by Dennis Walder • Nadine Gordimer, writer, born 20 November 1923; died 13 July 2014 South Africa has produced several writers of stature in the past half century, but few have approached the achievement of Nadine Gordimer, who has died aged 90. A significant figure in world literature, Gordimer plumbed the depths of human interaction …
by David Smith in Johannesburg South Africa mourned one of its literary giants on Monday, with the death at 90 of Nadine Gordimer, a Nobel laureate praised for remaining politically and intellectually courageous until the end. Gordimer, arguably the foremost chronicler of racial apartheid and the subsequent vicissitudes of democracy, died peacefully in her sleep …
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has declared as national heritage the ancestral home in Peshawar of Hindi moviedom’s thespian actor Dilip Kumar. He has directed the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage to acquire the house. The prime minister’s approval was sent to the information ministry, which has forwarded it to director general, Pakistan …
(Following is the text of the National Shoora Council’s Response to the Bodu bala Sena demand that the Shoora Council should be banned) The National Shoora (Consultative) Council (NSC) , a grouping of national level Muslim Organisations, including a cross –section of the community’s intelligentsia and activists is not surprised at the BoduBalaSena’s (BBS) call …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Not usually, does the second in command of a regional power, flanked by a presidential delegation, fly thousands miles to some embattled small State, disguised as ‘tourists’ to talk to the adversaries of a protracted domestic problem. However, Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President of South Africa and the ruling African National Congress, …
By Chrishanthi Christopher The fate of the 153 Sri Lankan asylum seekers, who allegedly left the shores of Pondicherry, India to Australia, is in limbo. Australia, determined to claim that ‘no boats arrived’ in its shores intercepted the boat carrying the asylum seekers, at mid sea. It is learnt that the asylum seekers’ claims for …
(Following is the full text of letter submitted by former SSP,MP and Current Provincial Council member “Pottuvil”M.Abdul Majeed from his membership and from the deputy chairmanship of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress protesting the party leadership’s inaction over recent incidents afflicting the Muslim community in Sri Lanka) It is after a deep thought and with …
By Hafeel Farisz UNP MP PalithaThewarapperuma who was an eye witness to the recent riots in Aluthgama and surrounding areas was injured after a mob had attacked his vehicle while transporting victims. Speaking to the “Daily Mirror” he said that his offer to resign was due a cause he believed in and should not be …
The Government of India yesterday announced a partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka to assist in the setting up of a Faculty of Agriculture and a Faculty of Engineering for the University of Jaffna at Kilinochchi. A Memorandum of Understanding between the two Governments for the implementation of this project was signed on 14 …
President Mahinda Rajapaksa last night officially opened the new Empire Cineplex at the Arcade Independence Square last evening. The Empire Cineplex, part of the Ceylon Theatres chain of cinemas, opened at the colonial masterpiece that has been restored into a high-end shopping complex. The Empire Cineplex is an exclusive 100-seater cinema with state-of-the-art features that …
The United Nations General Assembly has elected Chamithri Rambukwella, Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York, as Vice-Chair of the Fifth Committee. Ms. Rambukwella was unanimously endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Group to represent them at the Bureau of the Fifth Committee for the 69th Session (September …
Continue reading ‘Chamithri Rambukwella Elected Vice-chair of UN Budget Committee’ »
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Bodhu Bala Sena General-Secretary Ven.Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero is scheduled to visit Australia on a “spiritual awakening mission” in a few weeks time it is learnt. BBS briefs Foreign Correspondence Association, FCA President @shiharaneez presents a token to Gnanasara Thero – pic by @Azzamameen The notorious monk known for articulating racial and religious …
Nearly a month after the worst religious violence Sri Lanka has seen in decades, Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem has warned of a ‘virtual holocaust’ against the country’s Muslim community unless Islamophobia and hate speech by radical monks were nipped in the bud. Minister Hakeem, who also heads the country’s largest Muslim Party, the Sri Lanka …
