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Sri Lanka Brief. – Post Presidential Election Update No 03/16 December 2019. Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa presented a cabinet paper in the first week of December for the establishment of a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry (SPCOI), under the SPCOI Law (1978) to investigate government officials who had conducted ‘witch hunts’ […]

Gotabhaya Rajapaksha administration, having appeared as an interim government, has shared almost all the important institutions among the three Rajapaksha Brothers. There are 168 important institutions, 88 the highest number taken by prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksha, 39 the second highest by Chamal Rajapaksha and president Gotabhaya Rajapaksha has retain 31 for himself as the Minister […]

“The tragic paradox of the electoral route to authoritarianism is that democracy’s assassins use the very institutions of democracy – gradually, subtly, and even legally – to kill it.” -Stephen Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (How Democracies Die) “As if our democracy was nothing but a short-lived dream,” says Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa in The Edge of […]

Image: A journalist attached to the Lankadeepa newspaper and his family were attacked by a group of men. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday assured that media freedom will not be hindered in any form during his tenure, according to a statement from his office. Addressing heads of local media institutions, he said that […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s recently elected president Gotabaya Rajapaksa (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Newly-elected Sri Lankan president, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, has made several significant appointments of former military officers since the November 16 poll to bolster his already extensive powers and give greater control to the armed forces. One of the most important was his selection of retired […]

The CID yesterday informed Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne that there was no evidence to show any connection to an alleged abduction of the Swiss Embassy employee Garnier Banister Francis. The CID in its report said it was revealed from the statement given by Ms Francis to the CID that there had been no such […]

The normal operations of the office of the Consortium of Non-Governmental Organisations in Ampaa’rai district has been thoroughly disrupted by the frequent-inspections and questionings conducted by the ‘Terrorist’ Investigation Division (TID) of occupying Colombo, the representatives of the member organisations in the district told TamilNet on Wednesday. The TID was questioning particularly about the activities […]

Image; Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma. Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayarathne has asked the Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the victim of the Swiss Embassy case, to provide the CID with material where he was verbally attacked for appearing for her. Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma, who appeared on behalf of the victim, Ganiya Banister Francis, complained that he […]

Image: Ajith Prasanna, a retired Army officer now practising as a lawyer, has specifically named Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne, Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake, Udesh Ranathunga and the Mt Lavinia magistrate Lochana Abeywickrema as being politically influenced. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is condemning “statements made with reference to concluded cases, pending litigation, the […]

Fall Armyworm larva feeding and damaging maize plant. Credit: FAO. By Rémi Nono.  A new USD 500 million initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is leading the way. ROME, Dec 11 2019 (IPS) – Dealing with transboundary pests is tricky at the best of times. Standards, practices, capacity levels and engagement […]

The task of Buddhist monks is to uplift the minds of their followers and not to change governments (Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thera)   President GR should be ever indebted to the Sangha, because without its tireless canvassing he would not have achieved what he did on 16 November. Given the volatile ethno-religious cleavages and unpredictably shifting […]

Former Editor of the Digital and New Media Unit of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. (Lake House) and founder of popular social media page ‘Madyawediya’ Madhuka Thaksala Fernando has been attacked and issued death threats by the President of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) trade union of Lake House and a number of […]

Image: Pro Rajapaksa media has been publishing photos from different angles trying to capture the alleged victim. Aftermath and reportage of incident involving alleged abduction of Swiss Embassy employee. 11 December 2019, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned with recent events in the aftermath of the incident in which an […]

The mainstream media coverage of the the Swiss Embassy employee who was allegedly kidnapped and later released has come under criticism for unethical behavior. Many pro government media has published the victims photograph without her consent. She appeared before the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for the 3rd day today reports Colombo Gazette. Even before […]

Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayarathne yesterday extended the travel ban imposed on Swiss Embassy employee Garliar Barister Francis, who was allegedly threatened and kidnapped by a group of unidentified men, from leaving the country till December 12. When the case was taken up before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court, the Magistrate also issued an order […]

