In brief
Registration
The Presidential secretariat issued orders on 4 April that all local and international NGOs must register again with the NGO National Secretariat in the Social Service Ministry. NGOs receiving foreign aid must obtain clearance from Defence, Foreign and Plan Implementation ministries while declaring their funding sources and amounts received annually. NGOs are also expected to provide action plans indicating type of activities, locations of operation, target groups and number of employees.
Impunity
As Sri Lanka’s envoy HMGS Palihakkara told the UN Human Rights Commission in April that there will be no pardon for human rights abusers, LSSP leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara declared that human rights violators are being protected in the island.
Cleared
On 28 April, the Supreme Court quashed the decision of a Presidential Commission which found former UNP minister Wijeyapala Mendis guilty of abuse of power in deals with the Land Reform Commission. The Court said the Commission exceeded its power.
Abduction
Business firm Aitken Spence Director GC Wickremasinghe, abducted in Colombo on 30 March, was released after the family paid Rs 20 million ransom. A police officer and a Navy deserter are among six people arrested.
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