By Ranga Jayasuriya The government’s primary defence against the impending resolution at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has been its 38-page report, titled ‘The Monitoring Report on National Action Plan (NAP) for the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.’ The NAP report maintained that much of the LLRC recommendations …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Military is like cholesterol. You need to maintain its correct levels. If you enlarge its role over the desired limit, that would be deleterious to the public. And if you relegate it, again, you would soon be heading towards a far worse mess. As far as the latter scenario is concerned, Sri …
BY Nirmala Kannangara The attempt by the police to cover up the alleged assault on Asela Waidyalankara, by Health Minister, Maithreepala Sirisena’s son, Daham Sirisena, has raised many questions. Police Media Spokesperson, SP Buddhika Siriwardhana, is accused of denying that the brawl hat took place on the Pasikudha beach on February 24, was a major …
By Sunanda Deshapriya Recently released photographs of Balachandran Prabhakaran – the son of deceased LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran – before his death have raised questions about the Sri Lankan government’s role in his execution and brought to attention the nature of wartime atrocities during its war against the LTTE. The images, which are part of …
By Padraig Colman Last week I watched a film which began with a realistic depiction of violent combat at the end of a brutal secessionist civil war. There was no glory in this combat. This was hand to hand, opposing troops rolling around in filthy mud, hacking at each other, kicking faces and stabbing guts …
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Nemesis, the goddess of measure and not of revenge, keeps watch. All those who overstep the limits are pitilessly punished by her”. Albert Camus (Helen’s Exile) A former journalist paying a call on President Rajapaksa in the dawn hours reportedly found him standing on his head. Upon inquiry, the President replied, “We …
By DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA (Replies to questions posed by Sanjaya Nallaperuma of the Sunday Lakbima. Excerpts of the interview appeared in Sinhala translation in the Irida Lakbima -March 3rd, 2013) 1. What are the major challenges that Sri Lanka faces in the UNHRC? A: The major challenges are threefold: the possibility of a vote and …
By Kishali Pinto Jayewardene The mass grave in Matale uncovered late last year and the ongoing demands for independent and credible investigations into the fate of disappeared persons during the last days of the fighting between government forces and the LTTE in 2009 have at their core, the common element of impunity and a common …
By Maneka Gandhi Now that one myth has been put to rest — of the world ending on December 21, 2012 — let me attempt to disabuse you of some beliefs that have survived time.
By N. Sathiya Moorthy Ironical but true. Even as the rest of the world is supposedly fighting the case of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the premier political outfit of the community, is busy fighting with itself. Or, so it seems. With the ‘ethnic issue’ and all its manifestations taken …
By Nirmala Kannangara Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen has come under severe criticism for demanding forestlands in the Mannar District to settle siblings of the internally displaced Muslims under the guise of a resettlement drive. Although 2,300 acres of forestlands have been released from Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya Districts to resettle the displaced …
By Camelia Nathaniel It is indeed heartening to see the Tamil people and the Sinhalese soldiers in the North, living in harmony and the soldiers assisting these people rebuild their lives, which were shattered due to the conflict that devastated this country for three decades. In spite of many allegations being levelled against the army, …
By Nirmala Kannangara Despite last week’s statement by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) that it was prepared to stop issuing halal certificates, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) claims it would continue to agitate against the issuing of halal certified items to the market. Executive Committee Member BBS Organization Dilantha Withanage, claims they are not …
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema Former Foreign Minister and UNP Parliamentarian, Mangala Samaraweera, said the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government’s Madamulana doctrine on foreign policy, acting without maturity or responsibility and the attitude of shooting the messenger, has resulted in the country facing the current crises before the international community. He noted that in order to overcome the …
By Thulasi Muttulingam It is an internationally accepted charter that citizens of any country ‘belong’ to that country, even if they happen to be first-generation citizens of that country. In Sri Lanka however, citizens who are several generations old in the country are facing simmering tensions that are nothing new yet troubling in its increasing …
