News

A news story that said that “CCD pressured me to frame Shani Abeysekara – arrested fmr CID officer tells Magistrate”  appeared on Daily Mirror newspaper on 04 th August was deleted within hours.Senior Journalist Ranga Jayasuriya tweeted at 1.55PM Sri Lanka time thus: Dauly Mirror has first published at 10.34 AM a news story on […]

The undersigned civil society organisations congratulate and welcome Irene Khan to her new role as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. We take this opportunity to express our strong support for the vital work of the mandate. We stand ready to support the new mandate […]

Image: Agrarian distress: Farmers in Sri Lanka’s Polonnaruwa district are trying to make their voices heard.   | Photo Credit: Meera Srinivasan Disillusioned farmers in Polonnaruwa district ask why they must vote when their suffering persists amid unkept electoral promises. A week ahead of Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections R.A. Karunavathi, a farmer in Chandana Pokuna village in Polonnaruwa, […]

Image Courtesy fo  IANS. When globalisation was the dominant concept for looking at the world, pandemics were discussed as a global security issue. The objective was to see how pandemics have an impact on global security, and how to prepare for them. Now that one is happening, it is interesting to look at the response. […]

Sri Lanka today is facing an unprecedented political, economic and social crisis; as a nation we are gazing into the abyss at the edge of a precipice. This is truly an existentialist moment for all Sri Lankans; each individual must make meaningful choices and the choices they make will define Sri Lanka’s future for generations […]

On the eve of an election, what might a political party wish for? A strong brand, an effective party machine, plenty of money, a sympathetic press and a charismatic leader? How about a rival that is tired and discredited after a lacklustre term in office, and has split into factions that hurl more mud at […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa wearing a protective mask gestures at his party candidates as he arrives at a campaign rally ahead of country’s parliamentary election, in Homagama, Sri Lanka, July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte. Sri Lanka’s upcoming parliamentary elections will serve as an indicator of the island’s future political direction, potential executive […]

Atheist, rationalist and social media activist Indika Rathnayake has been questioned by Organized Crimes Prevention Division (OCPD) for three hours today (29 July 2020). He has been questioned by Police consequent to a hate complaint lodged by a chief monk affiliated to the Buddhist extremist and racist organization, Buddhist Information Center(BIC). Police had questioned Rathnayake […]

“Have you learned nothing from history?” – Freud (The Future of an Illusion) This day, 27 years ago, Sri Lanka was burning. During Black July, Sinhala mobs murdered not just Tamil men, women and children; they also killed prospects of peace and stability. They torched not just Tamil property, but also to prospects of economic […]

Lawyers, Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Arrested, Threatened, Intimidated 29 July 2020: The Sri Lankan government should end the targeted arrests, intimidation and threats against the lives and physical security of lawyers, activists, human rights defenders and journalists, 10 international human rights organizations said today. A campaign of fear has intensified since the 2019 presidential […]

Alfred Dundas Taylor, a civil architect to the Admiralty in the UK, Head of the Marine Survey Department was the first to have proposed the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, in 1860. This canal cut across the Hindu God Rama’s bridge, also known as Ram-Setu. According to Hindu mythology, the bridge was built by Lord Rama, connecting the […]

This report provides an account of the incidence of hate speech and divisive language observed by the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) in the campaign for the Parliamentary General Election 2020. It details notable incidents of hate speech and divisive language, and trends in them throughout the campaign period. It also highlights a public […]

The Registrar General’s Department, established by the colonial government in 1864, maintains a low profile. Unusually, it found itself in some controversy in recent days. It announced changes in the format of birth certificates and within days walked them back when Colombo District candidate Wimal Weerawansa vehemently objected to the removal of race and religion […]

War is a continuation of politics by other means’ is a saying of a Prussian general, Karl Von Clausewitz around two centuries ago. In recent times in this country, the use of this Prussian military and political wisdom is observed in the reverse. Politics, it appears, continues to be subject in multiple ways from the […]

Devotees will be required to present proof of identity to enter the Nallur Kandasamy temple in Jaffna, the Sri Lankan police announced as the temple’s annual festival – thiruvizha – begins. “All arrangements for the festival have been completed. All devotees visiting the temple will only be authorised to enter the temple by showing a piece of […]

