BY S. Vijay Kumar & B. Aravind Kumar The chorus against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s participation in the May 26 swearing-in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister grew louder on Friday, with DMK chief M. Karunanidhi and PMK founder S. Ramadoss seeking reconsideration of the invitation. MDMK general secretary Vaiko met Mr. Modi and …
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has described as ‘unfortunate’, the Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi’s invitation to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his swearing—in ceremony on May 26. Ms. Jayalalithaa has expressed her ‘dismay’ and ‘anguish’ over the move, saying the ‘ill-advised’ move could have been avoided.
By Suhasini Haidar By inviting the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) leaders to his swearing-in ceremony, Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi has sent out a powerful message on foreign policy. After an electoral campaign where “Candidate” Modi had made several disquieting statements about the region — from criticising Bangladesh for its treatment of the …
BY P. Ramajayam & Sandeep Shastri The Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu confirmed two important trends: the voters in the State were not necessarily influenced by what are often termed as ‘national’ issues, and the tradition of one of the two Dravidian parties or alliances sweeping the elections was emphatically endorsed. The party in …
By Praveen Swami Friday’s terrorist attack on the Indian consulate in the western Afghanistan city of Heart is threatening to turn into Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi’s first major foreign policy test, with concerns over possible Pakistani involvement in the strike threatening to derail his invitation to its Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, to attend his swearing-in …
Tamil Nadu is a preferred destination for Chinese investments as it has good governance and infrastructure, and is known for its industrial-friendly climate, according to China’s Ambassador to India Wei Wei.
By Dharisha Bastians Beside the aquamarine seas of Keerimalai, at the island’s northernmost tip stands a Hindu holy of holies. One of five Sivan kovils in Sri Lanka, the unique convergence of land, sea and freshwater have etched the significance of the Naguleswaram temple into the Hindu psyche for millennia. For Hindus, the waters here …
By Zahrah Imtiaz As the battle between the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the residents of informal urban settlements continue, Narahenpita Nivasa Himikam Surakime Sangvidanaya (NNHSS) Convenor, Sunil Watagala, said that they plan to take the UDA to Court once again for conducting illegal and forced evictions of people from their homes. When those of …
By Charumini de Silva The government has restricted four new investment projects in the Jaffna peninsula, claiming that the projects would lead to a shortage of water, sources said. Speaking to Ceylon FT the source said that with the support of Jaffna’s business chamber, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Yalpanam, a few industrialists …
by Priyamvada Gopal It isn’t often that President Obama makes a flattering telephone call to a man who has been denied entrance to the United States for nearly a decade. But he did just that on Friday, May 16, when he telephoned Hindu nationalist hardliner Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister elect, to congratulate him on …
by Vishwamithra “Brand is not a product, that’s for sure; it’s not one item. It’s an idea, it’s a theory, it’s a meaning, it’s how you carry yourself. It’s aspirational, it’s inspirational.” Kevin Plank What is the ‘brand’ of the United National Party (UNP)? How does the average villager identify the Party? With what does …
Continue reading ‘The UNP Brand Has Suffured Badly Over the Years but is Still Retrievable.’ »
By Mark Sappenfield On Friday, May 16th President Obama did what just about everyone knew he must and invited Narendra Modi, India’s new prime-minister-in-waiting, to the United States. It was anything but a routine invitation. Mr. Modi remains the only person ever to be banned from traveling to the United States under the International Religious …
By Hafeel Farisz United National Party (UNP) Leadership Council Chairman and parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya agreeing that the parties slogans used in the past had not struck a chord with the masses appeared confident in the revival of the UNP under the new structure that is being implemented. He said that the results of the recently …
by Upul Joseph Fernando The way the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime thinks about India’s new Prime Minister is different. They estimate that Narendra Modi may take about a year to consolidate power at the centre. By that time he would not have time to focus on Sri Lanka and other regional issues, or so they think. …
