Several wickedly problematic tragi-comedies are playing on Sri Lanka’s political stage right now, none of which are to the benefit of the country. Why was no deterrent action taken earlier? The spectacle of mad monks running amok in the Homagama Magistrate’s Court abusing the magistrate, the lawyers and the wife of disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda […]

Any journalist worth his salt knows only too well, the media is the darling of politicians only when they are out of power. When in power, unless one is absolutely willing to toe their line, journalists soon becomefoes from being friends. Hence, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe‘s outburst against journalists and several media organisations is not […]

A British TV channel that was mired in controversy over reporting the war in the past was given clearance by the Government to visit Sri Lanka. A Channel 4 television crew from London was in Colombo and travelled to Jaffna. This was to report on the post-war situation. A report the channel aired thereafter included […]

A recent interview with President Sirisena, conducted with the BBC’s Azzam Ameen, is recommended viewing for those who want to assess contemporary politics and the trajectory of governance over 2016 and beyond. Over Twitter, I averred that while some of the President’s answers were positively disturbing, the opportunity given to grill him, and the fact […]

UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon wants international participation in the judicial mechanism when investigating the war in Sri Lanka. Ban ki-moon’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that the Secretary‑General understands that the discussions in Sri Lanka on the transitional justice mechanism, including the judicial component, are ongoing. “Broad‑based national consultations are about to kick off, and they will help […]

Just a little over a year ago, voters in Sri Lanka rallied to elect a new president, with high hopes that he would usher in a new era of government accountability and bring healing to a country fractured by the brutal civil war that ended in 2009. President Maithripala Sirisena has taken bold steps to […]

Niranjani Roland, Colombo, Sri Lanka Six year ago, Sri Lankan political cartoonist and columnist Prageeth Ekneligoda left his office and was never seen again. Since then his family have never stopped searching for the truth behind his disappearance. “I started to demand justice for my father when I was age 14,” says Ekneligoda’s eldest son […]

When journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda went missing, police told wife Sandhya ‘getting abducted was fashionable’ and he would soon return. More than 90 court appearances and a change in government later, she is still searching   Sandhya Eknaligoda stands before an image of her husband, missing Sri Lankan cartoonist and journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda in 2012. Photograph: […]

Former Army Chief, Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka will be sworn in as a Member of Parliament on 9 February, on the United National Party list, Daily FT learns from authoritative Government sources. Fonseka will take the UNP’s national list parliamentary seat made vacant by the sudden demise of Minister M. K. D. S. Gunewardane earlier […]

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday, in Parliament, lashed out at the media, accusing them of promoting racism. “You don’t talk big because your hands are not clean. What are all doing with regard to racism? I mean all newspapers. I am asking the electronic and print media. What do you have to say about the incident at […]

( Military base in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka) Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya yesterday ordered the CID to launch a probe into the discovery of skeletal remains in the underground prison named ‘Gunside’ located within the Ocean Science Faculty premises of the Naval Command in Trincomalee, during the visit there of an overseas monitoring group that […]

The Sri Lankan government on Thursday reiterated that a domestic probe into alleged war crimes committed in the island nation will meet international standards. Government spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne told reporters in a media briefing here that the local mechanism would be set up later this month and foreign assistance would be sought only if required. […]

According to information revealed in investigations carried out the CID suspect that journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda had been murdered in Akkaraipattu jungles or in the ocean after he was abducted and extensive investigations are being carried out to determine exactly the place where he was murdered. However, important evidence that Mr. Eknaligoda was blindfolded and taken […]

Sri Lanka state controlled Daily News, the flagship newspaper of the state owned  Lake House  has published a news story on HIV prevalence in a Town called Wariyaola  which says that  “the revealing attire by certain females also tempts males to engage in sexual activities promoting the spread of STDs.”  Further more it quotes a […]

( Vanni, the war zone April 2009) The resolution co-sponsored by our government at the United Nations Human Rights Council is a mutual agreement entered into by Sri Lanka, as a sovereign member state of the UN, which recognises our responsibility to embark on a process of reconciliation among communities that will foster peace and […]

