Human Rights

Nimalaruban-pic: BBCTamil.com  By Azra AmeenRiots and violence inside prisons are not novel occurrences in Sri Lanka. It was only in January this year that a group of inmates at the Welikada Prison rioted, and in the events that ensued, 26 inmates and several prison guards were injured.This raised a number of questions about the state […]

There is undoubtedly a  horrendous mounting crime wave in the country – politically motivated killings, homicides for personal reasons, abductions, rapes and crimes committed against the most vulnerable of all – children. Crimes committed against the little ones received the least publicity but of late the horrendous nature of the bestial acts committed on them […]

Julampitiye Amare Santha Wijesooriya is a person who is known to have been working with several websites. He is well known as a web journalist. He has also written many articles relating to corruption and mismanagement. One of the recent articles he has written is about the link between the Rajapaksa family and Julampitiya Amare […]

Kandiah J Occupying Sinhala soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army, on Wednesday, allegedly beat a recently resettled 47-year-old man, Kandiah Jeyarajah, near A9 highway at Ezhuthumadduvaa’l in Thenmaraadchi, Jaffna. The victim succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to Chaavakachcheari hospital, residents in Ezhuthumadduvaazh village told TamilNet Thursday. The wife of the slain victim also […]

Calmy-Rey The International Crisis Group has announced the names of its 10 new members to the Board of Trustees. They were elected at a board meeting held in Vancouver on 21 April 2012, according to an ICG release. Among them are Micheline Calmy-Rey Former President of the Swiss Confederation and Foreign Affairs Minister of Switzerland […]

Delivering the judgment in the Z-score case Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake said a mere statement that the decision of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to treat the students who sat the 2011 Advanced Level Examination (A/L) under the new and old syllabi belong to one category, would not be sufficient.The 38-page judgment with Justice Nimal […]

Ron Kirk The Embassy said that United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk announced yesterday that USTR has closed the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) country practice review on worker rights in Sri Lanka without any change to Sri Lanka’s GSP trade benefits.The United States has decided to continue with the GSP trade benefits for […]

Buddhist Cultural Centre Director, Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi Thera yesterday accused the Buddhist Affairs Ministry of failing to perform its duty.  Ven. Wimalajothi Thera, addressing the media at the Sambuddatwa Jayanthi Mandiraya in Colombo, said that it was the responsibility of the Government to protect Buddhism and to take action against persons like the man in […]

by Melani Manel Perera ( Photo feature)Mannar (AsiaNews) – They live in the jungle, on the ground without a roof or a tent over their heads, surrounded by elephants, snakes and other wildlife. MK62512A There are 145 families, 285 Tamil Catholics from the village of Mullikulam in Mannar District (Northern Province, Sri Lanka).In theory, these […]

UGC asked to calculate Z-score separately for two syllabiThe Supreme Court yesterday declared null and void the August 2011 GCE (A/L) examination Z-score. The judgement said that there was a complex question as regards the Z-score calculated on the basis of the old syllabus and the new syllabus taken together.The second respondent, the University Grants […]

by Dr Laksiri Fernando The discriminatory application of rights of the people in the North and the South came into sharp focus, when the police prohibited peaceful protests to be launched in front of the Jaffna bus stand on 19th Tuesday, as the police hurriedly obtained a court order the previous day. The same day, […]

= Police say main reason parents going abroad for employment leaving children in care of guardians = Child right activists too say not enough security for children under 16 even in their own homesView(s): 12At least four rape cases are reported in the country every day and most of them are of children under 16, Police […]

Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission, during the past six months, has recorded 170 torture complaints against government authorities, which included a majority of complaints against the Department of Police.   Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Prathbha Mahanamahewa told Ceylon Today out of the 170 complaints, 125 complaints have been made against the police.  “Up to 20 […]

Dr. David Dr. Kumar DavidPart I, last week, discussed the political background, international tensions and a few class related issues and made an evaluation of political parties. Part II continues and concludes the document.Year 2012 opened with substantial impact on local and global economic conditions. Locally, devaluation, upward price movements, a crisis in the nation’s […]

