By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Is Mahinda Playing Fair by Gota in the Presidential Candidacy Issue? Was the heading of an article by this writer that was published a fortnight ago in the “Daily Mirror”. Let me begin this week’s article by excerpting five relevant paragraphs from the D.B.S. Jeyaraj column of March 9th 2019. Here are the …
Continue reading ‘Rajapaksas Close Ranks Behind Gotabaya as Presidential Candidate’ »
By A.J.A.Abeynayake Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne refused bail to Chairman of Perpetual Treasuries Jeffrey Joseph Aloysius, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Pattinige Samarasiri and three directors of Perpetual Treasuries (PTL) when they were produced before her yesterday in connection with the bond scams. The suspects were remanded till April 5. The defence …
By Hemantha Randunu A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank and the Chairman and three Directors of the Perpetual Treasuries (Pvt.) Ltd. (PTL) were arrested by the CID, yesterday, in connection with the Central Bank bond scams. They are former Deputy of the Central Bank Pattinige Samarasiri, PTL Chairman Jeffrey Joseph Aloysius and PTL …
A deputy governor of Sri Lanka’s central bank and directors of a dealer in government securities linked to the biggest securities scam in the island have been arrested, police said. Retired Deputy Governor Pathinige Samarasiri, directors of Perpetual Treasuries Chithra Ranjan Hulugalle, P Gunewardene and Muthuraja Surendran was arrested by the criminal investigation department, police …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Is former President Mahinda Rajapaksa Playing fair by his younger brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as far as the Presidential Election candidate issue is concerned? This question has popped up in the minds of many observers of Sri Lanka’s political scene in recent times. Although the Rajapaksa brothers present an outward image of monolithic unity, …
Continue reading ‘Is Mahinda Playing Fair By Gotabhaya In The Presidential Candidacy Issue?’ »
Twelve suspects were arrested in connection with a plot to assassinate an active Tamil politician, the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) told court last week. Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne allowed the CCD to detain the 12 suspects for questioning about the alleged assassination plot. The arrested persons included members of the underworld and persons with …
By Maneshka Borham The now famous CID investigation into the abduction and murder of 11 youth by a Navy extortion gang, helped sleuths to break open a secondary racket involving a separate group of naval personnel, including high ranking officers, to abduct businessmen for ransom In June 2010 the gang robbery unit of the Criminal …
The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Member of Parliament M.A. Sumanthiran’s constitutional justification for seeking foreign judges to serve in the proposed Judicial Mechanism to try alleged war crime cases, has put the government in a spot, and his Tamil rivals in the shade. In a statement in parliament on Friday, Sumanthiran said that there …
By Maneshka Borham The Police commenced an investigation this week into the defacing of the newly installed signboard at the bottom of the steps leading to Sri Pada on the Hatton-Nallathanniya trail. The tri lingual signboard displaying the name of the revered mountain, and its Tamil translation in particular appeared to have irked certain Sinhalese …
By Anurangi Singh Just a day after the grand tamasha that took place at the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel, to launch the ‘National Action Plan for combating bribery and corruption’, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), promptly went before the Colombo Magistrate, and, based on technical grounds, withdrew cases filed against MP …
By Dr.Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Recently at a workshop that focused on the events of October 26 and thereafter, a participant remarked that the one thing that stood out with respect to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was his ability to maintain grace under pressure for the duration of the coup against the Constitution. There are many …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Accountability in Sri Lanka was always about the working of the criminal law. And Justice was always about the clash of the ‘non-equals’ with the ‘more than equals.’ In that clash, seldom have the ‘non-equals’ triumphed in this country, as bitter lessons of our legal history so persistently teach us. Refresher …
By Namini Wijedasa The son of a controversial Indian politician from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is a director in, not just one, but two companies recently incorporated in Sri Lanka. The second was set up ostensibly to implement a US$ 3.85 billion (Rs 685.5 billion) oil refinery project in Hambantota. But the initiative is …
By Manoj Colambage Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel Yasantha Kodagoda is set to take oaths as President of the Court of Appeal, ending months of sparring and deadlock over the judicial appointment, the Sunday Observer learns. Kodagoda was nominated to head the Court by President Maithripala Sirisena. The Constitutional Council yesterday unanimously approved the …
By Disna Mudalige and Camelia Nathaniel Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran made a stern appeal to the government to adhere to the time bound implementation of the UNHRC resolution which the country co-sponsored for the third time last Thursday. Joining the Committee Stage debate in Parliament yesterday, Sumanthiran warned, “I want to make …
