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By Tisaranee Gunasekara “To change masters is not to be free” Jose Marti (eddosrios.org ) The photograph is iconic; Alavi Moulana, 83 years old and an SLFP veteran of 52 years, bending down and kissing the hand of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. That picture is revelatory of the current Lankan reality at multiple levels. It shows [...]

By Gamini Weerakoon The conventional belief was that the military at best should be confined to barracks or be on battlefields but after the much celebrated victory over terrorism the forces have not been demobilized as is usual in other countries or found civilian jobs but appear to move into civilian projects under the Ministry [...]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Having consulted External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday afternoon, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Sunday Island that contrary to media reports, acquiring land by the government for the expansion of Palaly-Kankesanthurai security zone hadn’t been raised by Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid when he phoned his Sri Lankan counterpart [...]

By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene As lights are dimmed over Sri Lanka following prohibitively crushing electricity hikes, the enveloping darkness is menacingly symbolic of the crisis which our society is facing. This is even as the politically privileged siphon off massive amounts of money for useless extravaganzas, including an airport in the deep South to which [...]

BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA Erroneous political thinking and analysis obscure and obstruct the path of the political recovery of the Opposition in Sri Lanka. They can be disaggregated into six myths.

BY MEERA SRINIVASAN In a quiet lane in Eluthumadduval, Jaffna, cement and concrete structures, in different stages of construction, show up on either side every few yards. Part of the second phase of Indian Housing Project launched, they will soon take the form of compact, new homes.

By Latheef Farook For the first time almost all Muslim religious, social and cultural and other organizations and groups, buried their differences, and met in one platform under one roof at Wellawatta Miami Reception Hall on Thursday 2 May 2013 to announce the formation of an Interim Consultative(Shoora) Council-ICC. The main purpose of ICC is [...]

By K. Ratnayake Sri Lankan police formally detained Azath Salley, the leader of the Muslim Tamil National Alliance (MTNA) on May 5 for three months under the country’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). He had been taken into custody on May 2 and was held illegally for three days without producing him before a [...]

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Never will tyrants freely consent to the extirpation of servitude….” Thomas Raynal Of all the spectres the Rajapaksas fear, Oppositional-unity would arguably be the most terrifying. The Rajapaksas began getting jittery when it became evident that the May 15th demonstration against the electricity hike would be supported by both the UNP and [...]

Dinouk Colombage Interviews TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran In the lead up to the proposed Northern Provincial Council (NPC) election in September Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran, has expressed the belief that the government is not genuinely committed to the process of reconciliation. In a wide ranging interview with Ceylon Today, he explained [...]

BY DAVID ROTHKOPF It says all you need to know about the current state of the Obama administration that the region of the world in which its greatest opportunities may lie over the next several years is the Middle East. This is not because there are any great opportunities in the Middle East. Quite the [...]

Dr Dayan Jayatilleka interviewed by Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe In Australia, Sri Lanka continues to dominate headlines about allegations of war crimes and the influx of asylum-seeking refugees, but comparatively little is known about Sri Lanka’s history and politics. Dr Dayan Jayatilleka is among Sri Lanka’s leading and most respective political commentators. A prolific writer, he has [...]

(Full list of Petitioners and full text of petition filed at Court of Appeal reproduced below) IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA In the matter of an application under Article 140 of the Constitution for Mandates in the nature of Writs of Certiorari and Prohibition CA (Writ) Application [...]

(Full Text of Press Statement Issued by the Tamil National Alliance media office) 15th May 2013: Around 1474 persons owning land in Jaffna filed a writ application today in the Court of Appeal challenging the attempts to illegally and unlawfully acquire their private land. A further 2000 petitioners are to file on the same issue [...]

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Wednesday there would be “consequences” for Sri Lanka if its leaders did not address international concerns over human rights abuses, ahead of a Commonwealth summit scheduled to be held in Colombo in November. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told parliament “despicable human rights violations” had taken place in Sri [...]

By N Sathiya Moorthy More than a month after the DMK withdrew support to the Manmohan Singh Government over the Sri Lanka vote issue at the UNHRC session in Geneva, no one is talking about the ‘Tamil Nadu factor’ influencing India’s Sri Lanka policy. If anything, after a decade and more, a Government at the [...]