By N. Sathiya Moorthy Coming as it did after the Aluthgama incident, BBS leader, Ven Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero’s call for Pope Francis to apologise to Sri Lanka’s Sinhala-Buddhists for alleged atrocities committed by Christian colonialists in the past centuries thankfully did not receive the kind of media attention that it might have got. Not …
The Indian Government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will not support the UNHRC probe into alleged human rights violations during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s battle against terrorism. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told her Sri Lankan counterpart Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday that India would uphold the objection to a UN probe …
RIO DI JANIERO, BRAZIL—Germany has defeated Argentina 1-0 to win the World Cup in extra time. Mario Gotze scored in the 113th minute after the two teams were tied 0-0 in regulation time. Germany is the first European country to win a World Cup in South America. It is Germany’s fourth world title and first …
by C.A.Chandraprema Last week, the Bodu Bala Sena said that when the Pope visits this country, he should apologize for the crimes committed against Buddhists by the Christian colonial powers. When the government of Sri Lanka invited the Pope to visit this country, it was obviously not to extract an apology from his holiness, but …
by Gnana Moonesinghe “Methinks thou art a general offence and every man should beat thee” – Shakespeare The events of the past few days in Alutgama and Beruwela have sent shock waves to the rest of the country. One sways in horror. It is unbelievable to imagine that, so soon after the end of the …
Continue reading ‘“Do the Minorities in Sri Lanka no Longer Have Entitlement to the Country”?’ »
by Dr. Devanesan Nesiah It is unlikely that there is anyone living who remembers the anti -Muslim riots of 1915. In any case, apart from the fact that most of the victims were Muslims and most of the perpetrators were Sinhalese, there are few similarities between the riots of 1915 and 2014. In 1915 the …
Marianne David Interviews DBS Jeyaraj for DailyFT Pix by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Introduction Forced into exile 25 years ago and compelled to stay away in order to stay alive, journalist D.B.S. Jeyaraj always dreamt of returning to Sri Lanka. That flame of hope flickered occasionally, as the war dragged on and then escalated despite intermittent ceasefires, …
By Don Manu Once Dayasiri Jayasekera, the Elder and Harin Fernando, the Younger, were the best of buddies, soul mates who often met to sing and dance and browse their grouses in the familiar tavern of life found on the same side of the run down street. There, seated on worn out wooden benches, they …
by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan Former Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, Ministers Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan (Karuna) and Douglas Devananda would be summoned for inquiry if there is concrete evidence against them, over missing persons in the North and East, as claimed by the complainants, the Presidential Commission on Disappearances said. This was in response …
by Kalana Senaratne Some wondered whether the recent visit of Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s Deputy President, amounted to unwarranted intervention. Some thought he was a mediator. For some others, he was just a tourist. Minister Wimal Weerawansa informed the Lankadeepa newspaper that there was no problem in Ramaphosa having a cup of tea or watching …
BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA “The entire Sinhalese-controlled media went along with JR Jayewardene’s reasoning. Only one Sinhalese journalist, Mervyn de Silva of the Lanka Guardian, sensed the danger. In his news analysis, titled ‘Who buried the TULF?’ in the 1 August 1984 issue he wrote: ‘How very short-sighted and stupid.’” (T. Sabaratnam, ‘Pirapaharan’ Chapter 19, …
By Dharisha Bastians President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reappointed a former military commander as Northern Province Governor, ignoring the strong objections of the Tamil National Alliance that is running the provincial administration in the formerly embattled region. He was sworn in as the Governor of Northern Province again by the President at Temple Trees yesterday, the …
By Dharisha Bastians Sri Lankan deposits in Swiss bank accounts are now being listed under residential addresses in offshore havens like Seychelles, as Switzerland tightens financial regulations in line with European banking standards, United National Party Parliamentarian and Economist Dr. Harsha De Silva revealed yesterday. According to the UNP Legislator, the most recent report from …
By Ashwin Hemmathagama The circular limiting the NGO operations to their “annual action plans” and strictly “prohibiting press conferences, workshops, training for journalists, and dissemination of press releases,” came under heated debate in Parliament yesterday. Highlighting the circular number MOD/NGO/mon/4 dated 1st July 2014 1.7.2014 the Director/ Registrar of the National Secretariat for Non-Government Organizations …
