By Saman Gamage The majority of SLFP lawmakers have strongly opposed a move to form a caretaker government with Joint Opposition (JO) heavyweight Kumara Welgama threatening to sit on the opposition in such an eventuality. Political sources said that SLFP MPs had exchanged views at a meeting chaired by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday …
By S. Poorvaja The #MeToo movement which has seen a number of survivors of sexual harassment open up about their experiences and naming perpetrators on Twitter, over the last few days, has trickled down to Kollywood with allegations surfacing against poet Vairamuthu. Singer Chinmayi Sripaada on Tuesday had tweeted about how she was asked by …
A former prominent newspaper editor who is now a junior foreign minister is the latest to be named in what is being called India’s #MeToo movement. MJ Akbar is accused of predatory behaviour, including inviting young women to hotel rooms for “meetings”. Neither Mr Akbar nor the foreign ministry have responded to the historic allegations …
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced he will topple the government before the “next poya day,” but the controversial bid to reunite their splintered Sri Lanka Freedom Party has led to more fissures. Speaking to reporters after a closed-door meeting with his loyalists at the home of Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) chief G. L. …
Sri Lanka’s former secretary to the defence ministry, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Tuesday suggested his former Economic Development minister Basil as the presidential candidate at next year’s elections. Emerging from the new Permanent High Court at Bar in Colombo where his trail was put off for December 4, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa accused the government of trying to create …
By Sean Brocklehurst “Are you sure Steve shouldn’t be in this interview?,” M.I.A. said when I asked her how her new documentary came together. It was a fair question because, technically, the 43-year-old pop star had nothing to do with the making of Stephen Loveridge’s film, Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. But she was very much a driving force …
By Dharisha Bastians When organisers of the Jaffna International Cinema Festival cancelled a scheduled screening of his documentary film Demons in Paradise from the festival programme last week, Tamil filmmaker Jude Ratnam claimed he was not surprised. Demons in Paradise debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. The film has been screened many times …
By Maneshka Borham The Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation has lost tens of thousands of acres of fertile cashew plantations in the formerly embattled North and East – with the military continuing to grow the crops but refusing to release the lands citing national security reasons; Army says it is ’ looking into’ the release The …
By A Special Correspondent The Opposition has called for the resignation of Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar following allegations of sexual misconduct against him by a senior journalist as part of the #MeToo movement. “The allegations against Mr. Akbar is the Harvey Weinstein moment for India. The Modi government talks of beti …
By S. Vijay Kumar R.Sivaraman R.R. Gopal, Editor of Tamil magazine Nakkeeran, was on Tuesday arrested in Chennai under Section 124 IPC, a provision that deals with “assaulting President/Governor with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power” on a complaint from the Raj Bhavan, but was set free by a magistrate …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Jaffna International Film Festival that began last week has removed Jude Ratnam’s internationally acclaimed ‘Demons in Paradise’ from screening. The decision to remove the film – that depicts the gradual but predictable degeneration of Tamil militancy into one of cannibalizing its own- was treated with a muted reaction in the South. In …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda Former State Minister and Jaffna District Parliamentarian Vijayakala Maheshwaran arrested for allegedly exciting or attempting to excite disaffection through a controversial statement in Jaffna was yesterday ordered to be released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court. Accordingly, the suspect was ordered to be released on a surety bail of Rs.500,000 by …
United National Party Jaffna district Parliamentarian and former state minister of Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran was arrested today by the Police Organised Crimes Preventive Division in connection with a controversial statement she made recently on the resurgence of the LTTE. Police spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said she had been summoned to the Police Organised Crimes …
By The “Sunday Times” Political Editor President Maithripala Sirisena and his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa met last Wednesday to discuss a potential caretaker grand coalition which the two leaders agreed was necessary to pull the country out of the “economic mess” and address other critical issues badly affecting the people. If the upcoming dialogue ends successfully, …
China is using ‘debt diplomacy’ to expand its global influence and Hambantota Port could soon become a forward military base for Beijing’s growing blue-water navy, US Vice President Mike Pence has said on Thursday. According to PTI, Pence said China was offering hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure loans to governments from Asia to …
By Ayesha Zuhair A popular newspaper column lamented on Sunday (September 30) that while the punishment for murder is death upon conviction, the punishment for the murder of hundreds, i.e. a terrorist act, is “only” life imprisonment. Taking a critical stance of the recently Cabinet-approved counter terrorism bill for apparently soft-pedalling the issue of terrorism, …
