Image: A civil society initiative, Rise Up has mobilized citizens against the #CoupLK. Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena was hailed as Sri Lanka’s Mandela by his supporters in January 2015. He is now being called Sri Lanka’s Mugabe after his recent actions plunged the country into a chaotic constitutional crisis of unprecedented gravity. On Friday […]
civil rights
-
-
Sri Lanka: This is a sloppy but de facto dictatorship
The proto-fascist rouge-regime is floundering trying to consolidate itself. Kumar David. Much ink has flowed discussing recent events and much moral judgement offered; another such piece is redundant. My focus today is on the next stage. By way of preface I first put down a few facts on paper. Love him or hate him, Ranil […]
-
Press freedom and journalist safety under threat in Sri Lanka – IFJ
Image: © s.deshapriya. 20 Nov, 2018. Sri Lanka’s government has transferred police inspector Nishantha Silva, who was investigating several major investigations into attacks on journalists during former president Mahinda Rajapaksha’s tenure out of the Criminal Investigation Department with immediate effect raising concerns about the future of his investigations. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins […]
-
Sri Lanka: CID sleuth leading high-profile probes on scribe attacks transferred
Image: Journalists orgnisations hold a vigil for journalists killed in Sri Lanka ( File Photo) Criminal Investigations Department OIC – Gang Robberies Nishantha Silva has been transferred out of the Department with immediate effect, raising serious concerns about the high profile abduction cases the official was handling. Silva was the chief investigator on several major […]
-
Sri Lanka: Violation of constitutional provisions & breach of parliamentary provisions becoming the new norm.
Image: Protester holding a placard against the dissolution of the parliament by Sirisena. Sri Lanka was for long a bastion of Western culture in social and political behavior. But these markers, which distinguished it from its neighbors in South Asia for decades after independence from British rule, are fast disappearing in the political sphere. Politics […]
-
Sri Lanka grinds to political halt amid parliamentary chaos
Image: Sri Lanka parliament 15th Nov 2018. COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka appeared to have ground to a political halt on Thursday with the Speaker of parliament saying there was no functioning prime minister or cabinet after Wednesday’s no-confidence vote. His comments came after weeks of political turmoil in the island, off the southeast coast […]
-
Majority of lawmakers oppose Rajapaksa govt, Sri Lanka parliament speaker says
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya said 122 lawmakers in the 225-seat assembly had signed a letter saying they opposed the appointment of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister. A statement said the letter would be sent by Jayasuriya to President Maithripala Sirisena who on October 26 appointed Rajapakse as prime minister […]
-
A fight to reset Sri Lanka’s constitutional clock – Kishali Pinto Jayawardena
As the core of Sri Lanka’s Democratic Socialist Republic implodes in multiple critical ways today, it cannot be said that we were not forewarned. For not only President Maithripala Sirisena but also each and every one of us must abide by a fundamental truth underlying the legal order. The Constitution cannot be selectively applied because […]
-
Hope has been murdered, but there is no reason to despair. – Tisaranee Gunasekara
“A certain cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse and has said so much to her about the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at length the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house together.” – Brothers Grimm (Cat and Mouse in Partnership) Some words are more evocative than others. […]
-
Speak to us, not to the cowards of Sri Lanka Government, Sarath Weerasekara tells Rights Commissioner
Image: Sarath Weerasekara addressing the HRC 39. Making an intervention under the agenda item 6 of the on going 39th session of the Human Rights Council, former Rear Admiral of Sri Lanka Navy, Saratha Weerasekara asked Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet not to speak to the cowards of this Government but to speak to them. Sarath Weerasekara is […]
-
Allow Sri Lankan people to solve their problems on their own, Prez Sirisena tells UN
(26 Sep 2018)President Maithripala Sirisena called upon the international community to look at Sri Lanka with a fresh perspective and consider the tremendous progress made by the government towards reconciliation, restoration of democratic freedoms, human rights and the rule of law and extend the fullest support to the build a progressive, democratic, free and equal […]
-
Sri Lanka’s RTI report card: fair, but can be better – Nalaka Gunawardene
The International Day for the Universal Access to Information (also known as the World Right to Know Day) is observed every year on September 28. This provides Sri Lanka an opportunity to take stock of how its Right to Information (RTI) law is working. It was in June 2016 that Sri Lanka became the 108th […]
-
Key witness in students abduction case petitions HRCSL, claims Navy is victimising him
The key state witness in an abduction case has written to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, complaining that his employer, the Sri Lanka Navy, is victimising him and blocking his promotion. Lt. Cmdr. Krishan Welagedara is a leading witness in a Habeas Corpus application filed in respect of five young Sinhala, Tamil and […]
-
President Sirisena, playing with fire, must take note that smoke will get into his eyes – Shaymon Jayasinghe
18 September 2018. “This time President Sirisena’s sword is nearing his own neck; not mere smoke flooding his eyes.” Penchant for playing with fire President Gamaralalage Sirisena has always had a penchant for playing with fire. He did fire-play at the local government elections when he made a disastrous U-turn and went round country blasting […]
-
Latest EIU report forecasts Rajapaksa’s Party will win Sri Lanka’s upcoming elections
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in its latest report, has forecasted that the party backed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will win the next Presidential and Parliamentary election. The country report on Sri Lanka, generated as premium content by the London based international research outfit on September 10, forecasts on a wide range of subjects in […]
-
TNA raises issues of political solution, land, colonization & other livelihood issues with Prez Sirisena
(Press Release / 28.08.2018.) The Meeting of the Presidential Task Force on the Development of the North and East took place yesterday (27.08.2018) at the Presidential Secretariat. The meeting was presided over by His Excellency the President. Several ministers and government members of Parliament and Government Officials participated at the meeting. All the Tamil National Alliance […]
-
Time to bring cultural rights in to the centre of human rights discourse in Sri Lanka – Dharmasiri Bandaranayake
Image: Dharmasiri Bandaranayake. ( Nation.lk) Reaffirm the power of culture over the culture of power – Edward Said. It is a great honour to be invited to participate and speak at the Asian Human Rights Charter Workshop here at Gwangju, South Korea. A heartfelt thank you to Mr. Basil Fernando & Mr. Bijo Francis of […]
-
Changing political visions in Sri Lanka – Sunil Bastian
Image (c)s.deshapriya: A fisherman looking at sea anxiously in the eastern city of Batticoloa. It difficult to ignore the question of justice in the area of control and distribution of resources in the new face of capitalism argues Sunil Bastian. Observing what is going on in Sri Lanka these days from a distance, my mind […]
-
Iran presidential election: Five things to know
Image: Iranian elections traditionally have a high turnout. copyrightAFP. By Siavash Ardalan, BBC Persian. Iran is due to hold a presidential election on 19 May, in which the incumbent Hassan Rouhani will fight for a second term. The polls are seen as critical to the future direction of the Islamic Republic. Here are some issues to know. It […]
-
CEDAW expresses concern on climate of insecurity, particularly for women in conflict affected zones.
