Sri Lankan government has appointed a Sinhalese, Mr DMS Abeygunawardena as Chief Secretary of the predominantly Tamil-speaking Eastern Province. Not a single Tamil has been appointed as minister by Colombo. Apart from the Muslim Chief Minister, three Muslims and a Sinhalese have been appointed as ministers to the newly formed EPC. Paramilitary operative Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan […]

 UPR Sri Lanka: Compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The present report is a compilation of the information contained in the reports of treaty bodies and special procedures, including observations and comments by the State concerned, and of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and […]

futaIt is time for the Long March for Free Education. The long march currently being organized follows a series of  ground-breaking mega events organized by FUTA to socialize the concept  of the need to increase allocations for education (6%!) and  de-politicizing of the education secotor. The Long March will bring into fine focus the unprecednted […]

SLB newsThe Free Media Movement of Sri Lanka has issued a press statement ( 20th Sep)  condemning the death threats to one of its EX- CO member, journalist and web editor Mr. Janith Vipulaguna. Mr. Vipulaguna is the editor of Sinhala language news website ‘Lanka Citisan Puwath. Earlier Mr. Vipulaguna had worked as a producer […]

FUTA92312 Rally on Aug 23, 2012: pic courtesy of: VikalpaSL MA Sumanthiran M.P.For many persons of Sri Lanka, survival is daily struggle. In Mullaitivu fishermen aren’t allowed to fish. In Kilinochchi, homemakers and housewives are displaced from their homes and houses; In Kanguveli farmers are denied access to their farms. It is easy to recognize […]

MRE92112BB922 By ChackravarthySLMC’s going with the government in the East is not a surprise. This order was written by the higher ups. Present day SLMC is a party where cadres and leaders think differently. Swearing in ceremony – Sep 18, 2012 While the former is prepared to shed blood for the party the latter is […]

Life in Aananthapuram, a neighbouring place to Keappaapulavu The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) organized a protest in front of the Mullaitivu Government Agent’s office on Friday the 21st of September 2012 urging resettlement of the Keappapulavu people in their native village. The protest was well attended by people of Keappapulavu living with host families […]

Eastern refugees ( file photo) The decision of the SLMC to support the UPFA to the government at the provincial level in the East, is clearly in violation of the mandate given to it, by the voters, and is unprincipled and opportunistic, said R. Sampanthan, the president of the Ilangkai Tamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) and […]

President Rajapaksa called on the JSC to meet him The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is not surprised by the government’s confrontation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the courts, as it is part of a consistent pattern that has been going on ever since the executive presidential system was established in 1978. The […]

KPJ92212 Lawyers protest against white van abductions in the court premises-Feb 2012-pic: courtesy: VikalpaSL by Kishali Pinto JayewardeneDictators do not believe in half hearted measures. This is an essential lesson that Sri Lanka is now learning at a painful cost. We were immeasurably too ignorant, too consumed by self interest or too stubborn to realize […]

SSP Ranagala The Supreme Court has decided to hear the fundamental rights petition filed by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) members claiming theri right to equality was violated by a senior police officer during the campaign for he Eastern Provincial Council (EPC). The Bench comprising Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and Justices K. Sripavan and Eva […]

Supereme court: Dark clouds over it The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) yesterday passed two strong resolutions. One resolution condemned interference in the work of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Bar Association President Wijedasa Rajapakshe said. The other resolution was to appoint a team of senior lawyers to see if there is enough material […]

The occupying Sinhala military was deployed in large numbers to intimidate the demonstrators in Mullaiththeevu on Friday Following Friday’s demonstration at Mullaiththeevu for resettlement of the people of Keappaa-pulavu back in their own village, the SL military on Saturday embarked upon threatening the villagers now in the IDP camp at Cheddiku’lam to immediately vacate it, […]

Groucho Marx:‘Military Intelligence’ is a ‘contradiction in terms’.  by Gamini WeerakoonGroucho Marx an outstanding comedian for about four decades of the last Century described ‘Military Intelligence’ as a ‘contradiction in terms’.Groucho’s perception can be appreciated. In his time the gentlemen in khaki were not considered to be blessed with much intelligence. And those with intelligence […]

B. SkanthakumarThe Human Rights Commission Act, No. 21 of 1996, which is the legal framework for the national human rights institution and prescribes its functions and powers, has been discussed previously and found to be wanting.27 The HRCSL recognises that there are deficiencies to its enabling law that have impeded its  effectiveness, particularly in enforcement […]