By Upul Joseph Fernando ‘Sunday Virakesari’ 15 July 2006 The UK High Commissioner was asked to comment on accusations that ‘divide and rule’ policies of the British colonial administration precipitated the present ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka. “When the British came to Ceylon in 1796, there were three distinct kingdoms. The British made it one [...]

by Meena Menon As a child in Wardha at the time of Partition, Asghar Ali heard “horrible stories of people being killed and trains full of dead bodies.” Those stories, he wrote in his autobiography, A Living Faith, disturbed him so much that he began thinking very early in his life about why people killed [...]

BY UDHAV NAIG Many film awards have been accused of ignoring the significant shifts in the film industry. For capturing these changes reasonably well, the jury of Vijay Awards need to be congratulated. Small-budget but popular films such as Pizza, Vazhakku En 18/9, Aarohanam, Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom and Kumki were bestowed with many notable [...]

By Dr.Jayantha Dhanapala (Text of the address by Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, chairman of the panel of judges, at the awarding of the Gratiaen Prize 2013 in Colombo on May 4, for what is adjudged as the finest creative work in English for the year, by a resident Lankan) The Gratiaen Prize was established twenty years [...]

by Kath Noble Just when sanity seemed to be prevailing over the Bodu Bala Sena, following the various vigils, rallies and protests that have been organised in the last month, the government found yet another imaginative way to agitate people – it had Azath Salley arrested. Apparently, the Police are so busy scouring the pages [...]

By Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne Kindness and care are replaced with power and command. People look for somebody who knowingly or unknowingly takes the reins into his hands. In this scenario Anoma Janadare, the famous actress and a committed feminist launched the English version of her book Punarukthi, a few weeks ago. At this occasion, chaired by [...]

(Intervention by the Ambassador P.M. Amza, Head of Mission to the European Union, at the Screening of the “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” at the Premises of the European Parliament on 14 May 2013) 1. The Government of Sri Lanka strongly protests the use of the premises of the European Parliament [...]

by Meera Srinivasan The country’s 30-year ethnic conflict may have ended four years ago, but for Gunaratnam Selvi — who remained displaced for considerable part of the war — the daily battle for food is far from over. “I pawned my earrings a few days ago because we had no money for food,” said Ms. [...]

By Ian McGillis It hasn’t been a century since Shyam Selvadurai was a star presence on the Canadian literary stage, but it was in a previous century that most of us last saw him — in 1998, to be precise, when his second novel Cinnamon Gardens solidified the profile established by his 1994 debut Funny [...]

By Meera Srinivasan If there is one weapon that Kumaran Pathmanathan now says he has faith in, it is education. “If only I had taken education more seriously, I would have acquired the ability to think and analyse issues independently,” he says, leaning back on his chair, at his office in Senchcholai Children Care Home [...]

By Marianne David The lord of the Lankan jungle, the leopard is one of the ‘Big Five’ in Sri Lanka and the Yala National Park is undoubtedly the best place in the island for leopard sightings. The apex predator here, the Lankan leopard has been stealing the spotlight from other wildlife destinations around the world, [...]

Former Colombo deputy mayor and founder leader of the National Unity front Azath Salley who was released after 8 days of “arrest” under the Prevention of Terrorism Act has denied that he had apologized to President Rajapaksa to secure his freedom as alleged in some sections of the state media. Salley in an interview to [...]

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “….instead of looking for necessary and sufficient conditions of change we must train ourselves to be on the lookout for unusual historical developments, rare constellations of favourable events, narrow paths, partial advances that may conceivably be followed by others…. We must think of the possible rather than the probable”. ~ Albert Hirschman [...]

By AATISH TASEER FOUR years ago this week, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam announced that their struggle for an independent homeland in northern Sri Lanka had “reached its bitter end.” The group had been fighting on behalf of the Tamil people for more than a quarter-century, and its defeat was absolute. Today, great sections [...]

by N.Sathiya Moorthy Now that the south Indian State of Tamil Nadu is caught up once again after a long gap in the web of local issues like caste-clashes, and continual concerns, including drought, Cauvery water dispute and the Centre’s alleged neglect on both and more, it may be time for Sri Lanka and Sri [...]

