Ruki Fernando interviewed by N.J. Viehland over the Telephone for “Catholic in Asia”. (This Interview was obtained before the gag order imposed by courts on human rights defenders Ruki Fernando and Fr.Praveen Mahesan.This has now been posted on the website “Catholic in Asia” by NJ Viehland.It is reproduced in full here) Human rights defenders Ruki …
By N Sathiya Moorthy. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s ally and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko and former Union minister M K Alagiri are at the centre of a storm, which if fanned well by the National Democratic Alliance’s electoral competition, has the potential to rock the boat in 40 parliamentary seats in Tamil Nadu …
BY SHIROMI ABHAYASINGHE Northern Province Provincial Council Chief Secretary Vijayalkshmi Ramesh has filed a Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court seeking a court directive to bar Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran from taking action to remove her from her post and to declare that the Chief Minister has violated her Fundamental Rights.
A prominent Sri Lankan rights activist controversially detained by his government under anti-terror laws says he believes his arrest was partly spurred by an international push to independently investigate the country’s human rights record following decades of civil war. Ruki Fernando, one of his country’s leading human rights activists, was arrested late Sunday night with …
Renowned author and journalist of India, Khushwant Singh breathed his last in the national capital New Delhi on Thursday March 20th. Singh was suffering from some breathing problem before he passed away. The writer of several books and recipient of Padma Vibhushan, Singh was not keeping well of late. His son and journalist Rahul Singh …
(Full text of letter sent by Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on March 5th 2014 to President Mahinda Rajapaksa) His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo 1. Harassment of Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga through illegal surveillance I write to inform you of certain activities undertaken by your Government that have …
by Vishnuguptha “What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” ~James Madison One is court jester; the other a court serf. One ridicules himself unknowingly …
Continue reading ‘Court Jester Mervyn vs Court Serf Hakeem:An Epic Battle of Comic Proportions.’ »
by Palitha Pelpola (March 20th is the 72nd Birth Anniversary of Gamini Dissanayake) “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.” ~John Kenneth Galbraith Gamini Dissanayake …
by Chamikara Weerasinghe Ruki Fernando and Fr Praveen Mahesan, prominent activists of the National Peace Council (NPC), were taken into custody in Kilinochchi by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasekera yesterday said. “They were taken into custody for questioning under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, because of their alleged connections with …
18th March 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned by the arrest and detention last week of several individuals in the North and East, including Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). CPA condemns these attempts by the Government of Sri Lanka …
The United Nations Organization (UNO) has taken note of the arrest of two human rights activists in Sri Lanka and recalled the Sri Lanka’s obligations towards the protection of human rights.
The arbitrary arrest and detention of prominent human rights defenders is an attempt to silence criticism and divert the spotlight from ongoing abuses, leading global and Asian human rights monitors said today in a joint statement. The statement was issued by Amnesty International, Forum Asia, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, and the International …
By Dharisha Bastians After 24 hours of conflicting reports about the alleged raid on the home a Tamil woman and disappearances activist in Kilinochchi, the Tamil National Alliance has confirmed that Balendra Jeyakumari and her 13 year old daughter Vidushika were arrested following a raid on their home on Thursday night. The arrest has sparked …
By Chitra Weerarathne Industry and Commerce Minister and UPFA Member of Parliament for Vanni District Rishad Bathiudeen, yesterday in the Court of Appeal, apologised to the members of the judiciary for the telephone registered under his name being used for calls which threatened the Mannar Magistrate A. Judeson, in respect of a judicial order, made …
By Faizer Shaheid Had the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) supported the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the country would have been divided already, SLMC Leader and Justice Minister, Rauff Hakeem, proclaimed at an election rally in Minuwangoda yesterday. Lashing out against the comments made by Minister of Public Relations and Public Affairs, Mervyn …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake Half a league, half a league Half a league onward All in the valley of death Rode the six hundred “Forward, the Light Brigade! “Charge for the guns!” he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred – Charge of the Light Brigade – Alfred Lord Tennyson -1854 The “Charge …
Continue reading ‘A New Crimean War in the Making as Russia is Being Pushed to the Wall.’ »
By Ranga Jayasuriya Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Just like Mervyn Silva, who is sounding like the self-appointed spokesman of the government, unleashed a wave of vitriol against the Muslim Congress, early this week. He warned SLMC Leader, Rauff Hakeem, that the fate of the Tiger supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, awaits any traitor. …
