Human Rights

Over 7000 deaths appear to be related to the military battleThe BBC has learned that according to Sri Lankan government statistics, about 9,000 people died in the war-torn north of Sri Lanka during the controversial final phase of the war three years ago.More than 7,000 of the deaths appear to be directly related to the […]

The Sri Lankan government has failed to advance justice and accountability for victims of the country’s 25-year-old armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said Monday. While Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north and east became more open after the Tamil Tigers were crushed, the government had deepened repression of basic freedoms throughout the country, it said in its […]

UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday in Parliament found fault with the government for by-passing the House to circulate a Sri Lanka National Action Plan, for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, among the members of the international community in Geneva.He demanded to know why the government had not briefed the House on the […]

GL, Mahinda to head two teams;    EU passes Resolution on Sri LankaThe government has commenced its diplomatic offensive following the motion passed in the EU parliament on pushing for a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions and the announcement by the US government of supporting the resolution.The government […]

Fr. Sarath IddamalgodaThe report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on ‘Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation’ when taken as a whole is rather weak because of its inherent limitations, but some of the recommendations made in the report by the commission are quite positive and therefore can be used as a constructive tool to move in […]

A tight security cordon was placed around Chilaw town yesterday as the funeral of slain fisherman Anthony Fernando of the Egodawatte coastal village took place in the area with full Catholic burial rites.A crowd of about 10,000 mourners drawn largely from the fishing community in the area and adjoining villages attended Fernando’s funeral service that […]

A high ranking police officer with patriotic traits whose name cannot be disclosed told Lanka e news that Gotabaya Rajapakse is directly responsible for the murder of Warnakulasooriya Arachchige Anthony Fernando who was shot at and killed at Wella district, Chilaw yesterday, by the combined operation of army and the STF.The powers given to the […]

The government says it has decided to constitute the National Police commission under the 18th amendment to the constitution. The Parliamentary Council has recommended the names proposed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the NPC.News.lk reported quoting an official of the Parliament that the Parliamentary Council which met yesterday approved the appointment of former ambassador and […]

 Surendra Ajit RupasingheAs you know, the Geneva sessions will open on the 27th February. A possible, and most probable outcome would be a resolution calling for an independent international mechanism to investigate war crimes. (Appointing a Court of Inquiry under the Army Commander will provide more ammunition for the foreign powers to denounce the credibility […]

The country is again experiencing a period in which parents lose their children, women their husbands and children their fathers, alleges the Movement for People’s Struggle. MFPS national organizer Ajith Kumara said all should rally against this situation. The country’s rulers no longer allow democratic governance and have unleashed repression against the masses, he told a […]

One person was killed and three others were injured when the STF opened fire at a group of fishermen protesting in Chilaw a shortwhille back, residents claimed.  The fishermen were protesting over the increased fuel prices in the town. They were marching from the fish market to the town.The person killed as identified as  Warnakulasuriya […]

Tassie Seneviratne In an earlier article I outlined how high-profile interference frustrates police professionalism. In this context the Vijaya Kumaratunga assassination case is another that deserves elaboration. Vijaya Kumaratunga was a film idol who started politics in the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). He married Chandrika Bandaranaike in 1978 and joined the Sri Lanka Freedom […]

 He worked for Army IntelligenceThe Supreme Court yesterday granted leave to proceed with the fundamental rights violation application filed by Kandegedara Priyawansa, a lorry driver from Nuwara Eliya, who had worked in the Intelligence Unit of the Sri Lanka Army.The petitioner had said that the Terrorist Investigation Unit had arrested him on February 27, 2010, […]

The government of Sri Lanka has decided to appoint a Cabinet Sub-Committee to monitor the process of speedy implementation of the proposals in the country’s Human Rights Action Plan. The Cabinet of ministers has approved the appointments of the members to the Sub-Committee yesterday.Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister […]

 A survey carried out by the Department of Manpower and Employment, of the Ministry of Productivity Promotion, has revealed that 69.5 per cent of the country’s total female population is inactive. Of that percentage 9.3 per cent possessed high educational qualifications.The report, titled ‘Determinants of Unemployment among Sri Lankan University Graduates’, states that economic inactivity […]