By Indika Sri Aravinda Parliamentarian Duminda Silva has been reappointed as the organizer for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in the Kolonnawa electorate. Minister Basil Rajapaksa was appointed as the SLFP organizer in the Kolonnawa electorate after the Mulleriyawa shooting incident in October 2011 in which Silva was seriously injured. However now that Silva has [...]

By Nirmala Kannangara The Sri Lanka Navy and the Special Task Force (STF) are accused of grabbing 1,220 acres of forestlands in Shasthrawela, Ragamwela, Ulpassawela, Horowkanda and Ella in Panama chasing away the villagers whose forefathers too had been occupying these lands even during the Uva-Wellassa rebellion However though sanctions have been imposed by the [...]

By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene So is humiliating or being antagonistic towards the Government the latest excuse that will be used to invoke the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA, 1979) against critics? This question is unfortunately self-explanatory as we entered into the theatre of profound absurdity last week with the PTA detention order arresting dissenting Muslim [...]

The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Friday unanimously adopted a resolution stating that former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake had been “subjected to absolutely unnecessary harassment and humiliation” at the office of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and corruption.

By Franklin R. Satyapalan National Organizer of the SLFP, Minister Basil Rajapaksa said yesterday that the government has still not reached finality on the longstanding proposition to repeal certain sections of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution considered obstacles to government’s development initiative. He said the effort envisaged the scrapping of land and police powers, [...]

by C.A.Chandraprema The main political drama over the past several days was the detention of Azath Salley and the hunger strike he had launched while in detention. During the few days that he was in CID custody Salley was being transported from the CID headquarters to hospital and back in the full glare of media [...]

By Kalana Senaratne Reading a tome on constitutional history, theory and practice – like Asanga Welikala’s edited collection titled The Sri Lankan Republic at 40 – can be a daunting task. For a start, such books have too much to say about constitutions. The more you read about constitutional documents, the more they begin to [...]

(Text of Statement Issued on behalf of the Nava Sama Samaja party by Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne) Azath Sally was arrested under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and he has been now released due to the campaign for his release by national and international democratic forces.

by B. Raman SITE, an Internet monitoring group, has drawn attention to a new web-based jihadi magazine in English called Azan. According to SITE, the magazine is believed to have been started by jihadis in Afghanistan and Pakistan and its first web issue appeared on May 5, 2013.

By Natalie Brender It’s looking likely that Prime Minister Harper will boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Sri Lanka this November, due to that country’s deteriorating human rights and governance record. If so, Canada may be alone among the Commonwealth leaders in adopting a boycott. Other countries seem to be [...]

By Shamindra Ferdinando and Lal Gunasekera President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the immediate release of leader of the Muslim-Tamil National Alliance (MTNA), Azath Salley, after the latter denied a report in India’s Junior Vikatan magazine that he had asked the Muslims to take up arms against the Sri Lankan state. The directive was given before President [...]

By Aisha Nazim Former Deputy Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Azath Salley, was released yesterday afternoon, ending his eight-day detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). President Mahinda Rajapaksa revoked the controversial detention order under which the Muslim politician was held after Salley submitted an affidavit to the President in which he [...]

by Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne From Kotagala struggle now we have entered the battle to free Azath Sally. We got together as the Movement for Unity with Power Sharing some time back. Team consisted of Mano, Sumanthiran, Azath, Siri and I. We met regularly to discuss the implementation of the LLRC and relevant subjects. Press conferences, statements, [...]

By Premalal Wijeratne In a damning revelation, powerful Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has stated Muslim politician Azath Salley was arrested as he conspired to mobilize Sri Lankan Muslims for an armed struggle along with a Tamil group in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to our sister paper, Rajapaksa said intelligence agencies have uncovered evidence against Salley, who [...]

By Hasitha Kuruppu and Anuradha Samuel Hirunika Premachandra, the daughter of slain politician, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, says if Duminda Silva can perform miracles, there is no God. “All I can say is, Duminda is not a good man, but a trickster. My father’s murder was well-planned. I know Duminda’s actual physical and mental status,” she [...]

Channel 4 Documentary “NO FIRE ZONE”:Screening and Discussion at Frontline Club by Dushy Ranetunge The third instalment of Chanel 4’s documentary, titled NO FIRE ZONE, the killing fields of Sri Lanka is being preview screened at various locations in London. It is yet to be scheduled to be broadcast by Ch4 itself. It was screened [...]

