News

19 June 201165 percent of the participants in an opinion poll conducted in Tamil Nadu this month by Centre for Public Studies of the Loyola College in Chennai said that an independent Tamil Eelam is the appropriate permanent solution for the question of Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka. 70 percent of them said […]

ITUC to agitate membership protest, demands Govt. immediately withdraw Pension Fund BillAn international grouping of trade unions has vehemently hit out at the recent unrest at the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (KFTZ) that left a worker killed and scores injured, calling upon its 300 plus membership to launch individual protests against the Government of Sri […]

By Hiran Priyankara JayasingheThe NGO Secretariat which comes under the Defence Ministry has named an interim body to take control of a non-governmental organisation plagued with allegations of corruption and malpractice.The three member interim body comprises Brigader Jayashantha Gamage, Brigade Commander of the 143 Division in Puttalam, Assistant District Secretary W.A.R. Wickremesinghe and an accountant […]

“Naked prisoners shot in the head; the dead bodies of women who had been raped, dumped on a truck; the immediate aftermath of a shell landing on a hospital – images caught on mobile phones of the atrocities committed in the final months of Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war, left most of us shell-shocked” Every […]

Sri Lanka has accused Britain’s Channel 4 Television of not providing the government with a copy of the video titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ but assured that it is ready “to constructively engage” with the UN Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions.The offer to engage with Rapporteur Christof Heyns was made when Minister Mahinda […]

TAMILS TREATED AS ABOROGINES IN LANKA NOWVeerasingham Anandasangaree, the TULF president and  a long standing Tamil politician  was perhaps the most vocal critic of the LTTE,  among the old school Tamil political leadership, even during the hey days of the LTTE. Anandasangaree, once hailed by the government, as a ‘moderate’ Tamil voice, now cautions that […]

 By Gayan Kumara WeerasingheThe CID in its investigations have determined that when the police said that they had opened fire to save Senior DIG Ravi Wijegunawardena, who was being attacked allegedly by FTZ workers on May 30, the DIG was in fact in hospital.The police fire occurred after DIG Wijegunawardena had been admitted to the […]

2011-06-19 Several Tamil political prisoners in the Kandy Bogambara prison was severely attacked by the prison officials on 14.06.2011 and admitted in the prison hospital.According to the sources, prison officers who came to prison to investigate about the clash between two groups of Sinhala prisoners for allegedly engaging in the drug smuggling in the prisons compound […]

By Frederica JanszSri Lanka Cricket also known formerly as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka is in a financial melt down due to political interference, large scale corruption and short-sighted management policies. Cricket  has become a passion for almost every Sri Lankan.  Sadly the gentlemen’s game has been swamped by high finance, leading […]

Govt. says not ruffled by decision18 June 2011/By Susitha R. FernandoA United States Federal Court has issued summons on President Mahinda Rajapaksa in connection with three civil cases filed under the Hague Convention claiming monetary damages under US Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) over alleged extra-judicial killings, the Justice Ministry sources said. Sources said the […]

“We still live under military rule. Unless the President takes any action, we will seriously think about co-operating with the government on anything. The military should not interfere in such political matters.  Only, the police must be empowered to do so.” – TNA 17 June 2011/By Kelum BandaraThe Tamil National Alliance (TNA) today sought intervention […]

15 June 2011 / Despite having a court order preventing civilians in the North from being forcefully registered, groups of Army men in civics have taken photographs of people in the Kalviyamkadu area in the North and obtained details regarding their families.The Army men in civics visited residences in Kalviyamkadu on the 13th to photograph […]

Tilvin Silva Speaking further the General Secretary of the JVP said, “Today there is an arbitrary administration in the North. People in those areas do not have the facilities people in other areas enjoy. The masses in the North too should be treated in the same manner people in other areas are treated. Human rights […]

17 June 2011/ By P C Vinoj KumarNot all Sinhalese are evil. Neither is every Tamil a saint. But the fact remains that every soldier in the Sri Lankan army who fought the war against the LTTE during 2008-2009 was a Sinhalese.This background information is essential for any non-Tamil to understand how the Sri Lankan […]

TNA press meet 18 June 2011/ Convening a press conference at the Martin Road office on Friday, to brief about the blatant attack on a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) meeting at A’laveddi by the Sri Lanka Army on Thursday, the TNA members said that it was a calculated demonstration by the occupying Army to tell […]