By P.K.Balachandran The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s resolution on the rights situation in Sri Lanka, which was passed in Geneva on Thursday through consensus, meets Colombo’s requirements. Resolution 40/L.1 not only gives two years’ extension for the implementation of resolution 30/1 of 2015, but also says that the recommendations will be implemented “with the …
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday through consensus passed a resolution giving the government of Sri Lanka two more years to implement the resolution 30/1 of 2015, ie: until March 2021. After the resolution was adopted the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, said that the passing of the resolution 40/L.1 is a …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake The UNCHR has adopted the resolution on Sri Lanka, without a vote. We have two more years to give further proof of peace building and reconciliation. Don’t we feel great about using the Lord Naseby facts to strengthen our case? Shouldn’t we feel even greater that the number of Tamil civilians allegedly …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Former Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary and Retired Colonel of the Sri Lankan Army Gotabaya Nandasena Rajapaksa generally Known as Gota is likely to be nominated as the official candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Party(SLPP) at the forthcoming 2019 Presidential elections. After a prolonged period of indecision and speculation, the decision …
Sri Lanka today rejected UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s proposals to establish an Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Sri Lanka and calling to implement a detailed and comprehensive strategy for the transitional process with a ‘fixed timeline’. “We all are eager to see results. However, pressing for …
Singapore rejected Wednesday Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s allegation it was sheltering a former central bank chief wanted for fraud, saying Colombo failed to provide documents to support its extradition request. Sirisena on Monday accused Singapore of sheltering Arjuna Mahendran, one of his country’s former central bank chiefs wanted in connection with a high-profile $74 …
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has criticized former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for challenging the Geneva Resolution on the basis of disclosure made by Lord Naseby in the House of Lords. Samaraweera issued the following statement in response to Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa’s statement dated17 March 2019 instructing the government on what its position should be when …
Sri Lanka’s has failed to fully implement its commitments to ensure accountability for war-time atrocities because of a lack of vision at the highest level of leadership in the county, the UN human rights chief said today. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told the council in Geneva that Colombo cooperated with the …
The UN human rights chief yesterday warned Sri Lanka it could slip back to conflict unless it addressed the “worst crimes” during the final stages of its ethnic war. Michelle Bachelet told the Human Rights Council that Sri Lanka was yet to set up the special judicial mechanism as promised four years ago to try …
Presenting the report on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka to the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on Sri Lanka to implement a detailed, comprehensive strategy for the transitional process with a fixed timeline. Acknowledging the Sri …
By Ranga Jayasuriya For years, foreign policy mandarins and their political bosses in this country lived and re-lived a lie that Sri Lanka’s destiny would be decided in Geneva. They were joined by the acolytes of the Tamil Tiger terrorists, their financers and paid and otherwise propagandists, who made the gullible in the diaspora part …
The Supreme Court, yesterday, issued a restraining order preventing Nagananda Kodituwakku from practising as a lawyer for three years. A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Nalin Perera, Justices Sisira de Abrew and Prasanna Jayawardena issued the order over a 2015 defamation case. The case was filed by Justice Vijith Malalgoda, while he was the President …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardena In contrast to Colombo’s largely polarized sound and fury on the Counter-Terror Bill, it is refreshing to look at the manner in which South Africa has dealt with uncannily similar dilemmas of balancing national security imperatives and constitutional rights in bringing its counter-terror law into effect more than a decade ago. …
The UNF government must officially communicate to the UN Human Rights Commissioner and members of the UNHRC that Sri Lanka will no longer co-sponsor resolutions against itself in the UNHRC; Sri Lanka does not accept the allegations made in OHCHR Report No: 30/61 of 28 September 2015 and will not set up a hybrid war …
By Aanya Wipulasena Exorbitant debts from loans provided by Microfinance institutions to failing businesses have pushed at least 170 people into suicide, islandwide,in the past year alone, with the highest suicide rates being reported among women, and area-wise in the Vavuniya, Jaffna and Batticaloa districts, Progressive Peasants’ Congress (PPC) shows. The suicide rates are just …