By The Social Architects Even though the protracted internal armed conflict has ended, community members have been unable to return to their day-to-day lives. Under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s militarization has continued unabated. The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has established numerous checkpoints and camps near peoples’ homes. Military personnel frequently patrol these [...]

By Chitra Weerarathne The Supreme Court yesterday fixed for support Friday, May 10, 2013, the fundamental rights violation application filed by the former Deputy Mayor of Colombo Azarth Salley. The petition has alleged illegal detention by the CID since May 2, 2013. The issue was in respect of an interview said to have been given [...]

Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Interviewed by Chamitha Kuruppu “The ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ is in danger; it is increasingly overshadowed by the ‘Gota Chinthana,’” stresses Sri Lankan Diplomat and Political Scientist Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka.He warns that President Rajapaksa has devolved far too much of his power to those close to him. “I am not sure really whose hand is [...]

(Text of a Statement Issued by the Centre for Policy Alternatives) 9th May 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka: With the recent arrest and detention of opposition politician Azath Salley, Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has once again come under critical scrutiny. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and other civil society groups have condemned [...]

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Everything is going to end in violence….and who knows what limits of madness will be reached?” Georg Forster (Works XVII) A Presidential Offspring hammers a referee, in full view of hundreds of spectators. An Appeal Court Judge has a temper tantrum in an international airport and throws a water bottle at another [...]

By Ramani Mendis Secretary of Ravana Balaya, Innekande Saddhatissa Thera threatened to stop the screening of films starring Tamil Nadu actors such as Vijay, Kamal Haasan, Sarath Kumar or Rajanikanth, saying “We will not say it unless we can actually do it.” The Thera made his sentiments known at a meeting with Chairman of the [...]

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti From time to time, politicians from the South, especially during various phases of political negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have dangled a particular carrot before the Tamil community from the North and East – elections in the provinces to elect their own representatives. Tamil political parties for their [...]

By Prof. V. Suryanarayan In a unanimous resolution on 3 May 2013, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly demanded the Government of India should take immediate steps to take back control of Kachchatheevu, a small, barren island in the Palk Bay, which was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974. The context for reviving the demand is [...]

By DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” -‘The Second Coming’, WB Yeats (1919) When Sri Lanka was nominated as host of the Non Aligned Conference and chair of the Non Aligned Movement under Madam Bandaranaike there wasn’t a single dissenting voice within [...]

The Dalai Lama has implored Buddhist monks in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to put an end to a series of recent attacks on Muslims in their countries, the Associated Press reported today. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader spoke Tuesday night about religious violence when asked questions following a speech he delivered to 15,000 people at [...]

Azath Salley’s detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act should be revoked and he should be released immediately. If there are indeed serious allegations of his inciting religious hostility that merit investigation, such investigation, and any consequent action, should take place under the normal law. It should also be part of a wider law-enforcement exercise [...]

Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday in parliament, demanded to know from the Government whether the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act would continue to be used to suppress opposition politicians. Making a special statement, on the arrest of National Unity Alliance General Secretary Azath Salley, the Opposition Leader said that the present [...]

By Norman Palihawadana Irked by various quarters raising concern over the arrest of former Colombo Deputy Mayor Azath Salley, blunt speaking Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday said that Salley was arrested for discussing the option of taking up arms and inciting Muslim youth in a speech, in Tamil Nadu.

By Upul Joseph Fernando It is no secret that the assurance the government received that Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will definitely be held in Sri Lanka as scheduled carried India’s imprimatur. Speculation as to who in the Indian polity pulled it off for President Mahinda Rajapaksa gained considerable interest in the local political [...]

By Ameen Izzadeen The genie is out and it is difficult to put it back into the bottle, say concerned Sri Lankans as anti-Muslim hatred spreads far and wide, evoking fears of a major ethnic riot which the country last witnessed in July 1983. But the voice of the concerned citizens is a murmur against [...]

7 May, 2013 We the undersigned, vehemently condemn the arrest and detention of Former Deputy Mayor and General Secretary of the National Unity Alliance (NUA), Azath Salley, by a team of officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID), on Thursday, 2 May 2013 morning, and call for his immediate [...]

By Claire Carter It is not yet known why the monarch will not attend the meeting. The Prince of Wales will go in her place, Buckingham Palace said. The news comes amid controversy over the summit, with concerns having been raised by member governments over human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. But the decision by [...]