It is alleged that not even a library association meeting takes place in that part of the country without the intimidating presence of military personnel. These complaints should be investigated and swift action taken to reassess the security situation there and relax restrictions on people’s freedom. June 17, 2011,Thursday’s savage attack on a group of […]

by JC WeliamunaLet me say in no uncertain terms that the use of firearms by law enforcement is a matter of International Law now. For example, the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (Basic Principles) provide, in principle 9, that firearms must not be used against persons […]

by Basil Fernando,   The Asian Human Rights Commission which has documented over 1500 cases of torture and ill treatment by the Sri Lankan police has now compiled a report of 323 cases. In this presentation Mr. Basil Fernando, the Director of Policy and Programmes explains the causes of police torture in Sri Lanka and the […]

Twenty-six Sri Lankans deported by the UK have arrived back in Colombo on an overnight charter flight.A BBC reporter outside the airport and sources inside confirmed their plane had touched down. Reports say the deportees were taken for questioning.Human rights groups have criticised Britain, saying the mainly Tamil asylum seekers may not be safe. The […]

“All allegations of war crimes and human right violations require investigation, perpetrators must be punished as well as a reparation scheme be put in place. 2 years have passed without addressing issues of disappearances, extra-judicial killings, murder of journalists and political assassinations. 5 years we have waited for the Charter of Human Rights and for […]

16 June 2011by D.B.S. Jeyaraj A Tamil National Alliance meeting with 5 TNA MP’s present was attacked by a group of Sri Lankan army men at Alaveddy in Jaffna on june 16th.[‘Hooliganism in Colombo-Attacks on Tamil Satyagrahis‘, Times UK, June 6, 1956]About 15-20 uniformed army personnel wielding poles,batons&rods entered the Saiva Maha Sabhai hall premises […]

16 Jun 2011 / Source: reuters // ReutersJaffna, Sri Lanka, June 16 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s main ethnic minority Tamil party on Thursday said the military had attacked its campaign events in the former war zone in the north to create a climate of fear ahead of the first local government polls in 26 years.Legislators […]

16 June 2011In what is seen as retaliation for Channel 4 broadcast Tuesday, the genocidal SL Army occupying Jaffna brutally attacked TNA parliamentarians, journalists and public in Jaffna on Thursday, causing injuries to an unspecified number of people, according to initial reports. The blatant attack by SL Army in uniform took place when the TNA […]

16 June 2011/By Andrew Buncombe, The British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said he was shocked after seeing footage of attacks on civilians shown in the Channel 4 documentary. The British Government has renewed calls for an independent investigation into allegations of war crimes against Sri Lanka after a documentary showed civilians being shelled and […]

16 June 2011 Three undergraduates who had been held under detention orders in the Mirihana Police for allegedly conspiring against the State had been taken to the CID for further interrogations, Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) yesterday charged.IUSF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara yesterday said that the detained undergraduates were allegedly forced to give statements and a […]

Denying the truth will not bury it15 June 2011, By Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s Sri Lanka researcher Tonight Channel 4 screens its harrowing new documentary, “Sri Lanka, The Killing Fields”. The film highlights massive human rights abuses and violations of the laws of war by both parties to the conflict.Some of the more shocking imagery includes […]

Political reforms should be urgently introduced with further possible delineation of powers to the Provinces by transferring some of the itemsfrom the Concurrent List to the Provincial List as per the aspirations of thepeople, especially the Sri Lankan Tamil Community. Relavent section of the Memorandum submitted by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Selvi J. Jayalalithaa to […]

15 June 2011 /By Yohan PereraThe government decision to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to work out a political solution to the national question is a ploy adopted to overcome international pressure, UNP parliamentarian R. Yogaranjan charged today.He said this was his personal view though it was backed by his party. Mr. Yogarajan called for […]

The most pressing need is perhaps not to punish the offenders but to relieve the problems of the survivors and minimise the risk of further violence. Sooner or later, if the government’s response to disagreement is repression, discontent will boil over in one part or another of the island. Bloodshed is likely to follow, unless […]

16 June 2011 /  By Duminda BalasuriyaWhile rejecting the contents of the video aired on the British Channel 4 news channel, Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday said they have received information that a fake video had been created by Channel 4 news after obtaining money from pro-LTTE elements.“Once again some pro-LTTE elements have used […]