By The Sunday Times Political Editor The issues at the UN Human Rights Council, currently in session, continue to be in focus. Having originally decided to field a low key delegation, the Government changed its mind at the eleventh hour. Just three days before the Council sessions began, President Rajapaksa asked Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe who …
Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa did not Place Much Confidence in Ravinatha Aryasinha’ »
By Mirudhula Thambiah Thousands displaced by the conflict and now back in their homes in the North and East are having a hard time resuming normal life, especially with such setbacks as missing personal files and documents. When required to produce essential documents for official purposes, these people have nothing to show.During the war, hundreds …
Chris Kamalendran in Kachchativu As a four-hour voyage in a passenger ferry, cutting through the choppy waters of the Palk Strait on a bright Sunday nears end, the panorama unfolds.Staring at us is a riot of colour. They are a collection of polythene sheets tied to poles to form a roof. Hundreds of devotees, from …
Continue reading ‘Poor Attendance at St.Anthony’s Church Feast in Kachchatheevu this Year’ »
By C.A.Chandraprema Last week, we saw the coming together of opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Chandrika Kumaratunga at the launch of a book commemorating Vijaya Kumaratunga. CBK never commemorated Vijaya in this manner even when she was in power. Moreover, she has not been known to spend money without a good reason. The …
by Zacki Jabbar Tamil Nadu is Sri Lanka’s gateway to India, High Commissioner in Colombo, Ashok K Kantha said yesterday. Indians were closely connected to Sri Lankans through age old cultural and religious ties. Some recent misunderstandings should not be allowed to tarnish a historic friendship, he said while observing that Tamil Nadu was Sri …
Continue reading ‘Tamil Nadu is Sri Lanka’s Gateway to India says Indian Envoy Ashok Kantha’ »
by Ahilan Kadirgamar The Muslim community is under attack. There have been increasing reports of attacks on mosques and shops owned by Muslims as part of a broader hate campaign against Muslims. The attack on the Dambulla Khairya Jummah mosque in April 2012 saw a decisive shift in the scale of these attacks. This act …
Continue reading ‘Why is the Anti-Muslim Campaign Gaining Momentum in Sri Lanka only now?’ »
By Hector Welgampola Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation became a fertile field for speculation including even Dan Brown-style media fare. The reported flash of lightening over the Vatican a few days after the pope’s resignation, the conclave date set close to the ides of March and even the Malachian prophecies have spawned spooky spin. Less speculative …
By C.A.Chandrapema If the stormy debate in the upper house of the Indian parliament the Rajya Sabha, last Wednesday is anything to go by, perhaps there is insufficient appreciation in this country of the difficulties faced by the Indian central government vis-a-vis its Sri Lanka policy. The Rajya Sabha debate was not play acting – …
Debarshi Dasgupta Interviews Callum Macrae Not a stranger to controversy, British filmmaker Callum Macrae’s latest documentary No Fire Zone—Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields has unearthed pictures of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s 12-year-old son Balachandran. In this latest set of pictures, we see him eating hours before he was shot and again photographed, suggesting he was …
By Pranay Sharma A set of three photographs splashed recently across the front pages of Indian newspapers recall in chilling detail the horrific side of the ethnic war in Sri Lanka that ended in 2009. They are of Balachandran, the 12-year-old son of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The first two photos show the bare-bodied …
By R. K. Radhakrishnan Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has denied that the Army killed LTTE chief Prabakaran’s 12-year-old son Balachandran. “Had it happened, I would have known [it]. It is obvious that if somebody [from the armed forces] had done that, I must take responsibility. We completely deny it. It can’t be,” he told …
By Vishnuguptha It is recent history, though most of us have already forgotten it or have chosen to forget it. The power struggle within the United National Party (UNP) seems to be over, yet among the grassroots, the overwhelming sentiment is that the Party is no longer relevant in national politics nor is it competitive …
BY SUMITHI THANGARASA, S. K. PRASATH UNHRC High Commissioner Navi Pillay has led the Sri Lankan Tamils astray and the TNA is carrying out duplicitous politics, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, General Secretary of the Tamil National People’s Front charged. “TNA must stop cheating, and must work for the people,” he said.
