By Col. R. Hariharan. Question: President Maithripala Sirisena’s Chinese visit is starting later today (March 25, 2015).  This visit comes after his government’s willingness to strengthen ties with neighbour India with leaders of the both countries visiting each other’s nation within a month and the suspension of Chinese aided Colombo port city reclamation project. How […]

This letter is a request from a citizen who believes in a political philosophy and a resulting culture, which disfavours party politics and upholds the progress of the country above all else. My honest feeling is that the victory we achieved on January 8, under your leadership, is a remarkable collective political victory of all […]

Q;What are your remarks about the 19th Amendment? A: The 19th Amendment that was gazetted has now been presented to Parliament. In the meantime the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the second set of changes to the 19th Amendment. They have shared it with leaders of other parties and it has also found its way […]

[Hundreds if not thousands of peacocks pose a serious threat to airline traffic at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport] This remote coastal scrubland, a haven for wild elephants and migratory birds that is several hours away from the nearest city, seems like an odd place to attempt to create a major commercial hub.. Yet such […]

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said a “political settlement” with the minority Tamil community is a prerequisite for a “stable and secure” country. “If you want a stable and secure country, we must have a political solution (with Tamils) and move forward,” Wickremesinghe said in an address in the Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula Saturday. “The war is […]

Pic & striy by Maheen Senanayake. I had tried several times to meet him. He too, in all fairness, made a valiant effort to make time for me. It had been almost a month since we set out to meet. Finally the day had come. I arrived 15 minutes early at his office on a […]

UN Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Guarantees of Non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, will arrive in Sri Lanka for a six-day visit, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Sunday (29). “Greiff will arrive in Sri Lanka today. He plans to meet with senior officials of the Government and political parties. He looks forward to […]

Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran and the Northern Provincial Councillors boycotted a visit by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to Jaffna yesterday, following an exchange of views over the military presence in the North and the views expressed by the PM in an interview with an Indian TV station. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, State […]

[Sri Lanka’s finance minister Ravi Karunanayake. Photo: AFP] Minister pulls up Colombo Port City company; says Xi Jinping sprang a surprise by telling Sirisena that China, Lanka and India should work closely in f PBOC to further ease yuan capital controls in reserve currency bid Oracle to hire 1,000 sales staff in Asia-Pacific, including mainland […]

The Coordinating Secretary to the President, Attorney-at-Law Shiral Lakthilaka, in an interview with Ceylon Today spoke of two pressing issues – the need to prosecute cases of corruption with more vigour and to go for a national government with a ‘win-win’ situation. The country now has the latter, but now the question is whether a […]

At least three policemen including two sergeants have been interdicted in connection with two separate cell deaths that took place at the start of this month, pending further investigations but a rights group while condemning the incidents has called for tougher action and transparency in the probe. During the initial investigations the police claimed that […]

Kilinochchi Magistrate Court on Thursday (26) ordered the release Balendran Vibushika from probation with immediate effect. Vibushika, the daughter of Balendran Jeyakumari, was transferred to probationary custody in a children’s home in Kilinochchi after her mother’s arrest in March 2014. Jeyakumari was detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with no chargers filed. Sri […]

[Apparel workers in Sri Lanka] The EU and Sri Lanka have begun the formal process that may lead to the re-admission of Sri Lanka to the status of GSP+ under the European Union’s new GSP regulation. A joint statement by Sri Lanka and the EU said that the EU-Sri Lanka Working Group on Trade and […]

The national anthem was sung in Tamil in the presence of President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga at an event, where the lands taken over by the military to establish a High Security Zone were handed back to the legitimate owners at Valalaai, Valikamam East on Monday (23). […]

Let’s solve our longstanding problems in the field of theatre art. Let us enter to an order which guarantees the freedom of theatre artists, freedom and right for creative works, and safeguard the rights of theatre artists and sustenance and promotion of the theatre without aligning to any political party or power. Let us nurture […]

[Chief Minister, C.V.Wigneswaran. (File)] COLOMBO: The Northern Province Chief Minister, C.V.Wigneswaran, has asked the Sri Lankan government to follow the Pinheiro Principles and other UN conventions on the restitution of properties of displaced Tamils. He was speaking at a function in Jaffna in which President Maithripala Sirisena gave back to civilians, 425 acres in Jaffna […]

[Protest in Sampur, file photo] The Sri Lankan government plans to return over 800 acres of land to original owners in the Eastern Province before the end of next month. The Resettlement Committee has received the cabinet approval to return 818 acres of land in the Sampur area back to its original owners. At a […]

[President distributing land deeds in Jaffna today] “Every measure will be taken to resolve issues faced by people irrespective of their race or religion under my rule,” President Maithripala Sirisena said. The President said that as a new Government many steps have already been taken to resolve problems faced by people, adding that the Government […]

by Ravi Jayawardena. A delegation from South Africa was in town recently for talks with certain parties, may be, to resume the stalled efforts for possible reconciliation in Sri Lanka. This team has been visiting for some time since the previous regime. The purpose of the recent visit was not clear but the indication is […]

21st March 2015. Statement to mark one year since the issuing of the gag order, travel restrictions and TID investigation against Sri Lankan human rights defender Ruki Fernando. The 21st March 2015 will mark one year since a court order restricting the freedom of expression on leading Sri Lankan human rights defender and writer, Ruki […]

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a three-member committee to examine the fullest extent of land, currently under the custody of Security Forces in the High Security Zone (HSZ) in the Northern Province, that could be released to the legitimate owners, Resettlement Minister D.M. Swaminathan revealed. Swaminathan said the committee comprises Resettlement Ministry Secretary, Ranjini […]

Friday Forum welcomes the new opportunities for good governance that dawned with the Sirisena administration, established in early January this year. An essential feature of a democratic society is that government share with the governed all information relevant to government except that which must be kept secret for reasons of security. Certain information pertaining to […]

(Media Release/NPC) One of the main promises in the government’s election manifesto was to effect far reaching constitutional change to ensure good governance. The government pledged to bring in constitutional amendments within 100 days to make the presidency more accountable to parliament and to the judiciary, and also to change the electoral system. The major […]

BY Shaahidah Riza. With talks of electoral reforms taking centre stage in the political arena and civil society platforms, Ceylon Today spoke to an expert on demarcating electoral boundaries, delimitation and its effect on minority communities. A professional Land and Building Surveyor and the former Joint Secretary of the All Ceylon Muslim League, M.I.M Mohideen, […]

COLOMBO (EconomyNext) – Sri Lanka has found three bank accounts in a Dubai bank belonging to a ‘leading family’ connected to the former regime which had two billion US dollars in hidden assets, cabinet spokesman Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. “We have learned that some of the money has been withdrawn after the election was lost,” […]

The government announced in Parliament yesterday that it had commenced an investigation into the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. Responding to a question raised by Kurunegala District UPFA MP Shantha Bandara, Chief Government Whip and Minister of Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs, Gayantha Karunatilake said that the government had taken steps to provide aid and […]

When I heard that the Northern Provincial Council had passed a resolution on Genocide, I put my “head in my hands” again- something I did often during the previous regime. I asked myself, have we gone back to the beginning after all this violence and heartbreak? Tamil politics led by lawyers ( I am a […]

The ruling Bharathiya Janatha Party ( BJP) and the Congress Party in India were shocked by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement to the Indian media that Sri Lanka would shoot Indian fishermen who poached into Sri Lankan waters. Ranil portrayed himself as a close friend of India in recent times and campaigned in favour of […]

Daya Ratnayake was Gota’s main man. Gota’s wish was Daya’s command. Daya really was just what Gota needed. There wasn’t a thing Daya wouldn’t do for him. He let out battalions of soldiers to attend Gota’s personal tasks, he cleaned his crime scenes, blurred the numbers in his corruption. If Gota wanted to borrow a […]

After 362 days in detention without charge Jeyakumary Balendaran was today released on 200,000 LKR bail (just over £2,200 or $3,300)/. She will still be subjected to some restrictions, including monthly police reporting and having her passport confiscated. Details on other restrictions may follow. Six other detainees, including Geethasudha: a pregnant woman arrested last year, […]