Human Rights

If they are not mere words of wooing, laptop with internet is clearly something to go for, if only the venue was other than a military establishment. 16 May 2011Military leadership training is such a vague description for the newest addition to the university curricula, which will commence on May 23, in numerous army camps […]

Mr. P W Cyril Sarath Kumara (26) of No: 6 B/59 A, Ambagahawella, Paragahakelle, Ampara, is a farmer by profession. On 4 April 2011 he was at Ambagahawela, Paragahakelle in the village along with a few other villagers. As it was the New Year celebration period several villagers were playing cards. At around 11pm several […]

17 May 2011.By Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s Sri Lanka researcherIt’s now 2 years since the end of the war between the Sri Lankan security forces and the Tamil Tigers. To many, the Sri Lankan conflict may seem strangely remote. For survivors and those of us who monitored the abuses during the war, the month of […]

The External Affairs Minister of India urged the expeditious implementation of measures by the Government of Sri Lanka, to ensure resettlement and genuine reconciliation, including early return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their respective homes, early withdrawal of emergency regulations, investigations into allegations of human rights violations, restoration of normalcy in affected areas and […]

NEW DELHI — India broke with past practice on Tuesday and called on Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during the island’s civil war, upping pressure on President Mahinda Rajapakse. India has not joined recent demands from the United Nations and Western countries for a probe into alleged war crimes committed during […]

More than 130,000 acres of paddy lands, 47 tanks, 14 islands and several lagoons that had been used for fishing have been taken over by the government for various purposes.The government has seized more than 25,000 acres from Monaragala District and over 35,000 acres from Trincomalee District.3000 to 5000 acres of lands have been seized […]

15 May 2011 At the intended leadership training in Army camps for new entrees for universities the freshers will be taught how to wake up early morning, brush their teeth, wash their faces and how to take their meals properly says the Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake.  He had said there is no other […]

15 May 2011 At the intended leadership training in Army camps for new entrees for universities the freshers will be taught how to wake up early morning, brush their teeth, wash their faces and how to take their meals properly says the Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake.  He had said there is no other […]

16 May 2011More than 130,000 acres of paddy lands, 47 tanks, 14 islands and several lagoons that had been used for fishing have been taken over by the government for various purposes.The government has seized more than 25,000 acres from Monaragala District and over 35,000 acres from Trincomalee District.3000 to 5000 acres of lands have […]

As one Commissioner mused several months back in a different context; “we were told by weeping mothers of children being literally grabbed from their arms and dashed on the ground with remnants of their heads being scattered around by enraged soldiers who had come upon a suspected subversive or JVP infiltrated village in the deep […]

Given the deadly potential inherent in this scheme, why is polity and society (including most of the academia) reacting to it with indifference? By Tisaranee Gunasekara Kristallnacht — “Night of Broken Glass”. On November 9-10, 1938 the Nazis initiated a pogrom against the Jews, Hitler youth and HitlerNazism offered….a society that had been scarred by […]

14 May 2011 Families of youth who disappeared from Trincomalee protested at the Trincomalee Junction pleading with the Government to release information about their whereabouts, ‘We are Sri Lankans’ Convener Udul Premaratne said yesterday.“More than 100 youth from Trincomalee disappeared during the last phase of the war and up to now their whereabout are unknown,” […]

13 May 2011By Ananda Weerasuriya In an explosive statement yesterday a former Army Intelligence Unit (AIU) member told Court yesterday that the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) had assured him of being made a state witness, provided security and a foreign job if he agreed to implicate a senior army officer in the brutal killing of […]

13 May 2011 Complaints made in regard to missing persons in the police stations in Vanni are on the increase, according to Kilinochchi district police. Relatives of the missing persons make these complaints now as the war has ended and law and order has been properly established in these areas. Complaints of those who went […]

13 May 2011 The military has started registering the family members once again in some areas in Valikamam in Jaffna, especially in Sankanai and Mathagal area Valikamam west where the activities are now very briskRegistration of families Continue in Valikamam. The military has started registering the family members once again in some areas in Valikamam […]

