News

 2011-05-22A building complex in Buttala belonging to the Sabaragamuwa university has been taken by the Higher Education Ministry to commence a military school, it is learnt. Residents in Buttala have raised objections to the move with the Higher Education Ministry saying that the buildings should not be used for a military establishment.Higher Education Ministry Secretary […]

Out of the three brothers of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya is the most arrogant and brainless one, due to his inability to cope up with and handle the most important Ministry in the country due to his in-experience to administer it and his lack of education and the heavy work load under his authority has created […]

No peace dividend; no political solution: the post-war conduct of the Rajapaksas indicate a mindset unresponsive to voluntary internal reforms, be it on devolution, good governance or human rights. This leaves us with a conundrum – is external pressure the only way Sri Lanka can be prevented from remaking old mistakes and retrogressing into past-nightmares? […]

May 20, 2011The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has recommenced investigations into complaints on alleged acts of bribery and corruption, a press release issued by Information Department said yesterday.Complaints can now be forwarded in writing or in person to the Commission. The Commission had been defunct since March 29, 2010 due […]

Urgent AppealThe Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Niroshan Premaratne, a professional journalist attached to the Independent Television Network (ITN) of Wickremasinghe Pura, Battaramulla, Colombo was illegally arrested and severely tortured by police officers attached to the Panadura Police Station on 8 May 2011May 20, 2011ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION-URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMMEUrgent […]

The panel report  falsely accuses LTTE and its leadership, the force spearheading the decades-old liberation struggle, of using Eelam Tamils as ‘human shields’ and of even ‘point blank shooting of civilians’! By Democratic Students’ Union/ NewDelhi19 May, 2011Two years back, on 18 May 2009 the Sri Lankan army claimed to have killed Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the […]

In Omanthe near Jaffna, along Palali Road, the army runs 60 restaurants and motels. Local Tamils wonder why soldiers should manage businesses, which they could do as well. Of course, the military has deeper pockets and can outcompete civilians. by Melani Manel PereraTwo years since the end of the civil war, the South is now […]

TamilNet, 20 May 201119-year-old Diluxon Anandarajah, taken away by the Sri Lanka Army intellligence from his house located in Zone-A of “Swiss” village at Kokkuvil in Batticaloa on 15 May has been reported missing, according to a complaint lodged by his mother with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. According to the complaint, SLA […]

TamilNet,20 May 2011Genocidal regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa in further militarization of state in the island introduces an obligatory course conducted by the military for all students selected for the universities. The three-weeks course in selected centres of the SL Armed Forces begins on Sunday and Tamil students received summons letters in Sinhala, BBC News said […]

20 May 2011The government has failed to find solutions for the issues of the people in the North and the East despite the war has been over for two years points out ‘We are SriLankans’. Issuing a letter to the media ‘We are SriLankans’ states.“It is two years since the end of the war with […]

TamilNet,19 May 2011Sri Lanka Army soldiers on Thursday rounded up the mourners who were taking part in prayers at Kalaith-thoothu Hall in Jaffna, remembering thousands of their kith and kin slain in the genocidal war in Vanni in 2009. The armed soldiers of the occupying military that entered the premises blocked the mourners from leaving […]

20 May 2011 Whenever there is a proper foreign policy coupled with professional diplomats, all these problems can be handled without any harm to the country. Unfortunately, we lack it today. Q : In the event of the release of the UN report and Sri Lanka involved in a diplomatic crisis, how will the JVP […]

20 May 2011 02:03By Sandun A. Jayasekera European Union Ambassador Bernard Savage yesterday reiterated that Sri Lanka needed to take follow-up action in line with the recommendations made by the United Nation Secretary General’s Advisory Panel Report but emphasized the EU had no intention of bringing about a regime change in Sri Lanka.“The allegations are […]

20 May 2011By S.S. SelvanayagamThe Supreme Court today directed the Attorney General to consider instructing the relevant authorities to postpone for one week the impugned mandatory training in military camps for the students who are eligible to enter the State Universities.The Court made this direction in the wake of the training for the first batch […]

May 19, 2011/Basil FernandoCJ wearing the same colour of Presidents Satakaya! The appointment of the first lady Chief Justice would normally have been a day for great celebrations. However, in the context of the attack on the Sri Lankan judiciary since the adoption of the 1978 Constitution such a celebration would belie the actual situation […]

