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Thoroughly intimidated and prevented from making their campaign for the civic elections scheduled for next week, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leaders on Tuesday said that genuine elections are not possible under the current circumstances. Colombo is resolved to fake the elections by hook or by crook and ‘prove’ to the outside world that it […]

Occupying Sri Lanka Navy and the EPDP collaborating with Rajapaksa regime have sealed off the islands sector of the Jaffna Peninsula for the civic elections scheduled to 23rd of this month, by ordering the TNA candidates not to leave the islands and by preventing TNA campaigners coming into the islands sector from outside. In the […]

Sri Lanka police in Jaffna refuses permission to civic election candidates of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to conduct public meetings. Instead, the ‘advise’ the candidates to engage in door-to-door campaign. But in the meantime, presidential sibling Basil Rajapaksa and a team of 13 SL ministers are camping in Jaffna to conduct Colombo’s campaign in […]

The General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva has complained to the Commissioner of Elections again regarding the endless obstruction that are being carried out against political activities of the party in the North. The officers of the security services had pledged that they would take measures to stop all obstructions for political activities in […]

Senior Minister Dew Gunasekera warns that Sri Lanka could face an explosive situation similar to that causing chaos in the Arab World unless swift action is taken to tackle acute unemployment.The General Secretary of the Communist Party and National List MP says demand for democracy and struggle against authoritarianism rule emerged from economic factors. The […]

A 14-year-old student of Yarltan College in Kaarainakar, Jaffna, Thiruchelvan Kajeethan, who was enticed by the EPDP and taken to Colombo to participate in the anti-UN panel report demonstration that took place on May Day, is so far missing. The parents of the grade-6 student, disappointed in getting a reply from the EPDP have approached […]

by D.B.S. JeyarajThe president will spend at least 3 days in Kilinochchi & Jaffna districts this week & invigorate the United Peoples Freedom Alliance campaignPresident wants to uplift “socially” underprivileged sections of Tamil society. They will be given priority in land,housing & job allocations Elections in the North will be held to 16 local authorities […]

By Olindhi JayasundereIn a shocking exposure it has been found that one in every four women in the country are being subjected to harassment daily when using public transport.Deputy Transport Minister Rohana Dissanayake yesterday said these figures were found during a research conducted recently. The Minister said a large number of women were being subjected […]

”So much is spoken about this speech and much was written about it. This article attempts briefly to discuss seven governance points worth elaborating  in the backdrop of the contemporary governance realities of the country.”  By JC Weliamuna The former Cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara, in his great Sir Colin Cowdrey speech at Lord’s,  spoke of […]

Demand  of  autonomy has long history By Paikiasothy Saravavanamuttu There is to be another parliamentary select committee to find a political settlement of the ethnic conflict. The simple question is why, given that there have been many committees, all party ones, the famous Mangala Moonesinghe Committee way back when and the more recent APRC. All labored […]

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International-USA, the International Crisis Group, and Open Society Foundations in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission are co-hosting the screening of Channel-4’s documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” at the Congressional Auditorium this Friday according to political sources in Washington D.C. Full text of the release circulated by the groups […]

LLRC spokesperson Lakshman Wickramasinghe yesterday expressed concern about a statement made by UPFA National List MP Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe in an interview with the BBC. The spokesman said: “The Commission was indeed concerned about a comment made on its work by a Government spokesman in a recent BBC programme. The Commission wishes to reiterate that […]

According to Military Liaison Office, pre-travel approval for diplomats, INGOs/NGOs has been lifted from today (12th July), facilitating North bound travel without producing MOD travel approval document. Ministry of Defence lifted the imposed pre-travel approval exclusively for foreign passport holders last week. Further stressing on the provision, individuals and groups intending at visiting military installations […]

 12 July 2011   The JVP in a communiqué states it has lodged a complaint (No. EIB 18/17) at Killinochchi Police charging that the government, deploying a group of Army soldiers, obstructed its election campaign. The complaint has been lodged by the accredited representative of the JVP for Killinochchi District Lalith Kumar Weeraraju.The communiqué issued by […]

by D.B.S. JeyarajEPDP cum military intelligence suspected of perpetrating series of “attacks” to terrorize TNA candidates in Jaffna local authority polls.Proliferation of “low-level” incidents targeting individual candidate residences during night aimed at instilling fear into TNA, party says.Tamil National Alliance wants foreign monitors appointed for the forthcoming elections due to “terror” campaign intimidating TNA candidates.TNA […]