Washington, D.C. – On December 9, 2019, Freedom Now and Proskauer Rose LLP filed a petition with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Sri Lankan author Shakthika Sathkumara. Freedom Now and Proskauer argue that Sri Lanka’s four month detention of Sathkumara and the ongoing legal proceedings against him violate the government’s obligations […]

The Free Media Movement strongly condemns the continuous threats, harassment and violence the journalists have been subjected over the past few days due to their profession. The latest addition to this sequence of events is the assault targeting the Aluthgama provincial journalist Thusitha Kumara de Silva and his wife. According to him, the STF has […]

Aluthgama police were yet to arrest the suspects identified in connection with the assault of Daily Mirror /Lankadeepa Aluthgama Correspondent Thusitha Kumara de Silva and his wife on Friday night over an alleged exposure of an artificial toddy mafia in the Kalutara District. A large number of Kalutara District journalists representing mainstream print and electronic […]

The local Swiss embassy official at the heart of the diplomatic debacle between Sri Lanka and Switzerland has arrived before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police this evening, reports say. According to sources, the employee—who was accompanied by two lawyers and two other embassy representatives—was at the CID for nearly five hours during […]

A Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry (SPCoI), which has the power to recommend punishment, is to be established shortly to investigate those government officials who conducted investigations into the conduct of other public officials for Rajapaksa era crimes and corruptions during the last government. Information and Communication Technology State Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena has told […]

Image: File photo of a Sri Lanka solider.  Already, another arm of the Police Department, the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the premier intelligence arm of the country, has seen its first change. Moved out is Director Nilantha Jayawardena who stands accused of not informing those concerned about the April 21 attacks. He has been transferred […]

The presenting of a Cabinet Paper by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this week, proposing the establishment of a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry (SPCOI), under the SPCOI Law (1978) to investigate government officials who had conducted ‘witch hunts’ of other public officials during the time of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition Government as well as ‘third parties’ […]

Defence Ministry Secretary Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) Kamal Gunaratne assumed duties as the Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) on 06th December reports Colombo media. “We now have a good leadership under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Singaporean leaders always remind their people to serve more than now. There, in big digital screens they […]

A Sri Lankan brigadier who motioned death threats to Tamil protestors in London last year has been found guilty by a British court of violating the Public Order Act, after a protracted legal battle. Westminster Magistrate’s Court upheld a previous ruling that Sri Lanka’s Brigadier Priyanka Fernando “is  not  protected  by  diplomatic  immunity”, despite pleas […]

Image: First executive president of Sri Lanka J.R. Jyawardena too transferred senior CID officers for political reasons. I write this piece in great sadness. But I must because if I do not, I feel I would failing in my duty as an former policeman. Independence of the Police I am sad for the independence of […]

Leader of the Tamil National Alliance R.Sampanthan has told Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz that although the TNA is prepared to work with the economic development initiatives of the government which are beneficial to the people it  will not surrender the interest and the rights of our people at any point. He has further said that […]

Johannesburg, South Africa: Eleven Sri Lankans who sued Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the United States for damages for torture have made the strategic decision to withdraw their case while Mr. Rajapaksa is President to prevent him from asserting immunity from prosecution. This move protects the victims’ right to refile their case after he leaves office. “Gotabaya […]

Image: Swiss Embassy, Colombo (Swissinfo) Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Chief Dr. Deepika Udagama yesterday (03) said investigators should be given to access to the local employee of Switzerland Embassy allegedly abducted close to the diplomatic mission situated on the R.G. Senanayake Mawatha (formerly Gregory’s Road), molested and threatened by a group of […]

Image:Lawyer Marcel Bosonet (in tie) surrounded by supporters of the accused at the Federal Criminal Court in June 2018. (© Ti-press) The Swiss Federal Court has ruled that the Tamil Tigers are not a criminal organisation and has acquitted 12 people of charges filed by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). In its indictment, the OAG […]

Pointing out the disasters if a dictator comes to power in a third world country what happens to the independent commissions, has proven with the recommendations of the national police commission, the Assistant Superintendent of Police B.S, Tissera who is considered as the third higher ranking officer of the CID has been transferred to the […]