rule of law

No peace dividend; no political solution: the post-war conduct of the Rajapaksas indicate a mindset unresponsive to voluntary internal reforms, be it on devolution, good governance or human rights. This leaves us with a conundrum – is external pressure the only way Sri Lanka can be prevented from remaking old mistakes and retrogressing into past-nightmares? […]

Urgent AppealThe Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Niroshan Premaratne, a professional journalist attached to the Independent Television Network (ITN) of Wickremasinghe Pura, Battaramulla, Colombo was illegally arrested and severely tortured by police officers attached to the Panadura Police Station on 8 May 2011May 20, 2011ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION-URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMMEUrgent […]

20 May 2011The government has failed to find solutions for the issues of the people in the North and the East despite the war has been over for two years points out ‘We are SriLankans’. Issuing a letter to the media ‘We are SriLankans’ states.“It is two years since the end of the war with […]

20 May 2011 Whenever there is a proper foreign policy coupled with professional diplomats, all these problems can be handled without any harm to the country. Unfortunately, we lack it today. Q : In the event of the release of the UN report and Sri Lanka involved in a diplomatic crisis, how will the JVP […]

20 May 2011By S.S. SelvanayagamThe Supreme Court today directed the Attorney General to consider instructing the relevant authorities to postpone for one week the impugned mandatory training in military camps for the students who are eligible to enter the State Universities.The Court made this direction in the wake of the training for the first batch […]

May 19, 2011/Basil FernandoCJ wearing the same colour of Presidents Satakaya! The appointment of the first lady Chief Justice would normally have been a day for great celebrations. However, in the context of the attack on the Sri Lankan judiciary since the adoption of the 1978 Constitution such a celebration would belie the actual situation […]

In other words, they were discussing the shuffling of Central, provincial and concurrent lists in a way that devolution of powers to the provinces was maximised. This message was conveyed “very categorically” by each of Mr. Peiris’ interlocutors — Dr. Singh, Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna, National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary […]

The Rajapaksa troika needs to accept this simple truth. They’ve got to be honest at least to themselves. President Rajapaksa needs to sideline political clowns, to have sensible and practical advice with accurate information.  by Kusal PereraSri Lanka was sent a very confidential message by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through Assistant Secretary for […]

Why has Sri Lanka descended to this lower depth? The intelligence officer’s revelation is not unique. People are exposed to mega lies all the time. Antennas brings bring such lies to homes day and night, every day. by Basil Fernando According to a media report, a former army intelligence officer told the Mount Lavinia Magistrate […]

Charles Haviland / Colombo  Two years after the end of the war, most Sri Lankans feel a sense of relief that there is no more fighting, and that the Tamil Tiger bomb attacks which used to rock towns and cities including the capital no longer take place. Some families are still waiting for the missing […]

This made me reflect on the accuracy of the oft made statement that Sri Lanka is such a great democracy because large numbers turn out at the polls and elect, in certain instances, perhaps some of the worst criminals in the country who then become ministers, deputies and monitors. 10 May, 2011. by Harsha de […]

by Easwaran Rutnam /17 May 2011 The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) is to hold an urgent meeting tomorrow after the house of Eastern Province Chief Minister and TMVP leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan was subjected to a sudden police search this evening.A TMVP official said that plain clothed officers entered the residence of the […]

Despite spin doctoring by envoys, EU resolution could have grave implications for Sri Lanka India still undecided as crucial battle looms at UNHRC sessions By Sunday Times Political Editor On Thursday, Sri Lanka completes two years after the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas. In that span, the government has taken several measures to ensure the […]

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 […]

14 May 2011 12:38 Days after the killing of a member of the Karuna faction, an unidentified gunman shot and killed a supporter of Eastern Province Chief Minister S. Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan in Batticaloa last night, police said. They said that the 34 year-old victim, identified as M. Ilanga Kumar, who is a Bar owner […]

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 2011, By Shamindra Ferdinando Prabhakaran’s successor, T. S. Pathmanathan or simply ‘KP’ as he is known, says the controversial ‘Darusman Report’ will not help the ongoing national reconciliation process. Instead, it can cause irreparable damage to ambitious reconciliation efforts, he asserts.Pathmanathan asserts the report commissioned by UNSG Ban Ki-moon will only strengthen the […]

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 […]

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 […]

The General Secretary of the JVP said, “Imperialists make use of internal crises in countries to interfere in them. 11 May 2011 19:43 Whatever facts are included in the report compiled by the ‘Panel of Experts’ appointed by the UN Secretary General, the JVP rejects the political objectives that were the background for compiling such […]

Speaking at a gathering to collect signatures in blood to oppose UN panel report on Sri Lanka Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva blamed the chairperson of the panel of having a beast mother. here is the translation of relevant section:   ” I ask this Darusman , the executioner  whether he used his had or […]

 The Daily Mirror today runs a full page add attributed to the ‘International Accountability Network’. Thiran De Silva, Head Of IT, Sri Lanka Army along with the fact that this individual is currently a Web Consultant/Trainer to Sri Lanka Army. The ’International Accountability Network’ website is, politely put, a dysfunctional mess with content largely automatically […]

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 […]

Ambassador spoke to Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa to request access for the ICRC to evacuate dead and wounded. Rajapaksa refused, contending the GSL could manage on its own. Ambassador spoke to Gothabaya Rajapaksa on the morning of May 17 to urge him to allow the ICRC into the conflict zone to mediate a surrender. Rajapaksa […]

9 May, 2011 The Uthayan newspaper runs a revealing story on its website which suggests that on 8th May, the campaign to collect a million signatures against the UN Panel’s report basically forced people to sign up to the campaign. Groundviews has already covered this bizarre, mindless campaign when it started in Colombo, before in […]

6 May 2011, 10:26 pmA Statement by the Executive Committee of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (1) Trade Unions may not have a long history but in the short history of their existence they have acquired an indelible presence in the affairs of nation states. Trade unions historically evolved as organizations to defend collectively […]

This behaviour, in a way, signifies the approach and attitude of the government in general. Following this general pattern, Minister came up with a big conspiracy theory linking the university teachers and their trade unions to imperialism and Publish Post Tamil diaspora 8 May 2011, /By Sumanasiri Liayanage Faced with the threat of trade union […]