Features

Ben Doherty /May 14, 2011 BEATEN and with nowhere left to run, they received the text message just before 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning.It came, through an intermediary, from the Sri Lankan foreign secretary, apparent instructions for a surrender: ”Just walk across to the troops, slowly! With a white flag and comply with instructions […]

By Varind Set to form the next government in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa today said the Centre should declare Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse a “war criminal” for the “genocide” of Tamils in the island nation. India should come out with economic sanctions against Sri Lanka to compel the government to take steps […]

13 May 2011 00:48By Kelum Bandara The Japanese government has asked Sri Lanka to work towards national reconciliation and fulfil its accountability while maintaining close consultations with the United Nations, an official said yesterday. Responding to a Daily Mirror email request for comments on the UN Advisory Panel Report, Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Deputy Media […]

By Romesh Abeywickrema An international survey on global wellbeing in 2010 carried out by influential polling firm, Gallup has found that only 5% of Sri Lankans are “thriving.” And there are no prizes for guessing exactly who makes up this privileged 5% in Sri Lanka. The poll was published by Gallup on April 19.The Gallup […]

11 May 2011 The UNP has strongly criticized the government call to the people and to local government bodies to sign petitions and hold protests against the UN expert panel’s report on Sri Lanka. Speaking to the media today, party MP Lakshman Kiriella said it was a ridiculous that they have been asked to oppose a […]

Speaking at a gathering to collect signatures in blood to oppose UN panel report on Sri Lanka Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva blamed the chairperson of the panel of having a beast mother. here is the translation of relevant section:   ” I ask this Darusman , the executioner  whether he used his had or […]

 The Daily Mirror today runs a full page add attributed to the ‘International Accountability Network’. Thiran De Silva, Head Of IT, Sri Lanka Army along with the fact that this individual is currently a Web Consultant/Trainer to Sri Lanka Army. The ’International Accountability Network’ website is, politely put, a dysfunctional mess with content largely automatically […]

According to the US cables, presidential adviser Basil Rajapaksa “energetically refused” to give the ICRC permission, The Sri Lankan government rejected a surrender offer by Tamil Tiger rebels at the end of the war, reports released through the Wikileaks website say. They say that Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa dismissed US pressure to allow a mediated […]

The EU hopes that the Government of Sri Lanka will recognise the constructive objectives of the report, and encourages it to engage with the UNSG on its contents. 10 May 2011, 9:08 am Declaration by the High Representative, Catherine Ashton, on behalf of the European Union on the Report of the UN Secretary-General Panel of […]

Basil Rajapaksa said that according to the SL president there are no more High Security Zones but the entire island is a ‘peace zone.’ 09 May 2011, Sri Lanka President’s brother and SL Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa made an unannounced sudden visit to Jaffna Monday. Nothing will happen by some welcoming the UN panel […]

Ambassador spoke to Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa to request access for the ICRC to evacuate dead and wounded. Rajapaksa refused, contending the GSL could manage on its own. Ambassador spoke to Gothabaya Rajapaksa on the morning of May 17 to urge him to allow the ICRC into the conflict zone to mediate a surrender. Rajapaksa […]

9 May, 2011 The Uthayan newspaper runs a revealing story on its website which suggests that on 8th May, the campaign to collect a million signatures against the UN Panel’s report basically forced people to sign up to the campaign. Groundviews has already covered this bizarre, mindless campaign when it started in Colombo, before in […]

6 May 2011, 10:26 pmA Statement by the Executive Committee of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (1) Trade Unions may not have a long history but in the short history of their existence they have acquired an indelible presence in the affairs of nation states. Trade unions historically evolved as organizations to defend collectively […]

This behaviour, in a way, signifies the approach and attitude of the government in general. Following this general pattern, Minister came up with a big conspiracy theory linking the university teachers and their trade unions to imperialism and Publish Post Tamil diaspora 8 May 2011, /By Sumanasiri Liayanage Faced with the threat of trade union […]

08 May 2011 While building up democratic politics in the north and east is reiterated as a prerequisite for ‘reconciliation,’ the genocidal SL Army occupying Jaffna under the command of ‘Asian Nobel Peace Laureate’ Maj. Gen. Mahinda Hathurusinghe is engaged in intimidating politicians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the most favoured political formation in […]

