaka, the British administration should pay compensation to Sri Lanka for
creatingaTamilissuethathasresultedinthelossofmanylives.
LeadersofTNAmetSouthAfricanPresidentJacobZumaonthesidelinesofthe
justconcludedCHOGM2013inColomboanddiscussedtheethnicissue.During
themeetingwithTamilleaders,PresidentZumadiscussedtheroleSouthAfrica
couldplayinfindingasolutiontothenationalproblem.
China asked Sri Lanka to "make efforts to protect and promote human rights",
backing calls by India, Britain and other countries at the CHOGM summit in
Colombo to address allegations of rights abuses against the country's minority
Tamils. "Due to the differences in the economic and social development of
different countries, there could be differences on human rights protection,"
ChineseForeignMinistryspokesmanQinGangtoldamediabriefinginBeijing.
The main opposition UNP said that it opposed the British Prime Minister's call
foraninternationalinquiry into alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan
Army.
Human Rights Commissioner Prathibha Mahanamahewa said that the HRCSL
35/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

hasdecidedtoconductanationalinquiryintotheallegedhumanrightsviolations
inSriLankawithtechnicalassistanceofCommonwealthSecretariat.
November21

TNA says that it will not participate in the Northern Province Development
Committee. The TNA did not participate in the Committee meeting held on
November 19 and wrote to the committee setting conditions to guarantee their
participation. The party has said that a collective chair including the Chief
MinisterneededtobeappointedfortheDevelopmentCommittee.They propose
that the Chief Minister, the Governor and the cabinet Ministers related to the
developmentoftheProvinceneededtobeappointedtothecommittee.TheTNA
alsosaystheagendaofthemeetingoftheCommitteeneededtobegiventoall
thecommitteemembersaheadofthemeeting.

November22

UK Parliament reiterated the PM's call for an international investigation on Sri

Lanka if the Sri Lankan Government fails to conduct a credible and transparent
independentinvestigationintoallegationsofwarcrimestothesatisfactionofthe
BritishGovernment.

November23

EPDP says that the unresolved land issues of the people in Jaffna will be
resolved. Deputy Chairman of Parliamentary Committees, parliamentarian
MurugesuChandrakumarsaidthatpeopleinJaffnawhoareinneedofdeedsfor
theirlandswillreceivethemwithoutanyissue.

November24

UNP said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Chairman of the

Commonwealth has agreed in policy to take the country before an international
human rights court in the official declaration signed by the heads of states
followingtheCHOGMinColombo.AccordingtotheUNP,thePresidentinorder
totakeovertheChairmanshipoftheCommonwealthhasputthenationatriskof
beingtakenbeforeaninternationalhumanrightscourt.
ChiefMinisterofNorthernProvinceC.V.Vigneswaranaddressingagatheringat
the Chavakachcheri Pradeshiya Sabha in Jaffna District said that the
GovernmentwillbepressuredtofindasolutiontotheTamilproblem.Hesaidthe
Governmentwillnotbeabletocontinuewithamilitarystyleofgovernanceinthe
North since the Northern Provincial Council was established by the people. He
noted that the people in the Northern Province have clearly given their verdict
indicatingtheirdesireforselfrulewithintheProvincialCouncilsystem.

November25

The military banned attempts to commemorate the LTTE rebels, saying

"Promoting and propagating separatist ideology within Sri Lanka directly or
indirectly even by using media freedom and attempting to commemorate or
glorifyterroriststhatbelongedtoaproscribedorganizationwouldbeillegal."
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa while addressing the international
maritime security conference in Galle city of Galle District said "Fight against
terrorism is a global task nations should support each other's efforts whole
heartedly. Genuine cooperation among nations at highest levels is needed for
thistohappeninasystematicandcoordinatedfashion."

November26

Parliamentarian from TNA S. Sritharan praised former LTTE leader, Velupillai

Prabhakaran in Parliament amidst protests by governing party members.
JustifyingtheLTTE'scauseasafreedomstruggle,theTNAMPsaiditwasthe
reason for a majority of the Tamil people to vote for the TNA at the recently
concludedelectionsfortheNorthernProvincialCouncil.

November27

An extent of 23 acres of paddyfields that remained within the MullaitivuArmy

camp perimeter has been released back to their original owners for cultivation
under an initiative taken by Major General L.B.R Mark, Commander, Security
ForceHeadquartersMullaitivuDistrict.

