SRI LANKA: No country is rich enough to pay for the cost of lawlessness (A Statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission) Sri Lankans have just been confronted with the abduction of two policemen, one of whom was assassinated. The other narrowly escaped by struggling and running into the jungle naked. He is now receiving […]

Bishop. Norbert Andradi ”However, as we were about to go to the Prison we were informed by the local prison authorities that Bishop Rayappu could not be permitted to enter the Prison unless they have orders from higher authorities in Colombo. I contacted Hon. Minister Ravi Karunanayake again who was to obtain the required permission […]

The UNP today accused the government of “unabashedly” violating long established traditions of the system and making the judicial service a safe haven for political stooges and henchmen. As part of its plan to emasculate the country’s judiciary, the Rajapaksa government has deliberately made a “mockery” of important appointments in the judicial system, the party […]

The Registrar of the University of Jaffna Mr V. Kandeepan, has issued a notice instructing the students at the University hostels to vacate the premises between 16 May and 20 May without citing any reason. All the education activities have also been cancelled for four days, bringing the entire University to a standstill during the […]

Jpehs.co.uk Joint Statement: Calling for the Resignation of Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs Tissa Karaliyadde It is with disbelief and outrage that we read the Sunday Leader article of 13th April titled ‘New Anti  Rape Laws Proposed’, where the Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs Tissa Karaliyadde has said that proposals on […]

Upul Jasuriya Key Note Address of the World Press Freedom Day Event organised  by SLPI and FMM  Upul Jasuriya, President Bar Association of Sri Lanka “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any […]

Jehan Perera The government’s inability or unwillingness to provide the international community with the quantum of evidence required to ban the 16 Tamil Diaspora groups and 424 individuals it listed under a UN anti terrorism resolution has led to both the United States and Canada refusing to ban them.   The government spokesperson on the issue […]

A victim of the blast (Kollytalk.com) Col R. Hariharan Two low-intensity improvised explosive devices (IED) exploded in two adjacent sleeper coaches of the Bangalore – Guwahati tri-weekly super fast express just as the train streamed into the Chennai Central station around 7.15 AM on May 1. One young woman was killed and 14 others were […]

Jayawardena The President’s actions towards filling the vacancies available in Supreme Court have gained serious attention of the legal and judicial circles, reports ‘Ravaya’ newspaper. According to the 18th amendment the power to appoint judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal is solely vested upon the President and the appointment can be confirmed […]

Rallied to promote terrorism,Trying to destabilize country’s reconciliation process – Daily News In passing numerous resolutions and adopting them in the Northern Provincial Council demanding the withdrawal of the ban imposed by Sri Lanka on foreign terrorist organizations and individuals that have links with the Tamil Diaspora, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) members have committed […]

The Book By Trevor Grant With a foreword by Geoffrey Robertson QC As the civil war in Sri Lanka drew to its bloody end in 2009 the government of this island nation removed its protection from UN officials and employees, who, along with other international observers, were forced to leave the conflict zone. President Mahinda […]

Ex DIG says police to blame, University expert says culture of impunity main cause Twenty killings have been reported in April alone, marking an increasing wave of crime around the country. A common feature in all these cases was that the victims were in their 20s and 30s. The killings were reported from Giriulla in […]

One of the high luxury cars of president son Rohitha Rajapaksha`s car collection has bumped into a three wheeler 1stof this month. The car called as shelby GT500  is made by Ford company in America and comes under high luxury car range. Eye witnesses say that police special task force came to the scene within […]

Namini WijedasaThe new unit manned by predominantly Buddhist offi ers in the wilderness, without guidance; confusion over its duties and responsibilities Members of the police unit dealing with complaints related to religious activities have no special training in their assigned field and are still uninformed about the types of offences they are expected to investigate.Officials […]

The Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) fully endorses the views expressed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) over the proposed appointment of an Attorney-at-law as a Judge of the Supreme Court. OPA extends its fullest support to the BASL in whatever action that BASL may take to oppose the said appointment. OpA notes […]

former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva Commenting on the controversy over the new appointment to the Supreme Court, former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva said yesterday according to an existing ruling the appointment of judges should be done according to an existing judgement, the appointment of judges should be done only on the recommendation of […]

