( A film poster) President Maithripala Sirisena has directed the Sri Lanka Army to release 701.5 acres of land in two DS Divisions in the Jaffna district on a request made by Prisons Reforms, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Minister D.M. Swaminathan. According to Prisons Reforms, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Secretary V. Sivagnanasothy, 468.5 acres of land in […]

(Media release by National Peace Council) The government has declared its intention of prioritizing constitutional reform in the New Year.  Parliament is to be converted into a Constituent Assembly (parliamentary committee) that will deliberate on issues pertaining to a new constitution.  The government has also appointed a 24 member committee drawn from political and civil […]

( The Garbage mountain in a highly residential area in Meethotamulla) Colombo Additional Magistrate Augusta Atapattu today criticised the Wellampitiya Police and remanded the Kolonnawa UC Chairman till January 4 on charges of assaulting the participants of a peaceful picket against the garbage dumping in Kolonnawa by the Colombo Municipality. Counsel Gunaratna Wanninayake appearing with […]

Today this column records the true story of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent photograph released to the Facebook by his son Namal in which Mahinda was seen standing on his head. Namal uploaded this photograph to show that his 70-year-old father was still fit as a fiddle. On the contrary, the common man in society viewed it […]

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) recently arrested another Army Officer attached to the State Intelligence Service in connection with the abduction and murder of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda. CID sources said he is a member of the gang who abducted Eknaligoda in 2010. According to sources Abeyratne was a Sergeant during the period when Eknaligoda was […]

Rape case judgement & reflections on solidarity actions and struggles for justice in Sri Lanka, By Ruki Fernando. On 28th December 2015, the Nuwara Eliya High Court delivered a historic judgment: two men were each sentenced to 23 years rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay Rs. 200,000 in compensation after being convicted for the abduction […]

– See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/101109/the-enrique-sensation-president-s-comment-makes-world-headlines#sthash.t6yJjzL2.dpuf

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) tothe head of a Local Government authority, on a group of protesters, who were protesting against the garbage dump at Kolonnawa on Sunday (27) night and demanded that the assailants be immediately apprehended and dealt with according to law, irrespective of their status A statement issued by the […]

by Easwaran Rutnam. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has urged the government to review all cases of detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) Moves to repeal draconian anti-terrorism laws are gathering pace as Sri Lanka prepares to provide an update to the UN Human Rights Council on the […]

The Diplomat/By Taylor Dibbert. Several weeks ago, Chandrika Kumaratunga announced that Sri Lanka would set up a special court to deal with alleged wartime abuses. Kumaratunga is the chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR); she served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994-2005. The news about a special court came as […]

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with approval of the Cabinet, has appointed a 24-member committee comprising representatives from political and civil society to obtain views on constitutional reforms from the public.RanilWikremesinghe2-IN The Committee is headed by Attorney-at-Law Lal  Wijenaike and comprises Faizer Musthapha PC, Prof. Gamini Samaranayake, Dr. Navaratna Bandara, Prof. M.L.A. Cader, N. Selvakumaran, S. […]

 We have been railroaded into living in a consumer society. This is not a good place for the citizens of a nation but it is where we are. Time was when most of what we wanted we produced ourselves or bartered for. We were piecewise content and group-wise satisfied. Then came this folderol about growth […]

Recent statistics issued by the Jaffna District Secretariat shows that there is a shortage of specialists and doctors in hospitals in the entire Jaffna Peninsula. Apparently the hospitals need 104 specialists and 890 doctors. However, there are only 76 specialists and 388 doctors to serve at the hospitals in the Jaffna District. Proposals and the […]

By B. Nimal Veerasingham. Growing up barley a few hundred yards away from the meandering and mesmerizing Batticaloa lagoon had its magical moments. The swilling frothy waves dancing in the sun rays, and gently touching the sandy shores were a sight that never fades from memory. The mangroves, prawns, jelly fish, green algae, and the […]

by Emily Bicks Stemming from the wild Enrique Iglesias concert gave on Dec. 20, in Sri Lanka, the country’s President, Maithripala Sirisena, is moving to ban artists from performing in his land that causes audiences to act rowdy. The President says, “Hereafter, approval would not be granted for such events. In such events which are […]