By Jayadeva Uyangoda The controversy over whether the former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda would be arrested captured public attention last week. The saga has left the citizen concerned about the independence of the judiciary, and its responsibility to protect powerless and helpless citizens when their rights are repeatedly violated. It also highlighted the need …
By Aanya Wipulasena Over the past decade, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has been exclusively probing graft cases involving ‘small people’, while cases of corruption of over Rs.10 million are left largely uninvestigated, a Right to Information application has revealed. Good governance activist Chandra Jayaratne, wrote to President Maithripala Sirisena …
By Yasmine Gooneratne Sri Lanka recently received high praise from the writers of The Lonely Planet as a country they rate as Number One in a list of places which well reward visitors’ interest. Their views have been echoed by Hidden Travellers, a group of travel writers who aim to disclose the good as well …
By Sanjana Hattotuwa Our wait for a telephone was just a few years. At the time, in the early 90s, we knew of families who were on a waiting list for close upon a decade. I was at school when Sri Lanka Telecom had installed the rotary device. Like the first mobile phones from Motorola …
TNA MP M.A Sumanthiran queried how Parliament can approve the President’s expenditure head when the President is trying to send a separate Opposition delegation to Geneva to represent himself when a government delegation is also attending the UNHRC sessions. He noted that this is an important head of expenditure that has been proposed in this …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa whose passport was impounded in connection with the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum case was yesterday temporally permitted to travel abroad by the Permanent High Court-at-Bar. The Trial-at-Bar bench comprising High Court Judges Sampath Abeykoon (President), Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Janaki Rajaratne allowed Gotabaya Rajapaksa to travel abroad between …
By Manekshaw A memorandum was handed over by the representatives of the aggrieved families of the disappeared persons two days ago to Northern Governor Dr. Suren Raghavan who is one of the five members of the delegation sent by President TMaithripala Sirisena to attend the UNHRC session in Geneva. It was on the request made …
Multiple fatalities were inflicted at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday when at least one gunman opened fire on worshippers, police said. Witnesses told media that a man dressed in a military-style, camouflage outfit, and carrying an automatic rifle had started randomly shooting people in the Al Noor mosque. The …
The New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Arden has given a short speech responding to the shooting at mosques in Christchurch that has left several people dead. Jacinda Ardern said the incident was “one of New Zealand’s darkest days” and that the victims had chosen to make New Zealand their home. “They are us,” she said. …
By Michael Mcgowan Before the shooting starting, the Al Noor mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch was “peaceful, calm and quiet”. “As it is when the sermon starts, you could hear a pin drop,” a man identified as Ramzan told reporters on Friday. Then about 1.40pm during afternoon prayers, gunfire broke out. “It …
by Lisa Martin Forty -nine people have been shot dead and 20 injured in attacks at two mosques during Friday afternoon prayers in Christchurch in what is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s history. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was “one of New Zealand’s darkest days” as police uncovered multiple explosive devices attached …
By Saman Indrajith Women and children in the Northern Province were being exposed to a sinister racket of producing rape films sponsored by members of the same community who were resident abroad, JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake, yesterday, told parliament. Participating in the Committee Stage Debate of the Appropriation Bill 2019 on the Ministry of National …
By Shivani de Zylva The commitments made by the Government of Sri Lanka four years ago at the UNHRC session in Geneva have had lasting impressions on its citizens. While some perceive the commitments of Resolution 30/1 (Res 30/1) as an international obligation that threatens our sovereignty or a political tool and a box ticking …
By Prof N. Shanmugaratnam ´Economic Development Framework for a Northern Province Master Plan´, is a study commissioned by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and carried out by a team of seven members with competence in relevant fields and knowledge of post-war conditions in the province. The study provides an opportunity for an open discussion …
The Core Group on Sri Lanka, led by the United Kingdom on Monday tabled the Resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The Core Group on Sri Lanka, comprising Canada, Germany, Montenegro, North Macedonia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland presented the resolution A/HRC/40/L.1 titled …
By S.S. Selvanayagam The Court of Appeal yesterday directed Petitioner Gotabaya Rajapaksa to re-issue notices pertaining to his Writ Petition contesting the Order of the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar, which is hearing the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum Case, on the Respondents. The Bench comprising Justices Achala Wengappuli and Arjuna Obeysekere fixed the matter for 26 March.