By Menaka Indrakumar and Zahrah Imtiaz Deputy Minister of External Affairs, Neomal Perera told Parliament South African Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa visited the country as a special envoy to Sri Lanka, to share South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) experience. He was responding to a question on the purpose of Ramaphosa’s visit posed by …
by Saman Indrajith UPFA National List MP A. H. M. Azwer on Wednesday complained to Parliament that certain Lankan Muslims in West Asian countries had given him threatening calls and sent SMS to his mobile phone that they would kill him for siding with the Sinhala Government. MP Azwer participating in the debate on two …
By Dharisha Bastians The South African initiatives to assist reconciliation in Sri Lanka will complement processes unfolding at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and bilaterally with India and other international partners, Pretoria’s Special Envoy Cyril Ramaphosa observed during his visit to Jaffna this week. Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran told the Daily …
A brawl between Wayamba Chief Minister (CM), Dayasiri Jayasekara, and UNP Badulla District MP, Harin Fernando, on Wednesday, forced the organizers of Derana TV’s Waada Pitiya, which was to be telecast on Tuesday, to cancel the programme. At the beginning of the programme, Fernando referred to Jayasekara as “I say” and “eunuch”. These derogatory words …
The Ministry of External Affairs yesterday issued a statement regarding the recent Defence Ministry directives to Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Following is the full text of the statement: The attention of this Ministry has been drawn to several media reports and expressions of concern relating to recent instructions issued by the Director/Registrar of the National …
DAP ADUN for Perai and current Deputy Chief Minister II, Professor P.Ramasamy is a known associate of LTTE and a self-acknowledged supporter of separatists and freedom fighters in Sri Lanka. Professor Ramasamy was appointed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to be one of the members of its Constitutional Affairs Committee in 2003. …
Two police reports have been lodged against Malaysia’s Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy over alleged links with the LTTE, therakyatpost.com reported. One of the groups also alleged that Ramasamy was brave as he is “backed up by the Tiger Eelam separatist group from Sri Lanka”. The reports were lodged by two non-governmental …
by N Sathiya Moorthy Public posturing apart, moderate Tamils in Sri Lanka seem to want India to intercede on their behalf all over again and help arrive at a political settlement on the ethnic issue with their nation’s government. As the acknowledged – and proven – voice of the Tamils in the country, especially in …
First insider trading loss for Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara’s By Sital S. Patel Raj Rajaratnam’s brother ends the winning streak of insider trading cases gone after by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s. After just one day of deliberations, a jury on Tuesday found Rengan Rajaratnam not guilty of a single charge of conspiracy to …
By Dharisha Bastians Jacob Zuma, South African President, appointed a special envoy to oversee the African nation’s conflict resolution and reconciliation initiatives in two post-war societies earlier this year. In civil war struck South Sudan, Zuma’s appointee and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has his work cut out for him. But in Sri Lanka, where for …
Submitting an observation report to the Colombo Fort Magistrate, the Director General of Muslim Religious Affairs affirmed that the statement made by Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera to the media recently contains derogatory remarks on Quran. The Director General of Muslim Religious Affairs had submitted this report on an order …
By Meera Srinivasan Australia has denied Sri Lankan migrants’ allegations that they were abused and treated badly by its authorities in a recent mid-sea operation that has now spiralled into an issue of refugees’ safety. Australian Minister Scott Morrison, who was in Colombo, termed the claims by some of the 41 returned asylum-seekers “offensive.” “I …
BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA Just as a criticism of the Ministry of Sports or the Cricket Control Board, are in no way a critique of Sri Lanka’s cricket team or its sportsmen and women, I must clarify that my critique of the Defense bureaucracy is in no way a critique of the Sri Lankan armed …
Brazilians’ leonine roar which reverberated through Belo Horizonte at the outset of the FIFA semifinals on Tuesday gave way to an agonizing groan heard continents away. With shock and dismay, football crazy Brazilians watched their beloved Selecao collapse under a German onslaught. Mournful sighs that 200 million Brazilians collectively heaved, unable to come to terms …