By K.K. Chandrasiri De Silva There was a thirty-year conflict and four years have lapsed since the end of the conflict. One has to reflect on what has been achieved on the ground within those four years, and assess if that progress is reasonable. Nobody is saying that the situation is perfect. Still there are …
By Gibson Bateman and Rathika Innasimuttu The joint statement by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader Mr. R. Sampanthan and Northern Province chief minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran on the draft resolution that has been floated at the UN’s Human Rights Council has a few positive components, but – for reasons laid out in this piece – …
by Dr DAYAN JAYATILLEKA “It’s a hard rain a-gonna fall” – Bob Dylan Going by media reports it would seem that the US-UK is veering towards a clearer fore-grounding of a mandate for investigation of Sri Lanka by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a position which would crystallise around March 15th …
National Human Rights Commission is inactive: Villagers of PANAMA protest Land Grabbing (Text of Press Communique Issued by the Panam-Paththuwa Surekeeme Sangvidhanaya Organization for the Protection of Panam-Paththuwa) People of Panama villages, including Shasthrawela, Ragamwela, Ulla, Ulpassa & Ragamwela will demonstrate their condemnation of the inaction of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Sri …
by Emily Dugan with Additional reporting by Aleem Agha A Swedish journalist with dual British nationality was shot and killed in central Kabul this morning as the country braced itself for a surge in violence ahead of next month’s presidential elections. Nils Horner, 51, was shot in the head with a silenced pistol while on …
BY KARUNADASA WIDANAGAMAGE Minister Mervyn Silva on Tuesday warned Minister of Justice and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Leader, Rauff Hakeem, that Prabhakaran’s fate awaits anyone resorting to treacherous activities against the country. Addressing an election meeting of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), in Wewelduwa, Kelaniya, on 11 March, the Minister of Public Relations …
By Chrishanthi Christopher With the Wanathamulla residents getting redress last week, another group of people in Colombo who are facing fresh threats of being evicted from their homes, lodged complaints with the Human Rights Commission, yesterday. Around 30 families living in Colombage Mawatha, Kirulapone, and around 60 families from Bakery Watte, Narahenpita, who face eviction …
By Shamindra Ferdinando An LTTE rally held at Dundas Square, Toronto last Sunday (March 9) in support of an international war crimes investigation targeting Sri Lanka attracted fewer than 300 persons though Toronto is home to over 200,000 Canadians of Sri Lankan origin. Canada based sources told The Island that the National Council of Canadian …
By Vishnuguptha “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me.”–-William Shakespeare Prior to the elections in the Wayamba and Central Provinces in September last year and also in the post-1994 era, the battle for electoral supremacy in the Sri Lankan …
By Faizer Shaheid and Menaka Indrakumar United National Party (UNP) candidate for the Southern Provincial Council election, Nadeesha Hemamali, has allegedly assaulted her campaign manager for spreading rumours about having an affair with her, Party source said. The sources added the campaign manager of the actress-turned-politician had allegedly revealed in public that he had been …
By Dharisha Bastians On a humid November day last year, throngs of men, women and children flocked to the dusty grounds of the Nallur Temple in Jaffna. At the appointed time, they moved near the Duraiyappah Stadium, a place where VVIP helicopters typically land. Placards, photographs and black armbands come out, as the crowd stands …
by N Sathiya Moorthy It is often argued, in the context of India-Sri Lanka fishers’ issue, that fish know no political/international borders, and fishers go where fish go. Taking off from here, it is also often proposed that a negotiated settlement to the decades-old dispute could be found through a cooperative venture involving fishers from …
By L. Srikrishna In a major catch, the Q Branch police arrested three persons, belonging to “Thamizhar Viduthalai Padai”, on Tuesday on the charges of having planted pipe bombs at two places – one near Reliance Supermarket on the outskirts of Madurai and another near the residence of Union Minister Narayanaswamy in Puducherry a month …
Chamitha Kuruppu Interviews Anarkali Akarsha Anarkali Akarsha who will be contesting the Southern Provincial Council election from Matara District says she can handle mudslinging and face rumours and it does not hurt or hit her anymore. “If I think about my image and fight against these accusations, I will not have time carry out my …
by Upul Joseph Fernando The anticipation of a strong UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution in Geneva, which caused immense angst among the ruling cabal of the Rajapaksa regime, by all indications, is going to end up a damp squib. Even though the final draft of the resolution is yet to appear at UNHRC, it …
By Niranjala Ariyanwansha Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said that while he had received four calls from the President on 3 February, presumably to congratulate him on being appointed as the Party Leader the previous day (2 February), he had declined to answer any of them. He opined that the …