By Dinasena Ratugamage A special note would be sent to the UNHRC via the Governor of the Northern Province, Suren Raghavan, former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, M. K. Sivajilingam said. Sivajilingam said that after learning that Raghavan would attend the UNHRC sessions, as a representative of the President, he had handed over the letter …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The year was 1985. Junius Richard Jayawardene was the Sri Lankan President while Rajiv Gandhi was Prime minister of India. The New Delhi facilitated talks between an official Sri Lankan Govt delegation and six entities representing the Sri Lankan Tamils were going on in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu during the months of …
Continue reading ‘The Politics of Demonizing Federalism and Depicting It as Separatism’ »
By Manoj Colambage For 10 long years, Sarojini Naganathan has gone from court house to court house, in a seemingly endless search for her only child, Rajiv. On Thursday, when former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda’s fundamental rights petition seeking to block his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was taken up by a three …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Sri Lanka’s draft Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) is not a curate’s egg of mostly good with a little bit of bad thrown in. Rather, it is the reverse. The draft Act is a whole lot of bad with some good thrown into the unappealing mixture. Ingenious traps by ‘deep state’ security …
By P.K.Balachandran Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Sri Lankan Defense and Urban Development Secretary and younger brother of the country’ fifth President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is confident of getting elected as President of Sri Lanka at the end this year. He said in an interview here on Wednesday, that his confidence rests on his belief that Sri Lankans …
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Thursday prevented the imminent arrest of retired admiral Wasantha Karannagoda in connection with murder, but he was ordered to make a statement to the CID which he has been avoiding. A three-judge bench allowed the former navy chief’s application to block the police Criminal Investigations Department from arresting him in connection …
Sri Lanka’s president went back Wednesday on pledges to the UN Human Rights Council to investigate war-time atrocities, saying he did not want to “re-open old wounds”. Sri Lankan government troops were accused of killing at least 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians in the final months of the island’s 37-year guerrilla war that ended in May …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake What exactly will the special Presidential Trio sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council – UNHCR – in Geneva do? Will Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe and Northern Governor Dr. Suren Raghavan, be a rival team to the official Sri Lankan diplomatic team led by our Ambassador in Geneva? There …
By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana The law should apply to former navy commander Wasantha Karannangoda if he had done anything wrong, Field Marshal and MP Sarath Fonseka said today during the debate on the second reading of the Budget. He said the former navy commander should be penalized if he was found guilty on …
Romesh De Silva PC launched a blistering attack on CID Gang Robberies Branch OIC Nishantha Silva, the lead investigator in the controversial Navy abductions case that has garnered wide public interest. De Silva PC said that in February 2015, IP Silva had been handed over the investigation into the alleged abduction racket by the Navy, …
By S. S. Selvanayagam Justice Kumudini Wickramasinghe yesterday recused herself from being a member of the Court of Appeal Bench, which is taking up the Writ petition filed by former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Petitioner Gotabhaya filed his Writ petition contesting the order of the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar which is hearing the D. A. …
By Sithum Chathuranga and Romesh Madusanka The Carbon dating report from the Beta Analytic Institute of Florida, USA has revealed that the skeletal remains found in the Mannar mass grave dates back to a period between 1499 and 1719 AD (Anno Domini). However, the analysts are of the opinion that it was impossible to determine …
By Chitra Weerarathne The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda to be present at the CID next Monday to record a statement. Karannagoda would submit an affidavit to the Supreme Court to the effect that he would neither interfere with witnesses at the High Court trial nor leave the country. In …
A love triangle may have helped trigger investigations into what has become Sri Lanka’s worst abduction and murder case by a rouge unit under former navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda, the Supreme Court was told. Documents filed in the highest court suggest that the horrendous kidnappings and killings took place right under the nose of Admiral …
By Vidya Ram Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of a Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seeker’s claim that the Home Office was wrong to reject his contention that he was tortured back in Sri Lanka, and asked the Upper Tribunal to look at the case afresh, in what is considered a landmark judgment. …
N. Ram, Chairman of The Hindu publishing group, responded strongly to Attorney General K.K. Venugopal’s argument in the Supreme Court that the Rafale deal documents were “stolen” and those publishing them were guilty under the Official Secrets Act. “We did not steal the documents from the Ministry of Defence, we got them from confidential sources …
By Shavini Madhara The Attorney General will file indictments before the Colombo High Court against former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and 13 other suspects. They are accused of being involved in the abduction and forced disappearance of 11 youth in 2009. Senior State Counsel Janaka Bandara made this remark when the magisterial inquiry into the …
COUNTER-TERRORISM police arrested a Tamil musician at Heathrow airport hours before he was due to perform at a UN summit in Switzerland. Vakeesan Thangavel, 36, was surrounded by armed police on Monday morning after he boarded a flight bound for Geneva. Officers allegedly shouted: “You are attempting terrorism! You have got a flag!”