By Gopalkrishna Gandhi Dear Prime Minister-designate, This comes with my hearty felicitations. I mean and say that in utter sincerity, which is not very easy for me to summon, because I am not one of those who wanted to see you reach the high office that you have reached. You know better than anyone else, …
By GARDINER HARRIS and DHARISHA BASTIANS Sri Lanka’s government on Sunday marked the fifth anniversary of its victory over Tamil insurgents with a military parade in the south and a broad crackdown on journalists, opposition politicians and students in the once-restive north and east. Government troops largely sealed off the offices of Uthayan, a newspaper …
By T. M. KRISHNA I am a Carnatic musician and that, by default, ‘places’ me in terms of caste and the caste group that I most associate with. I was born — need I say it — into a Brahmin family. Almost 99 per cent of the people within my artistic world including musicians, impresarios, …
By N Sathiya Moorthy With the outgoing Congress-led UPA Government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh having made a significant departure on the UNHRC front before demitting office, Sri Lanka can expect ‘continuity with change’ on post-poll India’s approach and policy towards the southern neighbour. While the temptation in Colombo may be to believe that a …
By C.A.Chandraprema An Indian government led by Narendra Modi is now officially upon us and Sri Lanka has to take stock of the situation and weigh its options. The good news is that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has secured a landslide victory winning 339 seats in the 543 member Lok Sabha. The BJP on …
By Adam Ziegfeld After an election that took a month and a half to complete, the BJP — a party usually described as right-of-center and Hindu nationalist— looks to have won a majority of seats in India’s lower house of parliament. (Votes are still being counted, so all seat and vote totals are tentative). Opinion …
By Dr Kumar David It is natural that many reasons are ascribed for the defeat of the LTTE; none is exclusively true, they are interconnected, some more significant than others. After five years it is timely to sift the wheat from the chaff and reflect upon their relative importance and gain some perspective. Most oft …
By Siddharth Varadarajan If the struggle of Narendra Modi for power is the struggle of forgetting over memory, his victory represents a collective leap towards an uncertain future. Mr Modi’s remarkable election campaign may have been fuelled by unprecedented sums of money and magnified by the logic of the first-past-the-post system — which converted a …
By Shashank Bengali AHMEDABAD, India — He was 12, too young to process the horror: Mobs of youths barely older than him swarmed his neighborhood with daggers and axes. Homes and the local mosque were ransacked and burned, bodies hacked to pieces, Hindu religious chants used as cries of war. Mansoor Shah Suleiman escaped the …
By Keith Jones The Hindu communalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have swept to power in India’s general election, buoyed by popular anger over soaring food prices and mass unemployment and the support of Indian big business and the corporate media. The BJP will have 282 seats in the incoming …
Continue reading ‘Hindu Chauvinist BJP Spearheaded by Narendra Modi Sweeps to Power in India’ »
by Col R Hariharan [This article includes points made by Col Hariharan at a panel discussion on the Door Darshan TV on May 16, 2014.] Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, has been given massive mandate by the people in the just concluded general elections to the parliament. The BJP is poised to get …
Indian Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi says he looks forward to strong ties with Sri Lanka after his party, the BJP, won the Indian elections by a landslide. Modi tweeted saying it was “wonderful” speaking to President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday after the President telephoned him to wish him on his victory.
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan The Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) is gearing up to commemorate the civilians who died during the last phase of the war on 18 May. However, they will not reveal the venue of the ceremony due to ‘security threats’.
By Bishop Duleep de Chickera The recent government decision to appoint a special police unit to deal with inter-religious conflict adds to the prevailing confusion on the freedom of religion and the rule of law. While the decision implies seriousness in arresting the current religious tensions, the government’s reluctance to achieve this very aim through …
By Madura Ranwala The Chavakachcheri police yesterday thwarted an attempt by two Northern Provincial Council members to commemorate slain LTTE cadres by burning camphor on a by lane. Deputy Inspector General of Police, in charge of the Jaffna District, Roshan Dias told The Island that those present at the event were NPC member M. K. …
BY MEERA SRINIVASAN The Tamil political leadership of Sri Lanka has welcomed the new regime in India, expressing hope that the Narendra Modi-led government will pressure President Mahinda Rajapaksa to deliver on his promises to the country’s Tamils.
