by Kamaya Jayatissa (Kamaya Jayatissa participated at the French-Sri Lankan Diaspora Youth Workshop “Post-War Reconciliation Dialogue for a Sustainable Peace”, which took place in Paris, on October 27th, 2012. She intervened as a panelist on the theme “Individual and collective identity(ies): between search and struggle”. The event was organized by What’s Next!, an independent forum …

Continue reading ‘An Idealistic Yet Feasible Approach to Build a Sri Lankan Identity Would be to Create and Maintain an Inclusive Society’ »

By Stewart Bell An officer in the Sri Lanka Army, who fled to Canada and claimed he was ordered to plant explosives at the home of an outspoken opposition politician, is raising new questions about military abuses committed during the island nation’s long civil war. Captain Ravindra Watudura Bandanage, 38, deserted after flying to Toronto …

Continue reading ‘Sinhala Army Capt Testifies in Canada About Order to Plant Explosives at TNA Ex-MP Sivajilingam’s House’ »

by Sajith Premadasa M.P. (Speech made by the Deputy Leader of the United National Party and Member of Parliament, Sajith Premadasa, at the seminar on ‘Justice for Palestine’ held at the BMICH on 28 November, to mark UN International Day of Solidarity with Palestine and to Commemorate the 8th Death Anniversary of President Yasser Arafat.) …

Continue reading ‘Deprivation of a Nation State for the Palestinian People is the Greatest Tragedy of our Times’ »

(Chairman of SupremeSat, R.M. Manivannan , in a post-launch interview answers some pertinent questions about the final few hours before the launch of Sri Lanka’s first satellite, government support, and geo-political concerns) Question: Are you relieved now that the launch was successful? Answer: Yes. The last few days especially after the initial launch target date …

Continue reading ‘Successful Launch of Sri Lanka’s First Satellite: An Interview with SupremeSat Chairman RM Manivannan’ »

by R. M. B. Senanayake I refer to Mr. S. Rasalingam’s response to my article on devolution to be based on language. He disagrees with my interpretation of the origin of the conflict. He makes out that the opposition to the Sinhala only policy was not a demand of the Tamil people but a handle …

Continue reading ‘The Nation State was Equated with Sinhala Buddhists’ »

by Dr.Reeza Hameed There is no basis in the Sri Lanka Constitution for the proposition that the Sri Lanka Parliament is sovereign. It is neither sovereign nor supreme. Parliamentary sovereignty in England The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty has its roots in the legal theory developed by A V Dicey in relation to English constitutional law. …

Continue reading ‘The Parliament in Sri Lanka is Neither Sovereign nor Supreme’ »

by Sunanda Deshapriya Minister Wimal Weerawansa, nicknamed as the ‘eldest son of the President’, during the 2010 presidential election campaign, came up with a rather serious proposal some two months back: To have a referendum to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the constitutional chapter that deals with devolution of power. Sinhala extremist parties …

Continue reading ‘How Wimal Weerawansa Will Help Tamil Diaspora Have Referendum in North-East’ »

by E.Saravanapavan M.P. November 27th is the Tamil Eelam Liberation Tigers’ Heros Day on which day people offer their commemoration to the demised warriors. It is customary for people to pay their respect to the deceased on such days. This salutation offered to their blood brothers, relations and parents has been mercilessly suppressed by the …

Continue reading ‘Attack on Jaffna Undergraduates by Army and Police: An Eye-witness Account by a MP’ »

by Mahendran Thiruvarangan Remembering the past, its struggles and the actors and agents who advanced those struggles as a community is a key political act inextricably linked to our political journeys in the present. The past and the memories associated with it speak about our historical progress into the present, and therefore we tend to …

Continue reading ‘Mainstream Tamil politics has not resolved important questions about the LTTE, its ideology and its political strategies.’ »

By Gagani Weerakoon Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa unreservedly rejected notices served on him and members of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the charges mentioned in the impeachment motion against Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, and declared they were “a nullity and entail no legal consequences.” Delivering his ruling last evening on a privilege issue raised …

Continue reading ‘Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa Rejects Court Notices Saying They Are “a nullity and entail no legal consequences”’ »

By Usha S Sriskandarajah The internal probe commissioned to examine the conduct of the United Nations during the final months of the war in Sri Lanka with a view to putting its house in order is to be commended for being forthright about UN’s own failures. However it’s findings must also be seen as a …

Continue reading ‘UN Internal Review Panel’s findings during the final months of the war in Sri Lanka: An Analysis’ »

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “We can neither ignore the catastrophes that affect us nor simply leave their solution to others” Orhan Pamuk (For Rushdie) Hours after Sri Lanka became a satellite-owning nation, a train collided with a three-wheeler at an unprotected railway-crossing in Ambanpola, killing 6 people, including 4 children. There are around 900 unprotected railway-crossings …

