Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin urged Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to ‘strongly take up the matter with the Sri Lankan Government’ for the immediate release of all the Indian fishermen and their fishing boat apprehended in two back-to-back incidents during the Pongal season.

‘With a sense of deep anguish, I would like to draw your attention to the repeated apprehensions of fishermen and their fishing boats by the Sri Lankan Navy,’ Stalin said in his letter to Jaishankar on Wednesday.

Ten fishermen who ventured into the sea on January 13 from Nagapattinam Fishing Harbour were apprehended on January 15 along with their mechanized fishing boat bearing Registration No.IND-TN-06-MM-870 and 18 fishermen from Pamban, Ramanathapuram, along with their two mechanized boats bearing Registration Numbers IND-TN-10-MM-2673 and IND-TN-10-MM-2677 were apprehended on January 16, he said.

‘These apprehensions have created an insecure atmosphere among the fishing community who are solely dependent on fishing for their livelihoods. As there appears to be no respite in the arrests it is important to impress upon Sri Lanka to refrain from these arbitrary arrests and detentions of boats and to set a clear timeline to release all the boats under their custody, Stalin said.

News Today

In a significant milestone, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Wednesday that both Sri Lanka and Maldives have successfully achieved control over the deadly hepatitis B disease.

This comes after an expert panel verified that the two countries have had consistently high coverage of Hepatitis B vaccine doses in infants and a low prevalence of the deadly disease, corroborated through serological surveys conducted recently in both countries.

“I congratulate and commend the Maldives and Sri Lanka on their achievement which once again demonstrates the earnest efforts being made by the health leaders and officials, health workers and the people of these countries towards the health and well-being of communities,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia said.

The Expert Panel for Verification of Hepatitis B Control in WHO South-East Asia Region reviewed childhood immunisation data from the Maldives and Sri Lanka that showed consistent over 90 per cent coverage with Hepatitis B vaccine doses provided during infancy for the past many years.

The experts also reviewed the findings of national surveys conducted among children in 2022-2023, in these countries.

“Based on the evidence presented to it, the Expert Panel concluded that the standards required for verification of hepatitis B control have been met in both these countries and hence recommended that this important public health target has been achieved in Maldives and Sri Lanka,” said Dr Supamit Chunsuttiwat, chairperson of the Regional Expert Panel for verification of hepatitis B control in Southeast Asia.

Notably, the two countries join Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand, who achieved the same feat in 2019, WHO stated in the release.

Preventing hepatitis B infection in infancy substantially reduces chronic infections and cases of liver cancer and cirrhosis in adulthood.

Meanwhile, hepatitis control continues to be an important public health initiative in the Southeast Asia Region of WHO, which comprises 11 countries and is home to a quarter of the world’s population.

The region has an estimated 60 million people living with chronic hepatitis B and 2,18,000 people dying every year of hepatitis B and C. Of the people eligible for antiviral treatment, only about 10 per cent know their status and less than 5 per cent of them are on treatment.

In 2016, the South-East Asia Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group endorsed a regional goal of hepatitis B control with a target of reducing hepatitis B prevalence to less than 1 per cent among children aged at least 5 years.

Hepatitis B vaccine, as a part of the pentavalent vaccine, has been included in the national childhood immunisation schedule of all countries of the Region, with three doses of this vaccine provided to children during their first year of life. Eight countries of the Region also have a policy of providing a birth dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine to newborn babies.

According to WHO, the region made good progress in improving immunisation coverage of the pentavalent vaccine until 2019. However, there was a decline in coverage in several countries of the Region in 2020 and 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic. *

Intensive efforts in countries have resulted in the revival of childhood immunization coverage to pre-pandemic levels in several countries and the WHO and UNICEF estimates for 2022 show that the overall coverage of 3rd dose of pentavalent vaccine has recovered to the pre-pandemic level of 91 per cent in the region, a sharp increase from 82 per cent coverage level reported in 2021.

Dr Khetrapal Singh further stressed that countries also need to focus on improving the Hepatitis B vaccine birth dose, which continues to have a relatively slow uptake with an estimated coverage of only 58 per cent in the region in 2022.

She said that one of the key barriers to achieving high hepatitis B vaccine birth dose coverage remains the high proportion of home deliveries, that do not allow timely access of the Hepatitis B vaccine to these newborns.

The Regional Director further added that inequities in immunisation service delivery, suboptimal awareness and training of health staff at birthing facilities, particularly in terms of false contraindications and fear of adverse events following immunisation, also contribute to sub-optimal coverage of Hepatitis B vaccination coverage.

“The control of hepatitis B through immunisation is a priority for our region. Achieving the control goal is a critical step as we progress towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of the hepatitis B virus,” the Regional Director said.

