rule of law

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 […]

Sources said that road development projects under taken by the CMC, too, had been placed under the supervision of the army to prevent workers from leaving their posts after marking attendance registers. May 8, 2011, 9:37 /By Jayantha de Silva Due to failure on the part of the CMC, the government has placed the Viharamahadevi […]

By Maryam Azwer Almost two years since the end of the conflict, hundreds of people arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) remain in detention. What is of real concern here, is that in many cases, families of those detained have no knowledge of their whereabouts – or even if they are alive. Detainee DilemmaAmong […]

No action by Attorney Gen. to recover duesBy Chandani Kirinde The President’s Fund has been slow in reimbursing medical assistance to patients, even in instances where the directive to expedite such payments came from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Auditor General (AG) has revealed. “Despite the President’s orders to reimburse medical assistance amounting to over Rs […]

The European Parliament, which represents 27 countries, is to debate on Thursday what it calls violations of human rights and humanitarian laws in Sri Lanka. The “emergency debate” has been sought by 50 members of the Green Party after the release of the report of the three-member UN Advisory Panel to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. […]

By Chris Kamalendran The number of voters in the Jaffna electoral district has dropped by more than 400,000 or by 50 percent of the previous figures, according to latest data collected by the Elections Department. Earlier the voter registry for the Jaffna district had 815,000 voters on the list, but the new one being compiled […]

By Kishali Pinto JayawardeneUnder creeping cover of the report of the Advisory Panel mandated by the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG), the Government of Sri Lanka appears to be leading the country even further down the precipitous slope of constitutional anarchy than it has gone so far. Unhappy comparisons to a rowdy nation. At one […]

07 May 2011Colombo, May 6, (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Hashan Tillakaratne on Friday demanded police protection before he shares information on alleged match-fixing with authorities. “As an eyewitness to match-fixing, I will reveal the names of those involved if my security is guaranteed,” Tillakaratne told reporters after the Criminal Investigations Department grilled […]

07 May 2011 00:00By Susitha R. Fernando Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva yesterday warned that the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution was a serious interference by the President in the independence of the judiciary. He said if the proposed Amendment was introduced it would allow the President to limit the term of office […]

06 May 2011Foreign passport holders must continue to register with the Ministry of Defence in order to enter Jaffna despite the war against the LTTE ending three years ago. A group of Foreign passport holders who were born in Sri Lanka told News Now.lk that they were turned back at the Omantai check point while […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has extended the mandate of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) by a period of six months in view of the large number of persons from Sri Lanka and abroad still to give evidence before it. In May 2010, President Rajapaksa appointed the eight-member Commission to report on the lessons to […]

May 3, 2011,By Ajith Alahakoon The President’s Fund has spent a sum of Rs. 1,520 million, during the years 2008 and 2009, without obtaining the consent of its controlling board, the Auditor General says. The AG’s report on the President’s Fund for 2009 points out that a sum of Rs 843,846,792 was spent in 2008. […]

2011-05-03Mr Speaker, The UNP wishes to place its views on the Advisory Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, before the House at this preliminary stage, when some critical decisions have to be made by the Government. Let me briefly recap the background to the current problem. During the last […]

The UN report has returned us to that moment, and if intelligently and constructively used may help us explore roads not taken, toward a better, brighter and kinder future for all its citizens.  by Darini Rajasingham Senanayake It was my sense after May 18, 2009 when the LTTE was defeated that Sri Lanka was missing […]

A Citizens’ initiative based on consultations in the various regions of the country by Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, Dr. Fara Haniffa, Dr. Devenesan Nesiah Preamble Publish Post Sri Lanka was long famous for its rich social diversity and the harmonious co-existence of various communities. Since independence, however, there has been a failure to define and realize […]

02 May 2011, Two veteran Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) politicians, C.V.K Sivagnanam and Mavai Senthirajah, on Sunday urged international supervision of a process that guarantees both a proper negation process and the implementation of results in the talks between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The two officials […]

02 May 2011 By Sandun A. Jayaekera President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday charged that external forces were trying to destabilize Sri Lanka by throwing allegations of Human Rights violations and war crimes. Addressing the UPFA May Day rally at the Colombo Town Hall Grounds, President Rajapaksa alleged that those who wrote reports against Sri Lanka had […]

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 […]