By Upul Joseph Fernando Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, in a wide-ranging interview, talks about her rise and decline in Sri Lanka’s turbulent politics, 20 years after her ascendance to political power, which turned tables for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that was reeling under a spell of defeats.

By Kamaya Jayatissa “I believe in the essential unity of all people and for that matter of all lives.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi The need for an inclusive solidarity between all Sri Lankans is now urgent. This includes solidarity between members of all communities, as well as members of the Diaspora(s). Such social solidarity, which [...]

By S.L.Gunasekara I recall as though it happened the other day, little A. C. S. Hameed, the former ineffective Foreign Minister in J. R. Jayewardena’s Government and later Minister in charge of various ministries in R. Premadasa’s Government, putting on what I term his ‘wise look’, looking over his spectacles balanced on the tip of [...]

By DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA If Azath Salley is a terrorist in the making – a terrorist who has to be pre-empted by recourse to detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act – or a promoter of fanatical, fundamentalist ethno-religious hatred, he comes with the strangest of profiles.

By Latheef Farook In the wee hours on Thursday 2 May 2013, prominent Muslim politician Azath Salley, former Deputy Mayor of Colombo Municipality and leader of the newly formed National Unity Alliance, was arrested from his daughter’s Kolonnawa house. He is now being held at the CID headquarters in Fort on a three month detention [...]

by Ranga Jayasuriya The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has reportedly obtained a detention order to keep Azath Salley, the former Deputy Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), in custody, for an additional three months, according to the family of the detained politician. Salley has been kept in custody by the CID since last Thursday [...]

by Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka I approach this subject as a political scientist, a former diplomat and briefly a Minister in the Cabinet of the North East Provincial Council. At the overlap of these experiences and roles is what is classifiable as a Realist perspective. As a Realist, I reject outright three myths about devolution which have [...]

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “You’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.” Malcolm X (Advice to Youth of Mississippi – 1964) Senior Journalist J Tissanayagam was charged with creating ethnic dissension, by a regime which included such apostles of [...]

by JONATHAN MILLER Foreign Affairs Correspondent The Prime Minister’ s decision comes amid growing alarm over Sri LankaТs dismal and worsening human rights record and fears that permitting Colombo to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will enable the regime to whitewash allegations of war crimes.

By Hana Ibrahim Twenty-fourth January is remembered for many reasons. Historically, it was on this day that former Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill died (1965), that the American serial killer Ted Bundy was electrocuted (1989), that Robert Baden-Powell organized the first Boy Scout troop in England (1908)…. but for Sandhya, wife of missing cartoonist Prageeth [...]

Identity cards in Sinhala, Tamil soon The relevant authorities are taking a policy decision to include both Sinhala and Tamil languages in the identity card, Deputy Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne informed the Supreme Court. The fundamental rights petition filed by A.P. Dananjaya Gamage cited Registration of Persons Commissioner General R.N.S. Sarath Kumara, Defence Secretary Gotabaya [...]

by N Sathiya Moorthy It takes two to tango, and come September, Sri Lanka will see which way they will go. To be precise, which way one will lead the other – or, who between the two will lead the other, where and how! In September, the promised elections to the Northern Provincial Council are [...]

The Bishop of Galle has denied making comments about the Bodu Bala Sena or calling the organisation ‘Buddhist Taliban’ operating in Sri Lanka.

Colombo (Agenzia Fides) – The group of Buddhist fundamentalist monks, extremist and violent seriously concern civil society and religious minorities. This is ‘the alarm sent to Fides Agency by His Exc. Mgr. Raymond Wickramasinghe, Bishop of Galle, in southern Sri Lanka, expressing his fears for what happens in the country: it is the phenomenon of [...]

By M.A.Sumanthiran M.P. The opening of the Mattala Rajapaksa International airport in Sri Lanka has been hailed by representatives of the Sri Lankan government as a significant boost to Sri Lanka’s economic development. In keeping with the priority the government clearly seems to be placing in the last few years, on large scale development projects, [...]

By Dr Devanesan Nesiah President Lyndon Johnson ranked the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as the most important legislative achievement of his career – even more important than the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The latter was drafted under the direction of President John Kennedy, but was pushed through after his assassination by President Johnson. [...]

