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24 May 2011 15:33The Leader of the JVP Somsawansa Amarasinghe participated at the 5th Asia Riches Forum held in San Men Xia city in China from 18th – 20th May 2011where he made the keynote address .Addressing the Forum where leaders of the Communist Party of China in Hunan Province too were present Mr. Amarasinghe […]

The Friday Forum, a group of intellectuals had issued a statement expressing concerns at the steps taken for accelerated development of the city of Colombo.They say the group was formed to consider current issues of public interest with a view to making a contribution to peace, democracy, good governance and social justice in Sri Lanka.“We […]

May 23, 2011,  The Bar Association of Sri Lanka yesterday condemned the assault on the District Judge of Matara by army personnel on Sunday (22).The BASL called upon the IGP and the Commander of Army to bring those suspected of having participated in the assault before the Law. It urged the Secretary to the Ministry […]

Invited Countries Should Stay Home, Press for Accountability May 23, 2011  This conference is nothing more than a public relations exercise to whitewash abuses. No professional, law-abiding military should take part in this farce.      -Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch (New York) – Governments should decline the invitation to attend a Sri […]

24 May 2011 / By Kelum BandaraThe Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will request Russia and China to urge the Sri Lankan government to work out a long lasting political solution to the national question, parliamentarian and party media spokesman Suresh Premachandran said yesterday.Russia and China supported Sri Lanka in its war against terrorism and as […]

24 May 2011By Susitha R. FernandoFive separate fundamental rights applications were filed in the Supreme Court yesterday by the Ceylon Teachers Union and four students who secured university entrance this year challenging the leadership training at army camps for students entering the university.The applications were filed by four students – R. M. Subani Pabasala Ratnayake, […]

If the government does not want to resolve this issue through negotiations by blindly accepting the views of the Treasury Secretary, the university system and the country would definitely lose its best scientists, engineers and medical people who cannot be replaced easily. If the government adopts at least pragmatic perspective taking into consideration its own […]

(20 May 2011, Geneva/Bangkok) The United Nations General Assembly today elected 15 new member States to the Human Rights Council (Council), a 47-member intergovernmental body mandated to promote universal respect for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Seats to the Council are allotted by regional groupings, and today’s election saw the inclusion of […]

22 May 2011, The occupying genocidal Army of Sri Lanka targets Nalloor, the former capital of the Kingdom of Jaffna, for focusing its agenda of Sinhalicisation of the country of Eezham Tamils in the island, news sources in Jaffna said. The occupying Army passed curfew-like orders this weekend prohibiting the movement of people in the […]

  Every month before the meeting of the Council Douglas has what he calls a “pre-Council Meeting” in his office where he gives instructions on how to vote on every issue. The university is thus under Douglas’ complete control. “But Douglas through his ambitions to control the university has injected a new brand of communalism […]

May 22, 2011Co-Deputy leader of the UNP Sajith Premadasa accuses the government of further militarising the society despite the conclusion of the war in May two years ago.The Hambantota District MP who is also the Deputy Opposition Leader urged the government to abandon a plan to provide a three-week training to some 10,000 university entrants. […]

23 May 2011 By Yohan PereraThe JVP yesterday requested the parents of students who had been selected to the universities not to send their children for leadership training in military camps which is scheduled to begin today.JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a news conference yesterday that they wanted the parents not to send their […]

The masses, climbed into an array of vehicles, some parents had kids sitting in the boot of cars as they toured the country viewing the many Vesak spectacles and queuing up outside the generous dansala’s. by Dushy RanetungeDate & Time: 19th May 2011, 6:03 amPlace:At Sri Sambuddhtwa Jayanthi Mawatha I went to sleep last week […]

But let us not get side-tracked by the apparent stupidity of the Ministry of Higher Education. This is not about leadership training; this is part of the regime’s plan to control dissent.  Rather than producing young people with inquiring, critical minds; young people who are passionate and who are willing to fight for causes they […]

With the “Leadership and Positive Attitude Development” programme scheduled to start tomorrow at various Army camps, Nadia Fazlulhaq speaks to concerned parents of new entrants to universities, students’ unions and officials involved in the programme The disputed leadership programme organized by the Higher Education Ministry in collaboration with the Defence Ministry has officials defending it […]

22 May 2011 The United National Party (UNP) today condemned the government’s decision to go a ‘leadership’ training programme for university new entrants inside military camps.“There is no legal provision to conduct such programme and it has not been discussed in parliament as well”, the UNP said in a statement.“This type of training is not […]

By ANIQA HAIDER / May 22, 2011 A BAHRAIN-based author who was stranded in Sri Lanka for nearly 14 months after being accused of blasphemy has had the case against her dropped.Sarah Malanie Perera was detained via emergency laws in Colombo in March last year for alleged “anti-state” activities and links to Islamic militants.She was […]

Withdrawing of emergency regulations, revoking ‘Prevention of terrorism Act’, releasing Gen. Sarath Fonseka, releasing Tamil political prisoners and establishing media freedom are the five proposals of the JVP. 22 May 2011The JVP would present five proposals to the government for it to take an optimistic step to establish democracy in the country says the Member […]

TamilNet, 22 May 2011,Sri Lanka’s Sinhala nationalist constitution – introduced in 1972 in contemptuous dismissal of the protests of the Tamils and their elected leaders – makes it “the duty of the state to protect and foster” Buddhism. This is a responsibility Sri Lanka’s High Commission in Britain apparently takes very seriously: according to a […]

Sunday Times     Minister agrees to develop on 13th Amendment with Tamil parties, will include police and land powers     New Delhi non-committal on international probe on alleged war crimes; sellout on fishing crisis While these celebrations were in full swing in all Buddhist countries, Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris was in New Delhi […]

By Gayan Kumara WeerasinghaAround 1500 university students have already been absorbed into the Police Training College (PTC) with the intention of providing them with leadership skills, Police department sources said.A Police department source added that these students have been absorbed into PTCs situated at Pathgama, Mahiyangana, Elpitiya, Kundasale and Nikaweratiya.These sources said that this exercise […]

By Chris KamalendranTwo separate fronts are set to launch protest campaigns against Indian pressure on the Sri Lanka government to amend the Constitution, probe human rights abuses and finalise Indian commercial projects in the country.The pro-government Patriotic National Movement (PNM) and the opposition Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) have decided to campaign against the joint agreement […]

By Chandani KirindeSri Lanka is to carry out a pre-emptive campaign ahead of the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva next week to ward-off any moves to trigger a debate on allegations of human rights violations during the last stages of the fighting against the LTTE.Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who has also been assigned […]

 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 […]