Continue reading ‘Why Do We Need To Enact Fresh Laws To Deal With Terrorism At This Juncture?’ »
By Dr. Nirmala Chandrahasan LL.B, LL.M ,Ph.D, Attorney-at-Law. I was surprised to see the statements by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjit, which appear to downplay Human Rights. The Cardinal sees it as a secular western European concept, but does not seem to be aware of its Christian roots. Similarly, Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his rebuttal of the …
by Kamaya Jayatissa “The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.” – Charles de Montesquieu Going through the recent statements made at Geneva, as well as on its sidelines, I wonder how much time each of us take …
(Text of a press release issued by Anomaa Rajakaruna Festival Director of Jaffna International Film Festival) Dear Sir/Madam, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Reference to Jude Ratnam’s statement of DEMONS IN PARADISE which was to be screened at Jaffna International Cinema Festival Jude Ratnam’s film which was premiered on 24th May 2017 has been traveling …
(Text of a press release issued by Jude Ratnam the Writer/Director of the film “Demons in Paradise”) Dear Sir/Madam, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Allegedly owing to pressure from a group known only as the ‘Community’ in Jaffna, the festival organizers of the Jaffna International Cinema Festival have decided to remove the film DEMONS IN …
John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) yesterday announced the appointment of Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the company with effect from 1 October. Dr. Coomaraswamy received her BA from Yale University, LLM from Harvard University and the Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Columbia University. She served as UN Under Secretary General and as …
The internationally renowned film ‘Demons in Paradise’ which was competed at the prestigious Cannes Film festival in France has been removed from being screened at the International Jaffna Cinema Festival starting this weekend, its Director Jude Ratnam said. Issuing media release, he said the festival organizers of the Jaffna International Cinema Festival had decided to …
By Meera Srinivasan A Sri Lankan Tamil filmmaker’s take on the country’s civil war, which was scheduled to be screened at the Jaffna International Cinema Festival later this week, has been removed from the list, raising questions about the space for free expression in Sri Lanka’s post-war north. According to filmmaker Jude Ratnam, festival organisers, …
By Kelum Bandara Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran in an interview with Daily mirror , speaks about the current status of the Constitution-making process and future politics. He shared the following: Q How do you look at the current status of politics? A; Well, there was a change in 2015. …
Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran yesterday declared that he would contest the next provincial council elections from a new political front, if the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was not ‘happy with him”. “I know some people in the TNA are not happy about my performance and I have been repeatedly criticsed by a parliamentarian,” …
Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday stated that the current government salvaged Sri Lanka from its status as a drop of blood on the world map and prevented former president Mahinda Rajapaksa from becoming an international criminal. The Minister pointed out that the ex-President now had the opportunity to visit the international community …
THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1998 Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility unequivocally condemns the arrest and continued detention of Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam, the issuing of a non-bailable arrest warrant to Pakistani journalist Cyril Almedia, the conviction of two Myanmar journalists, U Wa Lone and U Kyaw …
By C.A.Chandraprema Before President Maithripala Sirisena went to the UN this time, there was some hype about a pronouncement he was going to make which would get our war heroes ‘off the hook’. What President Sirisena finally ended up saying in Sinhala in NewYork addressing the UN General Assembly was that as an independent country …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Returning from Malaysia this week, correspondence with a now retired and respected diplomat focused on the ravages that the Malaysian people has had to go through including the gruesome instance of a Malaysian deputy public prosecutor whose body was discovered in a cement-filled oil drum dumped in a river. He had …
By Ranjith Padmasiri Two senior Attorney General’s Department officials have allegedly attempted to forcibly obtain evidence from a lawyer, implicating politicians as having obtained payments from W.M. Mendis and Company which is linked to the Central Bank bond scam. The lawyer, in an affidavit filed in the Colombo Fort Magistrate Court, this week claimed that …
President Maithripala Sirisena came under severe criticism from the war-time general Sarath Fonseka for announcing in New York that political and military leadership fled abroad fearing Tiger bombings in Colombo. Fonseka, minister of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development, dismissed Sirisena’s claim in New York last week that the country’s military and political leadership were …
Towards the end of the Civil war in Sri Lanka, he was unaware of LTTE plans to launch Arial attacks on Colombo, said the former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. He also noted that during the last days of the war he was never overseas. He said this to BBC Sinhala service in response to a …