BY MEERA SRINIVASAN Hours before the official verdict on the Indian polls was out on Friday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa called BJP leader Narendra Modi, congratulating him for the BJP’s victory in Indian elections. He also invited Mr. Modi on a state visit, according to a tweet from President Rajapaksa’s official twitter account.
Blazing a trail, the ruling AIADMK scored an emphatic victory in the Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu, winning 37 of the 39 seats on its own. The sterling performance has put the party, led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, on course to becoming the third largest in the Lok Sabha. While the AIADMK’s handsome wins …
BY DEVESH K. PANDEY The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday issued a fresh notification extending ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in India for five years. “The Government of India, under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, has proscribed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as an ‘Unlawful …
B. KOLAPPAN & B. ARAVIND KUMAR Early trends of Lok Sabha results clearly indicate the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) emerging in a big way. According to the Election Commission of India, the AIADMK was leading in 37 constituencies out of 39 at the end of first round around 11.00 am.
“India has won! Good days are ahead,” BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said on Friday in his first reaction to the poll trends that indicate an impending BJP victory in the Lok Sabha polls. pic via: twitter.com/narendramodi “India has won! Bharat ki Vijay. Ache din ane wale hai (good days are ahead),” Mr. Modi, …
Continue reading ‘Triumphant Narendra Modi Exults “India has Won!Good Days are Ahead”’ »
Congress spokesman Shakil Ahmed has conceded defeat in the national election, saying the nation voted “against us”. Mr. Ahmed told The Associated Press on Friday that trends on Friday were “certainly not” in his party’s favour. Admitting its defeat, the Congress on Friday said it was “very disappointed” with the poll outcome but hit out …
BY VARGHESE K GEORGE As trends from across the country emerge, it is clear that Narendra Modi will be the next prime minister of India. With leads in 530 of the 543 seats available, the BJP and its allies were leading in nearly 313 seats, much more than the halfway mark.
Canadian High Commissioner Shelley Whiting yesterday said that her country wouldn’t be represented at the Victory Day parade in Matara on Sunday (May 18). The Canadian envoy said that the annual military parade wouldn’t help post-war national reconciliation, therefore she wouldn’t accept the government invitation. The following is the text of a statement issued by …
By Sathya Liyanasuriya Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran caused ripples in political circles this week twice over – first, he was hospitalised for a heart ailment, then his name was proposed as a potential candidate at the next presidential election. Wigneswaran has recovered from his heart ailment and is now back at work, …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The chance arrest of Kathiravel Thayapararajah (33) by Indian authorities could help Sri Lankan security services to identify a network of human smugglers with possible connections to the overseas LTTE rump, official sources said. Authorities would explore the possibility of having access to Thayapararajah, whose arrest during the first week of May …
33 Year old Engineer Kathiravelu Thayapararajah who served as Director of the Vanni Tech Institute run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) was allegedly tortured and murdered by the Sri Lankan Army in September 2009. On May 6th the reportedly murdered man emerged as a refugee from Sri Lanka in Tamil Nadu with wife …
By Nick Butler A potentially harmful diplomatic challenge for Glasgow 2014 is likely to be avoided due to the fact Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is not planning to attend the Commonwealth Games this summer, insidethegames has learned. This comes after two letters were sent to British Foreign Secretary William Hague voicing concerns the presence …