November28

ThePresidentialCommissionInvestigatingCasesofMissingPersonstoinquire
into persons who had gone missing during the period of the war received over
5,000complaintsfromtheNorthernandEasternProvinces.
The Department of Census and Statistics started a nationwide exercise to
assessthelossofhumanlivesanddamagetopropertyinthefinalstagesofits
civil war against LTTE rebels, which ended in May 2009. The census would
covertheperiodfrom1982to2009wouldinvolve16,000officials.
'TheLastPhase',adocumentaryfilmdepictingthelifestoryofaformerfemale
LTTE cadre during the final stages of the humanitarian operation in Sri Lanka
36/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

wasscreenedattheEUParliamentinBrusselsforthefirsttime.
November29

IndiaandSriLanka,recognizingthecomplextaskofbattlingpiracyintheIndian
Ocean, agreed to join forces to enhance maritime security cooperation in the
strategic region. India's Chief of the Naval StaffAdmiral D.K. Joshi discussed,
among the other topics, the problem of combating piracy in the Indian Ocean
with President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he called on the President at the
President'sOfficeinColombo.
TheGovernmentofNorwayexpressedsatisfactionoverthemeasurestakenby
theSriLankanGovernmenttorestorenormalcyintheNorth.TheAmbassadorof
Norway to Sri Lanka Ms. Grete Lochen when she paid a courtesy call on
President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the President's House in Colombo said her
Government was pleased with the decision by the Sri Lankan Government to
holdProvincialCouncilelectionsintheregion.
TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that the Government has not yet presented a
political solution to the national problem as recommended by the LLRC.
Accordingto theTNA Leader, the Government following pressure from some of
its allies has set up a PSC claiming to find a political solution to the national
problem, with the real intention of delaying the process of finding a permanent
solution.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa while delivering a speech
winding up the budget debate in Parliament said that only the Sri Lankan
Governmentcansolvethecountry'sethnicissue,notanyforeigninstitution.

November30

The Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics,

D.C.A.GunawardenasaidthatthehouseholdofVelupillaiPrabhakaran,leaderof
theLTTE,willnotbeincludedintheongoingnationwidecensusonhumanand
materiallossesinflictedbythecivilwarsinthecountrysince1982.

December1

The Chief Minister of Northern Province C.V. Vigneswaran speaking during an

eventinMullaitivuDsitrictsaidthatthemilitarypresenceintheNorthhasposed
an obstacle for democracy. "First reason is the heavy military presence in the
NorthandEast.SecondunlawfulsettlementsofoutsidersfromtheSouthinthe
North.ThirdOurpeopledonothavethesecurity,FourthNojobopportunities,"
Wigneswaranhassaidattheevent.

December2

UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

arrived in Sri Lanka to examine the status of people rendered homeless by the
country'sthreedecadecivilwar.Hesaid"Iwillgatherfirsthandinformationfrom
allparties,includingdisplacedpersonsandaffectedcommunitiesthemselves. I
willalsolookatthechallengesandopportunitiesfor durable solutions for IDPs,
while I discuss the progress made with regard to their protection and
assistance."
Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral Kamalesh Sharma welcomed Sri Lanka's
measure to conduct an island wide census to assess the human and property
damages occurred during nearly threedecade long armed conflict. "This will
advance the process of postconflict reconciliation sought in the national
LessonsLearntandReconciliationreport,"Sharmafurthersaid.

December3

TheSecretaryofStateforForeignandCommonwealthAffairs,WilliamHaguein
responsetoaquestionraised in the UK's House of Commons said that UK will
pursue an international inquiry into the alleged war crimes by Sri Lankan troops
duringthefinalstagesifwarifSriLankafailstosetupitsowninquiry.wewould
favoraninternationalinquirythatisindependent,credibleandthorough."
Chief Minister of Northern Province C.V. Vigneswaran informed UN Special
Rapporteur for Internally Displaced Persons Dr. Chaloka Beyani that military is
acquiring civilian lands in the North. Wigneswaran also told the UN envoy that
the livelihood of residents in the North has been seriously affected since the
military has taken over all avenues of employment available to the people and
thepeoplehavetotakeloansfortheirdaytodayliving.

December4

TNALeaderR.SampanthansaidinParliamentthatitistheGovernmentandnot
the party that has connections with the LTTE. He told that Kumaran
PathmanathanaliasKP,whowasLTTE'sarmprocurerandtheinternationalwing
leader,isnowwiththeGovernmentanddoesnothaveanyconnection with the
37/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

TNA.
December5

Provincial Minister of Road Development, Housing and Construction, Rural

Electrification and Water Supply, M.S. Uthumalebbe said that the Eastern
Provincial Council will set up a separate authority to address housing and
livelihood issues in the area. The Council decided to create a Housing
Development Authority to implement the housing development programme for
theprovince.
Police Media Spokesperson SSP Ajith Rohana told the media that 900 Tamil
police officers and 1,500 Sinhala police officers fluent in the Tamil language
have been deployed to Police stations in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
HeexplainedthattheTamilspeakingcitizensintheNorthandEastareascould
thengettheirstatementsrecordedinTamil.