LTTE leader in military custody who found cut to death later India would definitely extend its support to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) when it would visit Sri Lanka to study the allegations of massive human rights violations during the final phase of the war against the LTTE in 2009, says Union Minister […]

Hudson Samarasinghe: mud slinging director At its general meeting, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has unanimously decided to look into the possibility of initiating legal action against Hudson Samarasinghe, chairman of state-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Following a proposal by attorney Upul Jayasuriya, the BASL has appointed a committee comprising four President’s Counsel in […]

No independent commissions appointed The government had not implemented the key recommendations of its very own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission(LLRC) yet and was fighting shy of facing the United Nations Human Rights Commission(UNHRC), the UNP said yesterday. It was the Rajapaksa regime that had asked the UNHRC for time to implement the LLRC recommendations […]

Rajapaksha and Singh: who tells what ( File photo) With Sri Lanka’s human rights record coming up for review towards the end of the year, India believes that Colombo should accept the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as a credible interlocutor and get down to discussing a road map for political devolution of powers as this […]

Govt showed dissatisfaction over Divineguma judgement ( file photo) The lawyers for Democracy (LfD) is disturbed by the emerging evidence of coordinated moves to undermine the independence of judiciary in Sri Lanka, according to a media release. The organization referring to the statement issued by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on 16thSeptember 2012, says that […]

Sanjeewa Bandara The Political Bureau of the JVP has issued a statement condemning the arrest of the convener of the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF). The statement issued yesterday (20th) states, “Yesterday (18th), the convener of Inter University Students Federation the student Sanjeewa Bandara was arrested by the police. He was arrested while going back […]

The Chief Editor of The Sunday Leader Frederica Jansz resigned from her post today following what inside sources said was a dispute with the management after she was instructed to back the government.Meanwhile the Colombo Gazette has learned that Shakunthala Perera, a senior female journalist who was one time at the Daily Mirror newspaper, has […]

Mullaitivu: Military calls shots When people of Mullaiththeevu for the first time in last three years gathered in hundreds in front of the district secretariat on Friday, to demand resettlement in their village at Keappaa-pulavu in the district, the occupying Sinhala military deployed in large numbers responded with intimidation of taking videos of the demonstrators […]

Professor Harendra: “today’s abused child is tomorrow’s abuser,” Professor Harendra de Silva, Professor of Pediatrics, yesterday called on every individual to be active and work together as one community to eradicate child abuse and not to be passive perpetrators being silent on the issue. Addressing the first news briefing of the ‘Citizens for a Secure […]

Pakistani (in black) and Indian (in brown) border guards Amir Zubair Siddiqui, a diplomat attached to the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka, has been named in the First Information Report (FIR) on the suspected ISI-sponsored espionage module busted by the Tamil Nadu police in Thanjavur on Monday, police sources said on Thursday. Mr. Siddiqui, […]

Rajapaksa also called on President Pranab Mukherjee. India Thursday pressed Sri Lanka to speed up the process devolution of powers so that the Tamil citizens of the island nation can live in dignity and underlined the need to treat fishermen straying across maritime boundary humanely. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa […]

Deportees meet family members A group of 25 Sri Lankans deported from the UK has arrived in Sri Lanka, amid warnings that Tamils among them may be tortured.UK officials said on Wednesday that 60 failed asylum seekers and visa overstayers were being sent back.But many won last-minute court injunctions preventing their return.Human rights groups say […]

Hundreds of Sri Lankans protested Thursday against a visit by U.N. officials to discuss human rights issues during the country’s civil war. Monks led about 300 protesters from the Buddhist nationalist National Heritage Party during the demonstration opposite a local U.N. office. They complained Sri Lanka is being unfairly criticized for alleged abuses as the […]

File photo by UNHRC Frances HarrisonThe war may be over in Sri Lanka, but it is still not safe for journalists thereI recently received a heartbreaking email saying a Sri Lankan journalist, his wife and nine year old child had spent the night with all their suitcases on a bench in a park in Paris. […]

Juliette de Rivero Geneva Director of Human Rights Watch Juliette De Rivero / Human Rights Watch, Geneva At  its March 2012 session, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Sri Lanka calling on the government to implement the recommendations of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) on accountability and other issues. Instead of […]