Sri Lanka’s President Friday dropped a bombshell claiming that Tamil Tigers planned a flight from neighbouring Tamil Nadu to destroy targets in Colombo as the separatist war drew to an end. Maithripala Sirisena told Sri Lankan expatriates in New York that he was the senior most politician in the country in May 2009 directing security …
In a shocking revelation, President Maithripala Sirisena said the LTTE, during the last two weeks of war, had plans to cluster-bomb Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka, using aircraft’s operated from Chennai. That is why, Sirisena said, some top-notch war time leaders – namely former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, former …
A New South Wales University student accused of plotting to assassinate Australian politicians has been released on bail, after an expert found the sole piece of evidence couldn’t be connected to him. Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen, 25, was arrested in August after a colleague found a notebook allegedly containing details of plans to kill Malcolm Turnbull …
By C. A. Chandraprema The comments made by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith last Sunday at the Ekala St Matthew’s church have made waves with Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Saliya Peiris criticising the Cardinal’s words and the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and several Catholic MPs in the Joint Opposition condemning Samaraweera and Peiris for taking on the …
(Text of statement issued by Hon.Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Finance & Mass Media on misreporting of CID Investigation regarding the complaint by Mr.A.M.Namal Kumara) The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is conducting investigations into serious allegations of an alleged conspiracy to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amongst …
By Thilanka Kanakarathna Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara today said the Indian national had not revealed any assassination plot to the CID on President Maithripala Sirisena and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa but had only spoken of a threat to several individuals following the revelation by Anti Corruption Movement’s Director Operations Namal Kumara on assassination plot. …
The Indian High Commission in Colombo on Wednesday said the Indian national, who had been arrested in Sri Lanka over the alleged assassination attempt of President Maithripala Sirisena, his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa and family members ‘has had a history of mental disturbance since 2000.’
President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday called on the international community ‘to allow Sri Lankan people to solve their problems on their own,’ and said: “as an independent country we do not want any foreign power to exert influence on us.” Addressing the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he said …
Police investigating an alleged conspiracy to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena have found several contradictions in statements an air force deserter who claimed he was contracted by a Deputy Inspector-General for the hit. Sources close to the investigation said Namal Kumara, the man who held a press conference and made what appeared to be sensational claims, …
By A.J.A. Abeynayake An Indian national with alleged links to a plot to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had said there had been a conspiracy to kill the entire Rajapaksa family and President Maithripala Sirisena, the CID informed Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne, yesterday.
(Text of Press Release Issued on September 24th 2018 by the South Africa based International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) in Johannesburg headlined “Is the Sri Lanka Government serious about its Office of Missing Persons?) “The Government of Sri Lanka is undermining the Office of Missing Persons by appointing a politician to implement its recommendations …
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday blamed the liberal economic policies followed by the current government for the continuous depreciation of the Sri Lankan currency. In a statement released to the media, Rajapaksa called into question the role played by the current government, while admiring the policies followed by the Trump administration. “The role of a …
By P.K.Balachandran In the Maldivian Presidential election held on September 23, the Joint Opposition’s impassioned plea for the restoration of democracy secured an overwhelming response from the voters. The electorate decisively rejected incumbent President Abdulla Yameen’s call to vote for rapid economic development and its attendant benefits, suppressing the ‘foreign-inspired’ craving for political, constitutional and …
Archbishop, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has come under fire for the stand he has taken on human rights. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that the need for human rights was an outcome of the marauding religious zealots of the inquisition and the crusades, where non believers were massacred “En-Bloc”. “Pity, the Cardinal always seems to get …
by Rex Clementine Angelo Mathews faced his Ian Botham moment on Friday when the national selection panel and Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha met him and gave Hobson’s choice after Sri Lanka’s horrendous show in Asia Cup where they suffered defeats at the hands of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The fate that Mathews suffered is similar to …