By Thane Richard In October 2012, I spoke to a crowd of mostly Indians in the Detroit area about the need for innovation in Indian media. After my talk, I was stopped by an Indian woman who looked to be in her forties, was elegantly dressed, well-spoken, and struck me as someone who I could …
by DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA Political correctness or the fear of it makes Sri Lankan commentators on the draft resolution on Sri Lanka as well as the calls for an international inquiry at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva blame the Government, the West (‘imperialism’) or the Tamil Diaspora. This uni-dimensional …
By LOUISE ARBOUR BRUSSELS — IN early 2009, as many as 40,000 civilians were killed in the final days of Sri Lanka’s civil war, having been herded into an area about the size of Central Park and subjected to relentless shelling. No one has been held accountable for these crimes, and even now the government …
Photos and text by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai “Music in the soul can be heard by the universe” ~ Lao Tzu “Magala Isai” at the beginning of the festival
Thousands of Tamils demonstrated in Geneva on Monday to protest Sri Lanka’s rejection of calls for an international probe into alleged war crimes at the end of its civil war. Some 4,000 people, who had come from across Europe by bus and train, marched through Geneva and crowded into the square outside the United Nations’ …
by Gamini Gunawardane According to the headline news item of The Island’ of March 8 titled Ms. Anandhi Sasitharan, Member of Northern Provincial Council had alleged that Mr. Sumanthiran MP had silenced her in Geneva. Her allegation is that the MP had ” deprived of the opportunity to address UNRC members at a recent crucial …
by Meera Srinivasan Just as countries on the U.N. Human Rights Council prepare to vote on a United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka, a new video clip released by British public-service television broadcaster Channel 4 has accused the Sri Lankan armed forces of having an “underlying culture of systematic brutality and sexual violence.” Channel 4 …
By Bishop Duleep de Chickera A reflection for Women’s International Day As the world keeps Women’s International Day my mind goes back to a recent meeting with the first Indian woman Bishop; probably Asia’s first as well. (1) We were both in Kerala to participate at the Annual Convention of the Church of South India, …
By Patali Champika Ranawaka “There is now an attempt at social imperialism to impose social values…” Yoweri Musevei – Ugandan President, responding to Western criticism and threats to impose sanctions on Uganda after the President signed a bill that penalised homosexuality. (10 March 2014). Finally, the US government distributed its draft resolution on Sri Lanka, …
by Dilrukshi Handunnetti The guessing game has been on for months as to how India would vote when the US-sponsored resolution is up for a vote by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in Geneva this month. For some politicians, analysts and even citizens – generally dispassionate about matters of foreign policy – debating …
by A Special Correspondent The million dollar question that is intriguing everyone in both India and Sri Lanka is, which combination of parties will form the next government in India and who will be Prime Minister after the April elections to the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Indian Parliament. Sri Lankans, whether the …
Evidence of past atrocities keeps turning up in Sri Lanka. Last year 154 bodies were unearthed from a mass grave behind a hospital in Matale, in the centre of the island—victims, in all likelihood, of an uprising by Marxist rebels in the 1980s. In February an excavation in Mannar, in the north-west, produced 81 bodies, …
(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island”of March 10th 2014 under the heading “Rape of sovereignty”) The Geneva circus is on with the worst violators of human rights in the world masquerading as champions of democracy. Perhaps, there is no bigger farce than this summit. The UNHRC is dominated by the West and, therefore, it …
After missing most of Sri Lanka’s series against Bangladesh with an ankle injury, Lahiru Thirimanne returned to the side ahead of the Asia Cup. After he scored a century in the final to help his team achieve a five-wicket win, Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews said Thirimanne had batted with a “bit of a niggle” …
By Roshan Abeysinghe The Asia Cup which was conducted with much expectation has finally ended. The giants of Asian cricket did flex their muscles and the outcome sadly for teams such as Bangladesh has been predictable. Having the opportunity of playing at home in front of the large crowds Bangladesh has faltered not just against …
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti Under the guise of demanding accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, the United States is exerting pressure on Sri Lanka to secure concessions, possibly of a military nature, Tamara Kunanayakam, Sri Lanka’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, said. Kunanayakam told Ceylon Today the US needed a strategic …
(Text of communique released by the media office of the Tamil National Alliance.The TNA statement is signed by TNA Leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan M.P. and Northern Province chief minister CV Wigneswaran) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has given careful consideration to the draft resolution on Sri Lanka proposed at the 25th sessions of the Human Rights …
