While Sirisena and Rajapaksa may currently have the upper hand, the outcome of the power struggle is still undecided. Influential governments and international institutions should support those who are peacefully challenging Rajapaksa’s appointment from within the country by sending strong messages that the unconstitutional move will bring significant costs for Sirisena, Rajapaksa and the Sri […]

Image: Protest in Colombo, 30 Oct 2018. ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Attorney-General refusing to respond to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s query about the legality of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s sacking is seen by legal observers as the clearest sign that he does not consider it constitutional. Soon after President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Premier Wickremesinghe on Friday […]

“The mandate of the 2015 election in which Your Excellency was elected as President pledged to abolish the executive presidency and mitigate the balance of power between the Parliament and the Executive. However, it was shocking to see Your Excellency’s recent act as the Head of State, which has gone against this mandate and the […]

(Summary of statements made by (Dr) Jayampathy Wickramaratne, President’s Counsel and Member of Parliament at media briefings on the crisis triggered off by the purported unconstitutional removal of the Prime Minister) A constitutional crisis has been precipitated with President Sirisena purporting to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and purporting to appoint Mahinda Rajapakse MP as […]

Statement by the Spokesperson on the situation in Sri Lanka. Bruxelles, 29/10/2018 .   The sudden deterioration of the situation in Sri Lanka over the weekend puts the country at risk of instability and unrest. Along with other key international partners of Sri Lanka, the Ambassador of the European Union met today with the President […]

CPA Statement on the Current Constitutional Crisis. October 29th 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempt by President Maithripala Sirisena to purportedly remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from office and appoint Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister instead. We firmly believe that these acts […]

Avoidable crisis: on Sri Lanka’s political crisis, Editorial, The Hindu. OCTOBER 29, 2018. President Sirisena’s actions have put Sri Lankan democracy in peril. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to withdraw his faction from the ruling coalition and replace Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has plunged the country into a political […]

By an activist of the 2015 social media group. ‘So Sri Lanka,’ you are back to square one! In most countries when politicians fail, we see military coups; however in Sri Lanka, for the very first time, we are witnessing a presidential coup against the Legislature from a man who said to the people that […]

Image: President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe, and appointed ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s new prime minister.(AFP) China, long seen as a supporter of Rajapaksa, has already congratulated him on becoming prime minister But India, the European Union and the United States have all urged the president to abide by the constitution  COLOMBO: Sri Lanka […]

ECONOMYNEXT – The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has expressed concern over Sri Lanka’s political crisis and has asked for democracy and constitution to be respected, his spokesman said. “The Secretary-General is following the latest developments in Sri Lanka with great concern,”  Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement. “He calls […]

The arbitrary removal of a sitting Prime Minister in an unconstitutional manner will plunge the nation into a state of instability, fear and chaos, the Diocese of Colombo of the Church of Ceylon said. Issuing a statement over the current political developments, the church said it was of the view that there are no provisions […]

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) loyalists have taken control of most state media institutions after the swearing in of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister. Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), Independent Television Network (ITN) and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), were issuing directives while previously appointed staff members in senior positions kept away from work […]

The dismissal of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe following the withdrawal of the SLFP headed by President Maithripala Sirisena from the government alliance has plunged the country into a political crisis. The president has appointed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister.  The changing of governments and leaders is part and parcel of democracy.  […]

In a major development, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has requested President Maithripala Sirisena to protect privileges of UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe until the person with a Parliamentary majority establishes as the Prime Minister. The Speaker, writing a letter to the President, says the request presented by the UNP is fair. He emphasized that the President, as a […]

What has been set up is a continuation of the black decade that existed before 2015. This collective has been assembled for an ugly power gamble in the country. We call upon the masses to pay attention to build the broadest center to win their rights says the Leader of the JVP Anura Dissanayaka. Mr […]

Image: Mahinda Rajapaksa speaks at UN headquarters in New York, September 22, 2010.  © 2010 Reuters (New York) – Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision on October 26, 2018, to appoint former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister has raised fears about a return to past abusive practices in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The sudden announcement to […]