In other words, they were discussing the shuffling of Central, provincial and concurrent lists in a way that devolution of powers to the provinces was maximised. This message was conveyed “very categorically” by each of Mr. Peiris’ interlocutors — Dr. Singh, Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna, National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary […]

18 May 2011Rallies were held around the globe by Tamil organizations on Wednesday – May 18th, which the organizers have marked is a “Time to mourn; A time to reflect; A time for resurgence and creating awareness towards seeking “Justice for Genocide Victims of Tamil Eelam.”Among the attendees at a rally near United Nations in […]

TamilNet, 9 May 2011,A few Sinhala students recently admitted to Jaffna University chose the Mu’l’livaaykkaal Day to erect a decorated pandal at Thirunelveali Junction to ‘celebrate’ the birth of Buddha and to distribute eatables to passers by, while the Eezham Tamils subjugated to the extent of not being able to even openly observe the remembrance […]

TamilNet,19 May 2011“I’m not the best-placed person to suggest how China and Russia could be convinced and how one could pass a resolution at the UN Security Council. One should pose this question to the governments of USA, United Kingdom and France, those who negotiate with China and Russia in New York,” said Vidar Helgesen, […]

May 18, 2011  Norway’s ambassador to Sri Lanka has been called in for an apparent scolding by Sri Lankan authorities in Colombo, after Norwegian officials helped 12 persons leave the country and start new lives in Norway. Opposition politicians in Norway are upset as well. About 150 people staged a protest outside the Norwegian parliament […]

The Rajapaksa troika needs to accept this simple truth. They’ve got to be honest at least to themselves. President Rajapaksa needs to sideline political clowns, to have sensible and practical advice with accurate information.  by Kusal PereraSri Lanka was sent a very confidential message by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through Assistant Secretary for […]

May 18, 2011,India has asked Sri Lanka to devolve power, probe human rights violations and withdraw emergency regulations, among other things. This kind of diplomatic pressure amounts to interference in this country’s internal affairs, but in diplomacy and war, might is right whether one likes it or not.However, unlike in the 1980s, when India harassed […]

Why has Sri Lanka descended to this lower depth? The intelligence officer’s revelation is not unique. People are exposed to mega lies all the time. Antennas brings bring such lies to homes day and night, every day. by Basil Fernando According to a media report, a former army intelligence officer told the Mount Lavinia Magistrate […]

2011-05-18 The security forces and police have organized massive Vesak celebrations, carnivals and dansels in the North and East of the country following a directive by the Presidential Secretariat to use the 2,600th Sambuddha Jayanthi to celebrate the second anniversary of the assassinationn of LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on a grand scale.The security forces have therefore […]

Charles Haviland / Colombo  Two years after the end of the war, most Sri Lankans feel a sense of relief that there is no more fighting, and that the Tamil Tiger bomb attacks which used to rock towns and cities including the capital no longer take place. Some families are still waiting for the missing […]

Sensing the new role and the whole new set of powers she enjoys with her position, the Sri Lankan counterparts will most definitely want to be in Jaya’s good books. May 18, 2011New Delhi, May 18: Amma-raj is back in Tamil Nadu and Jayalalithaa will reign Tamil Nadu as the new Chief Minister for the […]

Sri Lanka: Human Rights Council Support for an International Investigation is Necessary to Address Impunity for Violations and Abuses of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Date: 17th May 2011The armed conflict in Sri Lanka had been over for less than ten days when on 27 May 2009 the UN Human Rights Council adopted a […]

It would only be fair to conclude that like thousands of her fellow countrymen, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has probably been genuinely moved by the UN panel report on war crimes and human rights violations during the Eelam War. ..So there is a strong possibility that she might scale down her rhetoric on Sri […]

18 May 2011,Amid increasing calls by world’s premier human rights NGOs, newly elected Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for independent international investigations into alleged accusations of war-crimes committed by Sri Lanka on Tamils, Tamil expatriates in several countries in the West are preparing to commemorate the massacre of Tamil civilians during the final phase of […]

Within days of AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa becoming new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Sri Lanka has reached out to her through a “congratulatory” letter by Foreign Minister Prof G L Peiris. Interestingly, this comes three weeks after Jayalalithaa had asked the Centre to take immediate steps to make Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his […]