(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Guardian”of March 1st 2013) After the showing of the documentary No Fire Zone in the Palais des Nations in Geneva yesterday, the Sri Lankan ambassador denounced it and criticised the UN human rights council for permitting the event to take place in a United Nations building. His speech was …
Continue reading ‘A Much Tougher Resolution on Sri Lanka Should Come out of the UNHRC – Guardian’ »
The Office of UN Human Rights Council, Civil Society Section, Geneva. Switzerland Letter to the UNHRC in Support of North and East Christian Clergy Sri Lanka Dear Sir / Madam, We the undersigned individuals and groups vehemently support and endorse the views and demands, contained in the letter sent on 18th Feb. 2013 by 133 …
By Geoffrey Robertson QC Prominent Australian Lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC in a report published by the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) concludes that Shirani Bandaranayake the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka was innocent of the misconduct charges which brought about her removal from office last month. The report calls for the …
(Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha today intervened during the screening of the “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” film of the UK’s Channel-4 and protested against attempts by the organizers to use the UN premises for the screening) Following is the full statement released by the …
By M.A.Sumanthiran M.P. (Statement made on 1 March 2013 by TNA M.P. M.A. Sumanthiran at the UNHRC Event in Geneva titled ‘The No Fire Zone’) nofirezone.org On behalf of the Tamil People I wish to thank you Callum for that film. Our thanks our due to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for sponsoring this …
By Sujeewa Amaranath The Sri Lankan government is under mounting international pressure over its responsibility for war crimes during the country’s protracted civil war that ended with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009. Sri Lanka is due to be discussed next Monday at the current UN Human Rights …
By Rajasingham Jayadevan My recent visit to Jaffna stretched once again (like in January 2012) a trip to the north-west coastal islands due to my visiting relatives wanting to worship at the Shree Nagapooshani Amman temple in the Islet of Nainativu. A contingent of fifteen relatives went to the islet. It was a very bumpy …
Continue reading ‘Douglas Devananda is said to be Charging 400,000 Rupees for a Government Job’ »
Geneva, Switzerland : International delegates, including Human Rights Experts, Human Rights Activists, and Members of Parliament from Australia , Canada , France , Germany , Belgium , Denmark , India , Italy , Mauritius , Malaysia , New Zealand , Norway , South Africa , Sri Lanka , and UK are arriving to discuss the …
By Sam Rajappaa When the chilling new photographs of LTTE supremo Velupillai PirapaharanТs 12-year-old son Balachandran captured and held in a sandbag bunker of the Sri Lankan Army and executed in cold blood and photographed again were published in the media recently, the international community was shocked but official India was unmoved. Unlike his older …
By Chamitha Kuruppu (Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa believes that the Sri Lankan Government has no clear view on how to counter war crimes allegations against the country. Weerawansa, whose hard line National Freedom Front (NFF) is a constituent of the ruling UPFA, says that to fight Western Imperialists, the Government needs to face those forces …
By T. Farook Thajudeen The former chairman of NSB, Pradeep Kariyawasam, who is facing corruption charges in court, was released yesterday on surety bail of Rs. 20 million. Kariyawasam is facing charges before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court for causing a monetary loss to the Government to the tune of over Rs. 391 million through …
By Maj Gen Shavendra Silva (Text of Speech made by Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative in New York Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva at the US Marine Corps University) Gentlemen, at the outset I make a wider view on what stand I appear on your stage while holding ambassadorial representation in United States, particularly all along …
By N Sathiya Moorthy Not giving into sentiments from across the country entirely, the Centre has done the right thing by treading cautiously on the Sri Lankan issue. The US sponsor of last year’s UNHRC resolution has once again expressed its intention to come up with another one at the on-going session in Geneva. And, …