A state intelligence arm has warned the Government over what it fears is the radicalisation of Muslim groups turning out to be supporters of the ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The concerns are reflected in a top secret report sent to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The report […]

By S. Rubatheesan. Meant to be a temporary stop, Keppapilavu feels like the end of the line. Three years after Thiruchelvan Ketheeswaran arrived in Keppapilavu village in Mullaitivu to start a new life for his family, his hopes are crumbling. image1-(4) Ketheeswaran was among the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) resettled in a brand-new […]

The Government will next month start gathering public opinion through a dedicated website on issues related to reconciliation and “mechanisms” to be set up in this regard. It will be the first phase of the new administration’s promised truth, justice, reconciliation and reparations effort. “Anybody will have the freedom to write in,” said Foreign Ministry […]

By Gagani Weerakoon. A Cabinet Paper forwarded by Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake, seeking Cabinet approval to compensate an individual, paying Rs 300 million from government coffers was put on hold by President Maithripala Sirisena during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (23). This Cabinet Paper which sought paying Rs 300 million to Professional Consultant Nihal […]

A senior officer of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told Ceylon Today that a group of high ranking officials of the Police Department as well as a group of politicians are trying to scuttle the investigations into the killing of popular ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen. A senior police officer said that the reason for the obstructions […]

Al  Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers and State Ministers will be strictly warned by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe not to violate collective cabinet responsibility and responsibility to the Government of Unity in 2016 which action would face serious consequences, authoritative sources told Nation. They said the three categories of ministers are to […]

( a campaign against investigate military killings, led by Namal Rajapaksa) ‘Lawyers Collective’ views with deep concern the attempt being made to intimidate, by public pronouncements, the police officers conducting investigations into the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. Previous government did not allow any investigation into the abduction of any journalists and this investigation commenced […]

Main Opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader R. Sampanthan had been appointed as the Co-Chairman of the Trincomalee District Coordination Committee (DCC), TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran today said. He said TNA members had been appointed to the Coordination Committees at eight districts in total. MP Kavindran Kodeeswaran had been appointed as the Co-Chair to the […]

ISLANDED By Sujit Sivasundaram (A review by Radhika Coomaraswamy) 17th December 2015 Let me say that ISLANDED by Sujit Sivasunderam is a seminal work. It is an original interpretation of historical fact, backed by detailed evidence and perceptive insights. It also questions received wisdom, entrenched narratives and the way we think about our country and […]

Abduction and alleged assault of a youth by Member of Parliament Hurinika Premachandra’s body guards, using one of her security vehicles and MP’s justification of abduction shows the how difficult to change the authoritative political culture of the country, says political opinion makers. Mrs. Premachandra herself is a victim to political violence in Sri Lanka. […]

Sri Lankan’s death sentence for adultery reduced to three years in jail on appeal. Saudi authorities have reduced a Sri Lankan woman’s sentence for adultery from death by stoning to a three-year jail term after an appeal, Colombo’s foreign ministry has said. The woman, 45, who is married and had worked as a domestic helper […]

ECONOMYNEXT – The Sri Lankan rupee is expected to weaken further next year, possibly to the 148-160 rupee to the US dollar level if monetary policy is not tightened, private sector economists have forecast. The rupee, which has depreciated sharply this year, down 8.7 percent against the US dollar, hit a record low of 143.80 […]

Dec 23, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s labour force is about 9.0 million in the Third quarter of 2015, of which 64.5 percent are males and 35.5 percent are females, the Department of Census and Statistics said. The Department has released employment, unemployment and labour force statistics based on a sample of about 6250 housing […]

Four more Army intelligence personnel, including a female, are to be summoned to the CID for questioning in connection with the enforced disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. They have been informed through the Army headquarters, a top CID official told Sri Lanka Mirror. Along with the female soldier, her husband, also a member of the […]

e to hope that the country would be somewhere close to where the Finance Minister promises to take it come the 1st of January 2017. There is displeasure in some circles about perceived slowness in bringing to book people who have perpetrated financial fraud. It was expected that a lot of high ranking persons in […]