WHO’s ‘triple elimination initiative’ encourages countries to simultaneously commit to such elimination together with HIV and syphilis – further pushing the agenda for integrated service delivery.

“Hepatitis must be prevented and treated. In addition to vaccination, continued efforts are needed to scale up other preventive measures such as safe injection, safe blood and infection prevention and control,” Dr Khetarapal Singh added.

ANI

A team of senior IMF officials overseeing Sri Lanka’s bailout programme has toured the Tamil-dominated Northern district of Jaffna for the first time under the current USD 2.9 billion agreement, officials said on Monday.

Led by Peter Brueur, the International Monetary Fund senior mission chief for Sri Lanka, the team last week met with the Governor of the Northern province, PMS Charles, and other senior officials and discussed issues related to economic growth in the province, demining programmes, resettlement of conflict-displaced individuals and compensation for conflict victims.

They also discussed the educational matters related to Jaffna University, post-COVID operations, and the adverse effects of climate change on the northern region, the officials said.

The team, which returned to Colombo on Monday, is scheduled to engage with the finance ministry. Talks are expected with Shehan Semasinghe, the state minister of finance, who leads the local IMF engagement under President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The discussions in Colombo are anticipated to focus on the targets outlined in the current IMF programme, which advocates large scale economic reforms in the island nation.

In a meeting with President Wickremesinghe on Thursday last, Brueur had expressed satisfaction with Sri Lanka’s progress in implementing reforms aimed at revitalising the economy.

The global lender had commended Sri Lanka for its advancements in policy-oriented variables and fiscal consolidation.

Sri Lanka, which declared its first-ever debt default in April 2022, had secured an IMF bailout agreement of USD 2.9 billion over four years by the last quarter of 2022.

The first tranche of USD 1.5 billion was released in March 2023, with the second installment of USD 337 million arriving in December 2023 following the first review.

PTI

Newly-appointed Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha on Saturday met Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed New Delhi’s consistent support to Colombo over the last several decades.

“High Commissioner @santjha met former President @PresRajapaksa and discussed Sri Lanka’s age-old relationship with India, as well as India’s consistent support to Sri Lanka over last several decades as a close friend and neighbour,” the Indian High Commission said in a post on X.

Jha assumed charge as the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka in December 2023.

A senior Indian diplomat, Jha was India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg before taking up his assignment in Colombo.

Jha had also served in Colombo from 2007-2010 as Counsellor at the High Commission, handling work related to commercial and economic matters.

Recalling his previous stint in Sri Lanka, Jha said that he considers it a great privilege to be in Colombo once again to work for further strengthening bilateral friendship and cooperation.

Rajapaksa and his family were ousted from power during anti-government protests in the island nation following an economic crisis in 2022.

PTI

Over 30 international human rights organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists have expressed their deep concern regarding the “drastic intensification” of anti-drug operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations.

Issuing a joint statement, the 33 international organizations demand the Sri Lankan government to stop the ‘abusive anti-drug operation’ and release the arbitrarily detained individuals.

Furthermore, the statement highlights that this operation is unfolding in a context of already severe repression against persons who use or are suspected of using drugs, and who suffer discrimination and stigma within the Sri Lankan criminal justice system and society.

“Alongside the Sri Lankan police, members of the armed forces have been supporting this operation, during which several human rights violations have been reported. These violations include alleged arbitrary arrests, primarily against individuals from marginalised socio-economic communities; searches conducted without warrants or reasonable suspicion; and degrading treatment including strip searches in public as well as cavity searches. The searches and arrests have been televised, in violation not only of the right to privacy (and of basic human dignity) but also of a person’s right to be presumed innocent”, the joint statement added.

The global organizations, which also point out that according to lawyers, persons are being arrested even when no drugs are found in their possession, simply for having been arrested for drug offences or having been sent to compulsory rehabilitation in the past, mention that the arrests of main livelihood earners and mothers have adversely impacted the ability of families to meet their basic needs during a time of economic crisis in Sri Lanka, and the wellbeing of children.

“Persons are being arrested primarily under Section 54A of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, an offence which is non-bailable. As a result, those arrested are bound to spend time (sometimes months) in pretrial detention, thereby exacerbating already poor conditions of imprisonment in an overburdened prison system.”

Furthermore, the statement has drawn attention to the fact that the level of overcrowding of the prison system is at nearly 200% – with punitive drug policies playing a significant role: as of 2022, 63% of convicted persons were sentenced for drug-related offences, as per the statistics issued by the Department of Prisons.

The aforesaid organizations have also expressed in this joint statement that the total number of arrests pursuant to operation Yukthiya has exceeded 29,000 as of 9 January 2024, while nearly 1,500 people are in administrative detention in police custody for further investigation and at least 1,600 more persons have been sent for compulsory drug rehabilitation, “in violation of several fundamental rights; including the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to consent to and withdraw from medical treatment”.

