CM C.V. Wigneswaran sought India's intervention to set up a federal Government system in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

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Sri Lanka Timeline - Year 2016

Date	Incidents
January 1	The Indian Housing Project, under which 46,000 houses are to be constructed or repaired in Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern Provinces and 4,000 houses constructed in the Central and Uva Provinces, is nearing completion in Northern and Eastern Provinces. TNA leader R. Sampanthan in his New Year message said "As a country, we have the enormous task of achieving a meaningful solution to the national question, beneficial development and lasting peace and reconciliation. It is through solidarity that we can build a prosperous country while acknowledging the ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and other unique features of each community."
January 3	President Maithripala Sirisena in an interview has promised to provide land to settle as many as 100,000 war victims displaced by the three-decade long war within six months. MP Suresh Premachandran, an activist the TPC, said that TPC will propose a solution to the ethnic conflict in the North before the end of January. He said the proposal will be presented to the residents of the North and East for feedback. President Maithripala Sirisena in an interview said that Government would not act in haste for setting up a special court on allegations of violations of human rights in the last stages of the civil war.
January 4	Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi said that 36 Sri Lankans have gone to Syria with some of them having joined the ISIS.
January 6	Ministry of Defense said that the security forces and intelligence agencies were on full alert on the possibility of any groups having links with the IS or emergence of IS in the country.
January 8	President Maithripala Sirisena pardoned former LTTE cadre Sivaraja Jenivanalias Mohommadu Sulthan Cader Mohideen who tried to assassinate him in 2006.
January 9	Army Commander Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva speaking to media in Kandy city of Kandy District said that there is no room for terrorism to raise its head once again in the country. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe presented in Parliament a resolution for the appointment of the Constitutional Assembly for formulating a new Constitution for Sri Lanka. President Maithripala Sirisena while addressing the Parliament stressed that the country's Constitution needs to be changed to suit the present era for the development of the country.
January 10	Senior Minister and Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella at a media briefing said that the Government is looking towards compiling a Constitution with a basic structure that cannot be changed forever.
January 11	Minister Susil Premajayantha at a media conference at the SLFP office said that the nine-point amendment presented by them on the resolution to convert Parliament into a Constitutional Assembly was accepted by the UNP and the resolution was likely to be passed in Parliament on January 12.
January 12	Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise Development Eran Wickramaratne briefing a media conference held at UNP headquarters at Sirikotha in Colombo said that all political parties can contribute to prepare new constitution.
January 14	UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in an informal briefing to the General Assembly in New York highlighted Sri Lanka's smooth power transfer following the 2015 presidential elections as a triumph in 2015.
January 15	Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe while addressing the Thai Pongal National Ceremony held in the Weerasingham Hall in Jaffna District said that the Government is in the process of creating a mechanism to implement the proposals in the UN resolution to establish true reconciliation in the country.
January 17	Intelligence agencies are on high alert on the possibility of local groups having links with the extremist group ISIS. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe making a statement on the proposed Constitution said that the new Constitution in the making will not change the unitary nature of the country and the country will not be divided as some have alleged. CPRC appointed by Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe to seek public opinion on the proposed constitutional reforms will begin their first session in Colombo from January 18.
January 18	German national Yogendran G. (53) accused of raising funds from 2007-2009 for the LTTE in and around Hamburg City in northern Germany went on trial. Prosecutors in the Hamburg court said that the man raised more than 81,000 Euros for combat and terrorist activities including suicide attacks by the LTTE in its campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka. President Maithripala Sirisena participating at the Thai Pongal ceremony held in the Hindu College in Kalutara District sought the contribution of religious leaders to the Government's program to build peace and brotherhood.
January 20	Cabinet at its weekly meeting approved amending the 1979 Code of Criminal Procedure Act to recognize the right of suspects arrested by the Police for legal counsel. President Maithripala Sirisena at a special discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat instructed the relevant officials to complete the resettlement of 44,015 remaining IDPs in the Northern Province within six months.
January 21	President Maithripala Sirisena in a BBC interview said "Foreign judges and prosecutors should not be involved in an investigation into allegations of war crimes. I believe in the judicial system and other relevant authorities in this regard. I will never agree to international involvement in this matter. We have more than enough specialists, experts and knowledgeable people in our country to solve our internal issues."