By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody In a matter of days after Minister Wimal Weerawansa openly criticizing certain decisions and actions taken by the government, the Presidential Investigation Unit (PIU) has conducted a lightning investigation into core institutions coming under his direct purview. Accordingly, the PIU has conducted a sudden inspection, along with a thorough investigation into …
By Marianne David The north of Sri Lanka is no longer a lagging province and is taking the leadership role in creating growth in the SME sector and in many areas, asserted Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal. “It is very satisfying to see the marked transformation of the north over the …
By Dr.Primrose Jayasinghe I am sure that some of us can recall instances at sometime in our lives when we have had to change our perception of certain things because we saw those very things later on, in a completely different light. It may seem such a surprise to one, when one is jolted into …
Continue reading ‘May All Beings be Well and Happy!Blissful Wesak to All!!’ »
By Upul Joseph Fernando “A man will rise from God’s land and he will lead the Iranians in the right path.” This was the gospel of the clergy of Iran when the people queried about a leader to unite the people against their Shah. When Ayatolla Khomeini rose to unite the people to defeat Shah, …
Continue reading ‘Will Sobitha Thera of Sri Lanka Emulate Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran?’ »
(Text of an Editorial Appearing in the “Daily Mirror”of May 14th 2014 Under the heading “Let us Think Trees this Vesak”) More than two thousand six hundred years ago on a Full Moon Day in the month of Vesak, Mahamaya, Queen of the Sakya King Suddodana, gave birth to a child, Siddhartha Gauthama. He was …
By Taylor Dibbert Five years ago in May 2009 – Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war finally ended. Regrettably, there is ample evidence to suggest that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law were committed by both the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In spite of significant international …
by Charles Santiapillai The well known writer and supreme story teller, Gabriel Garcia Marquez passed away on 17 April 2014 in Mexico City at the age of 87. He was undoubtedly the most important modern author who through his writings and satire introduced us to the complex lives of the South Americans. He was the …
May 13, 2014 (LBO) – India’s TATA Housing has started a 400 million US dollar mixed development in Colombo with state-run Urban Development Authority, as part of a regeneration effort, officials said. In the first stage which started Monday the firm will build a four-tower apartment block with 650 units which will house 582 families …
By Zahrah Imtiaz The Sri Lankan relic ant (Aneuretus simoni),which is the only living species of its kind in the world, having survived since the time of dinosaurs, is fighting to survive as its habitat at the Pompakele Reserve which is being cleared for a new water purification plant for the town of Ratnapura. At …
By Gopalkrishna Gandhi (This is full text of address delivered by Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi at the Bernard Soysa Centenary Commemoration Oration in Colombo on May 09, 2014. Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi is a former High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka. He has also served as India’s High Commissioner to South Africa & Lesotho and as …
By ROLLO ROMIG Saravana Bhavan doesn’t look like a house of secrets. Its dining room at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 26th Street is clean and bright and often attracts a line out front. It doesn’t advertise because it doesn’t need to; the fact that it’s one of the world’s largest chains of vegetarian …
By Niranjala Ariyawansha The Ravana Balaya threatened to take up residence at the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs by force, unless the Special Police Unit set up to resolve problems related to religious conflicts is not shut down before Vesak Poya Day.