MAKING slit-throat gestures at Tamil protesters was part of the job description for Sri Lanka’s military attache in London, Westminster Magistrates Court heard today (Mar 1). Barrister Nicholas Wayne made the extraordinary argument in defence of his client, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando. The soldier was caught on camera running his fingers across his throat while standing …
(Text of a Press Release Issued on March 6th 2019 on behalf of the Peoples Commission on Land initiated by the Peoples Alliance for Right to Land(PARL) The People’s Commission on Land is initiated by the People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL), a network of displaced communities, civil society organizations and activists working on …
By Col R Hariharan President Maithripala Sirisena is reported to be seriously examining the implications of withdrawing from the US-backed UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution Sri Lanka had co-sponsored in September 2015. By co-sponsoring the resolution, Sri Lanka was committed to set up a tribunal with international participation to investigate allegations of war crimes …
By Disna MudaligeCamelia Nathaniel and Menaka Indrakumar The Government yesterday rolled out sweeping incentives for all social segments of the country presenting an all-inclusive Budget for the year 2019. The Budget also included a series of new proposals to meet revenue targets and successfully confront the fiscal challenges. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, delivering the 2019 …
True to expectations, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday presented a people-friendly Budget for 2019, balanced with maintaining policy consistency and reforms for the private sector, though the Opposition and some analysts were wary. A segment of Samaraweera’s proposals were targeted at increasing economic competitiveness, while others were focused on providing voter incentives for an election …
(Text of a Lecture delivered by Dr.Radhika Coomaraswamy on 2nd March 2019 at an event held at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute in Colombo, commemorating the life of former Attorney – General Shibly Aziz PC, who served as a member of the Constitutional Council) I want to thank the organizers for having invited us here today …
By Dr.Upul Wijayawardhana The remarkable win of 12-year-old Nishi Uggalla, from Manchester, on Saturday night’s (2nd March) final of the Channel Four’s Child Genius competition was, no doubt, a proud moment for all Sri Lankans domiciled in UK. But it was much more because she made it ultra-special and won the hearts of everyone who …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Sri Lanka’s effort to find a closure to the victims of the protracted terrorist war is obstructed by two ideological extremes, each feeding into the agenda of the other. On one extreme end of the scale, Sinhala ultra-nationalists and electoral calculations of Southern politics have opposed almost all on-going and past initiatives …
By Sharmini Serasinghe The 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva is currently underway. The report on Sri Lanka will be formally submitted on the 20th of March. Less than a week before the Geneva Sessions commenced on the 25th of February, former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda’s impending arrest …
by Shamindra Ferdinando Vidyajothi Prof. M.S. Rizvi Sheriff on Saturday (March 02) declared that wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not just another Rajapaksa but a man with immense talent, skill and vision. The academic said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his opinion a man well worthy of securing the political leadership in Sri Lanka. Prof. …
By Manoj Colambage Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda inched closer to arrest last Thursday, with the Supreme Court delaying the consideration of a petition filed by the former Navy Commander seeking to prevent his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with the murder of 11 young men alleged to have been abducted for ransom …
By Col R Hariharan With IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman back home from Pakistan and receiving a hero’s welcome, tempers have cooled down somewhat between India and its neighbour which were on the brink of a confrontation. These relations entered a potential conflict zone after 12 IAF Mirage 2000s carried out a carefully crafted …
Former navy chief, Wasantha Karannagoda, who is wanted in connection with the abduction and killing of 11 young men has for the first time involved former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the case, court records showed. Filing a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the prevention of his imminent arrest by the Criminal Investigations Department, …
By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London The Westminster Magistrate’s Court ruled that Brigadier Priyanka Fernando was not covered by diplomatic immunity when he made a throat-cutting gesture. When the case came up for hearing again in London on Friday, the judge said that his diplomatic immunity covered only what was in his job description, which was …
By Namini Wijedasa Sri Lanka, along with the Britain-led ‘core group’, will co-sponsor a fresh resolution at the UN Human Rights Council on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in the country, authoritative sources said. The ‘Zero Draft Resolution on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ is already in circulation. Among other …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Verbal gymnastics indulged in by Sri Lankan politicians in respect of the draft Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), now before Parliament awaiting amendments from the sectoral oversight committee, are vastly entertaining in truth. The ‘political hot potato’ Unlikely champions of constitutional rights are emerging from the Rajapaksa-led opposition. This week, the de …