If just a quarter of the time reserved by the United National Front (UNF) for juggling with the 19th Amendment by mediocrities of the day professing to be constitutional experts, cosseting Colombo’s privileged inner circles and crooning over applause by the ‘international community’ had been spent in reaching out to Sri Lanka’s rural and provincial […]

  The Friday Forum condemns strongly, the manner in which President Maithripala Sirisena has attempted to sack the duly appointed Prime Minister of the country and install former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister. It is a matter of great concern for the nation that in doing so, he has failed to follow Constitutional […]

Delegation of the European Union issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission resident in Colombo. The Ambassador of the European Union as well as the Ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK High Commissioner are closely following the events as they are unfolding in Sri Lanka. […]

Soon after Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as Prime Minister by President Sirisena, pro Rajapksa gangs led by politicians invaded state media houses and changed the editorials, and literally took them over. SLB reproduces some of the tweets originated from Sri Lanka on how those gangs operated. Newly appointed Mahinda Rajapakshe faction takes control of ITN […]

There were three dramatic announcements on the evening of Friday 26th October 2018 from the Presidential Secretariat, which occurred in the following order: (a) the announcement of the withdrawal of the UPFA from the government; (b) the swearing-in of Mahinda Rajapaksa before President Maithripala Sirisena as the Prime Minister; and (c) the announcement that the […]

Image: State TV station SLRC taken over by pro Rajapaksa gang. State-owned Lake House newspapers Daily News, Dinamina and Silumina Editorials were taken over by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) unions last night, Daily FT learns.A highly-placed source linked to Lake House told Daily FT that page one of today’s Daily News had been changed […]

The torture-murder of dissident Saudi Arabian journalist-publisher Jamal Khashoggi on 2nd October, 2018, definitively portrays to the world the crudity and barbarity of the monarchist clique that holds sway over the country of Arabia, the birthplace of one of the world’s great religions. Whether Jamal Khashoggi has broken any law is immaterial. What is central […]

The JVP opposes the Prevention of Terrorism Act enacted in 1979 as well as the new Counter-Terrorism Bill and demands that the government abolishes the old Act and withdraws the new Bill that it intends introducing. This was stated by the Information Secretary of the JVP Vijitha Herath at a press conference held at the […]

In the media space, the state’s dual role as both an owner and a regulator means it is a player in the game as well as a referee and a rule-maker. With ownership of at least 30 media outlets, the state remains a numerically large player across print, television, radio and online media. The general […]

23 individuals own 44 of the most popular media outlets in the country. The owners of 2 outlets in the online medium remains unknown. The top 4 owners in the mediums of print, television and radio are mostly privately-owned companies. Additionally, audience concentration in each medium is vested in the hands of a few owners. […]

Oct 24, 2018 /ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s police on Wednesday arrested a senior navy officer for the abduction and murder of two Tamil businessmen underscoring the crimes committed under the cover of the island’s ethnic conflict. Lieutenant Commander K. A. Dayananda was taken before a magistrate and remanded in custody till Thursday over the double […]

Image: The harassment of Uthayarasa Shalin (left) recalls the worst period of persecution of journalists from Sri Lanka’s Tamil community (photos: Archives – Tamil Guardian). Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Sri Lankan authorities to end the harassment to which the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) is subjecting an independent Tamil journalist, Uthayarasa Shalin, on entirely […]

The allegations against the Hindu correspondent Meera Srinivasan by the government and its supporters regarding her reportage about a statement made at the cabinet meeting go beyond the right of reply and have become a threat violating the media freedom and freedom of expression, the Free Media Movement observes. The Hindu newspaper has published a news report, under […]

The “Unframed” Photo Exhibition organized throughout the country by ‘Vilkalpa’ Web Media was scheduled be held at Peradeniya University on 16-18 October 2018. Some organized groups have taken measures to prevent this exhibition being held. Free Media Movement condemns this vehemently. The photographs at this exhibition depict the current situation of people who have been […]