Nisha Desai Biswal The United States became the second country to ignore the UPFA Government’s prohibition order on 16 Tamil diaspora groups and 424 of their members on grounds that they are allegedly involved in terrorist activities. Some of those listed were among those who were at the Department of State in Washington DC last […]

Geoff Doidge However, High Commissioner Doidge claimed that no such meeting had taken place and dodged questions posed to him by the Sunday Times. “We don’t discuss our initiatives with others. This is a matter between the Sri Lanka Government and the Government of South Africa. There is no reason for us to discuss such […]

Nimal Sanderathne Good governance is good for the nation and people. Irrespective of any economic consequences of the Geneva resolutions, the country must ensure law and order and protect human rights of its citizens. This was the central message left in the minds of those who attended the LBR-LBO CEO forum on Meeting the Challenges […]

Tamils vote for autonomy ( Reuters) Resolution No 4 1.We request that arrangements are made to create a new constitution for Sri Lanka with the assistance from the International Community to resolve the Tamil national ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka recognizing self-determination of Tamil people, and offering, at the minimum, a federal setup for a […]

The United States, the United Kingdom and a delegation of the European Union on Friday called upon the Government of Pakistan to resolutely defend media freedom in the country, adding that gags on the media and attacks on journalists were not acceptable. While marking the World Press Freedom Day today, May 3, the European Union […]

Pope Francis today took note of the rise of religious extremists in Sri Lanka who he says, in promoting a false sense of national unity based on a single religious identity, have created tensions through various acts of intimidation and violence. “Though these tensions may threaten inter-religious and ecumenical relations, the Church in Sri Lanka […]

Press release/03.05.2014 On the World Press Freedom day 2014, the Free Media Movement of Sri Lanka, reassure its unwavering commitment to press freedom and democracy. Freedom of the press is the basis of all freedoms. It is the freedom of expression that provides a level playing field for the struggle of all human rights of […]

Rauf, Fawzie and Kabir Govt. MPs have finally realised the lurking danger – Kabir HashimMuslim government and Opposition MPs have joined forces with the exception of two to petition President Mahinda Rajapaksa requesting him to rein in the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and restore law and order. Sixteen of the eighteen Muslim MPs with the […]

TNA May day in Jaffna ( Uthayan) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called for an end to the Sri Lankan state’s oppression, and for the Tamil people’s right to self-determination, in a series of events across the North-East yesterday marking May Day. In rallies in Chavakachcheri, Kilinochchi, and Batticaloa, Tamils demanded an end to the […]

M. V. Kaanamylnathan M. V. Kaanamylnathan had 50 years’ tough experience in journalism and had worked for every Tamil-language newspaper in Sri Lanka when he took the helm of the main Tamil daily Uthayan in 1985, two years after the civil war flared up. Dozens of members of the paper’s staff were among the conflict’s […]

Today is the World Press Freedom Day. As the countries around the world mark this day with celebrations, we in Sri Lanka ought to sit down and take stock of our credentials of press freedom. That would make us recollect the sombre memories of the ghastly attacks on our colleagues, media institutions, unresolved killings and […]

As we mark World Press Freedom Day today, we are confronted by headlines as to whether we should celebrate this day or deadlines indicating whether it would be more appropriate to commemorate it in Sri Lanka. Firstly, we need to turn the searchlight inward and see what has happened to journalism here. It was once […]

Minister Thondaman’s act On Thursday, our cameras captured footage of how a Cabinet Minister obstructed a journalist from carrying out his duties at the May Day Rally of the Ceylon Workers Congress. The Cabinet Minister in question was the Minister of Livestock Development, Arumugam Thondaman. This was the manner in which the Secretary of the […]

News 1st photo A group of persons attempted to abduct Newsfirst’s provincial correspondent in Godakawela, Mahinda Pushpakumara on Thursday night, as he attempted to report on the snatching of an elephant calf from the Udawalawe National Park.While our correspondent was rescued owing to the intervention of  residents and wildlife officers, the cassette containing footage of […]