The defence of residual diplomatic immunity did not apply to the throat-slitting gesture made by Brig Priyanka Fernando, former Defence Attache at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London, as it was not a part of his official duties, a judge at the Westminster Magistrate’s Court decided this week. However, the withdrawal of the arrest …
By Ranjith Padmasiri Former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and other navy officers are to face a High Court trial-at-bar over the alleged abduction and disappearance of 11 youths, the Attorney General’s Department has decided. The case is to be taken up without a jury in view of the public controversy it has created. In terms …
By Ajith Siriwardana A group of five members of parliament from across party lines came together today to publish their declarations of assets and liabilities in the public domain, Transparency International Sri Lanka said. It said in a statement that the five MP’s who came forward to do this included State Minister Eran Wickramaratne, Vasudeva …
By Uditha Jayasinghe With democracy under threat around the world, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power yesterday called on Sri Lanka to protect its democratic ideals and institutions, so that fostering unity, promoting equality, and improving development remain key priorities. Delivering a well-researched and eloquent speech at the ceremony to mark three …
By S. S. Selvanayagam Justice Priyantha Jayawardane yesterday recused himself from the Bench which is hearing the Fundamental Rights petition filed by former Navy Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda seeking an Interim Order from the Supreme Court from being arrested. The petition came up before the Bench comprising Chief Justice Priyasath Dep, Justices Priyantha Jayawardane and Murdu …
By Saman Gunadasa When over 100,000 estate workers went on strike last December to demand a 1,000-rupee ($US5.50) daily basic wage, the Planters Association of Ceylon, the representative body of the Sri Lankan plantation companies dismissed the demand, declaring it unaffordable. The plantation companies made this claim amidst soaring profits for the majority of them, …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Close on the heels of retired Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda filing a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court to prevent him being arrested in connection with the alleged wartime disappearance of 11 youth, the police have arrested ex-Lt. Commander Sampath Munasinghe alias ‘Navy Sampath,’ in connection with the inquiry. Karannagoda’s case is …
A man accused by Sri Lanka’s president of orchestrating a plot to assassinate him was cleared of any wrongdoing by a court in Colombo on Wednesday. Investigators said there was no credible evidence the man was plotting to kill Maithripala Sirisena, who justified sacking his prime minister in October in part because cabinet was not …
By W.D. A few moons ago, we learnt of former Lion King Mufasa’s seven-year plan. The gambit was simple: safeguard his son Simba’s path to the throne by forging an unlikely alliance with King Rafiki, the baboon that had dethroned the lions. No one in the animal kingdom predicted that Mufasa would act so hastily …
Sri Lanka’s government Tuesday terminated the services of Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) chief Ravi Waidyalankara amid serious allegations of graft, official sources said. The cabinet of ministers at their meeting Tuesday discussed the future of Senior Deputy Inspector-General who is also suspected of passing sensitive information to two Singapore nationals implicated in the highly …
By Nuwan Senarathna The Counter Terrorism Bill presented to Parliament will hinder the rights of workers, trade unions and journalist, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G.L Peiris said yesterday pointing out that it would reduce their capacity of demonstrating and going on strikes “This Act will be used to suppress people who speak …
Sanath Jayasuriya has been banned from all cricket for two years after admitting breaching two counts of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, the ICC said in a press release yesterday. The former Sri Lanka Cricket Chair of Selectors admitted to being in breach of Article 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of the the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, the release …
By Meera Srinivasan Families of forcefully disappeared persons in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province observed a hartal on Monday, demanding justice for war-time human rights abuses. According to sources in the northern districts, most schools, shops and business establishments were shut, in an act of solidarity with the relatives of missing persons, some of whom have …
Former navy chief, Wasantha Karannagoda, has been accused of conspiracy to murder and made a suspect in the internationally-condemned killing of 11 young men a decade ago. Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake impounded the retired admiral’s passport on Friday after police named him the 14th suspect in the botched abductions for ransom carried out between …
By S.S.Selvanayagam Former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda today filed a fundamental rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking an interim order preventing him from being arrested in connection with the investigations into the abduction and killing of 11 youths in 2008-2009. He cited OIC Nishantha Silva and Director Shani Abeysekera of the …
