In brief
Appointed
Chief Justice Sarath Silva appointed three judges in late July to hear the Madawela case, in a trial-at-bar without a jury. The case relates to the massacre of ten Muslims on election day in December 2001. Former Deputy Defence minister Anuruddha Ratwatte’s sons Lohan and Chanuka are the main suspects. They were release on bail by the Court of Appeal on 30 July.
Stranded
Six Sri Lankan Tamils stranded on a sandbar near Dhanushkodi in July were saved by the Indian Navy and taken to the Mandapam refugee camp in Ramnad District in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Press reports say that they were forcibly dumped on the sandbar by the Sri Lankan Navy.
VAT
Finance minister KN Choksy announced on 7 July that National Security Levy (NSL) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be abolished from 1 August. The NSL, a direct contribution to the war, rose to 6.5% between 1995 and 2000. NSL and GST will be replaced by Value Added Tax (VAT) of 10% for essential goods and services and 20% for others.
Assault
A Tamil journalist was assaulted by an Airforce officer on 16 July during a ceremony to mark the appointment of Airforce Commander Donald Perera. The new commander apologised and promised an enquiry into the incident.
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