by C.A. Chandraprema If there was anything that the May Day rallies showed, it was that the SLFP led UPFA even after nearly nine years in power is still an unassailable political force. Even if one factors away the natural advantage that any ruling party will have in drawing crowds for rallies, the UPFA’s showing …
by GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ A Colombian university was asked what aptitude and vocational tests are administered to persons wishing to study journalism. The response was categorical: “Journalists are not artists.” These views are, however, fuelled precisely by the conviction that print journalism is a literary genre. Fifty years ago, journalism schools were not fashionable. Cartoon …
CHAPTER 6 | Foreign Terrorist Organizations BUREAU OF COUNTERTERRORISM Country Reports on Terrorism 2013 LIBERATION TIGERS OF TAMIL EELAM aka Ellalan Force; Tamil Tigers Description: Founded in 1976 and designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) became a powerful Tamil secessionist group in Sri Lanka. …
CHAPTER 2: by BUREAU OF COUNTERTERRORISM | US Department of State SRI LANKA Overview: The Sri Lankan government defeated the terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. Concerns remain that widely reported allegations of atrocities and violations of international law committed by both the government and the LTTE during the civil war have …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka: US Department of State-Country Reports on Terrorism 2013’ »
A woman was killed and at least 18 others were injured in a low intensity blast in one of the coaches of the Bangalore-Guwahati superfast express (Train No. 12509) at Chennai Central railway station on Thursday morning. The victim has been identified as Swati (22) from Guntur who was travelling from Bangalore to Vijayawada. Four …
By S. Vijay Kumar Mohammed Zakir Hussain, a Sri Lankan arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police here on Tuesday, had allegedly conducted a reconnaissance mission as part of a conspiracy to attack foreign missions in southern India. Hussain had taken photographs of the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, the Israeli Consulate in Bangalore and other vital …
By SALMAN RUSHDIE Gabo lives! The extraordinary worldwide attention paid to the death of Gabriel García Márquez, and the genuine sorrow felt by readers everywhere at his passing, tells us that the books are still very much alive. Somewhere a dictatorial “patriarch” is still having his rival cooked and served up to his dinner guests …
Continue reading ‘Gabriel García Márquez Whose Magic in Magic Realism Was Rooted in the Real.’ »
ATTEMPTED RESURGENCE OF THE LTTE AND THE INCIDENT IN THE JUNGLE OFF PADAVIYA ON 11 APRIL 2014 An attempt for resurgence of terrorism in Sri Lanka surfaced in general area Pallai in the Jaffna Peninsula calling for launching another phase of the LTTE struggle for a separate state. The information on several key suspects who …
By C.A.Chandraprema Can there be a more loathsome sight on earth than that of rampaging Buddhist monks in saffron robes? The sight is made doubly loathsome, because a ‘rampaging monk’ is a contradiction in terms – something that cannot be. The Buddhist expectation is that a monk in particular will have at least an outward …
by Jonathan Miller Foreign Affairs Correspondent An all-expenses-paid trip by five UK MPs and their partners, including business-class travel to and from Sri Lanka, is cancelled amid cross-party recriminations – hours before departure. Sri Lanka The timing of the trip was controversial – coming just two weeks after the United Nations launched an investigation into …
Former LTTE member Gobi and two others were killed following a confrontation with the army in Vavuniya late last night, the army said today. Army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said that an exchange of gun-fire had taken place at Nedunkerni when soldiers had confronted Gobi and two other former rebels who were armed. The three …
REJECTED ASYLUM-SEEKER SELF-IMMOLATES IN SYDNEY A Tamil asylum-seeker set himself on fire in Sydney last night after his appeal for refugee status was rejected. The man, believed to be in his late 20s, was taken to Concord Hospital after dousing himself in petrol outside his workplace in Balmain and setting himself alight. He has burns …
by Glen Pearson | Director, London Food Bank, former Member of Parliament Jim Flaherty stared at me with tears streaming down his face. It was five years ago and I had been asked to speak at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa to support a group that helped with African adoptions. An effort supported by …
Continue reading ‘Jim Flaherty Was a Man Whose Humanity Trumped His Politics’ »
(This is the full text of the Prestigious Grotius lecture by Dr.Radhika Coomaraswamy at the invitation of the American Society of International Law and the International Law Association on April 9th 2014. The lecture titled “Women and Children-The Cutting Edge of International Law” was delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the American Society of …