Continue reading ‘Rajapaksa Kith and Kin Will be Able to Commit any Crime Without Ever Being Punished’ »

By Thulasi Muttulingam Ever since I landed in Colombo, some 10 years ago (after growing up/ living most of my life abroad), I have been noticing a phenomenon leaching into my subconscious that is not new to many other Tamils living in Sri Lanka; guilt. A sense of having to be answerable for being Tamil. …

Continue reading ‘Travails and Troubles of Being “Tamil” in Sri Lanka’ »

By Izeth Hussain By now practically everything useful that can be said about the fundamentals of the impeachment move against the Chief Justice has already been said, amply and cogently in the editorials and erudite commentaries that have been appearing in our newspapers. I will not recapitulate any of it. Instead I will make a …

Continue reading ‘There Seems to Exist a Virtual Unanimity That the Govt is Acting Unconstitutionally’ »

by Sebastian Rasalingam Mr. R. M. B. Senanayake (RMB), writing in his article in The Island (of Nov. 26) talks of `devolution on a linguistic basis’. He presents the common but patently incorrect genesis of the conflict touted by the anglicized-Sinhalese journalists and Colombo Tamils who do not know Tamil. Here, I present another aspect …

Continue reading ‘Route to Reconciliation is Not Devolution or Making Linguistic or Ethnic Partitions’ »

by R. M. B. Senanayake Sinhala nationalists who deny that the Tamils have any grievances are now campaigning for the abolition of the Provincial Councils under the 13th Amendment. But S.W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the western educated liberal who introduced the Sinhala Only Law realized that an injustice was done to the Tamil people for …

Continue reading ‘Why Devolution Should be on a Linguistic Basis’ »

By Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. I have been confronted with many problems during meetings of Divisional Secretariat Reconciliation Committee meetings, but perhaps the most unusual was the question of garbage which came up at Kattankudy. I was told that garbage was being piled up at the edges of the area coming under the Secretariat, though …

Continue reading ‘Kattankudi Garbage Issue Shows Why National Policy Should Remain With Central Govt’ »

28th November 2012 His Excellency the President Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Temple Trees Colombo 3 Your Excellency, Importance of avoiding apprehension in the minds of the people in dispensing law and justice in a Democratic Society Sri Lanka is an island which won the eulogy “Daham Divayina” from time immemorial and was praised …

Continue reading ‘Mahanayakes Write Joint Letter Asking President to Withdraw Impeachment Motion Against Chief Justice’ »

By Dharisha Bastians Sweeping changes are taking place on Reid Avenue, Colombo. A shiny white colonial building looks set to be the city’s next favourite shopping precinct and hangout. A twin construction is being erected adjacently. As the Urban Development Authority under the purview of the Ministry of Defence continues beautifying the capital city, large …

Continue reading ‘Parliamentary Select Committee on Impeachment of Chief Justice Violates Principles of Natural Justice’ »

by Srinath C. Samarasinghe (Srinath C. Samarasinghe participated in the French-Sri Lankan Diaspora Youth Workshop “Post-War Reconciliation Dialogue for a Sustainable Peace”, which took place in Paris, on October 27th, 2012, as a panelist on the theme “Building inter-communal dialogue/understanding through the arts and culture: an alternative approach towards reconciliation”. The event was organized by …

Continue reading ‘In an After-war-dark-sky, Art and Culture will be two Bright Stars Helping our Boat to Reach the Bank of Peace’ »

by Terry Benson In 2006 my wife Lilamani and I had the unforgettable good fortune to experience Danielle de Niese’s dazzling performance in UK as Cleopatra in the Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar), directed by David McVicar. That was the one that catapulted Danielle to stardom aged 26. She went …

Continue reading ‘Asian Recital Debut of Divine Diva Danielle de Niese in Colombo’ »

by Roshan Samarakoon A Common Man is an upcoming psychological thriller film by Sri Lankan film-maker Chandran Rutnam with Oscar Award winner Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross in the cast. The story is adapted from a concept conceived while Chandran was watching the Hindi movie A Wednesday. However, Rutnam has developed into a highly suspenseful …

Continue reading ‘Chandran Rutnam Makes ‘A Common Man’ as a Sri Lanka-Hollywood Co- production’ »

by Anusha David Svayam is a Sanskrit word that, in essence, means ‘self’: its interpretation varies within each context. The paintings and drawings exhibited by Charmaine in her latest exhibition are, in her own words, “an expression of myself, my feelings, my experiences, my escape; they are my meditations, my relaxation, and the meanderings of …

Continue reading ‘Charmaine Vanderkoen Mendis a Multi-Faceted Diamond’ »

By M. Thiyagarajah With all the media focus on the militarization of the Northern land, some issues of bread and butter concern have escaped the attention. The damage inflicted by the three-decade old Tiger insurgency was extensive. The fact that it is not easy to make the area turn a corner has made the issue …

Continue reading ‘With 20% unemployment and 30%underemployment Northern Sri Lanka is Sitting Atop a New Volcano’ »

By the “Ceylon Today” Investigations desk Gratitude is one thing. Receiving step-motherly treatment is something else, altogether. While the former remains a distant memory, three years after the end of the war, the latter is what a group of valiant soldiers, assigned to the once embattled North, are complaining of today.