Continue reading ‘Brazil hit by a German Hurricane at FIFA World Cup Soccer Semi-Final.’ »
by Bandula Jayasekara I COULDN’T help reading over and over The Australian’s editorial of July 7 that said: “Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser doesn’t help his standing by likening the return of Tamils to Sri Lanka to handing over Jewish refugees to Nazi Germany. Such intemperance can only damage Mr Fraser’s cause.” It certainly has, …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya yesterday said there was a requirement to govern the NGO sector to ensure that it didn’t operate beyond its mandate. Addressing the weekly media briefing at the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), Brig. Wanigasooriya said that the NGO sector was governed by rules and regulations introduced …
By Karu Jayasuriya Striking a chilling blow to civil society and the freedom of assembly and free expression in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Defence has issued a circular to Non Governmental Organisations virtually banning them from expressing views to the public. The circular that has been sent out to over 1000 NGOs from the …
President Barack Obama today announced his intent to nominate the current US Envoy in Sri Lanka Ambassador Michele J. Sison as Deputy Ambassador of the United States in the UN and Security Council of the United Nations. Ambassador Michele J. Sison, a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, was confirmed by the U.S. …
Bodu Bala Sena Leader Ven.Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera said Pope Francis should apologise to Sri Lankan Buddhists over the alleged atrocities committed by Christian colonialists. “Previous Popes have publicly apologised to certain countries because they destroyed, they killed. We had a similar situation, where most of the Buddhist temples were destroyed by them and Buddhist …
By Upul Joseph Fernando About a month ago, State media posted a photo of US Ambassador in Colombo Michele J. Sison tagged as common candidate of the Opposition. The State owned Dinamina newspaper ran a lead news story stating that there was a battle to become the Opposition’s common candidate. The report said that the …
By Dasun Edirisinghe Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organisation yesterday demanded that the government ban the National Shoora Council (NSC), which also went as the National Consultative Council. Addressing a media conference at the BBS Operations Office in Kirulapone, its General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera said that NSC was a part of an administrative structure …
Twenty three Buddhist organizations have issued a joint statement, which they claim to be the true story behind the Aluthgama clashes. They also expressed disappointment over the manner in which the media reported the incident saying it was evident that a media censorship imposed by the authorities prevented the media from reporting the truth. The …
by Vishwamithra 1984 “The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.” ~Ernest Hemingway This missive or column, whatever you may call it, is intended for all those …
A Pictorial Roundup of the cultural events via facebook.com/fetnaconvention pic via: twitter.com/trishtrashers 27th Annual Convention of the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA), The umbrella organization of Tamil organizations within the North American Continent was held on July 4th and 5th at Chaifetz Arena, located on the campus of Saint Louis University, in …
By Don Manu The Boru Bala farce Talking as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth and he couldn’t say boo to a goose, the Bodu Bala Sena chief, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara on Wednesday tells the waiting media after emerging from the CID headquarters in Fort, where he and his clan had been summoned to …
By Latheef Farook Around four years ago, today’s hate campaign pitting the majority Sinhalese community against the island’s minority Muslims, was unheard of. However, today Sinhalese minds were poisoned against Muslims to such an extent that racist such as Jathika Hela Urumya, JHU, are even justifying attacks and killing of Muslims and the burning and …
Al Jazeera Online Journalist Dinouk Colombage was grilled for four hours by the CID in Colombo yesterday, over his reporting during the Aluthgama riots, lawyers for the scribe said. Police Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana told the Daily FT that Colombage had been questioned to clarify death toll numbers he had published in a news report …
By Dharisha Bastians Sri Lanka’s powerful Defence Ministry has sought to outlaw press conferences and media statements by Non-Governmental Organisations operating in the country, sparking a civil society outcry about an attempt to impinge upon freedoms of speech and assembly. A circular issued by the National Secretariat for NGOs, which operates under the Ministry of …