by Vishnugupta “In a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.” ― Matt Taibbi When an analysis of a set of statistical data is done, unless one pays very close and scrupulous attention to the details in which the devil usually resides, one often misses the obvious …
By Latheef Farook A small minority of Muslim families were living peacefully for centuries in the Marichchikatti village in the Musali division in Mannar district. They were involved in paddy cultivation and other such works .In keeping with their religious requirement they built their own mosque there. To help continue with their cultivation works the …
On the 16th of February 2013, at approximately 6.30 p.m., a mob stormed into the premises of the Holy Family Church in Asgiriya (Kandy district) and demanded that worship services be stopped immediately. The mob had around 250 villagers and was led by a group of 11 Buddhist monks who belong to the Bodu Bala …
By Meera Srinivasan The interest shown by a British diplomat in Colombo, in what seems to be a high-profile case of drug trafficking involving suspects from at least three countries, has raised eyebrows here. On April 3, the Deputy High Commissioner at the British mission in Colombo sought an appointment with the Inspector-General of Police …
A Sri Lankan women’s rights group has claimed the government is arresting innocent female relatives of men it suspects are trying to revive the Tamil Tiger rebel group and subjecting them to ill-treatment. Women’s Action Network described the cases of six women it says were arrested from the north and east, the former civil war …
By Dharisha Bastians “Our cricket embodied everything in our lives, our laughter and tears, our hospitality our generosity, our music, our food and drink. It was normality and hope and inspiration in a war-ravaged island. In it was our culture and heritage, enriched by our myriad ethnicities and religions. In it we were untouched, at …
The Centre for Policy Alternatives’ latest report “Forced Evictions in Colombo – The Ugly Price of Beautification” raises serious concerns with regard to the displacement of citizens in the city of Colombo due to the Urban Regeneration Project of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development. It questions both …
Continue reading ‘Forced evictions in Colombo: The ugly price of beautification’ »
BY Patrick Barkham The quino checkerspot butterfly has defied predictions of extinction by moving to higher altitudes and choosing a new plant on which to lay its eggs. Photograph: Butterfly Conservation A butterfly species whose population collapsed because of climate change and habitat loss has defied predictions of extinction to rapidly move to cooler climes …
Continue reading ‘Quino butterfly defies extinction by changing habitat and diet’ »
by Latheef Farook Abandoned by the government, Muslim politicians and threatened by Sinhala extremists who are law unto themselves Buddhist monks leading the campaign to solve Muslim squatters’ housing problem at Wilpattu, Janatha Vimukthi Permanuna, JVP, fighting for the rights of the Muslims and the Muslims carrying the coffin of a Buddhist monk at a …
by Dinesh Weerawansa Sri Lanka won a record second cricket World Cup cricket title beating India by six wickets in the World T20 final played in Dhaka, in Bangladesh, at the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium yesterday. Having lost four finals in the last seven years, Sri Lanka finally broke the jinx in style in the …
Kumar Sangakkara guided Sri Lanka to a six-wicket victory over India to win the World Twenty20 in Mirpur and end a run of four defeats in global finals. Sangakkara, playing his final Twenty20 international, scored 52 not out as Sri Lanka chased down 131 in 17.5 overs. Tight Sri Lanka bowling had limited India to …
By Michele.J.Sison (Text of Opening Statement delivered by US ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele.J.Sison to the Sri Lanka Foreign Correspondents Association at the American Center in Colombo on April 3rd 2014) April 3, 2014 Thank you for inviting me to speak tonight. Last year, you also invited me to speak in early April, and I …
By Dharisha Bastians The Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is having a spectacularly bad week. Technically, with the two assemblies lapsing in late April, March 29 elections for the Western and Southern Provincial Councils took place on schedule. But the polls were also extraordinarily timed – with a little help from the Elections Department – …
By Vishnugupta “Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.”–Benjamin Disraeli Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranatunga reigned with unbridled power and might for eleven years, first as Prime Minister and then as Executive President. For all those years in office, the only remarkable achievement she could probably write home about or even relate to her grandchildren …
(Text of Press Statement Issued by Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs ) Order under UNSC Resolution 1373 signed by Minister Peiris An order, designating persons and entities in terms of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 which sets out strategies to combat terrorism and to control terrorist financing has been signed by Prof. …
BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA A famous soliloquy in the history of Hollywood movies in Don Siegel’s iconic film Dirty Harry begins with Clint Eastwood, playing Inspector Harry Callahan says “I know what you’re thinking— did he fire six shots or only five…” In similar vein I can tell what the strategists of the Opposition are …
Continue reading ‘The Post-Election Scenario: Lessons and Options for Government and Opposition’ »
by Sunil de Silva For weeks if not months, the USA and the UK threatened that they would move a Resolution before the UNHRC to establish a ‘robust mechanism’ leading to a possible hauling of GOSL before an International War Crimes tribunal. The vaunted threat only provided the GOSL the opportunity of proclaiming ‘I would …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Five-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday rejected claims that secret talks had been held in Geneva between the TNA and the government prior to the vote on the US-led resolution on Sri Lanka last Thursday. TNA National List MP M. A. Sumanthiran told The Island that there was absolutely no basis for …
By Gagani Weerakoon The elections to appoint 155 councillors to the Western and Southern Provincial Councils concluded showing a clear reduction of votes polled by the ruling party, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) even though, it was still able to secure a resounding victory with a large margin from its main opponent, the United National …
By Umesh Moramudali and Ruwan Laknath Jayakody Reeling from the recent United Nations Human Rights Council defeat, the United People’s Freedom Alliance achieved a lackluster victory in the Western and Southern Provincial Council elections, and while the United National Party managed to stick with its usual voter base, the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna under the …
By Sheila Varadan For the victims and their families in Sri Lanka, the resolution passed by the United Nations Human Rights Council this week in Geneva offers the first glimmer of hope for truth, justice and reparation for the serious human-rights abuses committed by both sides in the final stages of the civil war. It …
(Text of Statement issued by Tamil National Alliance Leader and Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan) The Tamil National Alliance welcomes today’s Human Rights Council resolution which requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake a comprehensive investigation in respect of past and post-war violations of human rights and the perpetration of serious crimes. The …
By DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA “The passage of the resolution marks a historic moment…” -R. Sampanthan, TNA leader (‘Tamil National Alliance Welcomes UNHRC Resolution’) One does not have to agree with a single sentence of the strident stonewalling engaged in by the representatives of Sri Lanka in Geneva, in order to oppose the grotesque call for …
The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution on Sri Lanka calling for an international war crimes probe, with 23 countries voting for the US-backed resolution 12 countries voting against and 12 abstaining. While 12 countries including Pakistan, Maldives, Cuba,Venezuela, China, Russia voted against, 12 member-states abstained from voting, including India, Indonesia and …
United Nations Human Rights Council Twenty- fifth session Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Albania,* Austria, Belgium,* Bulgaria,* Canada,* Croatia,* Cyprus,* Denmark,* Estonia, Finland,* France, Georgia,* Germany, Greece,* Hungary,* Iceland,* Ireland, Italy, Latvia,* Liechtenstein,* Lithuania,* …
(Text of Press Statement Issued by John Kerry, US Secretary of State on March 27, 2014) Today’s vote in the UN Human Rights Council sends a clear message: The time to pursue lasting peace and prosperity is now; justice and accountability cannot wait. This resolution reaffirms the commitment of the international community to support the …
India has decided to abstain from voting for the US-backed resolution at the 25th session of the UNHRC in Geneva against Sri Lanka claiming that an external investigation mechanism hinders the efforts of the Sri Lanka to promote reconciliation rather than contributing constructively and complicates the prevalent situation in the country. Following is the explanation …
By Marianne David It’s 6 a.m. in Passekudah and the skies are grey-blue with some low-lying clouds on the horizon. It’s already light out although the sun is yet to rise and it’s time for a jet-ski adventure before it gets too hot to venture out to sea. Despite the early hour, Manjula, the hotel’s …
by Meera Srinivasan The Sri Lankan government has amended the time period for its Presidential Commission looking into cases of alleged disappearances in its Northern and Eastern Provinces to cover the 26 years 1983-2009. The Commission’s earlier mandate spanned the period from 1990 to 2009, but the new time frame is of relevance to India, …