The US State Department which released its annual report into human trafficking Tuesday, claims that in Sri Lanka women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels and that boys are more likely than girls to be forced into prostitution in coastal areas for domestic child sex tourism.The report also states children are being […]

The UNP has demanded the immediate removal of the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, as the party didn’t believe the shooting on a JVP meeting in Katuwana, Hambantota would be independently investigated and solved under him.As with all other extra judicial killings, abductions, involuntary disappearances and killing of protesters, we don’t have any reason […]

pro rajapaksha thug killed them ”The government is attempting, instead of arresting the real perpetrators, to plant the responsibility of the murders on other parties through government spokesmen, state media and the police media spokesman to protect the murderers.”The government is creating various interpretations and fabrications regarding the incident at Katuwna that occurred on the […]

UN Geneva  ■US Official visits SL at GL’s request  ■Reconciliation process at a complete standstill The Mahinda Rajapaksa administration is to respond this week to the request by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHR) in Geneva to send a representative to Sri Lanka following the Resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that PG Amila Tharanga Thilakaratne (14) a Year 9 student of Mahanama College Geatambe in the Kandy District was severely tortured by his teacher, a Buddhist monk. Amila was persecuted on a religious basis and is thus a victim of religious intolerance. Amila has been raised […]

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL/ 13 June 2012A statement for the June Human Rights Council SessionSri Lanka is not fulfilling many of its international human rights obligations. Impunity remains the norm for gross violations of human rights, including alleged war crimes. Gross and systematic human rights violations continue to take place. Sri Lanka’s armed conflict ended in 2009, […]

Senior Lecturer of Law at the Colombo University A. Sarveswaran says ‘sexual harassment in workplaces’ is a serious issue that needs to be addressed urgently with effective legal provisions in the country’s legislature. He says it’s a silent plague crippling institutions and productivity. In an interview with the Sunday Observer Sarveswaran says with more and […]

However, in practical terms, and aside from the discussion on the proposed Private Members Bill in question, the clergy who have participated in political activity have thus far barely contributed to the raising of quality in the standards of political life and have been totally indifferent to the conduct of their fellow politiciansBy Javid Yusuf  […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka says human rights will be at the top of her agenda. Michele Sison said Wednesday that serious allegations of violation of international human rights law committed during the island nation’s civil war have yet to be investigated and have slowed reconciliation.“One […]

confused evidence By Charles HavilandA senior Sri Lankan official has said that he has no idea about the whereabouts of a disappeared journalist seven months after saying he believed the man was alive and living abroad.  Human rights activists say that the remarks of former Attorney-General Mohan Peiris betray insensitivity to the plight of missing […]

  ”All these lead to questions which should have drawn the attention of the justice Ministry in shaping new types of relief for the people much earlier. One of them, an urgent one, is the right to dignified treatment in custodial institutions and places. Are lock ups and cells inside police stations fit for human […]

After the 1st meeting with GoSL There is little doubt that besides Sampanthan’s controversial remarks last week, there are some serious credibility issues between the TNA and the Government. A letter obtained by the Sunday Times confirms that the delegation that talked with the TNA was indeed from the Government of Sri Lanka. The letter, […]

The rule of law is the cornerstone of a democratic state. The basic rights of the people will suffer when the people lose confidence in the mechanisms of law enforcement and justice. We have seen several instances in our country of the law being applied differently to different people.NOTEBOOK OF A NOBODY  BY SHANIE ‘Peace’ […]

It is with surprise and disappointment that we read two articles published recently on the The Island that opposed the proposed amendments to abortion law. These much needed amendments, if passed in parliament, will permit abortion in instances of “underage” rape and incest. The existing law on abortion, a legacy from colonial times, permits abortion […]

Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries & Small Enterprise Development and also the leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party has taken exception to The Country Report For Human Rights Practices 2011 released by US State Department on 25 May 2012, where it has been alleged EPDP as one of the pro-government paramilitary groups which […]

FJ: Three years after the end of the war, the country is still facing international criticism. Do you personally believe that the LLRC recommendations should have been implemented without waiting for the international community to force the government to do so? GR: Actually we have implemented many of those recommendations even before those recommendations came […]