The Counsel for Baratha Lakshma Premachandra, Upali Kumarapperuma told court today that the CID is “fabricating evidence” when the case was taken up today. The Counsel further went on to point out that initially the CID had only said that they found two shots were released from R. Gamini the bodyguard of Premachandra but now […]

The US government has decided to grant space and opportunity to Sri Lanka to come up with concrete proposals on reconciliation and accountability issues. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has invited External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Pieris to visit Washington in March to discuss Sri Lanka’s plans to “move ahead on reconciliation and accountability issues […]

Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna who was in Sri Lanka on an official visit recently announced in a media conference held here that President Mahinda Rajapaksa agreed for a devolution package that goes beyond the 13th amendment. However, at the monthly meeting of media heads held at Temple Trees yesterday (30th) the President had said […]

When this correspondent went to the Fort Railway Station to join colleagues in a planned demonstration of media activists last Thursday, he was confronted by an unexpected situation. The site of the proposed demonstration was already occupied by (presumably) agents of the government who held a counter protest. Their placards read: “Free Media Movement is […]

Louise ArbourFor Tamils, the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war has brought no peace dividend; for Tamil women, peace has brought with it a continuation – and in some cases an intensification – of violence and insecurity. In the country’s predominantly Tamil-speaking north and east – a region half the size of Nova Scotia – […]

We, the following undersigned citizens, strongly condemn the attack on the Viluthu office in Colombo between the night of the 23rd of January and early hours of Tuesday morning, the 24th January. The office was broken into and searched by unknown persons.We are especially perturbed that this incident occurred in a high security zone in […]

The JVP today dismissed President Mahinda Rajapksa’s proposal to convene an all party conference to discuss a solution to the ethnic issue. JVP Propaganda Secretary and parliamentarian Vijitha Herath said the all party conference is a failure like the conference that was previously summoned by the President.“The all party conference did not have an agenda […]

 With the conclusion of the first visit of US War Crimes Ambassador at Large, Stephen J Rapp, there is now a move to promote an independent mechanism for follow up on LLRC Recommendations, say informed sources, close to the ruling party. Information available for now indicate, a positive response from moderates within the government, with Sinhala […]

Two officials from the US State Department who met civil society of Jaffna last week categorically told them that the US would not take up war crimes/ human rights issues against Sri Lanka in the March HRC session, as there is no sufficient pressure or request from the affected people. Ruling out any outside intervention […]

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 […]

Colombo chief magistrate Rashmi Singappul dismissed a request by Cinnamon Gardens Police to ban a protest by Ayurvedic doctors at Lipton Circus today (Jan. 30).  The magistrate told police that they had powers, as per article 95 (01) of the Police Ordinance, to prevent any rally or protest being held in violation of the law.Ayurvedic […]

Pro-government protesters, some armed with clubs, seized the promenade outside Fort Railway Station on Wednesday, to prevent media activists from observing “Black January,” a month when many of Sri Lanka’s journalists were attacked over the years.This was despite the Colombo Fort Magistrate Kanishka Wijeyratna making an order that media activists be allowed to stage their […]

The Tamil National Alliance yesterday insisted that land, police and finance powers be included in the devolution discussions with the government and all three had to be prerequisite for the party to sit on the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee to hammer out a final solution “We initiated the dialog with the government on the proposed […]

Emanuel StoakesThe extrajudicial killing of civilians, surrendering soldiers and dissident journalists under the direction of the Sri Lankan government has been alleged by a former general in the Army who was extremely well-placed to comment on military activity during the island nation’s bloody civil war.The source, whose name is withheld for reasons of safety, had […]

University teachers last night announced an indefinite strike if the government presented the ‘private university bill’ to Parliament without consulting them.  The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) had taken this decision at its Annual General Meeting held at the Nawala Open University on Friday, FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri said.He said that through […]

Kusal PereraAt the same time it is pointless and unrealistic to deny that the Tamil people have grievances. (emphasis added) The articulation of grievances by the Tamil people continues to remain at the centre of the Sinhala – Tamil relationship and need to be recognized and addressed directly and fairly as the first step in […]

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 […]

Tisaranee Gunasekara“Buying the army off tends to be a good insurance policy for would-be dictators” – Christian Caryl (Foreign Policy – 24.1.2012) Some walls should never be built; some should never be breached. Many of Sri Lanka’s most devastating ills emanated from our habit of building unnecessary walls, and demolishing necessary ones.Our school-system, marred by de facto […]

The Eastern Provincial Council led by Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan has unanimously passed a resolution demanding land and police powers for the council. A copy of the resolution has been sent to the Presidential Secretariat, a council spokesman said yesterday.The resolution says that failure to devolve land powers to the province will mean that the […]

Pro government supporters, some armed with poles, having displaced the media activists from their ‘Black January’ protest, demonstrating in front of the Fort Railway Station. Pic by Saman Kariyawasam ”There was a different response last Wednesday when media organisations representing workers and journalists wanted to hold a peaceful protest on the promenade outside the Fort […]

 Kishali Pinto Jayawardene  It is quite amusing to see the government and all its men using the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) as a barely inadequate fig leaf to cover its total lack of adherence to the substance of the Commission’s recommendations. Unacceptable excuses for delay in implementation Here and overseas, we […]

There are bigger worries, both domestically and internationally, that are formidable challenges for him. In fact, last Wednesday he made a bold announcement at the weekly cabinet meeting to tackle governance issues within the government. Even if it was not formally announced by official spokesperson and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, the move was welcomed by ministers. […]

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 […]

In the backdrop of a deadlock in talks between the government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the TNA said yesterday that they would welcome an international mediation at this time to facilitate future negotiations. At a recent meeting with Dr. Alyssa Ayres, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs, […]

”Whatever the contents of the LLRC Report, it is clear that it will not satisfy some whose minds are fixed on vilifying Sri Lanka and nothing will change their opinion. Those who continue to insist on an independent international investigation, disregard the comprehensiveness of the LLRC Report and its equally detailed annexures, which following over […]

”In their preoccupation with their own problems, which are certainly matters of the greatest consequence, minorities have totally lost sight of the many ways in which they should and could fight many other equally important causes jointly with the majority.  For example, assuming – however far-fetched it may be – that the North-East Tamils get […]

A series of construction contracts given to Chinese firms mostly with borrowed money from China which will have to re-paid by Sri Lanka, should have been awarded by open tender, a legislator has said.Harsha de Silva, a legislator representing Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party, said the commercial viability of some projects were questionable, […]

Neville Ladduwahetty The response below is limited to issues raised by the TNA that have a bearing on Accountability. Paragraph ii of the TNA response states: “The Commission falls dramatically short of international standards applicable to accountability processes”. If, as assumed by the TNA, “international standards applicable to accountability processes” exist, the need for the UN Secretary General […]

Media activists coming down hard on Minister Keheliya Rambukwella for his statement accusing journalists of being in the LTTE payroll have demanded legal action against those reporters if proved.  “We challenge the government to prove these charges, because we’re ready to face the consequences,” said Sunil Jayasekera, Convener of the Free Media Movement.“So many people […]

The visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister to Sri Lanka is always an important affair. Sri Lankans of all communities and political leanings watch it carefully. They listen to the statements and read between the lines. To many, especially for the Sri Lankan Tamils and the committed democratic sections of the Sri Lankan andIndian […]