08 May 2011, Leading Norwegian Lawyer on Human Rights, Harald Stabell, has filed a case under the Norwegian national law, against the Sri Lankan President and Commander-in-Chief of the SL armed forces, Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and former Sri Lanka Army commander Sarath Fonseka, now in Rajapaksa’s custody, and several […]

07 May 2011, The Maldivian foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem told journalists in Colombo that the UN report into human rights abuses in the closing days of Sri Lanka’s civil war is “singularly counterproductive,” reports Minivan News, an independent news service from Maldives, Saturday. Maldives is currently a member of the UN Human Rights Council. This […]

No action by Attorney Gen. to recover duesBy Chandani Kirinde The President’s Fund has been slow in reimbursing medical assistance to patients, even in instances where the directive to expedite such payments came from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Auditor General (AG) has revealed. “Despite the President’s orders to reimburse medical assistance amounting to over Rs […]

A priority for the visiting Indian delegation, the Sunday Times learns, is to urge the government to speedily address accountability and reconciliation issues raised in the UN Panel’s report By Political Editor A high powered Indian delegation will arrive in Colombo on Friday to discuss matters arising from the United Nations Advisory Panel’s report to […]

The European Parliament, which represents 27 countries, is to debate on Thursday what it calls violations of human rights and humanitarian laws in Sri Lanka. The “emergency debate” has been sought by 50 members of the Green Party after the release of the report of the three-member UN Advisory Panel to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. […]

By Kishali Pinto JayawardeneUnder creeping cover of the report of the Advisory Panel mandated by the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG), the Government of Sri Lanka appears to be leading the country even further down the precipitous slope of constitutional anarchy than it has gone so far. Unhappy comparisons to a rowdy nation. At one […]

The United States called on Sri Lanka Wednesday to bring to justice anyone responsible for war crimes committed as the island crushed a decades-long insurgency. US diplomat Robert Blake said Colombo should carry out its own investigation into allegations contained in a United Nations report of atrocities during the 2009 offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels. […]

May 3 2011 22:23 | Last year, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, commissioned a report into human rights violations in the closing months of the decades-long Sri Lankan civil war that ended in 2009. The report points to credible evidence of mass shelling of civilians and summary executions. It also concludes that Sri Lanka’s […]

07 May 2011Colombo, May 6, (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Hashan Tillakaratne on Friday demanded police protection before he shares information on alleged match-fixing with authorities. “As an eyewitness to match-fixing, I will reveal the names of those involved if my security is guaranteed,” Tillakaratne told reporters after the Criminal Investigations Department grilled […]

The ANC supports the recommendations of the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Panel of Experts that called for the establishment of an independent body to investigate all violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws committed in the conflict.  6 May 2011 The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, had appointed a Panel of Experts to […]

5, 2011, 9:51 pmBy Shamindra Ferdinando Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said, in an exclusive interview with The Island on Thursday (5), that Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake hadn’t come across any Tamil speaking civilians wanting to have Sri Lanka investigated for war crimes during his visit to former LTTE strongholds at Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi […]

by Easwaran Rutnam   Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya has rejected the ‘Darusman report’ compiled by the panel of experts appointed by UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon. He also said that a committee appointed by the Army is now working on a response to the report which was made public recently by the UN Chief. […]

International pressure should be brought on the Government of Sri Lanka to withdraw the entire Army from the North and the East. The people are so scared of the guns that women hysterically run away merely sighting a gun. There is absolutely no threat of the LTTE reviving. by V. Anandasangaree (May 06, Colombo, Sri […]

By Lakna Paranamanna More than 90 per cent of those in university administration countrywide have tendered their resignation letters to the authorities resulting in administrative functions of universities on the verge of a breaking down, Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) said yesterday. The FUTA said heads of departments, coordinators of units as well as […]

5 May 2011, 6:04 am An Interview with Nimalka Fernando published in the Sunday RAVAYA dated 24/4/2011 Q1:What are the issues contained in the report prepared by the expert panel appointed by the Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki- Moon? The main challenge before this committee was to arrive at an understanding regarding the […]