Reconciliation

United States Ambassador Allaina B. Teplitz has been summoned to the Foreign Relations Ministry today to be told of the government’s displeasure over the travel ban on Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Shavendra de Silva, considered a ‘war hero’ in Sri Lanka, and his family. Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who will meet her at noon today, […]

Image: Vikalpa (14 February 2020) In Sri Lanka, many families of the forcibly disappeared mark 14 February as ‘Missing Lovers Day’ in remembrance of their loved ones and to demand truth and justice The Sri Lankan government must deliver justice, truth and reparation to the families of the forcibly disappeared, Amnesty International said today, as […]

Speaking at UN Security Council Open Debate on ‘Peacebuilding and sustaining peace: Transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict situations’ on 13 February 2020, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratne said that ” when seeking mechanisms of transitional justice, related simple theories would need to take cognizance of the various historical, […]

Issuing a statement after the meeting with visiting EU delegation. the TNA says that “The EU delegation assured that their concerns on the justice for missing persons and ascertain the truth will be reflected soon in their decisions.” Full statement fellows: The European Union delegation led by Ms. Paola Pampaloni Director, Deputy Managing Director, Asia […]

Image: A father has written his disappeared son’s name on a remembrance wall, Malidu Liyanage David and the day of the disappearance.  © sunanda deshapriya The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has commenced issuing Interim Reports to families of the missing and disappeared in order to obtain a Certificate of Absence (CoA), Saliya Pieris P.C. […]

“Let me bow before you my country, where It is ordained that none will walk the streets with his head held high.” Faiz (Let me bow before you) On the 72nd anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa conferred the rank of major general on 17 brigadiers. The list included Deshapriya Gunawardane, the commanding officer […]

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) was established under the Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration, and Discharge of Functions) Act, No. 14 of 2016, and has a mandate to establish the fate of persons who went missing or disappeared in connection with the conflict, political unrest or civil disturbances or as a result of […]

(Suhasini Haidar/The Hindu) Sri Lankan Prime Minister seeks delay in debt payment. Sri Lanka wants India to allow debt repayments by Colombo to be deferred for three years, visiting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said in order to help the country deal with its massive debt burden. The issue was at the top of the agenda […]

Image: Sri Lankan traditional dancers perform during an event to mark the anniversary of country’s independence from British colonial rule in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) The 72nd Independence Day celebrations took place this year at the Independence Square under the auspices of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Those interested in national […]

Image: For the first time since 2016, there will be no Tamil national anthem at the 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Sri Lanka(AFP). (Press Trust of India/Colombo) The then Sri Lankan government in 2015 started including the Tamil national anthem as a means of achieving reconciliation with the Tamil minority community. For the first time […]

Unrealized government commitments to pursue truth, justice and reparations, continued impunity for violations and abuses, compromised freedoms of religion and expression characterized 2019 for Sri Lanka, Amnesty International said as the human rights organization released its annual report on events in the Asia-Pacific region. Human Rights in Asia-Pacific: Review of 2019 published today by Amnesty International […]

Since his election on 16 November 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, have initiated fundamental changes to policies on ethnic relations, the legacy of a 26-year civil war, and the rule of law. Mahinda had previously served as Sri Lanka’s president and Gotabaya as defence minister during the […]

(January 26, 2020) Last week, President Gotabaya Rajapakse had told U.N. Resident Coordinator Ms. Hanaa Singer that those reported missing from the war are “actually dead” and that the government would soon issue death certificates. Although the President has since clarified that death certificates will follow proper investigations, his remarks are an affront to mothers, […]

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday informed the United Nations Resident Coordinator Hanna Singer his government would give support to families of missing persons in order to continue with their lives, despite the Tamil Politicians’ objections. Outlining his plans to address the issue of missing persons, President Rajapaksa explained that these missing persons are actually dead. Most […]

We are deeply disappointed that a Bill to repeal the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act of 1951 (MMDA) has been tabled in Parliament by MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana on 8th January 2020. It is claimed that the purpose of the Bill is to address the grievances of Muslim women and children. In reality, it does not represent […]

(New York) – Respect for fundamental human rights in Sri Lanka is in serious jeopardy following Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election as president in November 2019, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020. Rajapaksa, along with his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was named prime minister, were implicated in numerous human rights violations during their previous years in […]

We are bang into the New Year. The new session of Parliament has been opened by the President. Parliamentary politics could move to a new swing, with a government not having a formal majority in the House. There is also another political tune at play – that of the National Anthem. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa acknowledged […]

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 […]

Parliamentarian of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), M.A. Sumanthiran says the incumbent government is marring the national reconciliation process. Speaking to the media of the government’s decision to sing the national anthem only in Sinhala at the upcoming National Day celebration, the parliamentarian said, this indicates the direction in which this government is moving in order […]

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 […]

Speaking at the press conference today held in New Delhi on the visit of Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime minster of India has said that ” I am confident that the Government of Sri Lanka will carry forward the process of reconciliation, to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamils for equality, justice, peace and […]

Gotabhaya Rajapakse [Credit: AP Photo] The international messages of congratulations sent to Sri Lanka’s newly-elected president, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, all underscore the fact that the strategically-located island is enmeshed in geo-political rivalries, centred above all on Washington’s determination to undermine Chinese influence throughout the region and prepare for war. Rajapakse, an ex-military officer and defence secretary […]

Image: Gotabaya Rajapaksa met with  India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on 20 Nov 2019. The Indian government expects Sri Lanka’s new government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to take forward the process of national reconciliation in order to meet the aspirations of the Tamil minority for “equality, justice, peace and dignity”. This was the […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s new president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, gestures after addressing the nation during his swearing-in ceremony at the Ruwanwelisaya temple in Anuradhapura on Nov. 18. LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES. Gotabaya Rajapaksa of the Sri Lanka People’s Front was sworn in as president of Sri Lanka on Monday, after defeating Sajith Premadasa of the United National Party […]

“Accepting our request and rejecting the call to boycott or to vote for a Tamil candidate and by voting for Mr. Sajith Premadasa the Tamil people have sent a clear message to the leaders of our country and to the international community, that the Tamil people are firm in achieving their rights, within a united […]

Sri Lanka’s eighth presidential election held last Sunday has produced an outcome that has surprised the winners, the losers as well as the observers. The most obvious, and arguably disquieting, and utterly unanticipated trend that became immediately visible is the re-sharpening of the majority-minority divide in the citizens’ electoral choices across the country. Mr Gotabhaya […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s elections chief Mahinda Deshapriya displays ballot boxes that will be used in the upcoming presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Thursday, October 31, 2019. The voting is scheduled to be held on November 16.  © 2019 AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena. (New York) – The winner of Sri Lanka’s presidential election on November 16, 2019 will face enormous challenges to […]

I condemn in the strongest possible terms your desperate attempt to drag the Venerable Mahanayake Theras of the Three Nikayas into your fearmongering election campaign. On Wednesday, you publicly appealed to these Venerable Prelates to inject themselves into a political debate on your behalf by manipulating and misrepresenting the letter and spirit of my election […]

Who is winning? This seems to be the question many people these days are keen to find an answer to. Whenever this question is put to me, my usual answer is one that disappoints the interlocutor: “It is difficult to say. But I can tell you a little bit about what I speculate as the […]

Image; Ruling party presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa presenting his manifesto to Chief monk of the Malwatta chapter. (Image from SP tweeter)  R.K. Rudrakrishnan. Sinhala majoritarianism dominates the campaign for the November presidential election. THERE were quite a few visitors at the world’s emptiest airport, the Chinese-built Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, just over 200 kilometres south […]