Human Rights

Paradox of Democracy and Attrition of Civic Space in Sri Lanka: Quo Vadis? The erosion of hegemony of the ruling historic bloc, and the crisis of the state and democratic institutional decay reached a new phase after 1977. After gaining a landslide victory with a five-sixths majority at the 1977 elections, the UNP government under […]

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved drafting of a new Bill titled ‘National Intelligence Act’ to regulate and empower all intelligence services, says the Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr.Bandula Gunawardene.This was announced during the media briefing held today (15) at the Government Information Department Auditoprium to announce Cabinet decisions. National intelligence services of the country make […]

(OFFICE ON MISSING PERSONS/MEDIA RELEASE/15 January 2020) Recent media reports have claimed that the government plans to review the Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) Act No. 14 of 2016 (the Act) with a view to amending the same. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) officially communicated its position by letters […]

The Sri Lankan government is reportedly set to release a soldier who was sentenced to death over the massacre of eight Tamil civilians, according to an opposition parliamentarian who applauded the move. “Now we have got information that the government has taken measures to release 34 members of the intelligence and Sunil Ratnayake, as mentioned […]

Image: The 19A was thus, achieved by the resilient advocacy of academics, politicians, civil society groups, erudite clergy and many more agitated citizens of the country who were frustrated by the constitutional chaos and abuse of democracy caused by the 18A.  Just before the dawn of the New Year, two constitutional amendment Bills were presented […]

Hand wringing by Government politicians over leaked tape recordings of phone conversations between prosecutors, judicial officers and a United National Party politician known more for his brawn than his brain, (this worthy’s cerebral power appears to be even less than commonly perceived), is hypocritical in the extreme. Historic undermining of the judicial institution Even as […]

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a high-powered Presidential Commissions of Inquiry (PCoI) to investigate allegations of political victimization as well as interference and undue influence on the judiciary and police during the past regime. The Commission comprising retired Supreme Court Justice Upaly Abeyrathne (chairman), retired Appeal Court Justice Daya Chandrasiri Jayathilaka and retired IGP Chandra […]

Why no overtures will be made to Tamils and Muslims by the SLPP until after the parliamentary elections. (Daily Express) The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), whose Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the November 16 election without the support of the minority Tamils and Muslims, and is still to reach out to them in any […]

Image: Commemorations for veteran journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge were held  Jan. 8 in Colombo. Gunmen murdered Wickrematunge seven years ago. (Story and the Photo  by Niranjani Roland) Supporters of an outspoken Sri Lankan journalist, who was murdered in 2009, have urged the government to properly investigate his death and to ensure that media is protected. Lasantha […]

Image: TNA parliamentary group led by its leader R.Sampanthan meeting former president M. Sirisena to discuss issues related to devolution of powers. (file) ” The last 30 years have seen the country making such positive efforts towards resolving issues that have plagued it since Independence by meaningfully acknowledging the plural nature of our polity. We […]

It was an eventful year in Sri Lankan politics in 2019. If not a year of crisis, perhaps the term chaos sums it up most accurately. The year started with several political tugs-of-war between former president Maithripala Sirisena and former prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, after Sirisena sacked Wickramasinghe and swore-in Mahinda Rajapaksa , quite unconstitutionally. These dramatic events paved the […]

Image: British teenager arriving in Court. On 25 November 2019, Gania Banister Francis, a Tamil employee of the Swiss Embassy (aged 38) alleged that she was kidnapped by the Sri Lankan Police. She has said she was treated brutally and subjected to coercion and sexual harassment. She added that the Police asked her for sensitive […]

A tumultuous year has ended, and an uncertain future lies ahead.  Democratic space is already closing around us, and it is critical for civil society to be clear-eyed about where we have been and the challenges that lie ahead. Nothing much happened after rescuing the country from a constitutional coup. The PM forgot why the […]

Issuing  a statement the National Peace Council has listed three issues that can have  impact upon inter-community relations with the state. The statement says that “at this time we want to express our concerns about several matters that could potentially impact upon inter-community relations with the state. “The first is the president’s statements that development […]

Colombo, Dec 20 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said he cannot entertain the 2015 UN Human Rights Council resolution co-sponsored by the previous Sirisena government on alleged war crimes during the country’s three-decade long civil war with the LTTE in its current form. Commenting on the Tamil demand for political autonomy, Rajapaksa on […]

Once again we celebrate international migrants day on the 18th of December as declared by the United Nations. The migration movement has seen many shifts over the years especially since 2015. People move from countries for multiple reasons such as poverty, hunger or food insecurity and unstable economic outlooks, geopolitics, national and national and regional […]

SC orders State to pay Rs. 1 m in compensation, Rs. 250,000 each from four Police officers Read full judgment here: Embilipitiya SC order sc_fr_577_2010 The Supreme Court yesterday directed the State to pay Rs. 1 million in compensation to a woman whose husband died in Police custody in September 2010, and ordered four Police […]

Professing to stand up for party ally MP Patali Champika Ranawaka in the event of any injustice, the United National Party (UNP) today charged that the family of the MP’s former driver were unlawfully detained in the early hours of today (16). Presenting a united face, a host of parliamentarians representing both sides of the […]

Image: Swiss embassy staffer, in pink shawl, being escorted to a court in Colombo.   | Photo Credit: AP . Meera Srinivasan. Sri Lanka’s reputation as a constitutional state at stake: Bern. Sri Lanka police on Monday arrested a local employee of the Swiss Embassy in Colombo, who has been at the centre of a diplomatic controversy, […]

Press release, 16.12.2019. An employee of the Swiss Embassy in Colombo has today been detained on the grounds that she allegedly made false statements. The FDFA (Federal Department Foreign Affairs) of  is concerned about this development and calls on the Sri Lankan judicial authorities to ensure better protection of its employee’s personal rights in any […]

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’ […]

“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: 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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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’ […]