High Court in a 140-page judgment awards case to Standard Chartered Bank on all counts; State oil utility liable to pay minimum of $ 162 m previously withheld plus interest Government likely to appeal against the ruling in a higher court; Ruling on $ 200 m-claiming Citi’s arbitration scheduled for late July; $ 60 m […]

Two versions  of a story of a death of a Tamil women has appeared on different sites today. According to Tami Net she was raped and killed by the military. According to  media in Sri Lanka she was killed by a wild animal. Suprisinly president Rajapksha has ordred a state funaral for the victim.  -SLBRelatives […]

By Charles HavilandTNA says people connected with the ruling coalition are intimidating its candidates The largest Tamil party in Sri Lanka has called for foreign monitors to have a presence at local elections in northern Sri Lanka that are due to take place later this month. It says people connected with the governing coalition are […]

Nirupama Rao. Lanka war crimes: Govt can’t sit quiet, says Jaswant Singh•Lanka war crimes: Briton arrested in connection with Channel 4 video•Documentary on Sri Lankan war crimesThe Indian government has had nothing to say for the last four days on the gross violation of human rights in Sri Lanka. Four days after Headlines Today aired […]

Guru Nadarajah for GTN  In the guise of solving the problems of the Tamil people, Rajapakse government is engaged in Sinhalizing the traditional Tamil villages in the North and East.165 Sinhalese families settled in Kokadivankulam in Themmamadu in the Vanni area and the name of the village has been changed to Kalabowawela. This is the […]

By M.A. Sumanthiran MPMilitarization· Every activity that takes place in the North and East first requires approval by the Presidential Task Force and the military.· Lists of beneficiaries for projects in the north now have to be sent to the military. Incidents have been reported of the military altering these to include as beneficiaries individuals […]

 R.SAMPANTHAN, 5TH July 2011, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, TRINCOMALEEParliamentary Group Leader – Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi-I.T.A.K, Tamil National Alliance-T.N.A Hon SpeakerAdjournment Motion, ParliamentI hereby give notice that I shall after question time on the adjournment of Parliament on Thursday the 7th July 2011 move the following motion as a matter of urgent public importance.Whereas Sri Lanka […]

Following the Sri Lanka Army attack on Tamil National Alliance (TNA) meeting last month and the systematic harassment on building owners not to provide their halls to TNA for campaign meetings, the residences of various candidates of the TNA, including the former parliamentarian M.K. Sivajilingam, have been targeted by SLA-operated squads that are engaged in […]

 Recently , it was exposed that there are six Hospitals in the North East which merit a place in the Guinness book of records , not for excellence but for Govt.’s monumental neglect of those Hospitals. Six Hospitals in North East are without doctors , and there is only one doctor for 12 Hospitals in […]

”Herein are pictures depicting how the participants in the protests launched on the 6th by the Lanka Teachers’ Association were mercilessly attacked by grade 9 Johnny’s goons and gangs.” ( see photos below the post) It is not only a Sinhala adage but also a respected tradition practiced by the Sinhalese that teachers are on par […]

By Yohan Perera Certain powerful political parties were using the security forces to inflict fear on the opposition candidates contesting the local government elections in the North, the JVP charged yesterday.  JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath alleged its supporters had been prevented from canvassing in Tharamapuram in Kilinochchi by these parties which were using the […]

”Today the entire Police Department is in a disreputable condition. The fundamental problem with the police today is an acute lack of knowledge, honesty, transparency and credibility. People believe that the police are powerless to act on their own as they used to do formerly. . They believe that the Police will act only if […]

President must show remorse for killings like Emperor Asoka, says UNP leader UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has agreed to give Sri Lanka more time to engage in what he called a “meeting of minds” to address the concerns of the International Community, but said this could not be an indefinite period.His response came after […]

Lakshman Kadirgamar ”He believed in a future where Sri Lanka was united and where all citizens were equal, irrespective of their ethnicity or religion, and offered an opportunity to live without fear and share in the country’s future as it emerged from the shadows of terrorism. He believed in an independent judicial system complemented by […]

Eliyantha White By Tisaranee Gunasekara“Even if your people die of hungerWe’ll elect you for life….We don’t have opinionsWe have your light blinding our eyes…” – The Strong Heroes of Moscow (For the Assad Nation) Imagine a man with no medical qualifications or training becoming the ‘official physician’ of the president of a country. Imagine that […]