by Vishnuguptha “The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal – that you can gather votes like box tops – is, I think, the ultimate indignity to the democratic process.” ~ Adlai E. Stevenson Although they pretend otherwise for obviously local reasons, the last three years must have been very …
By Meera Srinivasan The Sri Lankan army has heightened security in the country’s Northern Province through a host of measures, including vehicle checks, it is learnt. Jaffna Security Forces Commander Udaya Perera said the move was aimed at preventing a possible regrouping of LTTE sympathisers. “We hear that sections of the diaspora are funding some …
By Dharisha Bastians UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay and the Government locked horns in Geneva yesterday, after the senior official pushed hard for an international investigation into alleged atrocities committed during the war in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha told the UN Human Rights Council that …
By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Jaffna, Sri Lanka – For the past six years, Perinparani Thirunavukkarasu, 46, has been searching for her son who was snatched in front of her eyes in Jaffna, the former war-zone of northern Sri Lanka. Thirunavukkarasu is among thousands of people whose relatives disappeared or were killed during the final stages of …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Parents are Still Searching for their “Missing” Children’ »
by International Crisis Group The heavy militarisation of Sri Lanka’s northern province after the civil war’s bloody end in 2009 has been the subject of growing domestic and international concern. The large numbers of military personnel in the north, and the deep involvement of the military in the province’s governance, endanger the re-establishment of democratic institutions that is …
by S.S.Selvanayagam The Supreme Court yesterday issued an Interim Order suspending the operation of the Administrative Standing Instructions of the Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran. The Bench comprising Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, Justices K.Sripavan and Sathya Hettige issued the Interim Order until the final determination of the fundamental rights petition filed by Northern Province Chief …
by Zacki Jabbar Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday demanded that the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Secretary Galagodawatte Gnanasara retracts the recent defamatory allegations levelled against him and tenders an apology or face a Rs.500 million law suit. Addressing a press conference in Colombo, Bathiudeen said that that if Galagodawatte Gnanasara Thera did not …
(Text of Administrative standing instructions No. 1/2014 – Issued by the Northern Province Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran that has been challenged in courts by the Chief Secretary Vijayaletchumi Ramesh) 1. Channel of communication. Except instances relating to matters explicitly Indicted in the Constitution all reporting and submissions to the Hon Governor and to any others …
By Harim Peiris President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has, since her graceful retirement from office more than eight years ago after the completion of a constitutionally mandated two term limit, busied herself with an impressive portfolio of issues internationally—issues which are also crucial to our South Asia region. Her status as an elder stateswoman, allows her …
Mawanella town in the Kegalle district of Sabaragamuwa province in Sri Lanka was the latest venue of the on going anti -Muslim campaign conducted by the island nation’s foremost ethno-religious fascist organization known as the Bodhu Bala Sena(BBS). The Bodhu Bala Sena staged a mass meeting on Sunday March 23rd at Mawanella situated on the …
By Chitra Weerarathne The Supreme Court yesterday said that the impugned document by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, pertaining to standing administrative orders issued to the Chief secretary of the Province appeared to encroach on the rights of the appointing authority of the Chief Secretary, the President, the National Public Services commission and the Provincial …
by R. Sivaraman The Sessions Court for Exclusive Trial of Bomb Blast cases at Poonamallee on Monday sentenced eight members of the defunct Tamizhar Viduthalai Padai to undergo life-imprisonment for attacking Puthur Police Station in the erstwhile South Arcot district in 1991. Last week the court convicted nine persons, after holding them guilty of offences.
By Dharisha Bastians *Third draft text of US resolution on Sri Lanka circulated in Geneva *Sets up time-frame for OHCHR inquiry into violations in Sri Lanka *Draft resolution sticks to period of conflict studied by LLRC *Draft provides no mandate for probing post-war abuses *Amends operative paragraph on NPC to cover all provincial councils An …
by N Sathiya Moorthy Independent of the fate of the UNHRC vote this time, the recent referendum in distant Crimea should be a shocking eye-opener to Sri Lankan stake-holders of the ‘ethnic issue’, ‘accountability calls’ and all attendant concerns. At this rate, they could soon find either the Tamil community, or the Sri Lankan nation, …