International relations

My dear Mahinda, I still vividly recall the first time I met you. It was at the SLFP Party Headquarters on Darley Road in June 1988, which I attended in my capacity as the new SLFP organiser for Matara. I also remember being moved by the impassioned speech you made during the meeting about the […]

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power met with former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, currently Chairperson of Sri Lanka’s Office of National Unity Reconciliation (ONUR), and Mano Tittawella, Secretary-General for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms, on May 11, 2016, at the Sri Lankan Mission to the United Nations in New York. Ambassador […]

( President Sirisena greets TNA  MP Mavei Senathiraja) By GEETA ANAND and DHARISHA BASTIANS MAY 12, 2016 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Leaders of Sri Lanka, an island nation at the foot of India, have repeatedly promised a political solution to the ethnic strife that has caused heartache and bloodshed for much of its nearly 70-year […]

ECONOMYNEXT – The names of several Sri Lanka domiciled individuals, including Nissanka Senadhipathi of Avant Garde, have been disclosed in the Panama Papers released on the Internet on Monday. According to documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, Senadhipathi incorporated an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands with three others. The four shareholders […]

(An auto-rickshaw drives along a flooded street in Colombo, Ishara S. Kodikara | AFP | Getty Images ) By Leslie Shaffer/CNBC. Sri Lanka’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have averted a crisis, but the bailout may undermine a key source of strength: the country’s impressive economic growth rate. The deeply indebted country […]

( Nisha Desai Biswal speaking at  the Center for a New American Security) Sri Lanka deserves special attention as it continues to consolidate democratic gains in the past two elections and put the country on a path to reconciliation. The United States was among the first to welcome these moves and offer our support and […]

( In remote country side people has to travel in smaller trucks) Today the European Commission will co-sign two new support programmes worth €38 million in total in the field of rural development and trade with Sri Lanka, as EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, arrives for a three day visit to […]

(SLB) Sri Lanka Embassy in Berlin had invited a drug peddler convicted by German courts to a get together with the President Sirisena and other ministers who were visited Germany early this month. He has been able to take photographs with the minsters and posted them on his face book. In one of the photos […]

By Mangala Samaraweera. ‘Reconciliation and Development’, as you would agree, are intertwined. It is difficult, almost impossible, to have one without the other. At the time we gained Independence, in February 1948, Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, was in a unique position among the countries in the developing world as she had experience of representative government […]

by Nikhil Narayan Image courtesy IRIN “The regime has changed, but the system remains the same; how can we expect justice from them?,” asked a Tamil nun who survived the brutal conflict between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers in Vavuniya district in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Her sentiments echo a growing sense […]

The visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein went more smoothly than expected for the government. The weeks before the visit of the High Commissioner had seen President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe making apparently contradictory statements on the issue of international participation in the post-war reconciliation mechanisms, […]

( Missing persons relatives have been calling for justice for years) It was up to Parliament to decide whether to allow foreign judges to be involved in the war crimes investigation, Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva said yesterday. Responding to a question raised by UPFA Galle District MP Udaya Gammanpila in Parliament the […]

(INDEPENDENCE DAY: President Maihripala Sirisena at Independence Day celebrations on January 04,2016) Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena warned political opponents that he will press ahead with a UN-mandated war crimes investigation despite their protests. His hard hitting speech was wrapped up with another sign of defiance against radical ultra nationalists. The 68th independence anniversary celebrations […]

by Jehan Perera President Maithripala Sirisena’s rejection of foreign involvement in the judicial accountability process in Sri Lanka has once again brought to the fore the difficult issue of war crimes in the course of the war. The most controversial aspect of the UN Human Rights Council resolution that was co-signed by the Sri Lankan […]

In October 2015, the Sri Lankan government took a giant stride towards reconciliation when it co-sponsored a historic resolution at the Human Rights Council. Despite howls of protest from fringe elements within the Sinhala and Tamil community who opposed it, the Resolution was defended stoutly by mainstream members of both ruling parties, the SLMC and […]

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday emphasised that the government will not deviate from the Geneva resolution on reconciliation and accountability in any way. The Premier addressing the Commonwealth Parliamentarians’ Association Regional Seminar for Members of Parliament also said reconciliation and accountability go hand in hand, addressing the issues related to post war rebuilding efforts, highlighting […]

(Press Release:TISL Perturbed by the Finance Minister’s “No Questions” Policy) Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) is perturbed by the recent moves of the Minister of Finance, encouraging inward remittances in to Sri Lanka from investors (local, foreign and even ’mystery’ investors) on a “No Questions” asked basis, as a first step in creating a “Financial […]

A British TV channel that was mired in controversy over reporting the war in the past was given clearance by the Government to visit Sri Lanka. A Channel 4 television crew from London was in Colombo and travelled to Jaffna. This was to report on the post-war situation. A report the channel aired thereafter included […]

A recent interview with President Sirisena, conducted with the BBC’s Azzam Ameen, is recommended viewing for those who want to assess contemporary politics and the trajectory of governance over 2016 and beyond. Over Twitter, I averred that while some of the President’s answers were positively disturbing, the opportunity given to grill him, and the fact […]

The Sri Lankan government on Thursday reiterated that a domestic probe into alleged war crimes committed in the island nation will meet international standards. Government spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne told reporters in a media briefing here that the local mechanism would be set up later this month and foreign assistance would be sought only if required. […]

  In my 25 years at the United Nations I have had the privilege of serving in a number of countries. In May of 2011, I arrived in Sri Lanka. Two years had passed since the end of the civil war. The country was transitioning from a humanitarian phase to a path of restoration and […]

( Hugo Swire meeting President Sirisena in Colombo) Sri Lanka will have to demonstrate by June that it has made significant and credible progress in achieving the commitment made to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last September over issues of truth and accountability, UK’s Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo […]

( Foreign Minister to play a crucial role in the implementation of UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka) (Sri Lanka Brief/ 12 January 2016) The government of Sri Lanka is now almost finalised establishing a Consultation Task Force for the Transitionary Justice (TJ) process in Sri Lanka. The Consultation Task Force is expected to come up […]

RajithaThe Government today insisted that there was no deadline to complete the accountability process on the war. Cabinet spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said that the Government is in talks with the United Nations with regards to the accountability process. He reiterated that the process will be a domestic process and not a “hybrid process” as […]

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Al Hussein will be in Sri Lanka early next month, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement today. The outgoing UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Subinay Nandy had confirmed this today during a meeting with the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri […]

(Statement to the Media by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs after the Official Talks with Hon. Børge Brende, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway) Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, It has been an honour and a privilege to welcome the Norwegian Foreign Minister, the Hon. Børge Brende to Sri Lanka, this morning. An […]

Sri Lankan’s death sentence for adultery reduced to three years in jail on appeal. Saudi authorities have reduced a Sri Lankan woman’s sentence for adultery from death by stoning to a three-year jail term after an appeal, Colombo’s foreign ministry has said. The woman, 45, who is married and had worked as a domestic helper […]

Three persons involved in the murder of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen have been identified after analyzing CCTV footage. Among these are two persons attached to the Navy. The Computer Department of the University of Colombo is further analyzing the footage and CID has called Senior DIG S.K.D.S. Gunawardane, who was in charge of Colombo during the […]

( US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Shannon) The Foreign Ministry says that the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Shannon, will arrive in the country on Monday, on a two-day official visit. The Government Information Department said that he will be accompanied by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for […]

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday reiterated his government’s position that it would not sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India but it would enter into a pact on economic and technology collaboration with the neighbour. Expressing his government’s reservations about allowing Indian professionals into Sri Lanka under any new agreement […]