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Wickremesinghe administration should respect fundamental rights – HRW

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The Wickremesinghe administration should respect fundamental rights, including peaceful protest, says Human Rights Watch.

Mentioning the Sri Lankan President’s warning yesterday (23) that he will declare a state of emergency and deploy security forces in the event of major protests, the HRW says, “Without respect for human rights, including the right to peacefully protest, Sri Lankans cannot hold politicians accountable, whether for mismanagement or corruption. It is essential that Sri Lanka’s international partners, including the United States and European Union, press the government to fulfill its human rights obligations as an essential step towards addressing the crisis.”

The full statement of the HRW is as follows :

The dramatic fuel shortages that accompanied mass protests in Sri Lanka earlier this year may have eased, but for millions of Sri Lankans the economic crisis is worse than ever.

This month, the United Nations renewed a humanitarian appeal, stating that 28 percent of the population faces food insecurity and that the poverty rate this year has doubled.

Food price inflation was over 85 percent in October, and acute shortages of foreign currency mean that many imports, including essential medicines, are scarce or unobtainable. Meanwhile, authorities have cracked down on peaceful protest. President Ranil Wickremasinghe has suppressed demonstrations and has used the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to detain student activists. Wickremasinghe has even warned that he will again declare a state of emergency and deploy security forces in the event of major protests.

Without respect for human rights, including the right to peacefully protest, Sri Lankans cannot hold politicians accountable, whether for mismanagement or corruption. It is essential that Sri Lanka’s international partners, including the United States and European Union, press the government to fulfill its human rights obligations as an essential step towards addressing the crisis.

Sri Lankan economists fear the economic situation could deteriorate rapidly without action by foreign creditors, placing the basic needs of millions of people in further jeopardy. To stabilize the economy, international creditors should agree to restructure Sri Lanka’s debt so the country can secure final approval for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan and financing from other global agencies.

In April, Sri Lanka defaulted on over US$50 billion in debts to international creditors, and in September it reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a four-year, $2.9 billion bailout. The first tranche of that bailout would ease the crippling shortage of foreign exchange and unlock access to other funding, including from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, which cannot provide new funding until the IMF agreement is completed.

Sri Lanka’s major foreign creditors, including China, Japan, and India, should urgently mitigate the adverse human rights impacts of the economic crisis. The IMF should use its procedures to make needed funds available as soon as possible, putting into place safeguards to protect people’s economic and social rights.

And the Wickremesinghe administration should respect fundamental rights, including to peaceful protest.

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New school term starts tomorrow!

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The first phase of the first term of the year 2023 in government and government approved private schools is scheduled to start tomorrow (27).

The semester will be held from tomorrow to April 4th.

Schools will then be closed for the New Year holiday from April 5th to 16th.

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Accomplice of ’’Kudu Salindu’’ arrested

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A suspect running the drug network of the main shooter of “Kudu Salindu” has been arrested, the Special Task force said today (March 25).

Officers of STF organized Crime III had conducted a raid on the Panadura-Horana road where a 33 year old man was in possession of 10kg of cannabis and Rs. 100,000 was arrested.

The suspect had been transporting it on a motorbike in the guise of a food delivery.

The suspect was revealed to be the person who handled the drug network in Panadura and the financial affairs of the main shooter of Underworld mobster Kudu Salindu, “Beliatta Rana”, who is currently in Dubai.

In the past three years, the STF has seized 217kg 328g of heroin, 47kg 47g of ice, 4722kg of Cannabis, 70461 illegal drugs and 11023 drugs pills have been seized.

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Mississippi tornado kills 26 and brings devastation to US state

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Search and rescue efforts are continuing in Mississippi after a deadly tornado hit the US state.

At least 25 people have died in the state, and one in Alabama, with dozens more left injured by Friday’s tornado.

The storms devastated several rural towns, with Rolling Fork in western Sharkey County almost completely wiped out.

Mississippi state governor Tate Reeves has declared a state of emergency to help respond to the damage.

US President Joe Biden also described the images coming out of Mississippi as “heartbreaking”, and said the federal government would “do everything we can to help”.

“We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover,” he said in a statement.

More storms are predicted to hit parts of Alabama and Georgia early on Sunday and potentially bring large hail.

The storm system which ripped through Mississippi produced a tornado that has caused catastrophic damage to communities across the state. The biggest twister obliterated dozens of buildings in several small towns, flipping cars on their sides and toppling power lines.

The small town of Rolling Fork, located in Sharkey County in western Mississippi, has essentially been wiped out, according to its mayor.

“My city is gone,” Mayor Eldridge Walker told CNN. “But we’re resilient and we’re going to come back.”

He added that lots of families in his community were “affected and hurting”, and all he could see was “devastation”.

Rolling Fork residents said windows were blown out of the back of their homes.

Local resident Brandy Showah told CNN: “I’ve never seen anything like this… This was a very great small town, and now it’s gone.”

Drone footage of Rolling Fork, shared with the BBC, shows the devastation inflicted on the town. Trucks and trees are shown piled on top of buildings, with detritus scattered over large areas.

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