( Key eye witness Sumith Prasanna’s wife) A Sri Lankan court today ordered the immediate arrest of officers and constables involved in the storming of a party and causing a death that triggered widespread anger against the police as well as the government. Embilipitiya magistrate Prasanna Fernando ordered the arrest of 22 police following an […]

He’s back. After a year in the shadows, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the controversial monk who leads the radical Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena, is front and centre of the news cycle again. He is storming into courtrooms, insulting Government lawyers and threatening, allegedly in foul language, the woman who has been searching for her missing […]

President Sirirsena’s  negative foreign participation in the accountability process has been condemned by  a statement drafted by Northern civil society and endorsed by number of organisations and individuals. Only few Sinhalese activists have  endorsed the statement, notably among them are Ruki Fernando and Herman Kumara and Brito Fernando. SLB publishes the full statement below: 28th […]

‘Speculation’ is rife that Lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa would be summoned before a military court in connection with the abuse of his position in violation of the Navy Act, authoritative defence sources said. The Navy conducted a full scale investigation into the charges leveled against Rajapaksa and the […]

Busy as it is dealing with various political conundrums that crop up from time to time, the government this week encountered yet another unexpected hurdle- in the form of Ven Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera and his organisation, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). The rabble rousing monk made an unexpected appearance at the on-going hearings at […]

(John Snow in Vanni) by Channel 4 News. Our return to Sri Lanka’s killing fields has managed to coincide with two major developments – the first is the President’s announcement that there will be no “international component” in any “investigation” of the civil war, or the alleged war crimes committed therein, which seem to be […]

One year after the democratic changes our country witnessed, which also rekindled efforts towards reconciliation, the Friday Forum welcomes the process initiated on 9 January 2016 on constitutional reform, a response to critical political problems. While discussions on a political solution have focused on devolution and power sharing with the provinces, our statement puts forward […]

( Press release/ Amnesty International) Ten years ago, Tamil journalist Subramaniyam Sugitharajah, took photos of the bodies of five Tamil students who were murdered by the Sri Lankan army on 2 January 2006, in Trincomalee.1 The photos, which were published in his newspaper Sudar Oli, suggested that the students had been killed by gunshot wounds […]

Now it has come to light that police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara lied to public to cover police brutality in Embilipitiya murder case. Police has allegedly thrown a Embilipitiya resident Sumith Priyanatha out of a window causing his death. The death  had triggered massive  protests  at the Embilipitya Town. The incident took place on night of […]

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan Missing Persons’ Commission headed by retired Justice Maxwell Paranagama, has requested the government to extend its term by a year from February 15, 2016 as it still has thousands of cases to investigate. Justice Paranagama told Express on Tuesday, that out of the 14,000-odd representations from civilians before it, interviews have […]

Jayampathy Wickramaratne, 67, is one of the most keenly watched persons in Sri Lanka at the moment. He chairs the committee appointed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to provide technical support to the Constitution-making process currently underway. A constitutional expert and Member of Parliament, he had served as a member of the team that drafted […]

( Justice for Prageeth Eknaligoda has been one of the strongest human rights campaign in Sri Lanka) Press release,  Free Media Movement – Sri Lanka. The Free Media Movement condemns in strongest terms the unruly behavior of few extremist Buddhist Monks who tried to disrupt the court hearing of the journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda disappearance case. […]

Pandemonium reigned at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court premises with three Buddhist monks threatening to self-immolate in protest against the arrest of Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera. Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera arrested on the charges of contempt of court, obstructing Court proceedings and intimidating a public servant was yesterday ordered […]

( Good old days of Rajapaksa’s are coming to an end) The Navy will take action against Lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapaksa based on the advise of the President’s office in the wake of the recommendations made by the tripartite committee, Chief Government Whip Gayantha Karunatilleke told Parliament today. He said this while responding to a question […]

A probe on a few incidents has become essential in order to prevent the world from naming the Sri Lankan security forces as an unlawful force, President Maithripala Sirisena said today. “Such a probe on a few incidents is essential to save our security forces from being outlawed by the world,” President Sirisena said during […]