Witnesses failed to identify a single suspect at the identification parade held at the Tangalle Magistrate’s Court on Friday when the case where a foreigner was killed at a hotel was taken up before the Tangalle Magistrate Suresha de Silva.The British national was killed in a brawl in the wee hours of Christmas day at […]

A member of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission has resigned following an internal problem.Former government analyst Dr. Ananda Mendis, who was appointed to the HRC by the president, said he could no longer serve in the commission against his conscience and policies. The president has permitted him to resign with effect from February 01 following […]

Child and women rights activists hit out at Govt. apathy in tackling a burning issue Last week a 28-year-old man from Dambulla was arrested along with an owner of a guest house and a three-wheeler driver for allegedly luring and raping a 13 year old girl. According to police the young girl had had a […]

In a classified memo written by US’s Sri Lanka Ambassador Robert Blake in October 2006 to Washington, ten months after the extra-judicial execution of five students at a Trincomalee beach, Basil Rajapakse, advisor to Sri Lanka’s President and brother Rajapakse, had told Ambassador Blake that Special Task Force (STF) was responsible for the killings, according […]

On the international front, with just three weeks to go for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva, pressure is building up on the government. Last week, Steven Ratner, a member of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s panel that probed alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, addressed an audience in Geneva. It […]

Skeletons of two persons, allegedly slain by the Sri Lankan military in recent times, have been recovered from an abandoned well near a bund constructed by the occupying Sri Lanka Army in I’lavaalai, Pa’ndaththeruppu situated in Valikaamam in the Jaffna district on Wednesday. Brain parts found inside one of the two skulls indicate that the […]

 Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe: I shall consider  two of Dayan’s arguments to present my views:1.0.    That the LTTE was – is-  a fascist organization, which he describes as ‘the most ruthless     terrorist organization in the world’, and which, therefore, had to be militarily liquidated     by the State. 2.0.    That sovereignty of the State stands […]

Further Repression of Media, Civil Society, MinoritiesIn 2011, accountability remained a dead issue, the media faced increasing censorship, and the long-standing grievances which led to the conflict were not seriously addressed. Sri Lankans face a lack of justice, weak rule of law, land grabbing, and a censored media from a government that is increasingly authoritarian. Brad […]

A GUARANTEE OF FREEDOMSA much awaited outcome of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’s commitment to human rights in 2012 will be the finalisation of an Asean instrument on human rights, particularly in the form of a Human Rights Declaration. It will underline the perception and position towards human rights in this region. The drafting […]

”As you enjoy an environment in which you may discuss matters of literature and the arts in relative comfort and freedom, we appeal to you to recall the reality of our situation, and to engage with it in your discussion forums. Support the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka in every way that is open […]

Kusal Perera      * At least 25 years of social debate on PCs and power devolution     * 25 years of PC rule, the people are familiar with     * 128 meetings held by the APRC to discuss a “home grown” solution     * Two comprehensive reports by the Expert Panel appointed by President Rajapaksa to            support APRC […]

In the second week of January Sri Lanka Government launched a new round of attacks on Press freedom activists and human rights defenders ( HRDs) through on of its main TV channel. In a news feature segment ( Vimasuma) broadcasted as a part of its news bulletin GOSL  indirectly threatened  those HRDs with death.  Showing […]

The main suspect in the murder of Sri Lankan Former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar informed courts that he was tortured while in police custody to extract a confession.Muththiah Sagayadevan told the high court in Colombo on Thursday that police officers assaulted him demanding to ‘tell the truth’. The suspect named two police officers. One policeman […]

 The Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) lodged a complaint with IGP N.K Illangakoon against armed groups issuing death threats to student leaders, today.  A three member delegation of the IUSF met the officials at the IGP’s office and handed over the complaint.The delegation was headed by IUSF, Convener, Sanjeewa Bandara while the others were a lawyer […]

NfR Sri Lanka, a network of Sri Lankan journalists and human rights defenders, strongly condemns the obstruction of the protest campaign against the disappearances in Sri Lanka by security forces without any legal ground. This blatant violation of people’s democratic rights shows that in the so-called liberated North of Sri Lanka not the rule of […]