A number of residents of Sampur, in the Trincomalee District filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court on Friday 15 June 2012, challenging the demarcation of a Special Zone for Heavy Industries (SZHI) through Gazette Extraordinary No. 1758/26 issued on 17 May 2012. The Gazette attempts to demarcate a SZHI within the [...]
Archive of entries posted on 20th June 2012
SLWJA wants ‘Ceylon Today’ Management to respect editorial independence of Editorial Staff
The Sri Lanka Working Journalist Association is extremely disturbed by the recent turn of events at Ceylon Today newspaper, where the editor in chief and respected journalist Lalith Allahakkoon was unceremoniously removed from all his duties by the management due to what we understand as Mr Allahakkoon’s refusal to publish politically motivated and potentially libelous [...]
Burmese Refugees In Thailand: Implications Of Suu Kyi’s Visit
by Panchali Saikia A major highlight of Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s trip to Thailand was her visit to the Mae Sot refugee camp in June 2012. The Mae Sot camp is the largest among the nine refugee camps in Thailand, with nearly 50,000 refugees of which most are Karen ethnic nationals of [...]
Palestinian Nationalism, Alive Despite Israeli Instruments Of Control
By Hasan Afif El Hasan From day one after the 1967 war, Israel’s actions in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem suggest the occupation was not temporary and underscore Israel’s desire to erase the concept of the Palestinian nation by undermining the connection between the people and their land or history. In an effort [...]
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Commissioning Should Be Deferred
by M.G.Devasahayam It is famously said: “In public domain, truth is not the truth, perception is the truth”. This adage could be related to the discourse on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP). While the arguments in favour of the plant is that it will generate electric power essential for ‘development’, People’s Movement Against Nuclear [...]
UN Summit on Sustainable Development in Brazil-Will There be a Successful Outcome?
By Martin Khor The Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 (known officially as the UN Conference on Environment and Development) was a landmark event which launched “Sustainable Development” as an internationally accepted concept. Environmental problems would be seen in relation to and in the context of the development needs of developing countries. Sustainable development would [...]
Imminent dissolution of Eastern PC: CA allows move to amend prayers in petition
By S.S.Selvanayagam The Court of Appeal yesterday (19) allowed the move by the Petitioner to amend the prayers in the Writ application challenging the imminent premature dissolution of the Eastern Provincial Council. The Bench comprising Justices S.Sriskandarajah (President C/A) and Deepali Wijesundera fixed the matter to be supported on July 11 with the amended prayers.
The Mystery of the ‘Missing’ Tourists
by Srilal Miththapala All newspapers carried headlines a few days ago stating that May 2012 tourist arrivals have increased by 17.5% from last year. It is reported that the May arrivals of 57,506, were higher than even that of April, which showed only a 9% increase YOY. So far, the total arrivals for 2012 up [...]