By Zacki Jabbar Kalutara District UNP MP Palitha Thewarapperuma said yesterday that since the IGP N.K. Illangakoon had failed to resign over police and STF inaction while Muslims in Alutagama and Beruwela were attacked by the Bodu Bala Sena(BBS) recently, resulting in loss of life and property, he would be tendering his resignation from Parliament …
By Shamindra Ferdinando General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena Ven Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thero said that as he hadn’t applied for a British visa recently, therefore the UK government needing to consider his visa application didn’t arise. Asked by The Island whether he had sought to visit the UK ever, Ven. Gnanasara said that some …
By Neil Perera-Former Vice Chairman and Additional General Manager of CEB The article by Ifham Nizam titled, Engineers: Sampur Project a sell-out which in The Island of July 7, reminds me of one of my articles published in your newspaper October 5, 2013 also in reference to an article by Ifham Nizam titled, India to …
By Stephanie March Forty-one asylum seekers returned to Sri Lanka by Australian authorities are being handed over to criminal investigators in the port city of Galle. Sri Lanka’s navy has confirmed it received the asylum seekers from Australia on Sunday morning in a mid-sea transfer in waters south of the island nation. Immigration Minister Scott …
By Jane Wardell and Shihar Aneez SYDNEY/COLOMBO, July 7 (Reuters) – Australia’s High Court has temporarily blocked the government from handing to Sri Lanka 153 asylum seekers intercepted at sea, amid growing international objections to the country’s tough immigration policies. The injunction, which runs until an emergency court hearing on Tuesday afternoon, follows the interception …
On the 15th of June 2014 ethnic riots took place in Aluthgama following a rally organized by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), a Buddhist fundamentalist organization. Even though the police and state officials had been informed of the potential of the rally to turn violent, no steps were taken to stop the same, instead a …
By Gihan Kamalesh Weerasinghe The Sri Lanka Government has come to a firm decision to not issue on-arrival visas to Pakistan and Afghan nationals in the future. The government has decided to do so, based on local and international intelligence reports that extremists have infiltrated the island in the guise of tourists. Figures compiled by …
By Zahrah Imtiaz Hakeem looks on as the burnt bikes are loaded into a truck and a man takes pictures of the damages done. He is standing outside what remains of his once prosperous bike showroom, strangely calm. “They were all unregistered, brand new scooters and bikes,” he says. Aluthgama is waking up, but what …
By Chrishanthi Christopher Police Constable (PC) Suminda Saman does not want to mention names of persons who are behind his resignation. However, he is under duress to withdraw his complaints to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission and the Criminal Investigation department (CID) against Deputy Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade, Hemal Gunasekera. Saman said …
By Ranga Jayasuriya AHMADIYYA MOSQUE, NEGOMBO: Fifteen months ago, Zahira and her husband Tariq fled the Pakistani city of Lahore to escape the entrenched religious persecution there. The couple are members of the minority Ahmadiyya sect, and were getting repeated death threats and saw the members of the close- knit community gunned down or beheaded …
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan The fertile land called Sampur (Sambur as pronounced by the Tamils) in the North Eastern Province, across the Koddiyar Bay of Trincomalee, on which about 685 families lived before 2006, is no more for the villagers who owned it. Today, more than 800 families, who are forced to live in shanties …
By Ifham Nizam Plans are now underway to have Indian equipment at the country’s proposed second coal-fired power plant complex in Sampur, Trincomalee in contravention of earlier terms and conditions which stipulated international open bidding, according to a senior official. He said the Indian company would not be able to have its way if the …
by C.A.Chandraprema Last week, the cat jumped out of the bag when the US Embassy in Colombo cancelled Galagodaatte Gnanasara thera’s US visa. When this writer asked the US embassy in Colombo in a previous column how this monk had gone to the USA after he had begun this campaign of hatred and incitement of …
by Udaya Gammanpila I warned in this column dated 20 January 2013 that we were heading towards Sinhala-Muslim riots similar to that of 1915. In response, Muslim leaders sarcastically told me to inform police instead of inviting them for a dialogue. I pointed out in this column of 10 February 2013 that the new rigid …
