TNA leader R.Sampanthan ‘The I.T.A.K. states that the Government is engaged in implementing a programme, the objective of which is to further alter the demographic composition of and alter the linguistic and cultural identity of the Northern and Eastern provinces. When the Sri Lankan government states that it needs more time, it only means that […]

NPCThe Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) today called on the Government to dissolve the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).The Government affiliated political party said that the Governor of the Northern Province should dissolve the council as a result of the recent resolution adopted calling for an international war crimes investigation.The NPC had adopted three resolutions on Monday […]

WORK TOWARDS MUTUALLY ACCEPTABLE RESOLUTION TO AVOID FURTHER POLARISATIONThe Sri Lankan government and the Tamil polity in Sri Lanka, together with sections of the international community, appear to be getting into inflexible positions  vis a vis the allegations of war crimes and violations of International Humanitarian Law. The Northern Provincial Council has adopted a resolution […]

AFP   A top US official arrived in Colombo on Friday to push for reconciliation in Sri Lanka which is under increasing international pressure over rights abuses during its separatist war, diplomats said.Nisha Biswal, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, will travel to a former war zone to meet with ethnic minority […]

Ruwan Laknath JayakodyPresident of the Sihala Ravaya, Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathana Thera, including all the monks of the Sihala Ravaya, have been temporarily banned from engaging in protests.The order was made by the Chief Magistrate, Colombo, Gihan Pilapitiya, during the hearing held on Thursday (30). The order had been made in relation to the protest organized […]

File photo World Watch MonitorMore than 2,000 Christians gathered in Colombo on Sunday to protest against a perceived lack of religious freedom in Sri Lanka, following recent attacks on Christian places of worship by Buddhist extremists.Two churches and a Christian prayer centre were attacked on Jan. 12 by Buddhist mobs claiming they were illegal and […]

 Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Hugo Swire in reply to a question by MP Stephen Timms  in the  House of commons on 27 Jan stated that “… any domestic process should be credible, independent and transparent to be accepted by the international community. We do not believe that any of the processes […]

hopes dashed  Northern Chief Minister claims councillors losing faith in Govt. will to assist with NPC work  Says emotions are being vented through resolutions at NPC  Slams President for refusal to change Chief Secretary of the Province  NPC to send Ananthi to Geneva since she is best suited to speak of disappearances Dharisha BastiansNorthern Province […]

By Madhava Kulasooriya   The people of Vavuniya have lived through a brutal civil war, and had harboured hopes that they would be able to enhance their standard of living after the conclusion of the war. However, nearly five years post-war, the people live in extreme poverty with little hope for better standards in the […]

Graphic by Groundviews (AFP)Colombo — Sri Lanka’s Buddhist hierarchy and other religious leaders accused police Tuesday of failing to prosecute those behind a recent wave of attacks on Christians and Muslims.A multi-religious group led by Buddhist monks said the country had failed to grasp the threat posed by hate speech and attacks because local media […]

Associated Press /BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Thousands of protesters from opposition parties, human rights groups, trade unions and media groups marched Tuesday in Sri Lanka’s capital in a rare show of dissent against the government.They held separate marches in Colombo, shouting slogans which accused authorities of corruption and mismanagement, and later came together for joint rally.Tissa Attanayake, […]

(Xinhua) — An independent presidential commission appointed to investigate people who disappeared during Sri Lanka’s three-decade conflict have received over 13,000 complaints, it said in a statement on Tuesday.The Presidential Commission has received approximately 13,700 complaints of disappearances from all parts of the country.According to the Commission approximately 9,300 disappearances are of civilians and 4,300 […]

Press Trust of India   Skeletal remains of at least 50 people have been dug out from a mass grave discovered in northeastern Sri Lanka, amid speculation that the remains were of Tamil civilians who had disappeared during the war with the LTTE. Police spokesman and Senior Superintendent Ajith Rohana said further digging will be continued […]

Mass grave informer war zone ReutersWASHINGTON (Reuters) – An international inquiry into war crimes in Sri Lanka would bring “chaos,” and the government’s national reconciliation process must be given several more years to work, a top aide to Sri Lanka’s president said on Monday.Lalith Weeratunga, in Washington to lobby against calls for such an inquiry, […]