By Maneshka Borham On a small hill inside the Trincomalee Eastern Naval Command is known among local residents as ‘Gun Site’ because of a mounted weapon at its summit. A soundtrack of crashing waves, stunning views of the ocean side city of Trincomalee and the choppy blue waters of the Bay, would make ‘Gun Site’ …
By L. H. P. Gunaratne – Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Peradeniya Professor T. Jogaratnam, generally acknowledged as the father of Agricultural Economics in Sri Lanka, passed away on the 18th of September 2018 at the age of 87 years. He was the first Lecturer in Agricultural Economics, the first Professor of Agricultural Economics …
By Romesh Madushanka Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not deserve more protection, Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said yesterday. Speaking to the media during a visit at Nandimitragama in Vavuniya, the Field Marshal said that the security detail of former Defence Secretary was higher than what was given to him. “I have been given …
(Excerpted From The “Sunday Times” Political Column) I received credible information that there was a plot to kill me using the help of underworld leader Makandure Madush,” former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the Sunday Times in an interview this week He said he had verified the information from “very reliable channels” and found it …
By Sarath De Alwis “The time is out of joint; O cursed spite That ever I was born to set it right!” [Hamlet, William Shakespeare] The war was unendurable. It was mind-blowingly vicious. Suicide bombers made a fine art of painting the earth with blood-soaked human innocence. Babies refused to be lulled to sleep. Grandmas …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene The unseemly tug-of-war between the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the National Police Commission, with the IGP openly balking to carry out directions of the NPC, must be deplored quite categorically. Putting the credibility of ‘independent commissions’ at risk Indeed, the manner of both parties being summoned by the Speaker …
by Rajan Hoole Rains and early gloom harbinger the dying year. Fields are ploughed and sown in readiness for the earth’s renewal and the yield of her bounty. It was at such a time that Rajani was killed by the LTTE 29 years ago. Her questions and aphorisms often challenged our assumptions at their core. …
Roobha, is a Canadian-Sri Lankan Tamil film made by Lenin M.Siva. It is about a transgender and a married man falling in love and the trials and tribulations they face in society. It is to be premiered in Toronto on October 9. She’s enchanting… and then she dances… A runaway train of intensity. A raw …
By N.Ram (N. Ram is the Chairman of The Hindu Publishing Group) The Hindu has been adapting to changing times, facing and overcoming a multitude of challenges, earning the trust and affection of millions of people across the country, and flourishing. The Hindu has been adapting to changing times, facing and overcoming a multitude of …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda A request made by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran to defer contempt of court proceedings filed against him was yesterday rejected by the Court of Appeal. Wigneswaran through his lawyer K.Kanag-iswaran PC made an application to defer contempt of court proceedings until the Supreme Court makes an order regarding a leave to …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Rebel UPFA MP S.B. Dissanayake has reiterated that the army executed some LTTE personnel including one-time LTTE Eastern Commander Thambiraja Thurairajasingham aka Ramesh after they surrendered to the advancing troops. The declaration was made in response to a media query at the residence of former Deputy Speaker and National List MP Tilanga …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The Joint Opposition (JO) yesterday declared that it was ready to work with India in spite of misconceptions that may have led to New Delhi’s backing for the change of the Rajapaksa government in January 2015. Former External Affairs Minister and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G. L. Peiris explained …
By Nirupama Rao (The author is a former Foreign Secretary of India who served as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka also) I am a Hindu by birth and by enduring faith. The house that I was born into that my grandfather built, had no special puja room — but the plaster of Paris statue of …
By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole Today, 15 September, 2018, saw one of the few really intellectual activities in Jaffna at Veerasingham Hall: the first C.W. Thamotharampillai Memorial Lecture. CWT was a legendary Tamil literatist of the nineteenth century credited with discovering some of the oldest extant Tamil literature like the Tolkapiyam and other lost Tamil …
By Sunil Tantirige A house talks…………Memories of a childhood long gone. I have just returned to Toronto from a short trip to Sri Lanka. I have been going back to the old country every year to visit my ailing mom but this trip was different. Let me explain. I grew up in Mount Lavinia, in …
President Maithripala Sirisena has given marching orders to his ambassador to Austria and five other embassy staff for failing to answer his long-distance telephone calls, officials said Saturday. Ambassador Priyanee Wijesekera was recalled after she failed to answer his calls last week and no responsible officer was there to respond to the President, an official …
Two former ministers who served during the Rajapaksa regime have admitted that LTTE members including Tamils who had surrendered to the Army had been killed. This allegation has been levelled against the Sri Lankan security forces for almost ten years by the war affected Tamil including the Diaspora and the international Human Rights Organisations, and …