By Gibson Bateman Soon another US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka will be tabled at the UN’s Human Rights Council (HRC). It’s very unlikely that the recent high-level US delegation that came to Sri Lanka would have announced that a procedural resolution would be backed if Washington wasn’t absolutely positive that it had the votes to …
by Col R. Hariharan A U.S. draft resolution on Sri Lanka’s accountability for alleged war crimes being brought before the 24th meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) now in circulation (received from an Indian TV news channel) is at Annexure. While it is not an official version, in this article I have …
By Upul Joseph Fernando “New Delhi’s current gesture of rediscovering another memorial at Palaly, along with the occupying genocide Sinhala military, signals negatively when there is demand for international investigation of war crimes in the island….” The above was posted on the Tamilnet on 23 February 2013, following the visit of Indian High Commissioner, Ashok …
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Of course he won’t give up power…. What were we thinking? The old man isn’t going anywhere, he’ll die in office”. Peter Godwin (The Fear: The Last Days of Robert Mugabe) Another milestone in the Rajapaksa plan to control every aspect of Lankan life has been reached. 4,000 school principals have been …
M.A.Sumanthiran M.P. (Text of Address by MA Sumanthiran MP at the Global Tamil Federation 3rd Anniversary Conference held in Londonat the British Parliament) I count it a privilege and an honour to have been invited to address this assembly this afternoon. It is said that Truth is the first casualty of war. I want to …
by Vishnuguptha “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” – George Bernard Shaw It is history, but recent enough to be discussed: 3 July 2011 marked a historic day for Thailand: A country whose people hold their ceremonial Monarch in awe and veneration, elected for the first …
United National Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday called for an official apology to Sri Lankan Muslims from the Government saying the community had been deeply hurt by the recent incident in Kuliyapitiya and other parts of the country. Addressing a rare media briefing yesterday, Wickremesinghe said that anti-Muslim sentiment in the country was making the …
BY Mangala Samaraweera M.P. (TEXT OF PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY MANGALA SAMARAWEERA M.P.) It was indeed saddening to hear of the savage beating of Mr. Asela Waidyalankara by a group of goons led by a Ministerial Son. While incidents of violence between young people are not unusual, the level of impunity enjoyed by a privileged …
by Mahinda Samarasinghe (Text of Address Sri Lankan Cabinet by Minister Mahinda Samarasainghe at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva) “It is an honour and a pleasure to address this august Council today. On behalf of my delegation, let me felicitate you upon your assumption of the Presidency and offer our support to you …
By Harim Peiris The above was the anguished and rather alarming cry that emanated a few weeks ago from Cabinet Minister and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem. That a minister, of justice at that and the leader of the preeminent Muslim political party had to make a plea for an end to ethno …
Continue reading ‘“Stop the Hate Campaign Against Muslims”’ »
By Sathya Liyanasuriya Minister of Plantation Industries Mahinda Samarasinghe may enjoy being tagged as the defender of Sri Lanka’s human rights record but unlike last year, the brief that was handed last week is an extremely challenging one, entrusted at very short notice. It was only a few days ago that President Mahinda Rajapaksa summoned …
By Dharisha Bastians The beautiful Palais des Nations building in Geneva, once the home of the Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations, will host a screening of the latest instalment in a British documentary series tomorrow that relentlessly seeks to expose alleged crimes of war during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s battle against the LTTE. …
Accounts From “We Will Teach You a Lesson”: All initials are pseudonyms and bear no relation to the person’s actual name. Case of JH JH, a 23-year-old Tamil man studying in the United Kingdom, returned to Colombo in August 2012 for family reasons. A month later, while returning home from work, a white van pulled …
By Human Rights Watch (London, February 26, 2013) – Sri Lankan security forces have been using rape and other forms of sexual violence to torture suspected members or supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. While widespread rape in custody occurred during the armed …