ECONOMYNEXT – Since Sri Lanka produced the first-ever woman Prime Minister of the world in 1960 with Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s landslide victory, and one the world’s first women Presidents representation in Sri Lankan politics has taken a hit, to say the least. With nominations being concluded for the upcoming parliamentary election, questions have been raised as […]

Image: Due to the increased involvement of the Ministry of Defence in the prison system, the approach to ‘reform’ is rooted in a military mindset and ethos –  by Ruwan Walpola. The dysfunctional prison system discussed in the preceding section requires to be fundamentally changed. Yet, the root causes of the dysfunctionality are not being […]

File photo of Civil Defence Force, Sri Lanka. During the fourth meeting held bu the president Rajapaksa with the Buddhist Advisory Council held at the Presidential Secretariat today (24) the possibility of obtaining the services of the Civil Defence Force in the implementation of programme of conserving archaeological sites and antiquities was also explored, says […]

Image from the protests against October 2018 constitutional coup in, Sri Lanka. Media Release – Appeal – Sri Lanka General Elections 2020. For any country to be truly successful it must adopt a system of governance that generates sustainable well-being for all. In Sri Lanka, our political landscape has got to change in such a […]

The Court of Appeal today overturned a life sentence handed in to a former LTTE cadre turned university lecturer for his alleged role in forced- conscription of a girl to the organization and ordered to release him after the Attorney General (AG) department sought a fresh probe. An appeal against the life sentence imposed by […]

Image courtesy Daily FT/ by Ruwan Walpola. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa placed ‘prison reform’ on the government’s public policy agenda following an unannounced visit to the Welikada prison complex in February 2020. While this might appear progressive, particularly given the dysfunctional prison system in Sri Lanka, the government’s understanding of prison ‘reform’ and the strategies the […]

Image: Using the indicator explained in the report, the above COVID-19 Risk Map in election campaigns has been developed.  Based on the information received by CMEV from field observers as of July 16, 2020, a number of indicators were used to measure party and candidate compliance with the COVID-19 election guidelines. According to these observations, […]

If Tamils demanded devolution then “a river of blood will flow in the North and East,” warned a group of extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks as they reacted to the release of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) manifesto. “Devolution means secession,” said the monks, in remarks reported by Kalaikathir. “It means a separate state. A solution […]

The 18  investigations that have been commenced against the Petitioner [SSP Sharni Abeysekara]  to find materials to justify the transfer and the interdiction of the Petitioner cannot be sustained against the Petitioner whereas the said complaints are based on the fabricated and/or false complaint tainted with malice, argues the Fundamental Rights petition filed by SSP […]

In the last few months, human rights lawyers and journalists have faced arrests, threats and harassment. A report by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association published in May 2020 shows that civil society faced challenges to register and operate while there have been various barriers to protests. […]

We have the Police to uphold law and order, and to support democratic institutions. Unfortunately, there are dangerous signs that they, the Police, are a tool in the hands of the Government in power. It is as sad an indictment as it is ominous to our democracy. There is ample evidence that criminal activity by those […]

TNA releases 12-point election manifesto Says constitutional arrangement on federal model meets legitimate aspirations of Tamil people Advocates power-sharing as they existed earlier in a unit of merged North and East Will continue to advocate for an independent international mechanism for justice and accountability Party will continue to challenge rapid remilitarisation of democratic space The […]

Image: President Rajapaksa campaigning today (19) and no social distancing or face masks among the participants. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV)  says that it “is alarmed by these changes given that the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country appears to be worsening. Relaxing physical campaigning restrictions is likely to expose more voters to […]

Image courtesy of NYT: GR surrounded by military & political bodyguards  (Eranga Jayawardena/AFP) Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been winner on four counts out of five in the public relations domain. He has come off champ in the fight against Corona, he is applauded for cracking drug trafficking and clobbering cartels, people approve of his intervention to […]

A petition challenging the Presidential pardon granted to an Army officer convicted for the massacre in Mirusuvil, has been fixed for support on 24 September 2020. The soldier was sentenced to death in June 2015 for the murder of eight Tamil civilians in 2000 in Mirusuvil but was granted a presidential pardon this year. A former member […]