“‘Drug treatment’ in these centres is abstinence-based, essential harm reduction services are not available, and persons undergo severe withdrawal symptoms without any medical assistance while in detention.”

“The use of violence to discipline and punish has been reported in at least two compulsory drug rehabilitation centres which are within the purview of the Bureau of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation and are operated by the military, which is in itself a violation of international standards”, it added.

“The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its statement at the conclusion of its visit to Sri Lanka 2017expressed concern regarding the involvement of military personnel in drug treatment and rehabilitation, the fact that strenuous physical exercise was the core component of compulsory drug treatment, and at the lack of trained professionals to monitor the health of people in detention. Furthermore, the statement highlighted the irregularities in the judicial process by which persons were sent to drug rehabilitation centres without a medical assessment”, the statement mentioned.

In addition, the organizations say that since the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs, there is international consensus on pursuing a holistic and health and human rights-based approach to drugs, which encompasses supply and demand reduction as well as harm reduction.

“The 2019 Ministerial Declaration on drugs – the current global drug policy document – as well as multiple resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and the UN Human Rights Council reiterate and recommend a similar approach”, it added.

Further, the joint statement clarified: “a punitive and militarised approach to drug control contravenes recognised international human rights standards and guidelines, is ineffective to protect individual and public health, and ultimately fails to make communities safer”.

Thereby, the 33 global organizations call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately cease operation “Yukthiya” and release persons who have been arrested without evidence or reasonable suspicion. The government should ensure that those arrested who do not have access to legal representation are provided legal aid, they stressed.

Through the statement, it is also demanded to immediately release persons arrested or sent to compulsory drug rehabilitation for using drugs/having a drug dependence, cease involving the armed forces in drug control and treatment activities as consistent with human rights law, repeal laws that allow compulsory drug rehabilitation, close compulsory treatment centres and release persons presently held at the centres within the purview of the Bureau of Commissioner General for Rehabilitation.

Additionally, they have called the government to ensure that any law enforcement operation to address the supply side is conducted respecting due process standards and constitutionally protected fundamental rights.

The co-signatories of the joint statement include:

1. Africa Network of People Who Use Drugs (AfricaNPUD) (Africa)

2. Amnesty International (Global)        

3. Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) (Asia)

4. Association for Humane Drug Policy (Norway)

5. Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE) (Canada)

6. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) (Argentina)

7. Corporación Acción Técnica Social (Colombia)

8. Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network (Europe)

9. Dianova International (Global)

10. Drug Harm Reduction Advocacy Network Nigeria (Nigeria)

11. Drug Policy Australia (Australia)

12. Fédération Addiction (France)

13. Foreningen Tryggere Ruspolitikk /Safer Drug Policies (Norway)

14. GREA – Groupement Romand d’Etudes des Addictions (Switzerland)

15. Harm Reduction Australia (Australia)

16. Harm Reduction International (Global)

17. Health Poverty Action (Global)

18. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)

19. Human Rights Watch (Global)

20. Instituto RIA AC (Mexico)

21. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

22. International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) (Global)

23. International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) (Global)

24. LBH Masyarakat (Indonesia)

25. Mainline Foundation (Netherlands)

26. Metzineres (Spain)

27. National Harm Reduction Coalition (USA)

28. Recovering Nepal (Nepal)

29. Release (UK)

30. Skoun, Lebanese Addictions Centre (Lebanon)

31. Transform Drug Policy Foundation (UK)

32. Youth RISE (Global)

33. Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (Zimbabwe)

The Tamil National Alliance’s Batticaloa District Parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam was one of the guests invited to the two-day World Tamil Diaspora Day event organised by the Tamil Nadu State government in Chennai this week.

Some 58 guests of Tamil origin from various countries took part in the event. In parallel to the event, the state government held a major investment forum titled “Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet”, which attracted USD 6 billion in investments.

During his speech, Mr. Rasamanickam requested a ‘weapon’—not in the sense of meaning as Indian intelligence agencies funded, armed, and trained Tamil militant gangs in the 1980s but on the lines of “economic support and collaboration” to develop the former war-torn areas.

The MP also recalled how those days’ militant groups used to land in Tamil Nadu for arms, regrouping, and political support, using the foreign land as a base before returning home to launch an attack.

Sunday Times

The bodies of two youths have been found in an irrigation canal in the Kilinochchi area.

The two youths, aged 20 and 18 years have been identified as residents of the Ahlapuram area of Kilinochchi, the police said.

Police suspect that the duo may have fallen into the canal while travelling at high speed on a motorcycle and losing control of the vehicle which had collided with a sign post.

The bodies have been taken to Kilinochchi Hospital for further investigations, following the on-site examination of Kilinochchi Magistrate.

Kilinochchi Police have initiated further investigations into the incident.

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