The placard reads “500 days since Prageeth’s disappearance.” © 2011 Reuters Solving the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda and that of thousands of other Sri Lankans over past decades should be a top priority of the Sri Lankan government and its investigative agencies. After years of no progress in Ekneligoda’s case, any clues about his fate […]

Despite the Court order to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), to advertise in the media, calling on people to come forward to give evidence with regard to those who are missing in the period of the JVP insurrection in 1988-89, the advertisement had not been published in any media, to date.However, around 70 of the […]

The agreement to devolve power was for the entire country and not only the North tissa_leader_cartoon.jpg UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake says that while implementing the 13th Amendment is legal, the government’s attempt to remove land and police powers from the Provincial Council system would create a problem. He noted that the agreement to devolve […]

D.B.S.JEYARAJIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is “extremely annoyed”by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent subtle efforts to undermine the quantum of devolution provided to the Island’s nine Provinces through the thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution that was facilitated by India. President Rajapaksa & Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-file pic- via PTI According to informed […]

High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay The UPFA this week took a decision that reflects a marked shift in foreign policy. Ministers at their weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday unanimously approved a recommendation by President Rajapaksa to incorporate a string of recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) into the National Plan of Action. […]

FOCUS In what precise manner can a fantastically unethical Government prescribe a Code of Ethics for the media? This is a highly relevant question given recent bombastic claims by the Government Spokesman that a draft Bill on Media Ethics is being circulated prior to implementation.State media devoid of ethicsThis Government has proved itself to be […]

The US State Department’s latest travel advisory warns that foreign women should exercise vigilance in Sri Lanka, due to an upswing in sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas.Updated on May 6, 2013, it states that travellers, especially women, should consider travelling with other people when possible.“Western women continue to report incidents of verbal […]

Mawanella-PS-Chairman Mawanella PS Chairman (UPFA) K.G. Piyatissa leaves Kegalle High Court on Tuesday after he was sentenced to death for killing a man in February 2003 Namini Wijedasa  Allegations of assault, rape and murder abound as the powers that be run amok with impunity The number of local government politicians breaking the law is rapidly […]

Veteran politician and Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Veerasingham Anandasangaree is a moderate who has not only consistently shunned extremism in Northern and the Southern politics, but also closely associated with Tamil and Sinhalese leaders for as long as he has been in politics. In an interview with Ceylon Today, Anandasangaree expresses […]

UPFA constituents, the EPDP and the SLMC have strongly opposed far reaching proposal to do away with the right of two provinces or more to merge in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris has made the proposal at a meeting attended by members of the Cabinet on […]

Sri Lanka’s post-war context requires empowerment along with development, and holding a free and fair election in the north, along with devolution, is central to it — this was the broad message that the Indian delegation conveyed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday, according to BJP leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the […]

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) High Command at a meeting held on Thursday night has unanimously decided to oppose the proposed amendments to the 13th Amendment, a senior party spokesman told Ceylon Today.Meanwhile, the draft document of the proposed amendments was presented to the Cabinet on Thursday and the SLMC Leader had informed the […]

Dilrukshi HandunnettiA Cabinet note by External Affairs Minister, Prof. G.L. Peiris, has strongly recommended the repeal of Article 154 (A) (3) of the Constitution to abrogate the power, currently available to Parliament, to legislate for the merging of provinces and the repeal of Section 37 of the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987, altering […]

Eswarapatham SaravanapavanI am writing in earnest to draw your attention to the rapidly worsening environment for Uthayan Daily  to continue with  the freedom of press in Sri Lanka.I have no doubt that you will agree with the norm that freedom of expression is not only a universal human right but also fundamental to a democratic […]

By Bob Dietz/CPJ Asia Program Coordinator In Sri Lanka, where there has seldom been good news for the media in recent years, things have taken a further turn for the worse, as well as a turn for the bizarre. With President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government secure in its 2010 electoral mandate, its leaders have made fresh moves […]

The JVP yesterday urged the government to scrap the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and do away with provincial councils without wasting time in making amendments to the existing Provincial Council Act.JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath told The Island that the government’s draft amendment to the Provincial Council Act had been postponed for two weeks, […]

St. Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church – Angulana belonging to the Rawatawatta Parish had been attacked and desecrated the church by a group of unknown persons at night on 05th June 2013Also on 05th June 2013, some unknown persons have removed and smashed the Sacred Heart statue at the Maniyanthottam, in the Parish of Passaiyoor in […]

Tisaranee Gunasekara“Nemesis, the goddess of measure and not of revenge, keeps watch. All those who overstep the limits are pitilessly punished by her”.- Albert Camus (Helen’s Exile)One of the most incisive analyses about Rajapaksa modus operandi was made not by a Sri Lankan but by an American Ambassador Robert Blake. Mr. Blake’s observations about how […]

Hon. Speaker,I wish to raise an issue of breach of privilege, where my reputation as an honorable member of this august assembly is at stake. I have been a Member of Parliament continuously for over 19 years & at no time I have behaved in a manner that has brought disrepute to myself or the […]

Dilrukshi HadunnethiIn what can be considered the final nail on the only constitutional attempt made in post-independent Sri Lanka to devolve power, an urgent bill to Parliament on Thursday will seal the fate of the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution, with absolute finality.For all the liberal rhetoric and verbal commitments to pursue a genuine […]

Chandrasiri G 410pxPrison Reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajhadeera has been urged by the Friday Forum- the Group of Concerned Citizens to publish soon the reports on the Welikada and Vavuniya prison riots.The letter signed by Jayantha Dhanapala and Prof. Savitri Goonesekere notes that when persons in the custody of a state institution meet with violent death […]

Government parliamentarians yesterday highlighted the need for the reintroduction of the draconian Criminal Defamation Law, which was repealed by the United National Party (UNP) Government in June 2002. Monitoring MP for the Ministry of External Affairs, Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, argued in Parliament the government should reintroduce the law to prevent heads of media organizations […]

Govt. not worried if TNA wins NPC elections: Wimal  .If the Tamils in the North vote the TNA to victory in the scheduled September PC polls it would not be of much concern to the government, as the government had decided to remove police and land powers from the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, National […]

Statement on Proposed Constitutional Amendment  The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply perturbed by recent media reports that the government is planning on amending several provisions of the Thirteenth Amendment to the constitution. Over the past several weeks there were contradictory statements made by senior MPs of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) as […]

Sandya Eknaligoda and his son at a  campaign .. FMM wants Sri Lankan Government to reveal information on Prageeth Sri Lankan Government MP Arundika Fernando told Parliament today that Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda who is missing since 2010 January is living in France. As the Free Media Movement of Sri Lanka we would be highly grateful […]

The proposed set of media ethics by the Government of Sri Lanka bans reporting on many a important issues, and leaves room for wide interpretations on such prohibitions.  The full text of the code of ethics proposed by the  media ministry is follows: Ministry of Mass Media and Information Code of Media EthicsPreambleAll Electronic and […]

Do justice first: Journalist campaign for FOE rights in Sri Lanka Media, laptops and ethics, Editorial, The Island All of a sudden, the government has evinced a keen interest in media ethics. It is apparently in a mighty hurry to introduce a code of ethics for journalists in keeping with its ‘laptop and stick’ approach […]

Foreign loans, grants committed in 2012: June 4, 2013, 8:34 pm China emerged as the biggest lender to the government of Sri Lanka with loans amounting to US$ 1,056.05 million in 2012 with additional grants amounting to US$ 0.16 million and India became the country’s biggest benefactor with grants amounting to US$ 257.28 million and […]

Wasantha Rupasinghe and K. RatnayakeSri Lanka’s defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, has publicly opposed the election planned for the northern provincial council, highlighting the dilemma confronting the government.After dragging his feet for years, President Mahinda Rajapakse, under pressure from India and Western powers including the US, promised to hold the election in September. At the same […]

The government party leaders who met last evening at a special meeting chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss changes to the 13th Amendment have decided to present the proposed amendments in the form of a Special Cabinet Paper to the Cabinet meeting to be held tomorrow (6), government sources said.Two amendments are expected to […]