The resolution on Sri Lanka tabled at the 25th sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva by US-led six member nations last Monday, in a way, gave the government a sense of relief for it was not the worst it expected. The draft report on Sri Lanka released by the UN …
by Anusha Ondaatjie Colombo: Sri Lanka’s deepening economic ties with China offer it a cushion from any measures aimed at pressuring the South Asian country into cooperating with investigations into alleged crimes during its civil war. The US introduced a resolution this week calling on the United Nations to investigate Sri Lanka’s past abuses and …
by Taylor Dibbert Recent events in the Ukraine are just another reminder that Barack Obama’s naive and unrealistic view of world affairs is completely divorced from reality and wholly incompatible with any semblance of American global leadership. So, let’s pause for a moment to process this. There are plenty of angles to consider, and we …
The 135th ‘Battle of the Blues’ between Royal and S. Thomas’ to be played next week will see a new big match logo and a new gold coin being introduced. In its long history this is the first time that a special logo has been created for the Royal-Thomian encounter. The gold coin will be …
By Dharisha Bastians The United Kingdom and France, two new members of the UN Human Rights Council this year, have lent their voices to the call for an international inquiry into allegations of war crimes during the war in Sri Lanka and an end to impunity in the island.
The Kilinochchi-Pallai re-constructed railway track and signal system built by IRCON International Ltd under the concessional Indian Line of Credit was inaugurated on Tuesday. The ceremony was attended by Transport Minister Kumara Welgama, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda, Indian High Commissioner Y. K. Sinha, Consul General of India in Jaffna, Shri …
by Saman Indrajith Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem told Parliament yesterday that the Sri Lanka Law College (SLLC) would face unprecedented difficulties and problems if it increased the intake of students on the basis of cut-off marks recommended by the Council of Legal Education. Responding to questions raised by UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and JVP Leader …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Attorney-at-law, Major (retd.) Ajith Prasanna, who appears for a group of police commandos and an ordinary policeman arrested for their alleged involvement in the killing of five Tamil students in Trincomalee on January 2, 2006, yesterday told The Island that those who had been pushing the government on the issue weren’t facilitating …
By V Suryanarayan With the impending meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, international attention is once again focused on happenings in Sri Lanka. As the International Crisis Group, in its briefing note, has pointed out, “Failure is most obvious with respect to accountability of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the …
By Ananth Palakidnar The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has expressed dismay over the draft resolution prepared by the US on Sri Lanka, to be presented at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva. The TNA has pointed out that the US draft resolution was disappointing and contains nothing constructive towards addressing the genuine grievances towards the Tamils …
By Niranjala Ariyawansha Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said the JVP accepts that the National Anthem should be sung in the Sinhala and Tamil languages as a policy. The JVP as a Party recongnizes that all languages should be given equal recongnition, he added. Speaking to Ceylon Today, Dissanayake said: …
By Menaka Indrakumar United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidate at the upcoming Western Provincial Council Election, Hirunika Premachandra, is at present the cynosure of all eyes in the political firmament. Being the talk of the nation, Hirunika shared her views in several areas with regard to her personal and political life. Despite the untimely death …
An Interview with Shihara Maduwage In a recent interview, Former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka who heads the Democratic Party spoke to Daily Mirror about the present political situation in the country, his party’s plan to win the upcoming Provincial Council elections and expressed his views about the UNHRC session taking place in Geneva. He …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) intends to request India not to dilute the proposed US-led resolution against Sri Lanka over accountability issues as well as post-war developments which it considered inimical to the interests of Tamils. The TNA decided to make representations to India at a meeting held at the parliamentary complex …
by N Sathiya Moorthy After two rounds of anti-Sri Lanka Indian vote at the UNHRC, both nations have begun starting almost from the scratch. Or, so it seems. At the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on the sidelines of BIMSTEC Summit in Myanmar, the two countries have …
by Dharisha Bastians Three days after the 25th Session of the Human Rights Council opened in Geneva, some might say President Mahinda Rajapaksa whose Government is being accused of major crimes during the war, has already achieved a massive victory. After months of dire warnings, threats and much finger wagging, the first draft of the …
BY DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA At the High Level Segment of the UNHRC Geneva, Prof GL Peiris did something I haven’t seen him do in a quarter century. He read out from a text, looking up only once or twice. It was on a perfect continuum with Mahinda Samarasinghe’s clumsy, bellicose speeches at the same venue …