By Rukshana Rizwie Asylum seekers – handover at sea remains shrouded in secrecy For a government which had been very vocal in their quest for the missing Malaysian jetliner MH370, the silence over the treacherous high sea transfer of asylum seekers is deafening. Tony Abbott, Australia’s Prime Minister has been teetering on his government’s proverbial …
By Nimal Sanderatne Peaceful conditions and law and order are indisputable preconditions for sustained economic development. International experience and our own economic history demonstrate this. A recurring theme of this column has been the importance of peace, law and order and social harmony for economic growth and development. The recent insecurity in the country has …
BY MEERA SRINIVASAN&ANANTH KRISHNAN China’s President Xi Jinping will this year become the first Chinese head of state to visit Sri Lanka in three decades, underlining Beijing’s renewed push to deepen its strategic and economic presence in the neighbourhood and in the Indian Ocean. Mr. Xi’s visit was discussed in Beijing this week as Sri …
By Annabel Crabb A multitude of dead parrot experts, amateur Spanish inquisitors, lumberjacks and various representatives of the Judean People’s Front converged on London’s O2 Arena five days ago to witness the surviving members of Monty Python taking the stage together for the first time since 1980. Tickets for the show sold out in 43 …
By Kalana Senaratne It has been clear for some time now that the positions adopted by the present regime and the UNP on the issue of accountability are somewhat similar in their ultimate effect; for fundamentally, the UNP does not critique the armed forces. We know that it is only a critique of the armed …
By Don Manu Out of the three imposing personages appointed to the UN sanctioned war crimes inquiry against the Lankan Government, Pakistan lawyer Asma Jahangir is the one the Foreign Office should keep a close watch on. Like the most formidable and forward bird in a nest is the first fledgling to flap its wings …
BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA “I have memories of the future, visions of the past…” ‘A Cloud in a Glass of Water’ directed by Srinath Samarasinghe Ernesto Che Guevara famously autographed a copy of his slim volume ‘Guerrilla Warfare’ to Salvador Allende with the line, “to Companero Allende who is trying to reach the same destination …
By Dharisha Bastians The USAID has cancelled funding for a voter education program after the Sri Lankan Government raised objections and the island’s top defence official vowed to investigate organizations receiving grants to implement the project. In an email to prospective applicants yesterday, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said the federal grant opportunity …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Defence and Urban Development Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has directed that senior military officers as well as heads of those institutions coming under him meet US ambassador Michele J. Sison or her representatives only in his presence. The decision was taken consequent to Ambassador Sison refusing to allow the head of the USAID …
By Dharisha Bastians The first dawn after the crescent moon sighting, which signalled the beginning of the Ramazan fasting season for Sri Lanka’s Muslim community this year, was marked by violence. It was the kind of shadowy, isolated attack that has been quietly besieging the Muslims of Sri Lanka for 18 long months, ever since …
By Sathya Liyanasuriya Opposition Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera, never out of the limelight for long, was the focus of attention this week when he made startling accusations about the Army’s alleged involvement in the communal riots that engulfed Aluthgama and its neighbouring towns recently. Samaraweera was to say that military intelligence officers were responsible for the …
LONDON – Eugenie Bouchard defeated Romania’s Simona Halep 7-6 (5), 6-2 in semifinal play at Wimbledon on Thursday to become the first Canadian women’s singles player to advance to a Grand Slam final. Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., converted her sixth match point to complete the victory in one hour 34 minutes. The 13th-seeded Canadian will …
Though various media organs are agog with excitement over the phenomenon of venerable Galagaoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero being “questioned” by the Police over recent incidents of anti –Muslim violence, it is learnt that what actually transpired was a farcicial drama featuring the Bodhu Bala Sena and Police officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). According …
In a fresh instance of vicious religious hatred unknown anti-Muslim elements have sent a warning letter and pieces of pork to a famous long standing Mosque in the heart of Colombo city. The historic Fort Jumma Mosque on Chatham Street was the latest target in the anti-Muslim wave currently engulfing the country.