By Anurangi Singh Officials of the Financial Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) dropped another bombshell last week, when they filed a B report in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, in a first step to filing legal action against former Minister Ravi Karunanayake, for allegedly making false statements under oath before the Presidential Commission investigating …
By The “Sunday Observer” Political Editor At 3.30 am on September 10, Admiral Ravindra Wijeguneratne, the country’s highest ranking military official, boarded a Qatar Airways flight bound for Singapore. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was travelling overseas to attend the 208th National Day celebrations in Mexico, according to his Office. The trouble was, September …
By Manopriya Gunasekara The Criminal Investigations Division (CID) yesterday filed a case against former Finance Minister MP Ravi Karunanayake at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court for giving false evidence to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Central Bank bond scam. The CID giving statements before Court said that MP Karunanayake had intentionally given false evidence …
President Maithripala Sirisena summoned an emergency cabinet meeting to defend the country’s senior-most military officer who is facing imminent arrest for allegedly shielding a mass murder suspect, but failed to secure agreement. The noon meeting of the cabinet ended after heated exchanges, sources close to the administration said adding that the President failed in get …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Continuing controversy over Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Ravi Wijegunaratne, wanted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with allegedly aiding and abetting Lt. Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, a suspect in two major wartime cases, leaving for Mexico on Sept. 10 has taken a dramatic turn with the Tamil National Alliance …
Internationally acclaimed award -winning Sri Lankan Dr.Tanya Ekanayaka’s second solo album will be released worldwide by Naxos Records on September 14th 2018. The album titled “Twelve Piano Prisms” comprises 12 new works for solo piano which evolved in 2016 and 2017.Dr.Tanya Ekanayaka herself performs the works/prisms in the album recorded by Roderick Buchanan-Dunlop and produced …
By Suhasini Haidar and Amit Baruah Former Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa is in Delhi to deliver a public lecture on Wednesday on “India-Sri Lanka relations: the way ahead”. Speaking to The Hindu, the former President, who says he is “100%” confident his party will come to power in 2019, proposed a new mechanism …
President Maithripala Sirisena should take the responsibility for Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne leaving the country to participate in 208th Independence Commemoration Ceremony of United Mexican States, Sarath Wijesuriya, co-convener of the National Movement for Social Justice told the media yesterday.
Launching a scathing attack on the national carrier, President Maithripala Sirisena today said he was served “unedible cashew nuts” on a flight to Colombo last week. Addressing a farmers’ event in Hambantota this monring, an angry Sirisena asked who approved unedible cashew for the national carrier. “I returned to Colombo from Nepal via New Delhi …
By Priyan Dias Much rhetoric has been used in various media over the years, and recently too, on the subject of patriots and traitors. I feel constrained to express my views as well. Samuel Johnson in his Dictionary (1755) defined a patriot as “One whose ruling passion is the love of his country.” This is …
BY K.S. Udaya Kumar President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva PC who appeared for former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa submitted that the Special High Court has no jurisdiction to hear and determine the action in the case where he is indicted with misappropriation in the construction of the D.A. Rajapaksa Memorial Museum at Weeraketiya. All the …
Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate Lochana Abeywickrama yesterday authorized the CID to question former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka on the abduction and torture of senior journalist Keith Noyahr in 2008.
By Camelia Nathaniel Former Navy Commander and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne had been summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to give a statement yesterday but he had left the country on an official tour, CID sources said. Speaking to the Daily News a CID official said that Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda The Permanent High Court-at-Bar set up to hear high-profile financial frauds and corruption cases yesterday served indictments on former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and six others. This is in connection with an incident that the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum and Memorial in Medamulana was built using public funds amounting to Rs.33.9 million. When …
President Maithripala Sirisena said that he is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on September 24 and he would make a statement to vindicate the Security Forces from all allegations levelled against them. President Sirisena was speaking at the SLFP Nivitigala Bala Mandala meeting held at the Nivitigala public fair premises, on Saturday.
By Darshana Sanjeewa Former Navy Commander and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne had been summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to give a statement today, CID sources said. He was summoned to give a statement with regard to the abduction of 11 youths in 2008 and 2009.