By Bandula Jayasekara The main thrust of Gordon Weiss’s latest fusillade against the Sri Lankan government is to dismiss the ground situation analysed objectively by the visit of Julie Bishop, the deputy leader of the Liberal Party. Having got the inconvenient facts out of his way he cites the report of the International Crisis Group …
By Gordon Weiss The federal Coalition’s account of its recent mission to Sri Lanka is jarring when contrasted with a new report from the International Crisis Group, and with recent UN reports. With the boat people bogeyman running amok over Australia’s electoral landscape, and Australia due to scrutinise Sri Lanka’s record on postwar reconciliation and …
By Shabiya Ali Ahlam The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) yesterday said it would hand over the Halal certification process to the Government to provide a mechanism that would be acceptable by all stakeholders.ACJU said the decision was taken with the intention of toning down the prevailing situation with regard to the Halal certification matter …
By Dharisha Bastians Sri Lanka yesterday rejected a proposed second US resolution against the country, saying country specific resolutions could not be brought before the UN Human Rights Council. The Sri Lankan Delegation to the 22nd Session of the UNHRC said the US resolution smacked of double standards and an attempt to draw “disproportionate attention” …
The main Opposition United National Party denounced the attack on Asela Waidyalankara by the son of a Senior Cabinet Minister yesterday, claiming that the immediate release of the suspects proved that the recently-enacted amendments to the detention laws in the country were only meant for use against political opponentsAsela Waidyalankara, who is the son of …
By Esther Brimmer ( Text of Esther Brimmer Presenting U.S. Priorities at Opening of UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva) Mr. President, fellow delegates, distinguished guests, It is an honor for me to once again represent the United States before the UN Human Rights Council, to present our first intervention since being elected to …
By S.L.Gunasekara The crucifixion of Jesus Christ which is said to have been committed approximately 2000 years ago is commemorated annually by Christians the world over. The crucifixion of Sri Lanka, however, is an ongoing process which becomes most intense as the meeting of the UNHRC draws closer each year and is hence in no …
By Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne Lal kantha said, in the present era the joint struggle of the opposition led by parliamentarians is ineffective. Instead one has to concentrate on mass struggle with total participation of the partners of this struggle. At least that is how I understood what he presented at the new political orientation of their …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Former UNP presidential candidate Mrs. Srima Dissanayake yesterday alleged that those raising accountability issues at international forums, including the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, conveniently failed to condemn assassinations carried out by the LTTE. Mrs. Dissanayake said that she felt really bad about such outright international hypocrisy.
by Lynn Ockersz Apparently, ‘discourse’ in Sri Lanka on what has come to be characterized as the National Question is continuing to be bedeviled by issues in Historiography. If greater clarity is to be achieved in our understanding of the ‘conflict’ in this country, there needs to be objective, impartial, factual and unemotional commentary and …
by Kath Noble Last week, we were once again forced to think about what happened at the end of the war, with Channel Four releasing a preview of its latest documentary, ‘No Fire Zone’, and the director, Callum Macrae, promoting it in interviews with newspapers and television stations around the world. In principle, this should …
By DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA THE LEFT AS POLITICAL ACTOR (PART 1) Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Virginia (founded by Thomas Jefferson), HL Seneviratne, writing in the Colombo Telegraph some weeks ago, raised the question ‘Is There a Role for the Left?’ and answered in the affirmative. I agree, though I suspect he …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Dr.Shirani Bandaranayake who is regarded as the De-jure Chief Justice of Sri Lanka despite being “removed”from Office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa after what seemed like a “witch trial” was conducted by seven Government parliamentarians of an eleven member Parliamentary select Committee is being kept under Strict surveillance by “Officially” sanctioned Police acting “Unofficially”. …
by The Social Architects The administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa won the ethnic war, but Sri Lanka’s protracted conflict is more alive than ever. There is a lot of talk about how the situation in the North and East has improved, but most of these assertions are misleading. The rebuilding of physical infrastructure alone is …
