Features

Image: The name of booklet in the hand ” Lets get ready for a new constitution. (c) M.Deshapriya. Introduction. The Constitutional Assembly established by Parliamentary Resolution of 09th March 2016 unanimously appointed a Steering Committee at its first sitting on 05th April 2016. The Steering Committee identified 12 main subject areas and assigned six of […]

(ACPR). Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Jaffna,  has released, “Civil Security Department: The Deep Militarisation of the Vanni”, a report examining the Civil Security Department’s establishment in the Vanni and its impact. Eight years after the war ended, and despite multiple promises to the international community to end military involvement in civilian activities, the Civil […]

Image: Pablo de Greiff (UN photo). First, there are plenty of accomplishments to celebrate in the field of transitional justice, a term, which as on previous occasions, I will use to refer to the implementation of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence after serious violations of human rights and gross violations of international humanitarian law.   […]

Image: Family members of the disappeared during the war continue their protests in Northern Province of Sri Lanka. (c) s.deshapriya. By Kate Cronin-Furman. Early Tuesday morning, news broke that Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Brazil had fled the country. Sri Lanka’s government later announced that his departure was planned, and it was simply the end of his […]

Image: waiting for the jobs. Thursday August 24th 2017 –  Information on state recruitments and alleged irregularities or malpractices in government/ provincial councils, overseas travel details of politicians, unauthorised constructions, audits of school development societies, compensation payments for land acquisitions, information on school admissions, rental agreements entered into by public corporations and a variety of other […]

Kishali Pinto Jayawaradena. That Sri Lanka’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs has chosen to flippantly wave aside the stupefying conduct of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in grabbing an employee by the collar, threateningly raising a hand and berating him, is unfortunate to say the least. Not reflective of the law The IGP’s fury […]

Image: Dr. Jayampathi Wickremarathana, MP in charge of constitutional reform process & Attorney at Law Lal Wijenayake, Chairman of the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms at the mass rally held on 15th Aug 2017 in Colombo ( both in red shirts). The present ‘Yahapalana Government’ completed a period of two and half years. But as […]

Image:A participant at the public rally held on 15 Aug 2017 in Colombo to pressure government to implement its promises holing a booklet on ” Lets Support for a new constitution needed.”  (Friday Forum) This Government has been in office for two years, and its agenda seems increasingly disconnected from the hopes and expectations of those […]

Image: Activists from South of  Sri Lanka in discussion with mothers of the disappeared in Mullathive, on 22 July 2017. (c)s.deshapriya. A Colombo based think tank the Centre for Policy Alternatives warns that President Sirisena has violated the Constitution of SriLanka by assigning the subject of OMP to himself. “Swift measures are needed to address […]

Image: Sri Lankan young monks fighting the police (Tamilweek) By Laksiri Fernando. There is no need to exaggerate or be too alarmed, but there appears to be a state behind the State. Whether it is a shadow state or a parallel one is subject to argument. It has reappeared after a long slumber, and given […]

Image: Shall we finish Sirisena? is that what Ranil asking?  Cabinet meeting bombshell exposes widening crack in National Unity Government; SLFP and UNP at crossroads amid reports of PC polls this year Sirisena wants to bring the Rajapaksas to book; but questions about how far he could go; Police say some important arrests are on the cards […]

Image courtesy of lankaenews. Lawyers for Democracy (LfD) is appalled by the continuous threats of the Minister of Justice on one of its co-Conveners Mr. Lakshan Dias. Mr. Dias is an Attorney at Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and an active Member of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. He had served […]

Solidarity with Human Rights Defender and Attorney at Law Mr. Lakshan Dias. We are appalled by the Minister of Justice’s attempts to intimidate Attorney-at-Law Mr. Lakshan Dias, with threats that steps would be taken in terms of the law to have him removed from the legal profession. We condemn this conduct of the Minister as an abuse of […]

Image: White flag being hoisted on the top on the Meetotamulla Garbage dump after the tragedy in April 2017. Kishali Pinto Jayawaradene. It is a typical incongruity of these times that constitutional reforms promising protection of civil liberties are discussed in tight-lipped seriousness in Colombo even while the police seem unable to arrest the hate […]

An image from the documentary ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields. R. Sampanthan, Leader of the opposition and the TNA  reiterated the need for full and expeditious implementation of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution if Sri Lanka wants to stop crimes against humanity taking place in the country again. He was speaking at the parliament on  the […]

