Sri-Lanka would not join the Internatio​nal Criminal Court -Minister of Justice

Sri-Lanka would not join the Internatio​nal Criminal Court -Minister of Justice[ Monday, 04 July 2011, 04:20.38 AM GMT +05:30 ]As a member of the Asian – African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO), Sri Lanka would not join the International Criminal Court (ICC) said the Minister of Justice .

Speaking at a press conference Minister Rauff Hakeem said AALCO new  president told that AALCO’s 50th  conference did not take any decision on member countries to join ICC.

He said that had the organization taken such a decision it would affect the independence of the individual member countries of the organization.

Meanwhile, ICC is to organize a workshop soon to impart awareness for the AALCO members on the activities of the ICC in Malaysia, Hakeem said.

AALCO adopted several resolutions at the Colombo conference on international law, international trade law, trafficking in women and children, international terrorism and migrant workers, he added The 50th Annual Sessions of AALCO was held in Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel Colombo last week.

The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Justice and the External Affairs Ministry.

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Power failure in Sri-Lanka

Power failure in Sri-Lanka[ Friday, 01 July 2011, 01:51.59 PM GMT +05:30 ]Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) says that the production of electricity has dropped by two gigawatts within the last two days.

A drop in the water levels of the reservoirs due to lack of rain in the catchment areas for the past few days has caused the drop in hydropower generation.

The Meteorological Department meanwhile reported a delay in the activation of the southwestern monsoon that brings rains to the catchment areas of the hydropower generation reservoirs.

The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Electricity Board warned of possible power cuts in coming weeks and urged the public to use electricity thriftily.

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UN's Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay warned Sri-Lanka

UN's Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay warned Sri-Lanka[ Friday, 01 July 2011, 04:17.24 AM GMT +05:30 ]The UN's human rights chief yesterday warned Sri Lanka not to take too long in probing war crimes allegations, saying failure to carry out a credible inquiry could lead to international action.

"There is now a high level of expectations expressed by member states that Sri Lanka should seriously inquire into these allegations" of prisoner executions and assaults, said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"But this should not be an open-ended process," she stressed, noting that a previous Sri Lankan internal inquiry "failed to complete its task, never published its report and never led to a single prosecution."

"If that should be the case again, there is an intention for the international community to take further action. I certainly believe that the Human Rights Council should actively consider this matter," said Pillay.

Pressure has mounted on Colombo since Britain's Channel 4 broadcast a documentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies of female Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted.

A recent UN report accused government forces of war crimes, alleging that they executed rebel leaders who had surrendered.

An estimated 100,000 people were killed in the nearly four-decade-long Tamil separatist conflict, which began in 1972.

Pillay's remarks echoed that of the United States, which on Tuesday urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to address allegations of war crimes.

Colombo has questioned the authenticity of the Channel 4 footage but said that a local panel, known as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, would take action if the allegations are proven. The UN's human rights chief Thursday warned Sri Lanka not to take too long in probing war crimes allegations, saying failure to carry out a credible inquiry could lead to international action.

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Be aware when buying lands in Sri-Lanka - Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon

Be aware when buying lands in Sri-Lanka - Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon[ Thursday, 30 June 2011, 08:06.01 AM GMT +05:30 ]The Minister of Lands and Land Development, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon warned people by asking them to be extra careful when buying lands in certain districts in the island.

The Minister added that there were a lot of Government lands in the below mentioned Districts and that he was made to aware of a racket where state lands were being sold.

The Minister also went on to say that the racketeers were showing fake deeds to entice buyers.  

The Minister also pointed out this alleged racket is carried out in Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Rathnapura, Moneragala, Nuwaraeliya, Ampara, Trincomalee and Hambantota districts.

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SAARC agricultur​al conference is schdule to be held in Sri-Lanka

SAARC agricultur​al conference is schdule to be held in Sri-Lanka[ Thursday, 30 June 2011, 08:11.18 AM GMT +05:30 ]The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation conference on exchange of information regarding pesticides will commence tomorrow in at the Inservice Training Institute in Gannoruwa, Peradeniya of the Kandy district in Sri Lanka.

The conference will be held until July 01 with the participation of the scientists from the SAARC countries.

SAARC Agricultural Center based in Dhaka and the Department of Agriculture of Sri Lanka jointly organizes the conference.

A consultative workshop on SAARC pesticide information sharing network will be held to discuss the standards and effects of the pesticides use in SAARC countries.

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