By Dharisha Bastians The Government yesterday slammed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay for her report on Sri Lanka’s human rights record in its entirety and said it was “fundamentally flawed”. External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris who addressed the UN Human Rights Council High Level Segment in Geneva yesterday, said Pillay had exceeded …
(Full Text of Address delivered on behalf of Sri Lanka by External Affairs minister Prof.GL Peiris at High level segment of the UN Human Rights Council 25th session in Geneva on March 5th 2014) Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. May I …
In a statement released today in the Mail and Guardian (South Africa) Archbishop Desmond Tutu and 38 Human Rights activists and organisations from around the world demanded that the UN Human Rights Council set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sri Lanka. Signatories came from South …
By Gibson Bateman On March 3, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) began its 25th session in Geneva. Since two US-led resolutions have been passed on Sri Lanka in as many years at the HRC – and the possibility of a third resolution being passed highly likely – the human rights and governance record …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka under fire at 25th Session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva’ »
One day after a draft resolution sponsored by the US Government at the UN Human Rights Council noted with “alarm” rising attacks on places of religious worship in Sri Lanka, a court has ordered the closure of a mosque in Dehiwala after Police filed a public nuisance case against the premises. The Gangodawila Magistrate yesterday …
by Praveen Swami Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Sri Lanka’s President, Mahinda Rajapakse on the sidelines of a regional summit on Tuesday, hours after a five-nation coalition moved a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council, condemning the island nation’s human record during its war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. External Affairs …
A US-sponsored resolution tabled at the UN Human Rights Council has called for an international probe into Sri Lanka’s alleged rights abuses during the war with Tamil Tiger rebels. In a draft resolution on Monday, the US endorsed UNHRC chief Navi Pillay’s recommendation for an external probe into the alleged war crimes. The US, Britain, …
Brushing aside opposition from DMK and other parties in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa but did not give him any assurance on which way India will vote on a UNHRC resolution for an independent international probe into rights abuses during the war with LTTE. The draft resolution, …
by Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe-PC& M.P. “War crimes and crimes against humanity” is a current topic which is being discussed today as never before in history. One might wonder whether there was a war without crimes. War means nothing else than a heap of crimes. The world renowned historian who was the Head of the History Faculty …
By Shirley Candappa It really is time the leadership of this country stopped deluding itself as well as the people as to what awaits us in March this year when we will once again face the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The sessions in Geneva are not something new. It is a UN process …
By Dharisha Bastians A first draft of the third and toughest US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council calls for an investigation into alleged abuses by both parties to the conflict to be led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Navi Pillay. The draft resolution, which …
Sri Lanka came in for flak early into the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, with the United Kingdom and Canada strongly pushing for international action over the country’s failure to address alleged abuses during the war. “The time has come for international action with regard to Sri Lanka,” said UK’s Minister of …
By Namini Wijedasa The Government is drafting legislation to grant a ‘certificate of absence’ to relatives of the missing who do not want to accept certificates of death for their loved ones, a senior official said yesterday. The certificate of absence—which has never before been issued in Sri Lanka but is used in several other …
by Meera Srinivasan Ketheeswaran’s crops have never failed this way. Walking along his field which sprouts harvest-ready paddy and some rough-edged weeds, he directs his workers who are operating the harvest machines for the season’s paddy yield that, he says, has fallen drastically. “I usually get 450 bags after Mahabogam [the main harvest season of …
AP- With seven Oscars including a history-making Best Director award for Alfonso Cuaron, the force of Gravity exerted itself at the 86th annual Academy Awards. The searing slavery drama 12 Years a Slave has won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Directed by British director Steve McQueen, the film is based on a true story …
Continue reading ‘“Gravity” wins Seven Oscars Including Best Director Award for Alfonso Cuaron.’ »
(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Hindu” of March 4th 2014 Under the heading “Sign of the Times”) So many awards are handed out before the Oscars, with strong favourites emerging on the basis of those wins, that the Academy Awards ceremony has today become largely predictable. The same people who garner those earlier awards …