A rampant Sri Lanka outplayed Singapore 69-50 on Sunday (Sept 9) in the final of the M1 Asian Netball Championship at the OCBC Arena to win their first Asian title since 2009. The young Sri Lankan side showed that they had the depth to complement their 2.08m goal-shooter Tharjini Sivalingam with three other players in …
Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka has indicated that it has no plans to change its policy on the languages used in the packaging of its milk products in Sri Lanka. Reacting to scathing comments and threatened governmental action for violating the country’s language policy, Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka said that it has a uniform policy in …
By The Sunday Observer Political Editor In his haste to get somewhere fast, the young MP from Hambantota proved last Wednesday that he could really jeopardise his father’s dreams for the future: “Everything the light touches is our kingdom.”– Mufasa, Lion King September 5, 2018 was supposed to be much more than just a mass …
By Azhar Razak, Aanya Wipulasena, Indunil Usgoda Arachchi, Rajitha Jagoda Arachchi There was an air of anticipation in Colombo on the morning of September 5. The day had finally dawned of the ‘Janabalaya’ rally organised by the Joint Opposition led by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which was slated to be the largest protest …
Continue reading ‘Janabalaya Kolombata Comes to Colombo : Crowds,Carnival and Confusion’ »
By Anurangi Singh After three years of investigations and mounting accusations about delayed justice in corruption cases, former Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, arguably the most powerful member of the previous administration, will be indicted tomorrow (10), on charges of misappropriating tens of millions in public funds while his brother was President, to build a memorial …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda Northern Province Chief Minister and former Supreme Court Judge C.V. Wigneswaran and three others appeared before the Court of Appeal yesterday over a complaint that they have intentionally acted in contempt of the Court of Appeal order. When the application came up before Justice Janak de Silva, the three respondents Northern Province …
By Kamani Alwis Former Child Affairs State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran is to be indicted before the Court of Appeal under Article 157/A 3 for alleged violation of the provisions of the Constitution. According to section 157A (1) of the Constitution, no person shall, directly or indirectly in or outside Sri Lanka, support, espouse, promote, finance, …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda The Supreme Court on Wednesday re-fixed for support on September 28, the special leave to appeal filed by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran challenging the Court of Appeal’s Interim Order to prevent Wigneswaran’s decision to remove B. Denishwaran from functioning as the Fisheries and Transport Minister in the Province.
By Camelia Nathaniel The ‘Jana Balaya Kolambata’ protest campaign organised by the Joint Opposition (JO) had failed to get the desired outcome and turned out to be a flop while one person had died and 16 people were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital. “One person who had died on admission to the Colombo National …
By Anura Balasuriya and Rathinda Kuruvita Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that the Joint Opposition (JO) had been compelled to launch ‘Jana Balaya Colombata’ campaign as the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government had deprived it of the post of the Opposition Leader. Rajapaksa said that the government had recognized the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group consisting …
By Chathuri Dissanayake Nearly 3,000 loyalists of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday occupied the Lake House Roundabout in Fort and held a ‘sathyagraha’ after the ‘Janabalaya Colombata’ protest march organised by the Joint Opposition (JO) was wrapped up. The Government members discredited the campaign as unsuccessful as it had failed to garner support from the …
Full of sound and fury, the Joint Opposition-Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Janabalaya demonstration reached Colombo Fort yesterday, but the protest took on a carnival like atmosphere with no major political speeches or centralized coordination to drive its key messages home. The rally, which was set up to be a launch pad for Hambantota District MP …
The “Jana Balaya Kolambata” protest campaign has seemingly come to an end despite claims by Joint Opposition MPs to protest overnight and lay siege to the capital city. JO activists started cleaning up the Lake House roundabout and the roads leading up to the area indicating that they had no plans to continue. The Colombo …
Despite National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa’s pledge to protest in Colombo over night, large swathes of protesters have already packed up and left the Lake House roundabout, our reporters said. The rest of the crowd, however, are currently holding a candlelight vigil at the Lake House roundabout. As of 10 Pm, none of the …
Sri Lankan MPs, loyal to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Wednesday took part in a massive protest rally in capital Colombo. Businesses, shops and schools closed by noon, resulting in Colombo coming to a virtual halt. The protest titled ‘Janabalaya Colombata’ was spearheaded by Rajapaksa’s eldest son and MP, Namal Rajapaksa. The JO expected over …
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s supporters kept up a demonstration outside Lake House after a brief march from the Bo Tree junction. Party officials said they planned to stay overnight in Colombo. President Rajapaksa and his former defence secretary brother Gotabhaya spent a brief time with the protesters, but were expected to re-join the crowd later …
The Cabinet of Ministers today decided to empower the Police to shoot unruly protestors with rubber bullets below their knees if they disrupt civilian life in Colombo tomorrow. The decision was made with regard to the protest march organized by the Joint Opposition tomorrow under the theme ‘Jana Balaya Kolambata.’