Prompt Action by the US Embassy in Colombo has scuttled the well laid plans of Bodu Bala Sena(BBS) General Secretay Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero to embark upon a prolonged visit to the United States of America (USA) in July this year. Gnanasara Thero regarded as the mastermind behind the anti-Muslim violence at Aluthgama, Dharga …
BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA is brothers that they reject and repudiate the message and activism of the BBS and caution the country against it. What is the role of the regime and state in a multiethnic, multilingual, multi-religious, multicultural i.e. pluralist setting and in a fraught, conflicted, actually or potentially violent situation? How should and …
By Sarah Whyte The Australian government is refusing to comment on reports circulating on Christmas Island that 153 Tamil asylum seekers have been handed over to the Sri Lankan navy. The asylum seekers, who have not communicated with civilians since Saturday morning, were on a boat allegedly intercepted by the Australian navy near Christmas Island, …
By Sarah Whyte The second asylum seeker boat to recently attempt the journey to Australia has been intercepted by Australian officials who allegedly screened people on board via a teleconference. A source from the immigration department has confirmed the ACV Triton, a 98-metre Australian customs patrol boat, intercepted the asylum seeker vessel on the weekend. …
Venerable Akmeemana Dayarathna Thero the President of the ethno religious fascist organization known as Sihala was interviewed by Police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo on Monday June 30th 2014. During the course of the interview which lasted for 150 minutes with the Sihala Ravaya leader from Akmeemana a statement was recorded by …
By Upul Joseph Fernando Minister Champika Ranawaka brought a very serious allegation recently. He pointed out that Sri Lanka had become a safe haven for the Islamic terrorists. Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, also raised this charge repeatedly. Forget Gnanasara Thera, the silence of the government on the allegation of a …
BY RUWAN LAKNATH JAYAKODY The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) yesterday admonished the government, the Opposition and the police, to not touch them, as it would be a move tantamount to digging their own grave. The United National Party (UNP), certain powerful foreign diplomatic missions and Muslim extremist organizations were behind the clear international conspiracy that …
GENEVA (2 July 2014) – Three United Nations experts on freedom of religion, minority issues, and summary executions today called on Sri Lanka to adopt urgent measures to stop the promotion of racial and faith-based hatred, and violence against Muslim and Christian communities by Buddhist groups with extremist views, and bring perpetrators of this violence …
By Chamitha Kuruppu The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) yesterday reiterated it would continue to fight against Muslim extremism, which it said was an emerging threat to the country’s stability, and added that it would not stop raising its voice against such organisations. Addressing the media, the controversial organisation also denied alleged links with the Defence …
by Vishwamithra 1984 “Once you’ve built the big machinery of political power, remember you won’t always be the one to run it.” ~P. J. O’Rourke Galagodaaththe Gnanasara, who is alleged to have been indicted in the past on four cases of DUI (driving under the influence), whose regular vocabulary is sometimes more disgusting than that …
By Zacki Jabbar It was not the Sinhalese of Alutgama and Beruwela who had attacked Muslims in their areas on June 16 but outsiders including members of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) sent there with the connivance of leading figures in the government, the UNP said yesterday. Leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe told a …
By Harim Peiris Late last week we witnessed the scenario where the Army spokesman, a brigadier in rank, made the unusual claim that current UNP spokesman and former Rajapakse Administration Foreign Minister, MP Mangala Samaraweera had compromised national security by alleging at a press conference, that state intelligence agencies or at least some intelligence chiefs, …
Bishop Duleep de Chickera Reflects The recent spate of senseless attacks on the Muslim community was brought about by the convergence of a chronic breakdown of law and order, manipulative politics and the sinister provocation of religious intolerance. It is to our collective shame that these trends were allowed to fester into violence and death …
By Dharisha Bastians Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday hit out against the Government’s unofficial media blackout of the Aluthgama religious violence and charged that the regime was complicit in permitting the Bodu Bala Sena rally in the area to go ahead on 15 June. During a meeting with media activists and journalists at his Jawatte …