January 24	President Maithripala Sirisena speaking at an event at Puthukkudiyiruppu town in the Mullaitivu District promised to resolve unemployment issue in the North. He added that many local and foreign investors have come up with investment plans for the North to help resolve the burning issue of unemployment among the youth in the North.
January 25	HRW called on the Sri Lankan Government to fulfill its commitments to the UNHRC by ensuring that foreign judges and prosecutors play a significant role in the mandated accountability mechanism for wartime abuses. GTF, the London-based Tamil Diaspora organization expressed deep concern over the comments made by the Sri Lankan President regarding International Involvement on Accountability Mechanism.
January 28	Cabinet spokesperson, Minister Rajitha Senaratne at the weekly media briefing in Colombo assured that the domestic mechanism to be instituted to investigate the alleged war crimes committed during the ethnic conflict will meet international standards. HRW World Report 2016 said that although elections in Sri Lanka in January 2015 brought about momentous changes after nearly a decade of increasingly autocratic rule, the Government is yet to take significant measures to end the impunity for security force abuse, including Police use of torture.
January 29	UN Secretary?General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope that Sri Lankan Government will abide by the commitment it made to the UNHRC when it co-sponsored the UN resolution.
January 30	President Maithripala Sirisena in an interview with the Al Jazeera news agency said that there were no allegations of war crimes at the UNHRC in Geneva, only allegations of human rights violations.
February 1	The Colombo Special High Court removed the arrest warrant issued on former LTTE leader Emil Kanthan after his lawyers informed the court that he is prepared to return to the island in two weeks and surrender to the Police. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe while addressing the Commonwealth Parliamentarians' Association Regional Seminar for Members of Parliament in Colombo said that the Government will not deviate from the Geneva resolution on reconciliation and accountability in any way.
February 2	A German Court convicted Sri Lankan-born German national Yogendran G. (53) for raising funds in Germany from 2007-2009 for the LTTE. The Court found that the man raised more than 81,000 Euros for the LTTE.
February 4	Addressing the Nation on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of Independence Day at the Galle city of Galle District, President Maithripala Sirisena said that the biggest challenge faces today is to build harmony through a process of reconciliation bringing about co-existence and national understanding.
February 5	During the ninth India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, co-chaired by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera, India has signed agreements in Colombo to build a hospital in Eastern Province and renovate schools in the Northern Province.
February 7	UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who was touring Jaffna District, said that the charges leveled LTTE prisoners should be resolved through the court and it is a responsibility of the Sri Lankan Government. Government has taken measures to appoint an 11-member Special Task Force to obtain public views on the Geneva proposals. Attorney-at-law and human rights activist Manouri Muttetuwegama has been appointed as the Chairman of the Sepcial Task Force and Executive Director of Center for Policy Alternatives, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the Secretary of the Special Task Force.
February 9	Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe appointed Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka to Parliament as a MP for a seat vacated by the death of an incumbent. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein issuing a media statement in Colombo said "I, for my part, will do all in my power to help that come about, and will continue to offer the services of my Office to accompany Sri Lanka through this very difficult process."
February 10	14 ex-LTTE cadres, arrested on charges of criminal activities and later granted bail, refused to undergo a period of rehabilitation when the case was taken up by the Colombo Additional Magistrate. HRW in a statement criticized the appointment of former Army Commander and Democratic Party leader Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka as a MP. UN Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence Pablo de Greiff said that Sri Lanka should not be hasty in trying to meet its commitments to the UNHRC in regard to issues of transitional justice. TID informed Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court that it will take measures against former LTTE detainees who are refusing to undergo rehabilitation.
February 12	Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe speaking to reporters said that that the Government was not averse to international participation in the accountability mechanisms. ICRC, during a meeting with the officials from various Ministries' offered to work with the Government in assisting the families of the missing persons with a view to addressing their grievances and needs in a meaningful manner.
February 15	The mandate of the PCICMP headed by former High Court Judge Maxwell Paranagama had been extended by three more months with affect from February 15. EU Foreign Affairs Council said that it will closely follow Sri Lanka's efforts in addressing human rights issues and in establishing a credible process of transitional justice, accountability and reconciliation.
February 17	Mullaitivu Magistrate M.S.M. Samzudeen ordered the Commander of the 58 Division of the Army to submit to the court before April 19 a list of LTTE surrenders' to the security forces during the final stage of the war in the Wattuwakkal area in Mullaitivu District.