By Taylor Dibbert Sri Lanka’s civil war ended tragically in May 2009. Ten years on, the wounds of war remain unhealed. That has significant implications for the country’s future trajectory and ensures that, absent some big changes, a return to violence at some later date cannot be ruled out. Besides, victims and their family members …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ is the title of a long tale written by Rudyard Kipling in 1888. This very popular story was made into a successful film starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Christopher Plummer by the well-known director John Huston in 1975. The objective of this article however is not …
by D.B.S.Jeyaraj Journalists in the line of duty are required to write about different people from all walks of life but it is very rarely that they write about themselves or fellow journalists. It is accepted as part of a scribe’s lot in life. As far as the fourth estate is concerned it goes with …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene It is a matter for raucous entertainment when Sri Lanka’s opposition Members of Parliament, some with the proud boast of associating with known racketeers and jumping from one party to another while others are taped offering bribes to legislators to cross the floor, accuse the country’s Constitutional Council (CC) of being …
By Maneshka Borham Investigators of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) are closing in on a former top aide of former Navy Commander, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda in connection with the Navy abduction for ransom racket. According to sources, the aide, now a wanted suspect currently serving as a Chief Petty Officer in the Naval intelligence is …
By J.C.Weliyamuna PC Sri Lanka today faces another constitutional crisis. At the centre of the crisis is the dynamic between the Constitutional Council, a creation of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, and the executive presidency, itself a creation of the 1978 Constitution. Both the executive powers of the President and the powers of the …
By Manoj Colambage If the D.A Rajapaksa Museum trial starts as scheduled on Friday (22), it will mark the first time the public will be exposed to evidence in a court of law, alleging illegal conduct by the former Defence Secretary after his lawyers spent years trying to stall criminal proceedings against him through a …
Kusal Perera carried Sri Lanka to a sensational one-wicket win on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead on Saturday as he hit a career-best 153 not out. Perera and Vishwa Fernando put on an unbeaten 78 in a last-wicket partnership to secure Sri Lanka’s second win in 14 Test …
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “We were on the Titanic and everyone knew it was hitting the iceberg” – Eric Hobsbawm (Interesting Times) In a few months, we, the Lankan voters, will be asked to make a choice that history may well term tragic. The UNP, the SLFP, the SLPP and the JVP have all expressed an …
By Kelum Bandara Since the defeat of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa four years ago, there has been speculation in the political circles that his brother and Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, known as an efficient administrator, would come forward as the next Presidential candidate. His Viyathmaga movement was seen as a launching pad in this …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake The debate about the Indian rope trick described as the world’s greatest illusion continues. But we have now moved to our own Rope Trick age. President Sirisena is showing signs of possibly beating all those Indian magicians by making a big performance of his own Rope Trick. He cannot trust a Sri …
By Rukshana Rizwie Singers Amal and his son Nadeemal Perera who were arrested at Makandure Madush’s son’s birthday party in Dubai are likely to be released on conditional bail. This is upon a settlement of a fine along with 15 others who would be deported to Sri Lanka once the case is taken up on …
By Rathindra Kuruwita Former Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Admiral Dr. Jayanath Colombage, yesterday, told American officials including Assistant Secretary to the US Department of State Thomas L. Vajda that the United States should not place too much emphasis on human rights and democracy when working in Sri Lanka. He said so at a …
by Hemantha Randunu Police have not sent a single representative to Dubai to monitor legal action against notorious underworld criminal Makandure Madush, Police sources claim. However, several lawyers have gone to Dubai to represent the suspects and are feeding the media with wrong information, a senior police officer said, adding that the police should have …
Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said two individuals were behind the assassination of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, the assault on journalist Keith Noyahr and the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Mr. Rajapaksa said he was not involved in any of these things including the disappearance of Ekneligoda. “We …
Criticising independent Commissions as well as attacking the independent Judiciary will weaken the control and eradication of narcotics, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday. Speaking at an event in Maligawatte today, the Premier said bankrupt politicians cannot be allowed to use the Judiciary as a “football”, and if they come to Parliament and make baseless …