By Dharisha Bastians Sri Lanka featured prominently at the very first meeting of the 22nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council that opened in Geneva yesterday, with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay flagging the country’s “massive violations” as proof that the world needed to do more to combat impunity for international …
By Dr.Ameer Ali In the aftermath of a pyrrhic victory over the LTTE and in a mood of triumphalism, President Mahinda Rajapaksa lectured to an anxious nation that there would henceforth be no more Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims, and no more majority and minority in his country but only Sri Lankans. Those who listened to …
By Raj Chengappa Former President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, may be out of power but her words still carry much weight. Meeting her at a wedding in Delhi recently, I asked what she thought of the current situation in Sri Lanka. Her answer was succinct: “We may have won the civil war against …
By W.A Wijewardena Economic hit men are feared as well as loved. Feared because they hit you without you knowing from where you were hit; loved because they give you so much of excitement that you can talk about them for days without being bored. This was exactly what happened when John Perkins released ‘Confessions …
By Chrishanti Christopher The Department of Immigration & Emigration (DIE) and the office of the Legal Draftsman are at loggerheads over the new amendments to the Dual Citizenship Act. It is learnt that the two departments are forwarding papers to and fro, between their offices, while having a disagreement as to how the new amendments …
By Arundhati Roy Here in India, even in the midst of all the violence and greed, there is still hope. If anyone can do it, we can. We still have a population that has not yet been completely colonized by that consumerist dream. We have a living tradition of those who have struggled for Gandhi’s …
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat There is a feeling of outrage over the latest revelation of Channel 4 story on Sri Lankan army’s brutalities in the anti LTTE operations in North of the country, a territory which was the stronghold of LTTE. There is no doubt that Sri Lanka was a fighting one of the biggest …
By Robert Fisk Mohamed al-Zawahiri, younger brother of Osama bin Laden’s successor, Ayman, made a particularly intriguing statement in Cairo last month. Talking to that wonderful French institution Le Journal du Dimanche about Mali, he asked the paper to warn France “and to call on reasonable French people and wise men not to fall into …
By Anupama Ranawana Purely for the sake of amusement, I encourage you to follow the Twitter account of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). Claiming to be the revival of ‘real Buddhism’, the BBS will ask you to ‘rise up’ against the issuing of Halal Certificates, and inform you that they are enlightening Buddhists of the …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Nick Clegg, the British Deputy Prime Minister and the Liberal Party Leader once famously said if the Britons want to have more children, which is perfectly fine, but they should be able to afford them. That is plain talking. That may even be politically suicidal should it be said in this part …
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA-Bombay Jayashri, the sole Indian nominee at this year’s Oscars, lost the Best Original Song trophy to British singer Adele, who won the statuette for her soulful rendition of James Bond theme Skyfall.
By Camelia Nathaniel Sri Lankan fishermen in the North and East continue to encounter harassment by Indian trawlers that enter Sri Lanka’s territorial waters illegally, officials said. However in spite of various discussions being held between the two countries, there has been no reduction in the number of Indian trawlers entering Sri Lankan fishing grounds, …
The town of Narammala is a busy, bustling one. Although it lies several kilometres away from Kurunegala, it still abounds with shops, eating houses and banks. But beneath the bustle is a layer of tension. Some 30 Muslim-owned shops received a shocking letter in the post around February 11 – ‘Close your shop by the …
By Nirmala Kannangara Deputy Irrigation and Water Management Minister, W. B. Ekanayake, and son, Rasika Ekanayake, a member of the Manupa Pradeshiya Sabha, are accused of grabbing land in Anuradhapura. Amongst the State lands the Ekanayake family has encroached on over the years, are irrigation reservations in Tissa Wewa and Ponnaramkulam aru in Anuradhapura.