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka Though I cannot say the same of his companions on the voyage, my friend Lalith Weeratunga embodies a rare combination of intelligence, ability, affability and civility. Going by media reports, he made a valuable presentation of the government’s case, in Geneva and the USA. Mr Weeratunga has made some very valid points on […]

Mullikulam in huts Jehan PereraIn preparation for the forthcoming meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva the government has sent its top civil servant, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga to Geneva to put the government’s achievements into perspective. Since 2012 when the government lost the vote at the UNHRC and had to […]

Here is the power point presentation contents of the secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, which was presented to 70 +  diplomatic missions based in Geneva on 21 January 2014.  Taking forward the National Plan of action to implement the Recommendations’ of the Lessons Learn and  Reconciliation Commission IHL & HR ISSUES – PROGRESS Commission […]

AP News WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States said Monday it will sponsor a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council that Sri Lanka is worried could call for an international investigation into allegations of war crimes during the island nation’s civil conflict.Hoping to head off that threat, a top aide to Sri Lanka’s powerful […]

Meera Srinivasan Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council passed a resolution on Monday calling for an international probe into the alleged war crimes committed during the country’s ethnic conflict. The resolution comes less than two months before United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is due to make a written submission to the Human Rights […]

Authoritarianism or Democratic Governance? by Friday Forum  There has been, in recent times, public discussion in regard to whether our country is moving towards an authoritarianism that undermines democratic governance. The President, Ministers and government spokespersons have consistently denied this allegation. They refer in particular to the recent elections in three provinces as indicative of […]

Mannar mass grave   The number of skeletal remains found in the Mannar mass grave increased to 45 yesterday as a special team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) recorded statements from the officials involved in the excavation of the remains. One more skeletal remain was unearthed yesterday.A group of CID officers who arrived at […]

Government has granted a generous 25-year corporate tax holiday to Colombo Port City, the Rs 172.4 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) project to reclaim more than 575 acres (233 hectares) of sea off Galle Face Green.The project company, CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Ltd, will also be exempt from tax on dividends for 25 years as […]

Justice Sriskandarajah Kishali Pinto Jayawardene In the wake of the untimely demise of Justice S. Sriskandarajah, President of Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal this week, it may be opportune to look at the state of the Sri Lankan judiciary one year after the 2013 impeachment of Sri Lanka 43rd Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. The late […]

Live telecast of Parliamentary proceedings taken off the air to save Govt. skinsA step in the right direction that Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa took last December, to make parliamentary proceedings more accessible to the public, by allowing live telecast of proceedings over a cable network, came to an abrupt end this week, with the announcement that […]

The United Kingdom and the United States are hard at work trying to garner support for the resolution against Sri Lanka to be submitted at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March.UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Mark Simmonds told the House of Commons that the UK Foreign and […]

       We will use our position on the UN Human Rights Council to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and call for an international investigation. We will play an active role in building international support for that approach ahead of the March meeting. However, that we face an uphill struggle […]

A one day fast was held calling for Justice Today marks the four-year anniversary of the disappearance of Sri Lankan journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is calling on the Sri Lankan Government (GSL) to properly investigate Ekneligoda’s case and prosecute all those guilty of attacking journalists and news gatherers […]

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has not taken any special decision regarding Minister of Public Relations and Public Affairs, Mervyn Silva, even though a report on the disciplinary inquiry conducted against the minister was presented to the SLFP Central Committee.  Addressing the media yesterday, SLFP General Secretary, Maithripala Sirisena, said he presented the disciplinary […]

Europeans clamouring for Human Rights in Sri Lanka are akin to wolves sympathising with goats getting wet in the rain, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. He said Western countries are talking of Human Rights without an iota of concern for the grievances faced by the people of all communities in the country.  “Certain elements of our […]

43 human skeletons have been recovered till Wednesday at Thirukkeatheesvaram mass grave in Mannaar, news sources in Mannaar said. The boundaries of the mass grave are yet to be established, according to the Judicial Medical Officer from Anuradhapura D. M. Waidyaratne. The JMO has also gone on record stating that it would take long time […]