December6

T.R. Baalu leader of DMK of Tamil Nadu, India issued a notice seeking a
discussion, under Rule 193 in the Lok Sabha, against the human rights
violations and war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan defence forces against
TamilsduringthecivilwaragainsttheLTTE.
UKMinisterofState,ForeignandCommonwealthOfficeHugoSwiretoldBritish
Parliamentthat,"TheUKhasbeenvotedbackontotheHumanRightsCouncil
and will play an active role in building international support ahead of the March
Human Rights Council session. We will continue to discuss Sri Lanka with a
range of other EU, Commonwealth and international partners over the coming
months."
Addressing the daily media briefing at the State Department, US Deputy
SpokespersonMarieHarfsaid:"TheU.S.haslongurgedtheGovernmentofSri
Lankatofulfillitspubliccommitments,toimplementtherecommendationsofits
own LLRC report and to develop credible justice mechanisms to address
outstanding allegations concerning serious violations of international human
rightsandhumanitarianlaw."

December7

Sajith Premadasa senior leader of UNP told a news conference that all political
parties in the country need to form a process to face and defeat any resolution
against the country at the UNHRC. While stressing that any domestic issue
needs to be solved internally and not internationally, the opposition MP noted
thatanyinternationalsanctionwouldhaveadirectimpactonthepoormassesin
thecountry.

December10

TheEUinastatementissuedtocommemoratetheWorldHumanRightsDayin
Colombo acknowledged that there have been significant improvements in Sri
Lanka since the end of the conflict, particularly on resettlement and physical
reconstruction,whilechallengesremaininseveralareas.
The EU called on the Government to extend further invitations to facilitate
outstandingvisitrequestsbyUNspecialmandateholders,includingtheWorking
GrouponEnforcedorInvoluntaryDisappearances.
TNA carried out a protest inside the Northern Provincial Council to win 10
demands. Among the 10 demands was the need to address issues faced by
displaced people in the resettlement process. TNA member M.K. Sivajilingam
distributedtheplacardstopartymembersbeforethesessionsandthereafterall
membershadjoinedtheprotest.

December11

Reverend Cardinal Dr. Malcolm Ranjith said the Government to implement the
LLRC'srecommendationspromptlytoavertapossibleforeigninterventioninthe
country's sovereign affairs. He said unless the Government worked towards
reconciliationandaddressedallegationsofwarcrimesduringthewaragainstthe
LTTE,aforeigninterventionisinevitable.

December12

The European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the Sri Lankan

Government to implement the recommendation of the LLRC. The European
Parliament appreciates the restoration of peace and welcome the first ever
elections in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. However, it notes with concern
that "the presence of Government military forces in the former conflict areas
remains considerable" and that there are continuing reports of intimidation and
humanrightsviolations.
TNA objected to the manner in which DIG of Police Pujitha Jayasundera was
38/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

December13

December15

TNA objected to the manner in which DIG of Police Pujitha Jayasundera was
appointed to the Northern Province. TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran
pointed out in Parliament referring to the Constitution that a DIG had to be
appointed to the Province only in consultation with the Chief Minister. He said
this process had not been followed in the appointment of the new DIG to the
North.
MilitarySpokespersonBrigadierRuwanWanigasooriyainColombosaidthatthe
Government is launching a diplomatic operation aiming to counter the
internationalpressurethatisbeingexertedonthecountryaheadoftheUNHRC
session in Geneva where the country is facing a possible third resolution in
March next year. He said some eight videos have been handed over to the
MinistryofExternalAffairstobesenttooverseasdiplomaticmissionswhichwill
showtheworldthetruthaboutmanycrimescommittedbytheLTTE.
Chief Minister of Northern Provincial Council C.V. Wigneswaran said that the
Governmentinits2014Budgethasnotmadeprovisionsfortherequirementsof
the province. According to Wigneswaran, the capital allocation for the Northern
ProvincialCouncilisRs.5.831billionoutofthetotalbudgetcapitalallocationof
Rs. 1.341 trillion. He added that there are huge gaps and problems in terms of
development capacities of stake holders of governance, specific social issues
andwarimpacts.

December17

ReferringtotheattackonagroupofprotestorsneartheTrincomaleebusstand
in Trincomalee District on Human Rights Day leader of TNA R. Sampanthan
wrotetoPresidentMahindaRajapaksatodrawattentiontothebreakdownofthe
ruleof law in the country. "Such an attack on peaceful protesters is not merely
highhanded it is also indicative of a fascist approach, and constitutes a very
grave violation of the human rights of the people on Human Rights Day,"
Sampanthansaidinhisletter.
The UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister Hugo Swire said in the
HouseofCommonsdebatethat the British Government is actively coordinating
with the member states of the UNHRC in Geneva to bring a resolution against
Sri Lanka at the next council session in March 2014, if the Sri Lankan
Government fails to make satisfactory progress in addressing alleged war
crimesandhumanrightviolations.