By N Sathiya Moorthy As was only to be expected under the circumstances, the Sri Lankan Government has promptly dismissed the published pictures of LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s 12-year-old son Balachandran, before and after his killing in the Northern war-zone in May 2009, as “lies, half-truths and speculation”. India, which has a stake in it all, …
by Prof. Carlo Fonseka Bandula Padmakumara is the enterprising creator and the moving spirit behind Mul Pituwa. It has proved to be one of the most prestigious and sustainable programmes in the three-decade history of television in the country. I reckon that Mul Pituwa has commanded most of the time I have spent watching television. …
By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha MP After some depression about not achieving very much with regard to either Reconciliation, or the Human Rights Action Plan, I was heartened by several factors last week. In the four Divisional Secretariat meetings I attended in the Wanni, it was clear that things were improving all the time. Several problems were …
Shamindra Ferdinando reporting from Palaly Jaffna Security Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Mahinda Hathurusinghe said that the military wouldn’t have been able to vacate the Jaffna High Security Zones (HSZs) if the LTTE had retained a conventional fighting capability. He pointed out that HSZs in the Jaffna peninsula had remained in place though the peninsula was …
By Ira de Silva Canada has overtaken other pro-LTTE groups against Sri Lanka as the current Canadian Government is being “guided/dictated to” by the LTTE front organisations in Canada on it’s policy on Sri Lanka. It is now the Canadian Government that is pushing the LTTE agenda. The current government’s main organiser of the so-called …
Continue reading ‘Canadian Govt Overtakes Pro-LTTE Groups in Pushing the LTTE Agenda’ »
By Frances Harrison Two eyewitnesses have come forward for the first time to support allegations that the Sri Lankan army executed two Tamil Tiger rebel leaders after they surrendered, carrying a white flag, at the close of the island’s civil war in 2009. Their accounts cast fresh doubt on the Sri Lankan government’s claim that …
By Chrishanthi Christopher Last week the government sent out a communiqué to all government hospitals and private institutions banning all irreversible family planning methods that control birth. Following the ban Maternity Hospitals and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that do Ligation and Resection of Tubes (LRT) on women and Vasectomy on men shelved their plans and …
By Malinda Seneviratne ODEL, one of Colombo’s prominent department stores, has broken new ground in advertising with a print creative for jeans depicting two females in an unabashed expression of lesbian eroticism. The ad, which comes with the payoff line ‘The perfect pair’, is a clear departure from the ‘traditional’ culture of flaunting sexuality that …
By C.A.Chandraprema The UN Human Rights Council season is upon us. This was heralded by the release of photos of Prabhakaran’s younger son Balachandran who is alleged to have been shot dead by the army. The photos certainly look authentic, since the boy is shown wearing what appears to be the same pair of shorts …
By Udaya Gammanpila I spent my teenage at Sadasiripura, Athurugiriya. It is a middle-class housing scheme and as a result pluralistic in character. The house facing our house was occupied by the Jayasinghe family who were Sinhala Buddhists. The house to the left was occupied by the Zinnen family, who were Malays. The house to …
By Camelia Nathaniel Although there has been much spoken about those disabled in the government forces, little has been heard or said about the disabled LTTE cadres that were injured during the war that plagued the country for three decades. While the government troops are said to have over 5000 of its personnel disabled, except …
( This is a Near Verbatim Translation of the Bodhu Bala Sena’s 10 Point Manifesto proclaimed publicly at the Maharagama Rally) 1. The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama has been issuing Halal certificates in an illegal manner, saying it is part of Muslim religious tradition. Only the Sri Lanka Standards Institute can issue such certificates. Issuing …
By Faraz Shauketaly As I casually glanced to my right soon after 11:30 pm on the 15th of February, I got the biggest jolt of my life thus far. I am not entirely sure and there is no need to have a reason for the glancing after all I was within the sanctity and freedom …
By The Ceylon Today Political Correspondent A four-member Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary delegation will leave for UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva, to brief the representatives of the member countries, who will be dealing with the US resolution on Sri Lanka. TNA Spokesperson and Jaffna District Parliamentarian, Suresh K. Premachandran told Ceylon …