By MICHAEL CIEPLY and BROOKS BARNES LOS ANGELES — In a triumph long deferred, “12 Years a Slave” won the best picture Oscar at the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday night, the first time Hollywood conferred its top honor to the work of a black director. “I’d like to thank this amazing story,” said Steve …
Continue reading ‘’12 Years a Slave’ Makes Oscar History by Winning Best Picture Award’ »
By Latheef Farook It appears that Sri Lanka’s beleaguered and besieged Muslim community badly needs a Ananthi Sasitharan and not the spineless politicians, wheeler-dealers, businessmen ,media men and others who turned sell outs. This is the inevitable conclusion sensible Muslims are forced to arrive following last Tuesday’s ( 25 February 2014) informal gathering some of …
By Niranjala Ariyawansha President Mahinda Rajapaksa had failed to address the concerns expressed by five ministers and a parliamentarian over the upcoming UNHRC sessions in Geneva, the Minister of National Languages and Social Integration, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, said.Leader of the Democratic Left Front (DLF), Nanayakkara, told Ceylon Today that, Scientific Affairs Minister, Prof.Tissa Vitarana, Human Resources …
By P K Balachandran – COLOMBO Eighty per cent of the complaints of forced disappearance made to the Sri Lankan Presidential Commission of Disappearances, blame the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to a well-placed source in the Presidential Secretariat. Quoting members of the commission, the official told Express that majority of the complaints …
“If you cannot stay in the Government, you can get out,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa warned Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem at Friday’s re-scheduled meeting of ministers. He accused Minister Hakeem of “betraying the country” in what seemed a simmering battle for months now with the SLMC, one of the UPFA’s partners. Rajapaksa …
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader and Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem insists there is no rift between him and President Mahinda Rajapaksa despite differences of opinion on some issues. Speaking at an event in Panadura today Hakeem said that having differences of opinion and arguing over that in the cabinet with the President is not …
By Chandani Kirinde The future of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) as a constituent member of the ruling UPFA Government would depend on the attitude of the other members of the Government and how they choose to address the grievances faced by the Muslim population of the country, SLMC General Secretary and National List …
By Leon Berenger The Government yesterday said it was looking into allegations against the country’s first Honorary Consul in Kerala that the man was having a criminal record but added that there were no immediate plans to reconsider the appointment, a senior External Affairs official said. Mr. Joeman Joseph with business interests in Sri Lanka …
By Shailendree Wickrama Adittya and Sandun Jayawardana With allegations of gross human rights violations committed against Tamil civilians in the North and East by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) starting to re-emerge, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has chosen to either stay silent or become evasive on whether the allegations need to be investigated. …
By Vishnuguptha “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ~ Søren Kierkegaard They looked everywhere but they did not see. Some were afraid to look so they did not see either and in the worst case, many others …
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, MP, and Member of the Board of Governors of Trinity College, Kandy, has filed plaint in the District Court of Colombo claiming Rs 5 million as damages from Bishop Shantha Francis, Bishop of Kurunegala and Chairman of the Board of Governors, for loss of reputation for his allegedly illegal removal from the Board of Governors. Wijesinha claims that the Constitution of …
By Camelia Nathaniel While the TNA and the Diaspora are on a mission to initiate an international investigation against Sri Lanka on war crimes allegations, the people who actually suffered immense hardships and atrocities for the past 30 years are engaged in a battle to rebuild their shattered lives. The Northern Provincial Council recently passed …
Vijitha Yapa was elected Chairman of the Afro Asian Book Council last week at the AGM of the organization held in New Delhi during the World Book Fair 2014. He is the first Sri Lankan to hold this position. Yapa is currently the President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association and Vice President of …
By a Special Correspondent What cannot be concealed despite all the bravado is Sri Lanka’s concern over the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions this month, slated to critique the island’s human rights record and inclined to propose the setting up of an international mechanism to probe the island’s rights abuses committed during the …
By Udaya Gammanpila Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu commenced her election campaign by pasting a very interesting poster. Jayalalithaa has pointed a finger at President Rajapaksa and he was paying homage to her having knelt before her. In fact, this picture is a result of smart editing of two separate photographs. Jayalalithaa was …
By DHARISHA BASTIANS President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday rejected calls for an international investigation into accusations of massacres and human rights violations during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended in 2009. “If there is evidence, let them show us,” Mr. Rajapaksa said. “We will look into it.”