December20

President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivering a speech at the final budget debate in

Parliament requested the leader of the TNA R. Sampanthan and Chief Minister
of Northern Province C.V. Vigneswaran to join hands with the Government to
create national harmony. He asked the opposition to correct the Government's
path by presenting constructive criticism. However, the President asserted that
therewillbenoroomforterrorismtoresurface.

December21

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran claims that there is an

attempt to form a new LTTE which will operate with the backing of the
Government.Healsosaid"Weseeittakingplace.Ourlandsarebeinggrabbed.
Our businesses are being grabbed. Our employment opportunities are being
grabbedandtosayitmostmildlyourwarwidowsandwomen are definitely not
safe. Why does the Government not enhance its Police presence in the North
and reduce progressively its Army presence if it does not have a hidden
agenda? These are questions which must be posed by reasonable ordinary
humaneSinhaleseintheSouth."

December22

TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that the party is prepared to talk with the
Government,ifitwillengageinameaningfulmanner.Hemadethiscommentin
response to the invitation extended by President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the
TNAtoresumethelongstalledtalksonfindingapoliticalsolutiontothenational
question.

December23

Defense and Urban Development Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that Sri
Lankanswhohaveleftthecountryforvariousreasonswasaseriouslosstothe
country.He observed that many of the country's best and brightest had left the
countrytoseekgreenerpasturesinothercountriesduetotheuncertainsituation
thatprevailedinthecountryfromthe1980suntil2009.

December24

TNA decided to reject the census taken by the Department of Statistics

regarding human and material losses incurred by the civil war. TNA
Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that the decision to reject the census
39/40

4/30/2016

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/timeline/2013.htm

wastakenatthespecialmeetingofTNAleadersheldinVavuniyaDistrict.
Addressing media at the annual convention of the TNA at the Vavuniya Town
Hall in Vavuniya District, TNA parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran said he
doesn't believe the PSC is the right mechanism to find solutions to Tamil
people'sissues.
December26

Department of Census and Statistics rejected a claim by the TNA that the
censusconductedbytheGovernmentonhumanandmateriallossesduetothe
warwillattempttoplaydownthenumberofcasualties.
PoliceDepartmentsaidthatallPoliceStationsintheNorthernProvincewillhave
thefacilitiesfromJanuary2014torecordstatementsfromtheresidentsinTamil.
Policehaddeployed900TamilPoliceofficersand1,500Sinhala Policeofficers
fluent in the Tamil language to police stations in the Northern and Eastern
Provinces.

December27

ExternalAffairsMinisterProf. G.L.PeirisinaninterviewwithPrensaLatina,the
officialstatenewsagencyofCuba,saidSriLankaisfullycapableofundertaking
thetaskssetoutbytheLLRC.

December28

TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said that it will push for an

independent international probe into alleged war crimes committed by the
GovernmentduringthefinalphaseofthecivilwaragainsttheterroristLTTE.

December30

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said authorities are investigating a new mass
gravefoundinMannarDistrictwhichwasonceLTTEcontrol.Thegravesitehad
atleast10humanskeletalremainsburiedinside.ThePolicesuspectsthegrave
wasusedbytheLTTErebelsduringthewartoburyciviliansandsoldierskilled
bytherebels.
Canadian parliamentarian Rathika Sitsabaiesan, who is on a visit to Jaffna
District, held discussions with several TNA parliamentarians and Jaffnabased
organizations.Ms.SitsabaiesanarrivedinSriLankaonDecember28.
PresidentMahindaRajapaksareiteratedthathewillnotallowanypowertodivide
the country or hand over power to any authority that would lead to the division.
HesaidtheprovincialcouncilsandtheGovernmentshouldworktogetherinthe
bestinterestsofthepeople.

December31

TheIndianHighCommissioninColombosaid"TheIndianGovernmenthasbuilt
10,000 houses this year for IDPs in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern provinces
and33,000morewillbeconstructedinthenexttwoyears."
The Government is planning to bring a proposal in the Parliament to oust S.
Sritharan, the Jaffna District MP of TNA for his continuing involvement in anti
Government activities. MP Sritharan recently accompanied a Tamil Nadu
journalist, who was arrested by the police for photographing military camps in
JaffnaDistrict.
CubapledgeditssupporttodefeatapossibleresolutionattheMarchsessionof
the UNHRC. Cuban Ambassador Indira Lopez Arguelles told as a matter of
principle Cuba was opposed to any countryspecific resolutions because such
resolutionswereagainstthespiritofinternationallaw.
Source:Compiledfromnewsreportsandareprovisional.

40/40