Thursday, 12 May 2011 The United Nations has listed the Iniya Barrathi faction of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) that recruits or uses children, kill or maim children, and/or commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in situations of armed conflict on the agenda of the Security Council. Releasing the UN […]

11th May 20111. Introduction This note is based on conversations with 15 former detainees (7 women between 21 and 35 years and 8 men between 21 and 41 years) from villages in the Vanni region (areas previously under LTTE control from where the entire population was displaced during the final phase of the war and […]

May 12, 2011/Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-092-2011 Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. W.A. Lasantha Pradeep Wijeratna (36) of No. 98, Galahitiyawa, Ganemulla in the district of Gampaha was illegally arrested and severely tortured by the police officers attached to the Criminal Investigation Department on 15 August 2010. Lasantha […]

For one, the government’s favourite pastime quite clearly is to update the Constitution for a more stable and secure Sri Lanka; more than cozily so for some citizens at least. May 10, 2011 Even Mahinda Rajapaksa’s worst critic cannot accuse his regime of lacking bright ideas or the righteous will to execute them. It hardly […]

8 May 2011,by Dr. Kay S. Kumaran, United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) USTPAC recently released the following report, entitled “The Track Record of Sri Lankan Commissions and the Need for an International Investigation of War Crimes.” This report highlights the Sri Lankan Government’s attempts to resist international pressure to investigate violations of human […]

 Removing this power from the JSC and vesting it in the President would compromise the separation of powers and invite executive interference in the administration of justice.  9 May 2011, Colombo, Sri Lanka:The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) notes the reports in the Daily Mirror and Lankadeepa newspapers of 5th May 2011, which disclose that […]

May 5, 2011, 10:11 pmBy Saman Indrajith The special computer crime unit, housed at the BMICH, is engaged in hacking electronic mail including the email accounts of some ministers, UNP Kurunegala district MP Dayasiri Jayasekera charged in Parliament yesterday. He levelled the charges while speaking during the debate on the extension of emergency. He said […]

By Our Political Editor The Government will respond to the United Nations Panel report on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka next week. A note to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon signed by External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris will be sent through Sri Lanka’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations in New York. It will […]

 By Olindhi Jayasundere The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) hotline 1929 for public complaints on child abuse has received 21,507 complaints up until April 30 this year, the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment said.. The hotline which was introduced in June 2010 was set up for the public to report incidents of any […]

For the media, self censorship  has become the unwritten rule. No informed discussion takes place giving  different opinions and points of view to the citizenry. The huge state media sector is politically controlled by the ruling party, making them the most partisan media in the country. Thus,  citizens are left without the information that would […]

At another level, significant Rule of Law concerns must be redressed. These well documented concerns are evident in regard to the constitutional balance of power, our legal systems and most importantly in reference to Sri Lanka’s judiciary and the Department of the Attorney General.  By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene It appears to have gone unnoticed that […]

“The eyewitness accounts and credible information contained in this report demand a full, impartial, independent and transparent investigation,” the High Commissioner said. “Unless there is a sea-change in the Government’s response, which has so far been one of total denial and blanket impunity, a full-fledged international inquiry will clearly be needed.” GENEVA (26 April 2011) […]

By Raisa Wickrematunge Law student Thushara Jayaratne fears for his life. In order to contact him, The Sunday Leader was required to create a special Skype account. Speaking from an undisclosed location, Jayaratne said that though he had asked numerous people for help, no one had assisted him. Jayaratne’s story was splashed all over the […]

“In Sri Lanka there are funds collected by employees after working for 30 or 40 years. This is an attempt by the government to collect the money in the ETF and EPF, put it into one account to invest and fall into trouble.” said the Secretary Trade Union Federation, Saman Rathnapriya. April 26, 2011 : […]

April 26, 2011      * Influential polling firm’s global wellbeing surveys in 2010 claims only 5% in Sri Lanka are thriving    * Says high wellbeing eludes the masses in most countries as majorities in 19 out of 124 countries “thriving,” mostly in Europe and the Americas Despite the end of the war, doubling of per […]