February 18	Ramanathan Indrarajah, a councilor of NPC for the Vavuniya District was attacked by unidentified assailants while he was returning home by a motor bicycle after visiting the house of a 13-year-old girl, who had died recently in Vavuniya District.
February 20	According to a study of the World Bank, regions with highest rate of poverty in Sri Lanka are areas inhabited by Tamils. The regions come under the Districts of Mannar, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi in the Northern Province Batticaloa in the East Province Badulla District in Uva Province and Nuwara Eliya in Central Province.
February 22	Naval troops attached to SLNS Gajaba of the North Central Naval Command arrested two persons while transporting 500 sticks of gelignite weighing 50 kilograms in the Wahamalgollewa area of Madawachchiya District in the North Central Province.
February 23	16 Tamil prisoners detained under the PTA for allegedly having links with the LTTE have restarted hunger strike in Colombo demanding their early release as they have been held for a long time without being charged. General Secretary of the TULF V. Anandasangaree urged President Maithripala Sirisena to grant an amnesty to the Tamil prisoners held under the PTA utilizing such a provision in the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord.
February 24	Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera during the UNDP 50th Anniversary Ministerial meeting held at New York elaborated on the Government's post-conflict peace building mechanisms and the challenges in Sri Lanka's current peace building environment to the key donor countries. Amnesty International in its 2015-2016 annual assessment of human rights around the world said that although new Government has brought constitutional reforms and promises of improved human rights protection many human rights challenges remain. Former senior LTTE leader Emil Kanthan, wanted in connection with attempted murder of former Minister Douglas Devananda, was not present in a Colombo Court although his counsel undertook to facilitate his surrender before Courts at the previous hearing. State Counsel Ms. Nayomi Wickremasekara who appeared for the Attorney General's Department informed a Colombo Court that she needs one week's time to seek the Attorney General's advice regarding warrant and red notice issued on former senior LTTE leader Emil Kanthan.
February 25	Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera while delivering a speech at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington DC said that Sri Lanka is totally committed to implement the UN Resolution to address the accountability during the last phase of the war.
February 26	In a joint statement issued by the Sri Lanka and US after the first annual US-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue held in Washington, D.C., US has urged the Sri Lankan Government to return remaining lands to rightful owners swiftly.
February 27	In a letter to President Maithripala Sirisena, the General Secretary of the TULF V. Anandasangaree urged the President to immediately release two fasting Tamil prisoners who were arrested under the PTA in 2009 and jailed since then, as their condition has become grave.
February 28	Northern Province CM C.V. Wigneswaran sought India's intervention to set up a federal Government system in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
March 2	Sri Lanka became the 163rd State Party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention or Ottawa Convention at the First International Pledging Conference for the Implementation of the Convention held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Law Commission Department submitted the amended Prevention of Terrorism Draft Bill with human rights safeguards to the three relevant Ministers. Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his address at the meeting of the Governing Council of Community of Democracies in Geneva said that the Government was in the process of repealing the PTA and introducing a new counter-terrorism legislation that is in line with contemporary international practices.
March 4	The Government of Japan decided to provide a total sum of USD 1,238,003 as grant aid to two projects for humanitarian demining in Northern Sri Lanka under its Grant Assistance for GGP. During a meeting between Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, Switzerland has affirmed its continued support to Sri Lanka for reconciliation and reforms and desire to strengthen bilateral relations. VTA inaugurated its latest Vocational Training Center in Kaithady town of Jaffna District. The VTA Kaithady center is among 14 planned satellite centers that will support the Sri Lankan - German Training Institute (SLGTI).
March 6	Alarmed by the rising underworld activities in capital Colombo and other areas, President Maithripala Sirisena ordered the Police and security forces to take stern actions under a joint plan to control the underworld crimes which are raising their heads recently in the country.
March 7	TPA has proposed the setting up of a non-territorial council with legislative powers to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil people living outside the North and the East Provinces.
March 8	Leader of Opposition R. Sampanthan slammed the Government over continuing detention of people booked under the PTA even after it committing itself at the UNHRC in 2015 to review and repeal the law. Norway's former special peace envoy Erik Solheim participating in a panel discussion on the newly-launched book 'To End a Civil War: Norway's Peace