Opposition activists loyal to former president Mahinda Rajapaksa plan to stay overnight in Colombo after staging protests on Wednesday, party sources said. The Joint Opposition rally spearheaded by Rajapaksa’s legislator son Namal hope to bring 200,000 supporters to Colombo in what they promise will be a show of force greater than their May Day demonstration …
Parliamentarians and leading activists of the Joint Opposition met in Colombo, a short while ago, to discuss final arrangements for their protest rally in Colombo tomorrow. The meeting, chaired by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was conducted by Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa.
By Ishara Mudugamuwa Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday said that today’s JO protest is a Bili Poojawa (Sacrifice) in the name of MP Namal Rajapaksa to cover up their past wrongdoings. “This protest is aimed at influencing the judiciary and not forming a government,” he said. Addressing the media at the Finance …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Mervyn de Silva wrote a brief bio-data on the smaller-sized of the Lanka Guardian notepaper/ letterheads in the last years of his life. It was rearranged into a narrative and appeared on the back cover of ‘Crisis Commentaries: Selected Political Writings of Mervyn de Silva’ published by the International Center for Ethnic …
President Maithripala Sirisena has ordered that information of the three armed forces be not given in connection with ongoing court cases into murders and disappearances, ‘Anidda’ reports. He issued the order at a meeting on August 28 at his Paget Road residence attended by the defence secretary, chief of defence staff and top defence and …
By Hafeel Farisz Friends and family of 25-year-old Kamar Nizamdeen, who was arrested by the New South Wales Police on Thursday for alleged ‘terrorism’ charges, claimed that Nizamdeen was framed. “He was an open minded Muslim who has been framed by someone with immense jealousy in heart. Jealousy on his accolades, his position and the …
Australian law enforcement authorities today announced that the New South Wales student accused of documenting plans in a notebook to assassinate two senior Australian politicians is the nephew of a Sri Lankan cabinet minister. The ABC revealed Mohamed Nizamdeen, 25, is related to Sri Lankan MP Faiszer Musthapha, who is the country’s Sports and Local …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The Joint Opposition has rejected Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s invitation to join a parliamentary group invited by the Lok Sabha as a protest against Jayasuriya’s decision not to recognise the JO as the legitimate opposition. JO parliamentary group leader Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday told The Island that the grouping wouldn’t help the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene The progress of ongoing criminal investigations into the grisly killing of several Tamil youths following a racket of abduction for ransom, spearheaded ‘allegedly’ (here, I use the term quite deliberately) by a Naval officer and others during 2008-2009 will be the crucible on which this Government and this Presidency’s commitment to …
By Maneshka Borham The Naganathan residence on Shoe Road, Kotahena is dark and dreary. Inside, it is as though time has stood still for the once happy Naganathan family, since the abduction of their son, Rajiv Naganathan, almost 10 years ago by a suspected, organized Navy abduction for ransom gang. Since his disappearance, Rajiv’s parents, …
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Chairperson Dr. Deepika Udagama believes attitudes of the people must change for the country to move forward and adequately address the sufferings of families of disappeared persons. “We should not look at this through a political or racist perspective,” she said, and pointed out that some harbour negative feelings …
By Leon Berenger A total of 62,338 Sri Lankans are currently on the country’s blacklist and are prevented from leaving the country, unless they obtain prior Court approval, senior State intelligence sources revealed yesterday. According to the sources, who cannot be named for obvious reasons, the figure includes close to a 30,000 security force personnel …
By Manekshaw A mammoth gathering of protestors in Mullaitivu on Tuesday (28) chanted slogans to halt colonization under the Mahaweli System L in the Northern Province being carried out with State patronage. The Northern Provincial Council has been agitating that land powers under the 13th Amendment be granted to it. However, it was evident from …
A team of Sri Lankan judicial officers visited the United States recently on a US government sponsored tour. The last item on their itinerary was a visit to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters.