(After the shooting, Lankadeepa photo) At 11.30 am today (31 July 2015), shooting was reported at Bloemendal Road in front of the St. Benedict College grounds in Kotahena. Rajiv Seneviratne the Campaign Manager for the United National Party speaking to CMEV from Srikotha party headquarters confirmed that the incident had taken place while Mr. Ravi […]

( Army on the rampage in Rathupaswela) Investigations conducted by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission had revealed that the Sri Lanka Army was responsible for the shooting and assaults that took place while dispersing the crowd at Rathupaswela. The incidents occurred on August 1, 2013. Three persons including two students were shot and killed […]

Sri Lanka is preparing to issue a red notice through Interpol to arrest Mohamed Mubarak Mohamed Mujahid, A Sri Lankan living in Malaysia states police media spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekera. It has gone viral that this drug baron has had very close relations with former Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Police Narcotics Bureau has revealed that […]

(IDP family; file photo) Six years since the end of the armed conflict, 550 families remain displaced in Kilinochchi due to the military and police occupying their homes, said the district secretariat this week. In Karachi divisional secretariat 181 families are affecting, 27 families in Kandavalai divisional secretariat and 342 families in Poonahari divisional secretariat. […]

Tamil Guardian 30 July 2015 The chief minister of the Northern Province, C V Wigneswaran said he would remain neutral and non-partisan during next month’s general election, despite being elected to his seat by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). “I feel it would be wrong for me to be seen at any political meeting of […]

A network of Tamil Civil Society activists from Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged North-East on Tuesday vehemently condemned the alleged moves by the UN to help Colombo to set up a domestic accountability mechanism, completely ignoring the survivors of the brutal war. “We condemn and reject these moves hatched in secrecy to establish a domestic mechanism solely […]

“Former President will be questioned after election”; RADA has spent Rs. 2,431 m when it was operational. Former President and UPFA Kurunegala District candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa is likely to be questioned in connection with alleged financial misappropriations involving Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA), highly placed police sources told the Daily News yesterday. The agency, headed […]

The 112th All Breeds Championship dog show was held at Excel World last week by the Ceylon Kennel Club. Among its participants was the former President’s third son, Rohitha Rajapaksa. He was proudly exhibiting a Caucasian Shepherd, an expensive breed of dogs that is popular in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and North Caucasus area. If […]

A collective of over 110 civil society organisations, political parties and trade unions yesterday signed an agreement with the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) to defeat the reactionary forces striving to reverse the victories gained by the people in the aftermath of January 8 Presidential election. Here, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and National […]

by Rafi Schwartz . The island nation of Sri Lanka has just signed a major contract to become the first country on earth to enjoy complete, nationwide 3G internet coverage, and they’re doing it all with balloons. Yes, balloons. Specifically, 13 of them, floating high above the Indian Ocean, bobbing in the stratosphere, to ensure the entire country of over […]

In the early part of this decade the phrase “the Sri Lanka model” gained popularity among both Sri Lanka watchers and influential figures in the security forces of nefarious regimes. It doesn’t get thrown around as much these days, but nor has it entirely disappeared. Meanwhile the ideas that inspired the term have certainly not gone away. […]

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is committed to the rule of law and democracy. In keeping with its objectives, the BASL calls upon all persons to ensure a free and fair Parliamentary Election to be conducted on August 17, BASL said in a media statement. It said: “We call upon all citizens of […]

 The nascent rejuvenation of institutions since the change of government was demonstrated in an unexpected manner with the apprehension of a white van. These vehicles have obtained a notoriety that peaked during the last years of the war with the LTTE. The circumstances under which this particular white van came to light had all the […]

Several Sinhale flags were raised at the site of UPFA rally in Yatinuwara this afternoon, prior to the begining of the rally. A report by Lankadeepa said that its photo journalist had been ‘detained’ by a group claiming to be body guards of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. They had reportedly asked the journalist not to […]

I trust that most of you will no doubt hope, agree and commit to ensure, that the next parliamentary election in August 2015, will elect “fit and proper” leaders and legislators, committed to maintain the democratic and pluralistic values we have experienced in Sri Lanka since 8th January 2015. We should collectively and publicly emphasize, […]

With fresh parliamentary elections scheduled for August 17, Sri Lanka’s politics has once again entered a phase of some uncertainty. The fate of the ‘silent revolution’ of January 8, 2015, which saw the autocratic regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa being replaced, is in the balance. If Rajapaksa returns to power as Prime Minister with a parliamentary […]

  ishak The All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) led by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, which is now a part of the UNP led alliance, has decided to contest six districts under the UNP’s elephant symbol and one district separately under their own party symbol. Bathiudeen said that his party joined the UNP led good governance front […]

DSC_0020 The United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) released their manifestos this week, outlining their plans for the development of many sectors in the country, if they are elected to power. The UNFGG, in a programme to be implemented over a period of 60 months, pledged more jobs, […]

( Jayathilaka Bandara singing at the Commemoration) No true reconciliation without justice for victims, priest says. As Sri Lankan Tamils mark the anniversary of the “Black July” riots, which triggered a quarter-century of civil war, activists say the lines of division still run deep through the island nation. On July 23, 1983, fighters with the […]

The report on the 2012 Welikada prison riots has been handed over to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to launch fresh criminal investigations into the incident, Minister of Justice, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told the Sunday Observer. The Committee of Inquiry into the Prison Incident 2012 (CIPI), appointed by Rajapakshe in January this year, to inquire […]

The Tamil National Alliance – Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi . Parliamentary Election – 2015 Manifesto. At the time of independence from colonial rule in 1948, Ceylon was foisted with a unitary type constitution with simple majoritarian rule. In 1949 a sizeable number of Tamils of recent Indian origin were disenfranchised. State aided colonization of the […]

PRESS STATEMENT/25 July 2015 Global Tamil Forum (GTF) strongly urges the Tamil people and all citizens of Sri Lanka to do their historic duty at the upcoming Parliamentary elections by carefully voting for the parties and candidates with the main objective of consolidating the progressive changes and gains made during the recent past. The presidential […]

All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) together with other Muslim organisations yesterday strongly condemned those backing the ISIS or any other extremist organisation. “We do not condone any person or organisation that engages in extremism in any form,” ACJU President Mufthi M. I. M. Rizwie said. He said an awareness campaign would be launched today and […]

Sri Lanka is investigating a Chinese firm on suspicion of offering a bribe to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s failed presidential re-election campaign, a source close to the investigation said, weeks before he seeks to pull off a comeback in a general election. Ousted by erstwhile ally Maithripala Sirisena in January, Rajapaksa is now seeking to turn the […]

Police have initiated an investigation after live ammunition was recovered from a weapon of a cadet at the Gampaha Bandaranayake Vidyalaya today right before President Maithripala Sirisena was scheduled to be the Chief Guest at the school’s prize giving. The police media unit stated that the live bullet was discovered during the routine security check […]

Home Affairs Minister Joseph Michael Perera says that three soldiers arrested by the Mirihana police  on Monday evening with a firearm in their possession have confessed to police that the weapon had been given to them by former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. The Minister said so while addressing a press conference in Colombo yesterday. He […]

Media Release / 21st July 2015 The Friday Forum has consistently emphasised the importance of State institutions in ensuring citizens’ democratic rights and equality before the law. The Legal Aid Commission is one such institution – while not prominent in the public sphere – that performs the critical function of providing free legal services to […]

Sri Lanka says it suffers $75 million revenue loss due to EU fish exports ban. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has suffered a revenue loss of $75 million (68 million euros) because of a European Union ban on fish caught by Sri Lanka-flagged vessels since January, a government spokesman said Wednesday. Sri Lanka […]

One of the two Sri Lankan Tamils arrested last night along with communication gadgets and cyanide in the district has been identified as Krishnakumar, a close associate of slain LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran, police said today. Sleuths from Intelligence Bureau, Tamil Nadu ‘Q Branch’ Police, and Special Intelligence Unit were now interrogating the LTTE militant, […]

A collective of journalists and media activists yesterday called to the attention of all political parties contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections a series of recommendations for media reform and freedom of expression in Sri Lanka that included the adoption of the much-hyped Right to Information Bill and the repealing of the controversial Press Council Act. […]