By Meera Srinivasan Expressing Sri Lanka’s discomfort with the United States-sponsored resolution to come up in Geneva in a month, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday said: “We are uncomfortable with the whole resolution…there should not be a resolution at all.” He was addressing members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association, a couple of days …
by Zacki Jabbar The UNP yesterday expressed concern that the abduction syndrome had gripped Colombo once again with Sunil from Wanathamulla being the latest victim, but no suspects had been arrested even two weeks later. UNP National List MP Eran Wickremeratne told The Island that Colombo DIG Anura Senanayake who had assured the Wanathmulla residents …
Chamitha Kuruppu Interviews Colombo Mayor A.J.M.Muzammil Mayor of Colombo A.J.M. Muzammil, who locked horns with United National Party following his wife’s nominations being denied, said he will not get actively involved in helping the party win at the upcoming Provincial Council elections. “I was not wanted. If I was not wanted, why should I go …
After staying release of three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the Supreme Court today restrained the Tamil Nadu government from letting out four more convicts in the case. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam directed the state government to maintain status quo and said it will hear on March 6 the …
by A. Gnanathasan An appreciation of the late Justice Sundaram Sriskandarajah President of the Court of Appeal Sri Lanka. I pen these words with deep sadness to honour and appreciate the memory of the late justice Sundaram Sriskandarjah President of the Court of Appeal, who passed away recently having led a life of grace and …
by Upul Joseph Fernando Mahinda is scheduled to leave for London on 10 March to attend Commonwealth Day celebrations. Purpose of his participation in the proceedings will be twofold; representing the country as President of Sri Lanka and also as the Chairperson of the Commonwealth group of nations. The Royal Commonwealth Society website has reported …
by Gamini Jayasinghe Mahasivarathri is purely a religious ceremony of day time fast and vigil throughout the night. Hindus world over observe special religious rites on the fourteenth night of Phalguna (February /March ) which is the longest night in the year according to the Hindu calendar. These observances are started in the morning on …
by Vishnuguptha “Sooner or later those who win are those who think they can.” ~Richard Bach The emergence of a politician to the position of a ‘party leader’ is no mean event. As in almost all human enterprises, politics too is infested with jealousies, envy, cut-throatisms, fierce competition, intra-party rivalries, caste and class differences and …
By Dharisha Bastians The Oxford educated Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, recently lapsed momentarily into literary metaphor in attempting to explain some of the current complexities that govern the bilateral relationship between New Delhi and Colombo. “What can I say, but to borrow from Eric Segal’s Love Story: Love means never having to say …
by Shamindra Ferdinando Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday said that the government wouldn’t demobilize the Army or reduce military presence in the Northern Province under any circumstances, though a section of the international community was pushing the government on the diplomatic front ahead of the 25th session of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council …
The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has rejected the call by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navnanethem Pillay’s for establishing ‘an international inquiry mechanism to further investigate the alleged violations of International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and monitor any domestic accountability process in Sri Lanka”, saying “it gives scant …
(Text of Press Release Issued by the Media office of the Tamil National Alliance) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) welcomes the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka to the 25th session of the Human Rights Council.The High Commissioner’s report contains a comprehensive and …