Image: 15 women activists participated at the recently concluded CEDAW- Sri Lanka session. In its concluding observations of the recently concluded consideration of the 8th Sri Lanka report, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women” (CEDAW) has expressed its concerns on many unresolved issues including difficulties faced by the war affected […]
-
The EU Welcomes the Significant Progress Made in Many Areas Since Regime Change in Sri Lanka
(Remaining challenges on issues such as freedom of expression and media, strengthening of civil society needs to be addressed) – Joint Press Release following the first meeting of the working group on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights under the European Union-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, held on 21 January 2016. The Working Group on […]
-
Legislation to Curb Hate Speech will be Re-introduced with Amendments – Deputy Minister
The proposed anti-hate speech Bill currently on hold would be reintroduced with amendments, Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media Karunarathna Paranawithana said. “The government has observed a surge of communally harmful sentiments in the recent past. The proposed law was put on hold after considering views expressed by the media and other civil […]
-
Crisis in TNA as Wigneswaran Made Chief Minister by Sampanthan Tries to Go Separately
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj. “For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel.Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar lov’d him!This was the most unkindest cut of all;For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, Ingratitude, more strong than traitors’ arms,Quite vanquish’d him: then burst his mighty heart” – William Shakespeare “Julius Caesar”(Act 3 Scene 2) Political tensions […]
-
Sri Lankan Civil Society Calls on the Government to Save the Life of the Female House Maid in Saudi Arabia
(File photo) STATEMENT BY WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS. Death Sentence Imposed on a Sri Lankan Migrant Worker in Saudi Arabia We the undersigned express our deep dismay and distress that as a yet unnamed Sri Lankan housemaid living in Saudi Arabia has been found guilty of adultery and has been sentenced […]
-
Japanese Judge, Who was Invited by Rajapaksa, to Assist Sri Lanka Domestic Probe too
([U.N.-assisted Cambodian genocide tribunal judges, Motoo Noguchi, center, of Japan, and Cambodians Sim Rith, left, and Ya Narin, Phnom Penh, Sept. 1, 2008 (file photo)] Japanese Judge Moto Noguchi who had participated in the investigations carried out by the Missing Persons Commission headed by retired judge Maxwell Paranagama is to be invited to continue his […]
-
Broad front for Good Governance; Agreement With a Collective of 110 Civil Orgs
A collective of over 110 civil society organisations, political parties and trade unions yesterday signed an agreement with the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) to defeat the reactionary forces striving to reverse the victories gained by the people in the aftermath of January 8 Presidential election. Here, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and National […]
-
Interim Govt Failed To Meet Tamil Aspirations – Sumanthiran
(TNA Parliamentary team) ◾Drawing The Battle Line For The Hustings. As the politicians have fiercely entered their political campaigns ahead of the upcoming general election, some seem to have changed their stance merely based on party politics neglecting the interests of the country. After a series of internal discussions and plotting, everybody is determined to […]
-
Sri Lanka Needs A More Fundamental,Far-reaching Accountability Process – Rights Commissioner Zeid
In his oral update on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. the the High Commissioner for Human Rights says that ”Notwithstanding the commendable progress the Sri Lankan Government has made in resettlement and reconstruction, the High Commissioner firmly believes that a more fundamental and far-reaching accountability process in Sri Lanka, addressing both […]
-
UNHRC 27: Resolutions on Civil Society, Journalists’ Safety, LGBT Rights To Be Adopted
[New High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein] The on going 27th session of the UNHRC will take up number of important resolutions to be adopted at the end of this week. Although Russia, China, India and Pakistan opposes importance resolution related to democratic governance and equal rights, it is expected that following resolution will be […]
-
Lawyers condemn criminal violence of Monks led mob and urges credible probe
[Monk invaders of violent Buddhism] Lawyers collective/Press release Lawyers witnessed an event of a mob disrupting a peaceful meeting to discuss issues of disappeared families, held at Center for Society & Religion, located in the premises of a Catholic Church in Colombo 10, on 4th August 2014. This meeting was organised by Families of The […]