” In the presence of jumbo sized state military and intelligence service and the state backed paramilitaries and the violent government goons, the HRC is being engineered to do an exercise to undermine any further UN effort on war crimes  against Sri Lanka.”  ___________________________________________by Rajasingham JayadevanMay 27 2011 Media reports of government appointing a five […]

The Dutch judiciary says that Tamil Tiger leaders in the Netherlands have played a prominent role in financing the civil war in Sri Lanka. The 10,000 Tamils in the Netherlands, police say, were under the iron grip of the guerilla group.Marcel Haenen (NRC Handelsblad) Read part 1 ‘Operation Koninck’ has been described by the judiciary […]

May 26, 2011/Sutirtho Patranobis,Sri Lanka on Thursday withdrew the on-arrival free visa facility for Indian tourists.It means that Indians planning a trip to Sri Lanka after August should apply for their visas online for a fee or visit Lankan missions with an application. The new system will be implemented within 80 days, WA Chulananda Perera, […]

As professionals, we have seen the deterioration of the institutional integrity and rule of law in this country for many years. As lawyers we have, from time to time, urged the succeeding governments to protect human rights of the citizens and establish Rule of Law.    2011-05-25 | Press Statement- Lawyers for DemocracyThe war in […]

He paused, as if to assemble the rank and file of forces in his imagination: “I’m a police officer”, he declared, putting his authority to speak in no doubt. “They must be punished! All of them! There must be discipline!” Toxicity leached from his skin. by Terence Stone (May 26, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) We […]

There are active moves to get the Tamilnadu Legislative Assembly to pass a motion of censure against President Rajapakse along the lines of the critical comments made by Smt Jayalalitha on May 14th. Those behind this move are some over zealous young AIDMK alliance MLA’s keen to catch their new CM’s attention.by I.S. SenguttuvanOther than […]

May 25, 2011: The Ministry of Education has decided to provide school principals with a three (3) month leadership training programme. Secretary to the Ministry of Education H.M. Gunasekara said  at a function today that 1000 principals at schools which are being developed with several facilities, will undergo this training at the Rantambe camp.“If the […]

SF says felt he couldn’t work with President, Def. Secy, as Gota doubted his loyaltyMay 25, 2011/ By A.J. AbeynayakeFormer Army Chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka on Wednesday (25) said that he felt he couldn’t work with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, as the latter had doubted his loyalty during a […]

By a Special CorrespondentThe leader of the Patriotic National Movement (PNM) Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera says that the onus is on the government to hold an inquiry and ascertain the truth regarding the alleged political asylum provided by the Norwegian Embassy to 12 suspected LTTE cadres.13-1The veteran political analyst said that the alleged incident has not […]

May 25, 2011,By Franklin R. SatyapalanThe Tamil National Alliance (TNA) left the sixth round of Bi-partisan talks, with the government yesterday, disappointed as the latter had once again not responded to its draft on devolution, TNA sources said.TNA Parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran said: At every meeting we have been waiting for the government to announce […]

26 May 2011/ By Sandun A. JayasekeraSri Lanka would appoint a five member panel of judges to initiate fresh investigations into Human Rights and Fundamental Rights violations in the North-East and report back to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC), officials said.The newly appointed Chairman of the HRC, retired Supreme Court Judge Priyantha […]

Consequently, the President is surely as responsible for what is contained in this communiqué as his minister. Indeed it would not be an exaggeration to say that the joint communiqué contains the measures the regime should take in order to neutralize any adverse consequences of the Panel Report. 25 May 2011/By Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu The […]

25 May 2011/ by Daniel KittsAn E-Mail Interview with A.R.M. ImtiyazSri Lanka’s ethnic conflict is one of the most polarizing and heated in a world full of ethnic conflicts.For a sample, check out this episode of The Agenda, aired in 2009 shortly after Sri Lankan forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, a.k.a. […]

25 May 2011The military tried to stop a sport meet taking place in Vadamarachchi saying permission had not been obtained from the army and this had created a tense situation in the area.All arrangements had been completed and the sports meet of Nethaji sports club in Kothiyaladi, Valvettithurai was about to start. The club’s flag […]

25 May 2011Around 55,700 people still live the life of refugees in Jaffna, conceded Sri Lanka Government Agent in Jaffna, Mrs. Imelda Sugumar on Tuesday. The number includes people who lost their homes by the confiscation of lands by the occupying Army in Jaffna for ‘High Security Zones’ (HSZ) and those who have Jaffna connections […]

25 May 2011Genocidal Sri Lanka’s ‘reconciliation’ in Vanni, abetted by its international partners is building huge Buddhist stupas there, while keeping Eezham Tamil natives in cloth tents. If building Buddhist establishments and new Sinhala-military townships in Vanni is the job of the state and re-building houses for the war-ravaged people and providing them with ‘milk […]

25 May, 2011For the second time in a fortnight, subscribers to the Daily Mirror newspaper have been entreated to an interesting disinformation campaign that appears to be conducted with those embedded within, and possibly with the full support of the Sri Lankan Army and its network of patriots.The full page ad above was published on […]

Feizal SamathJust as government troops prepared this week to celebrate the second anniversary of the decimation of Tamil separatist rebels, thousands of young, new entrants to national universities across Sri Lanka on Monday began entering military camps for a three-week training course that has triggered an intense debate as to whether the country is heading […]

By Matthew Russell LeeUNITED NATIONS, May 24 — Not only has UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon not asked for any Security Council, General Assembly or Human Rights Council action on the UN Panel of Experts report on war crimes in Sri Lanka — he hasn’t even transmitted it to Geneva, his spokesman acknowledged to Inner […]

R. K. Radhakrishnan People in this friendly town woke up on Monday a full page advertisement in its newspapers mocking U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The advertisement reproduced in full below, sought to place in perspective the rationale behind Sri Lanka being questioned for eliminating terrorism in its backyard. The […]

Caste divisions in Jaffna are based on professions that people have been hereditarily engaged in. Agriculture is considered the profession of the Vellala caste, which is the most dominant caste in Jaffna. Nalavar and Pallar work as toddy tappers and labourers in gardens. Parayar, who beat the drums at funerals, are treated like slaves. Vannar […]

24 May 2011Members of Non-Aligned Movement have a critical part to play in ensuring these terrible abuses never happen again and that survivors of the conflict can seek justice, thus laying the groundwork for reconciliation.They should encourage the UN and the government of Sri Lanka to implement the panel’s recommendations on accountability, including the panel’s […]

23 May 2011, 8:31 pmThe Friday Forum has demanded that the government ensure that city planning and urban development activities are carried out within a transparent process which takes into account the concerns of people in regard to their homes and property.“We are particularly disturbed at the use of uniformed services personnel to deliver communications […]

24 May 2011The northeast coast of the Jaffna and Mullaiththeevu districts of the country of Eezham Tamils, from Kat-koava’lam in Point Pedro to Mullaiththeevu is encroached in recent days by hundreds of Sinhala fishermen supported by occupying Sri Lanka’s Army and fisheries officials. Exploitation of the catch of sea cucumber for the season is said […]

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 […]

Ananth KrishnanChina on Tuesday said it supported the Sri Lankan government’s efforts towards reconciliation, and indicated it would back the country against any international pressure following a recent United Nations report accusing the government of war crimes.Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told visiting Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris in talks on Tuesday that […]

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 […]