High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

As agreed between Prime Minister Manmohan Sigh and President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the latter’s State visit to India, inaugural Annual Defence Dialogue between India and Sri Lanka was held on 31st January 2012 in New Delhi.  Defence Secretary  Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Indian Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma Co-Chaired the meeting which was attended by officials of Defence Ministries and Armed Forces.  Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was assisted by the High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam and a delegation of senior officials of Army, Navy, Air Force and Police, comprising of Maj. Gen. R.M.D. Rathnayake, Rear Admiral S.A.M.J. Perera, Air Vice Marshal K.A. Gunatilleke and Deputy Inspector General of Police  C.N. Wakishta.

Regional security situation, in particular maritime security of the Indian Ocean dominated the deliberations of the inaugural Annual Defence Dialogue.  Among other issues, cooperative activities and programmes between the Security Forces of India and Sri Lanka, in all its aspects, were discussed. The Annual Defence Dialogue will provide senior defence officials of both countries a forum to meet and discuss matters related to defence and security, annually.

During his visit to India, Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa together with his counterpart called on Indian Defence Minister Shri A.K. Antony.  Defence Secretary Rajapaksa also met the National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai. 

Source: Daily News, January 18, 2012

At the invitation of Prof Rahmat Mohamad, the Secretary General of Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO), headquartered in New Delhi, Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem is visited India from 23-27 January 2012 in his capacity as the current President of AALCO. It is customary for the Presidents of AALCO to visit the headquarters of the organization during their tenure.

During his visit to India, he met his Indian counterpart, Salman Khurshid, the Law Minister as well as the Attorney General of India Goolam Vahanvati. Issues of mutual interest and measures for greater cooperation between the legal entities of India and Sri Lanka were discussed at these meetings. Minister Hakeem met the Secretary General and other officials of AALCO on 24 January 2012 where a range of legal and other issues of common interest for Asian and African nations were discussed. High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in India Prasad Kariyawasam accompanied the Minister at these meetings.

Addressing the New Delhi based Liaison Officers of AALCO, he thanked AALCO for the opportunity provided to Sri Lanka to host the milestone 50^th Annual Session of the Organisation in Colombo in June 2011. Sri Lanka, is among one of the seven founding members of the AALCO and has the unique honour of chairing the newly constituted Eminent Persons Group of AALCO. Describing AALCO’s contribution in the international legal arena as groundbreaking, Minister Hakeem referred to the law of the sea, concept of archipelagic states, Bangkok Principles on treatment of stateless persons and refugees, law related to trafficking of women and children, as areas in which AALCO’s contribution has been substantial. He flagged some of the present challenges such as climate change, WTO related issues, Intellectual Property Rights, international terrorism, piracy and cyber crime where further deliberations are needed.

Minister Hakeem addressed a well attended gathering of New Delhi based diplomats, academics and scholars at a Seminar organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs, a pioneer Indian Think Tank, on the topic “Right to Protect : Asian & African Perspectives” at the prestigious Sapru House in New Delhi on 24 January 2012.

(Full text of Minister Hakeem’s Address)

The final Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) that was submitted to President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 20 November 2011 was tabled in Parliament on 16 December 2011 by the Leader of the House, Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva.

The LLRC was appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 15th May 2010 to inquire and report on the following matters that may have taken place during the period between 21st February 2002 and 19th May 2009, namely;

• The facts and circumstances which led to the failure of the ceasefire agreement operationalized on 21st February, 2002 and the sequence of events that followed thereafter up to the 19th of May, 2009.

• Whether any person, group or institution directly or indirectly bear responsibility in this regard;

• The lessons we would learn from those events and their attendant concern, in order to ensure that there will be no recurrence;

• The methodology whereby restitution to any person affected by those events or their dependants or their heirs, can be affected;

• The institutional administrative and legislative measured which need to be taken in order or prevent any recurrence of such concerns in the future, and to promote further national unity and the reconciliation among all communities, and to make any such other recommendations with reference to any of the matters that have been inquired into under the terms of the Warrant.

View the Report:

http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201112/FINAL%20LLRC%20REPORT.pdf