By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Calls on Mr Cameron to boycott the event risked an embarrassing split with Buckingham Palace, had the Queen travelled to the meeting as the Commonwealth’s head. The organisation decided at its last meeting two years ago to hold the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Sri Lanka this [...]

by Mangala Samaraweera M.P. We were gravely disturbed to learn of the arrest of former Deputy mayor of Colombo and Muslim Tamil National Alliance leader Azath Salley by the CID on May 2nd 2013. This is yet another blatant manifestation of the depths to which the rule of law has sunk in this country and [...]

By Chamitha Kuruppu Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran asserts it is unnecessary to deploy 150,000 soldiers in the Northern Province. According to Premachandran, of the 200,000 Army personnel in Sri Lanka, 150,000 are stationed in the north. “Let the Government have any amount of Army personnel they want, but please withdraw them from [...]

By Dharisha Bastians Top economist Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy has been appointed Consultant to the Government to work on substantive issues on the agenda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Colombo in November this year.

by Andrew Bennet May 3, 2013 – Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom, today issued the following statement: “Canada condemns the arrest of Azad Sally, leader of Sri Lanka’s newly formed Muslim Tamil National Alliance. Mr. Sally was reportedly taken into custody by Sri Lankan authorities on May 2.

By Karu Jayasuriya M.P. It is in the strongest possible terms that the arrest of former UNP Deputy Mayor Azath Salley must be condemned by all right thinking peoples of this country. His arrest – for allegedly inciting communal hatred under the prevention of terrorism act, is further proof that the Government continues to retain [...]

(Text of Press Release Issued by Amnesty International Over Arrest of Azath M.Salley by the Police in Sri Lanka) A prominent Muslim politician and government critic arrested today in Sri Lanka must be immediately released or charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offence, Amnesty International said. Azad Sally, the leader of Sri Lanka’s newly formed [...]

To whom it may concern, Attached is a copy of my affidavit filed in an appeal made on behalf of Mr. M Azath M Sally to the Supreme Court in Sri Lanka. Azath was taken into custody under the PTA and the police stated that according to a news item Azath has addressed a meeting [...]

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men”: George Orwell (The Adelphi – January 1939) On January 2nd, 2006, five students were murdered in the Town of Trincomalee. The government initially claimed that these were LTTE cadres who died [...]

By Alan Strathern Oxford University Of all the moral precepts instilled in Buddhist monks the promise not to kill comes first, and the principle of non-violence is arguably more central to Buddhism than any other major religion. So why have monks been using hate speech against Muslims and joining mobs that have left dozens dead? [...]

by Harim Peiris President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been publicly reiterating and recommitting himself to finally holding the long delayed and often postponed Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections in September this year, almost four and half years after the war ended in May 2009. Thereafter despite presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections, in 2010 and 2011, various [...]

One of the biggest insults a government can deliver to another — the diplomatic equivalent of a slap in the face — is for the leader of one country to refuse to attend a high profile gathering hosted by another. Well, Canada has just slapped Sri Lanka. Canadian Foreign Minister Baird greets Tamil protesters outside [...]

by Dilrukshi Handunnetti It was not surprising to find yesterday, thousands of ‘electrocuted’ (and duped) Sri Lankans jubilantly assembling at various rallying points to celebrate International Labour Day. Not surprising, because Sri Lankans have been demonstrating unfailing loyalty to the war-winning regime, irrespective of the regular price escalations, the latest being the debilitating electric shock [...]

By Dharisha Bastians In what feels like a repeat of Geneva 2012, behind-the-scenes manoeuvring by New Delhi may have tipped the scales in Sri Lanka’s favour in London last week, where the Commonwealth’s most powerful grouping decided an eleventh-hour venue shift of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet was simply not an option. In exchange, [...]

(Amnesty International (AI) has issued a news release today (may 1st 2013), one day after publishing its report about “Assault on Dissent” in Sri Lanka.Today’s release gives specific examples of continuing violations of human rights, and then puts these in the context of the CHOGM that is still scheduled, despite these continuing issues of human [...]

By Upul Joseph Fernando Just a few days before the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) was scheduled to meet for business, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a special announcement regarding the much touted election for the Northern Provincial Council. He categorically stated that the election will be held in September and his astrologers are working on [...]