Politics

( Chief Minister Nazeer Ahamed in black suit) Defence Ministry Secretary Karunasena Hettiarchchi said today he had not received any complaints about an incident where Eastern Province Chief Minister Nazeer Ahamed was alleged to have rebuked a naval officer at an event at the Sampur Maha Vidyalaya on Friday. A video showing the Chief Minister […]

Vice-Chancellor and Colleagues, I want to begin by thanking all of you for being present today. You all have also endured bad weather. I feel delighted to see so many friends from all faculties, other universities, and from civil society outside the university as well. I am also glad that Nirmal, Mahesh and Pradeep, and […]

Hakeem SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem addressing an election campaign rally. Latheef Farook It was deliberate deception and calculated betrayal by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.�This is how most Muslims describe the SLMC’s decision to join the very party – in this instance the ruling United Peoples Front Alliance (UPFA) — which it severely criticised to […]

No independent commissions appointed The government had not implemented the key recommendations of its very own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission(LLRC) yet and was fighting shy of facing the United Nations Human Rights Commission(UNHRC), the UNP said yesterday. It was the Rajapaksa regime that had asked the UNHRC for time to implement the LLRC recommendations […]

SO cortoon Sarath Fonseka has again attempted to undermine the supreme sacrifices made by soldiers of the same Army he once commanded. Exploiting the special Presidential pardon that enabled him to leave prison with more than three years of his full five-and-a-half-year jail term left, Fonseka is now attempting to play the role of a […]

Ambassador Tamara Manimehalai Kunanayakam, presently the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka Mission in Geneva had categorically stated that she is no more interested in holding any diplomatic position.  She said that she is not going to accept the position of Ambassador either to Cuba or Brazil and also not interested in continuing as the Head […]

By Namini WijedasaThe government will involve NGO critics in the drafting of its action plan on implementing the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, a key presidential adviser said last week.      Mohan Pieris, the former attorney general, revealed details of what he called the ‘preliminaries to the main action plan’ in an interview […]

”These far reaching reforms were not the result of any home-grown proposal. In fact, no group or political association in the country asked for it. Indeed, the largest of them, the Ceylon National Congress, opposed the extension of the franchise.”by Shanie “In the Renaissance of my life the cries of the damned crowded my ears. […]

Mohamed Hisham”Yet, he will have to manage the charisma, admiration and respect he commands across the country and importantly from every part of the society to maneuver through the rough political terrains in bringing together , the young and old, ambitious and reserved, Northern and Southern, rich and poor, friends and old-friends, young people and […]

GV editors note: In the transcript below and the video of it available on the BBC online, the BBC correspondent in Sri Lanka Charles Haviland asks “Are the terms of your release unconditional – will you be allowed to go  back to politics?”Sarath Fonseka responds by noting that “As yet I have not seen this […]

By Dr. Kumar DavidWhy did President Mahinda Rajapakse, this week, release on presidential pardon, his arch rival and supposed war hero General Sarath Fonseka (SF), imprisoned by a military tribunal in a process which most perceive as a kangaroo court, and on charges that carry little credence in the public mind? Questions of miscarriage of […]

Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, who was released on a special presidential pardon on Monday, is to form a new political party named, ‘Democratic Party’ led by him, MP Jayantha Ketagoda said. “We have already forwarded the application to the Elections Secretariat for registration and awaiting its approval,” said Mr. Ketagoda, who is the Chairman […]

A member of the Bulathsinghala  local body member was abducted on the 20th  evening . She had been involved in financial deals with a Coordinating Secretary of the President and been the center of a number of conflicts and disputes between them. The abduction is a sequel to these disagreements and differences , the ‘Yukthiya’ […]

In the wake of Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s release, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) warned that the government would have to carefully watch how Western powers reacted to the latest development. The JHU’s National Organizer, Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe told The Island that the impact of the former army commander’s unexpected release on the political scene should […]

He was pardoned by the president and released from jail, but Sri Lankan former army chief Sarath Fonseka had nothing but scorn for the government on his first day of freedom and vowed to fight for its downfall.The ex-general said it could take 5 to 10 years to change the political culture of the island […]

Kusal Perera The V-Day celebrations were on, as this piece was written. A military victory being commemorated at the Galle face esplanade, celebrated as the 3rd anniversary of defeating the LTTE “terrorism”. President Rajapaksa bragged about what positives the military victory brought to this country. No more barricades on the Galle Road, he says. Fishermen […]

by Jehan PereraThe news of the presidential pardon for former army commander Sarath Fonseka which could see him free from prison would be welcomed by most Sri Lankans, regardless of their political persuasions. At the time of his imprisonment it was scarcely possible to believe that the former army commander who had been hailed by […]

Former Army Commander and defeated presidential candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka was released from prison yesterday evening amidst cheers from a large number of his supporters who thronged the streets near the Welikada Prison waving flags and shouting slogans. Gen. Fonseka, making a brief speech, thanked all those who had fought for his release. Indicating his desire […]

National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa yesterday said that General Sarath Fonseka would not be a major threat to President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the future. Fonseka’s popularity had reached the zenith when he contested the Presidential polls, he said.Minister Weerawansa said Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe’s remarkable ability to tackle complex political issues in the midst […]

The JVP demanded that the government reveal the list of ministers who influenced the President to arrest former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka.  Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake alleged that the President had claimed that it was due to the influence of certain ministers’ that Sarath Fonseka was brought before Court.“While […]

Former army Commander Sarath Fonseka, who walked out a free man yesterday, said he will be safe among people, and those who are well aware of the service he  rendered to the nation, will protect him.   “I have immense confidence in people and I honestly feel they will not jeopardize me” a jubilant Sarath […]

The former Sri Lankan army chief, Sarath Fonseka, who had spent nearly two years in prison after running a failed campaign for president, was freed on Monday. His release came as the Sri Lankan government has been increasingly criticized for trampling on civil liberties and human rights.Sri Lankan television showed General Fonseka leaving prison on […]

* Investors await for directions after Fonseka release* Volume slumps to five-week low* Sediment hit by interest rates, rupee volatility* Rupee down on importer dollar demandCOLOMBO, May 21 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan stocks fell on Monday in thin volume as investors awaited direction on the political front from the release of former army chief Sarath […]

(RTTNews) – Former Sri Lankan Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka was released on Monday on presidential pardon after serving two years in jail. Before his departure to Qatar on Saturday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had ordered the release of the former army commander, who was sentenced by a military court in September 2010 to a 30-month […]

The former Sri Lankan Army chief, Sarath Fonseka, walked out of the high-security Welikada prison on Monday into a crowd of supporters and cadre from the United National Party and the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna. The presidential pardon is conditional. He cannot vote or contest election for the next seven years.Thousands of ardent supporters had gathered […]

A day after Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris met U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and officials in Washington DC, Sri Lanka announced that President Mahinda Rajapaksa signed the release papers of the jailed former Army General, Sarath Fonseka.“President Mahinda Rajapaksa signed the papers on the 18th evening and handed over the papers to […]

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s President has ordered the release of his jailed electoral rival, the former army chief Sarath Fonseka, bowing to US demands three years after the end of the island’s long Tamil civil war. The former four-star general will be able to leave prison today after formalities are completed, an official said yesterday, after […]

 (CNN) Sarath Fonseka, the former head of the armed forces in Sri Lanka, was released from prison Monday. A military court-martial in 2010 sentenced him to 30 months in jail for irregular procurements during his time in charge of the army. A previous court-martial had stripped him of his title of general and deprived him […]