In brief
Human rights
Answering a parliamentary question, British Foreign Office minister Peter Hain said on 1 March: “Although the Sri Lankan government have taken some steps to improve their human rights record, we remain concerned about continuing violations and failures to prosecute violators. We are also concerned about human rights abuses committed by the LTTE and reports that they are still using child soldiers”.
Probe freeze
The Committee of Inquiry into Undue Arrest and Harassment (CIUAH) ordered the police in late February to submit a report within two weeks, on the rape and murder of S Sarathambal, allegedly committed by Navy personnel on Jaffna’s Punkudutivu Island in December. The order follows allegations by MPs that investigations have come to a standstill.
Film ban
Reports say that Prasanna Vithanage’s Sinhala film Purahanda Kaluwara (Darkness of the Full Moon), which depicts the impact of the Sri Lankan war on civilian life was acclaimed at international film festivals, but has been banned in the island.
Shot dead
The Sri Lankan Navy killed an Indian fisherman in late February in the Palk Strait. Another eight were arrested accused of entering Sri Lankan territorial waters and harassing local fishermen near Mannar Island.
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