An Exclusive Interview By Hafeel Farisz for “Daily Mirror” Sri Lanka’s Secretary of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa in an exclusive interview based on the recent inter communal violence that engulfed the South Western region of the country, denied allegations that he was providing cover to “certain organisations”. He instead asserted that the purported …
by Subhashini Gunarathna Armed mobs ruled the roost before the eyes of the police. Kalutara District, United National Party (UNP), Member of Parliament, Palitha Thevarapperuma in an interview with Ceylon Today said that he was attacked at the Aluthgama mayhem when he went to rescue a family. Excerpts: Q:What happened to you when you attempted …
A clandestine attempt to set fire to A Mosque in the night at Ratmalama failed due to the vigilance of the Mosque trustee’s wife who alerted her family and neighbours who jointy together doused the fire before it could spread out or gain intensity. The Thalayan Bawa Jumma Masjid on Borupane road in Ratmalana was …
By Kevin McCauley Sri Lanka has signed a one-year $180K contract with Madison Group to assist its ministry of external affairs in “creating a situational awareness of current affairs” in the island state off the coast of India. The Associated Press reported today that a new United Nations probe into alleged war crimes during the …
By Kevin McCauley Sri Lanka is using Beltway Government Strategies to “retain and manage firms to engage in government relations activities” on its behalf, according to its federal filing. The Los Angeles-based firm also may “participate in lobbying or other political activity” on behalf of the island nation’s Ministry of External Affairs’ monitoring unit. Specific …
A special Committee has been appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the alleged war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka. This Committee is reportedly in the process of preparing to commence the said investigations. This has given rise to uncertainty regarding allegations that might be filed against the present Sri …
The National Shoora (Consultative) Council (NSC), a grouping of several national level Muslim Organisations said yesterday that the sudden moves to clean up and rebuild properties damaged by violence in Aluthgama, Beruwala and neighbouring areas would destroy evidence vital for the police to complete investigations, required of them according to the Code of Criminal Procedure …
by Col R Hariharan There are clear indications that the Chinese are stumbling in their effort to crush the Uighur struggle against the Han Chinese domination in Xinjiang. The scrupulous semantics used by Chinese state-controlled media describe them as terrorists though the attacks lack the sophistication of modern day terrorism. It has not helped to …
By Mark Hay On June 15 a violent mob ripped through three neighboring towns in southwestern Sri Lanka. The horde explicitly targeted Muslims, slinging Molotov cocktails, burning bikes, and looting homes and businesses. Riots, violence, and personal threats aren’t unheard of in Sri Lanka, but this riot caught the world’s attention. It was one of …
In a shocking revelation that further erodes Sri Lankan public confidence in the upholding of the rule of law and in the impartiality of law enforcement agencies ,it is now leant that 13 Bodu Bala Sena goons who spearheaded much of the anti – Muslim violence in Aluthgama have been released from Police custody due …
In yet another instance of a flagrant abuse of the judicial process, the medical and autopsy reports of three Muslim civilians killed at Welipitiya on June 15th 2014 have been fabricated to show that the victims were hacked to death instead of being killed by gunshots. A house in Welipitiya, Aluthgama-pic via: twitter.com/Camp4justice This blatant …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Sparks flew at the weekly cabinet meeting held on Thursday June 19th when the issue of anti Muslim violence instigated by the Bodhu Bala Sena in Aluthgama and Beruwela was discussed. Heated arguments occurred between Muslim cabinet ministers Rauff Hakeem and Rishad Badhiutheen on the one hand and Buddhist cabinet ministers Champika Ranawaka …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The government would investigate local NGOs involved in an unprecedented US project meant to influence the electorate ahead of national level elections next year, a senior government spokesman said yesterday. The official alleged that the US was planning to fund those who have been opposed to SLFP-led coalition, in accordance with an …
BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA [1956 මහ මැතිවරණ රැළියකදී ජනතාව අමතමින් SWRD At a mass rally during the General election campaign – 1956 1956 இல் பொதுத்தோ்தல் கூட்டமொன்றில் மக்களுக்கு உறையாற்றுதல்-pic courtesy: SWRD Bandaranaike Museum] The crisis is proliferating by the week. Which will come first, the crack-up or the state of siege? Which is the egg and …