NA: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2015

On January 6, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said there had been a rise in major incidents of election violence between November 20 and January 5 whereas the number of incidents of election violence seemed to have dropped when compared to the previous elections, reports Daily Mirror. The CMEV Coordinating Secretary D.M. Dissanayake said it had documented 420 incidents of election violence with 237 categorised as major incidents while 183 as minor incidents. He said the highest number of major incidents was reported from Jaffna District with 22 incidents followed by Badulla, Kurunegala and Kandy with 19, 18 and 17 incidents respectively. Dissanayake said CMEV had recorded 26 incidents involving firearms and 03 incidents of petrol bombings. He said CMEV had recorded 132 incidents of gross misuse of State resources for election purposes with excessive use of State media by the incumbent and very limited airtime for opposition candidates.Dissanayake said a vast number of incidents of violence and flagrant violation of election laws were attributed to the ruling party where local politicians including local government members were involved. A large number of incidents of attacks had targeted opposition party offices and persons connected to said offices, he said. Dissanayake said the Police had been biased for the ruling party and said they had been inactive in arresting the suspects with most suspects arrested for election violence related incidents had been released without following due process. Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu from the CMEV at a media briefing held on January 6, said that concerns have been raised that voter intimidation on election day will lead to a low voter turnout, especially in the North, adds Colombo Page. Saravanamuttu said that communities and political leaders have raised concerns about the vote in the north in particular and about the deployment of security forces that could have an adverse impact on the voter turnout. Read less...

The campaign for the upcoming presidential polls in Sri Lanka ended on January 5, with sporadic violence having marred the final day, reports Colombo Page. Three opposition activists were injured when unidentified gunmen shot and injured them while they were engaged in putting up a dais for the opposition leader, Maithripala Sirisena, on the final day of campaigning in the southern town of Kahawatte in Ratnapura District. Incidents of violence were also reported from other parts of the island, prompting Sirisena to appeal for calm as the campaign was due to end at midnight (1800 GMT). In response to several allegations, Sirisena said that he has not signed any agreements with any parties to divide the country. "I will be personally responsible for the progressive measures implemented during the first hundred days as I assume duties as the president," he stressed. Read less...

A clash between supporters of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the New Democratic Front (NDF) at Rambukkana in Kegalle District on January 5 had left four government supporters injured and one Opposition supporter injured, reports The Island. The NDF supporter with cut injuries was admitted to the Kegalle hospital while the four injured UPFA supporters have been admitted to the Rambukkana hospital. Five persons have been taken into custody in connection with the incident along with a firearm they had in their possession, Police said. Three vehicles and several shops were also attacked. Read less...

The victim of the shooting incident at an opposition rally in Kahawatta on January 5, succumbed to his injuries in the afternoon of January 7, reports Colombo Page. The victim, one of the three people, who were shot by the supporters of the Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara, has been treated in the Intensive care Unit at the Ratnapura Hospital for the past three days. The other two persons who received gunshot injuries are still receiving treatment at Ratnapura hospital. Read less...

In Kandy District on January 11, after the swearing-in ceremony, the seventh President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena expressed his gratitude to those who voted for him and he was thankful to everyone who assisted to hold a peaceful election. He said it is time for a transformation society – to bring about a humane society with good governance and respect to law. A society that would bid goodbye to poverty. He wished to form a National Unity Government where all political parties would strive towards a common good, not only to people but to animals, plants and also to environment. The President further said that unlimited powers vested to the Executive Presidency will be transferred to Parliament, Cabinet and Judiciary. He also said that this would be the only time that he would contest the Presidency. Read less...

Sri Lanka on January 30 appointed Justice K Sripavan, an ethnic-Tamil, as its new Chief Justice, days after his predecessor Mohan Peiris was asked to resign following an uproar in the parliament over allegations he tried to help the former President retain power illegally, reports The Hindu. The President’s office said in a statement that Justice Sripavan took oath as the 44th Chief Justice before President Maithripala Sirisena. Read less...

Sri Lanka Army said that it has recently enlisted 34 Tamil youth from war-torn North as tradesman, reports Colombo Page on February 1. Report said that Security Force Headquarters-Mullaitivu (SFHQ-MLT) recently enlisted 34 Tamil youth to the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF) from Mullaitivu area in Mullaitivu District of Northern Province. Read less...

Sri Lanka’s new Government will soon arrest Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP and the decision will be available by the end of this week, a reliable source informed, reports Sri Lanka Guardian on February 1. According to the report the file which contains unpublished details of secrets revealed by KP is to be presented to the Government by the intelligence units. During his previous interrogations, it had been revealed that it was KP who had provided weapons, aircrafts and other equipment for the LTTE to attack the state armed forces. According to reports, it has also been revealed that KP had purchased “Slime” type aircrafts from a Bangladeshi agrarian company and has brought them from Indonesia to Mullaitivu in Northern Province. Meanwhile, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has filed a petition at the Court of Appeal requesting the immediate arrest of KP as well as urging the authorities to reveal what happened to the immense wealth of the LTTE that was controlled by KP, under the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. Read less...