By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke [Remarks at the Liberal Party seminar on The Need for Electoral Reform] I’ll commence by drawing your attention to a startling fact. There has not been a single piece of legislation discriminatory towards the minorities subsequent to, that is, after the introduction of the system of proportional representation. The major pieces …
By The Sunday Times Political Editor Besides polls conducted by the Department of Elections, perhaps the only other which assume an official character are elections to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), the premier body representing the country’s lawyers. Formed in 1974 with the incorporation of the Bar Council of Ceylon and the Incorporated …
By The Sunday Times Political Editor Last week When the cabinet meeting was over President Rajapaksa beckoned to External Affairs Minister Peiris and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe to meet him before leaving ‘Temple Trees’. Samarasinghe is also the President’s Special Envoy for Human Rights. After the cabinet meeting, the two ministers were ushered into …
By Nadia Fazlulhaq Indian nationals are to be granted work visas to harvest paddy in the North and East, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday.“The Government is helpless as our people are leaving the country to work as labourers in countries in West Asia, Singapore, South Korea and Italy,” he told the Sunday Times. …
By Ranil Wickremesinghe (Opposition and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in this exclusive article to the Sunday Times says the Attorney General has deliberately misled the Government to pass the Appropriation Bill, disregarding a Supreme Court determination that stresses Parliamentary control over public finance. Claiming the passage of the Bill was a blatant violation of the …
By ’Tisaranee Gunasekara “Are we so morally sick, so deaf and dumb and blind, that we do not understand this?” Ariel Dorfman (The Washington post – 24.9.2006) Finally, in a cauldron of insanity, a few grains of sense! The willingness to compromise displayed by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) has opened a path away …
By Namini Wijedasa (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (HR) Navi Pillay in an e-mail interview with Namini Wijedasa says none of the steps taken domestically in Sri Lanka, to investigate allegations of war crimes, have inspired confidence. This made an international investigation essential) Excerpts from her email interview with the Sunday Times: Question: There …
By Raisa Wickrematunge War does not start with a bang, but rather with hateful whispers. Over the past few months, extremist groups have begun vigorously campaigning against halal food – or so they claim. And this pot-stirring is beginning to have its effect. On February 17, a BBC reporter was threatened by an angry mob, …
By Gamini Weerakoon BBC’s Channel 4 produces annual editions of documentaries on the Sri Lankan armed forces alleged war crimes against the LTTE around February – March. The latest edition is out, timed for the UNHCR sessions to be held soon. A main objective appears to make an impact on the Indian political establishment. This …
By N Sathiya Moorthy A fortnight has passed since President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Independence Day address to the nation, described by many as denial of autonomy to the Tamil minorities. Yet, no one has asked what he has in mind instead, for an all-embracing political solution to the ‘ethnic issue’, which has refused to die down …
Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha Interviewed by Amanda Hodge (Full text of interview given by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha to Amanda Hodge, of “The Australian”with regard to the latest International Crisis Group report on Sri Lanka) Q: How do you respond to the ICG report allegations that the impeachment and removal from office last month of the country’s chief …
By Jezima Ismail A one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs, A.C.S. Hameed, once pointed out that “Historians have traditionally been attracted by wars and rebellions whereas the peaceful co-existence of groups of people over long periods tends to be overlooked”. He went on to say “in the history of Sri Lanka few are aware of the …
By Chris Kamalendran in Jaffna Minister Douglas Devananda yesterday dramatically backed out from his plans for a 5,000-boat protest in the Palk Strait against poaching by Indian fishermen in the face of a visit to the north by Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kantha and heightened Indian coastguard presence along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) …
Mr. Lal Wickramatunga, has handed over through a friend living in the UK, a written complaint to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navaneethan Pillay, that the former army commander, Mr. Sarath Fonseka should be held responsible for the assassination of his brother, the formereditor of ‘ Sunday Leader ‘Mr Lasantha Wikramatunga.