 Shiran Illanperuma. Reporting from Mullivaikkal, Mullaitivu. The harassment of a Jesuit priest, organising a memorial service to mark the brutal end of the Civil War—where at least 40,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed—has raised concerns over the continuing surveillance of memorialisation efforts in the war-scarred North-East and its effect on reconciliation.Father Elil Rajendram […]

Kishali Pinto Jayawaradene. The perception that Sri Lanka’s proposed Counter-Terror Act (CTA) will affect only those of one community or another engaging in ‘terrorist’ activities and is therefore, of incidental concern to the citizenry at large is a misapprehension that is most unfortunate. CTA poses dangers beyond the PTA and the PSO Let us be […]

Sri Lanka’s civil war ended eight years ago today, but for its 90,000 war widows, the battle continues. By Devon Haynie. VAVUNIYA, Sri Lanka — It was midnight in 2008 when several members of Sri Lanka’s security forces barged into Rajendran Geetha’s house and took her husband, Sekar, from bed. “We only need him for […]

Image: Aerial view of the Joint Oppositions May Day- ally at the Galle Face Green;Imag Mahinda Rajapaksas official Facebook page. It was some half a century ago that we marched crying the slogan “We are going to – Galle Face; Come with us to – Galle Face.” My elder brother and I had two red shirts […]

By Avani Dias.  Women and girls whose male relatives were killed in Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war are now helping the country recover, taking on roles formerly reserved for men and heading to schools and universities to complete their education. The so-called “Border Girls” mostly come from towns and villages which formed a human buffer […]

Image: May day 2017 in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka, Credit: Garikaalan. As EU Parliament Considers Preferential Trade Status to Sri Lanka, Ensuring Human Rights Compliance Is Key. By Shreen Abdul Saroor You see a shirt. The price is right: you buy it. “Made in Sri Lanka,” it says. What you probably don’t think about is the real […]

Image: Chelvanayagam at the 1961 sathyagrahaya.  Rajitha Senarathna. When we were political cubs, we knew of Chelvanayagam as one who was the “father” figure of Tamil Nationalism. He was one Tamil political leader who was affectionately called “Thanthai” – meaning ‘Father’ – Chelva. Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayagam dominated Tamil politics in the first 03 decades in […]

Image: Protesting people of Kepapulavu, Mullaithevu against military occupation of their land. credit- Garikaalan. Writing letter to European Union and its relevant officials,  a network of German human rights organizations has called for a deferral of granting GSP + to Sri Lanka if the GoSL not prepared to substantially ‘deliver’ in time and in concrete terms. […]

By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan. The people of the North and East came to the street protesting and urging the release of their lands that were taken by the military. Their daring protests have been ‘heard’ and several lands occupied by the security forces are being released gradually paving the way for Tamils to resettle. However, […]

In a letter address to the Leaders of the Government of Sri Lanka and copied to UNHRC officals number of international human rights organisations have requested to ensure the safety of two Sri Lanka human rights defenders, namely Dr. Nimalka Fernando and Sunanda Deshapriya. the letter says that “Against this backdrop, we, the undersigned human […]

Image: Sitti, a Sri Lanka mother of a disappered son taking a rest during a demostration in front of UNHRC HQ in Geneva, March 2015. (c)s.deshapriya. Two prominnat human rights defenders of Sri Lanka and Deputy Foreign Minister speeks on the  contested issue of participation of foreign judges in Sri Lankan judicial Mechanism, that is […]

The Information Department of Sri Lanka has obtained a draft  act in order to establish an independent Media Council as explained in its call for public views for establishing such a mechanism.  The draft act has been named as “Independent Council for News Media Standards Act” . The draft  has been prepared by Wijayananda Jayaweera, […]

The team: Speakers and few others posed for a phtograph after the side event. (c) s.deshapriya. On Friday 17th March at the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), jointly with  Franciscans International and Minority Rights Group International (MRG), held a side event […]

Image: Members of a Sri Lankan civil society organisation participate in a candlelight in memory of the slain editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper Lasantha Wickrematunga, in Colombo on January 15, 2009. The editor of Sri Lanka’s Sunday Leader newspaper, Lasantha Wickrematunga, was gunned down just outside the capital on January 8, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Lakruwan […]

Image: Samaraweera speaking at a side event during the HRC 34 ©s.deshapriya. By Maangala Samaeaweera. Response to Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Media Release of 13 March 2017. On 13 March 2017 the former President of our country, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, issued a media release titled “Constitutional and legal reforms to destroy the nation”. My initial inclination, […]