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “It is therefore apparent that these charges are baseless and groundless… We hope that with the true facts being revealed, the public will realise the evil perpetrated on her.” The Interim Response by the lawyers of the Chief Justice. Last week, the popularly elected President of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, issued a Constitutional …

Continue reading ‘We May Understand Full Value of Even a Flawed Democracy and Semi-Independent Judiciary Only After We Have Lost Both’ »

By Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole Minister Douglas Devananda’s speech on the budget on the 17th was a defence of the government’s record in the North and an anti-TNA diatribe. His claims are worth an internal TNA review for its own edification.

By The Sunday Times Political Correspondent When Emirates flight 231 from Dubai touched down 38 minutes ahead of schedule at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on a chilly Thursday morning, a posse of secret service agents and a motorcade were on the ready. Within minutes, they whisked away President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who arrived in the US …

Continue reading ‘What Will Happen If Supreme Court Rules Parliamentary Select Committee on Impeachment of Chief Justice is Not Legally Constituted?’ »

From an NGO Worker Communication to S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole Returning home is never an easy task in the Vanni. After years of being caught in the cross-fire, hiding little children from Tiger press-gangs, running away from rampaging soldiers, having the entirety of several districts emptied of people, and living in camps, there was finally …

Continue reading ‘Ancestral Lands of Re-Settling IDP’s in North-East are Being Illegally Acquired.’ »

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene The Government’s brushing aside of the Supreme Court’s entirely appropriate order this week requesting Parliament to desist from continuing with the impeachment of the Chief Justice until a final determination was handed down in petitions being heard filed before it, was arrogant but unsurprising.

by Dr.Nihal Jayawickrama In seventeenth century England, the Stuart Kings seriously undermined the independence of the judiciary by the practice of dismissing judges who gave decisions unfavourable to them. Consequently, in 1701, as part of the revolution settlement on the accession of William and Mary, the English Parliament enacted the Act of Settlement which guaranteed …

Continue reading ‘Bangalore Principles Are Not Intended For Removal of a Judge From Judicial Office’ »

By C.A.Chandraprema The Lalith Athulathmudali memorial oration was delivered by a distinguished Sri Lankan legal luminary C.G.Weeramantry last Thursday. The event was organised by the Institute for Democracy and Leadership headed by Ravi Karunanayake and sponsored by the Fredreich Naumann Foundation which is affiliated to the German Liberal Party. It was Judge Weeramantry who headed …

Continue reading ‘If Shirani Bandaranayake Loses Chief Justice Position There Wont Be Any Lawyers to Shout”Jayawewa” For Her’ »

by MA Sumanthiran M.P. Last week we saw an unprecedented action by the Supreme Court. I wonder whether any court, let alone the Supreme Court, has ever before made a ‘request’, without making a coercive order. This perhaps was dictated to by the experience gained on two previous instances. Both involved the former Chief Justice …

Continue reading ‘When Supreme Court Made Request the Select Committee Should Have Stayed Proceedings Until SC Determined on Impeachment’ »

(Text of Interim Response sent by Lawyers Representing Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake to Parliamentary Select Committee on Impeachment) Dear Sir, We regret that our client was not provided with more time. The letter dated 14/11/2012 was delivered to our client’s official residence at approximately 7 pm on 14/11/2012 asking her to respond to the 14 …

Continue reading ‘Chief Justice Denies Purported Charges Against Her as “Baseless, Groundless and Frivolous”’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Dictatorships breed oppression, dictatorships breed servility, dictatorships breed cruelty; more loathsome still is the fact that they breed idiocy…” Jose Luis Borges (Speech at the Argentine Society of Writers) Here is it finally, the ‘D’ word. Uttered by Minister Basil Rajapaksa, no less: “It is a dynasty, but by people’s choice, a …

Continue reading ‘Basil is Right About Rajapaksa Rule Being a “People’s Dynasty”.’ »

By Shanaka Jayasekara It is often said that timing plays a crucial role as to howthe media frames an issue, and for the most part of the last three years, Sri Lanka has been reacting to anti-Sri Lankan campaigns globally. The lack of a strategic vision for post-war Sri Lanka has led to ad-hoc decisions …

Continue reading ‘The government’s policy making process is not driven by what’s best for the country but what’s best to consolidate power.’ »

By Bishop Duleep de Chickera The move to impeach the Chief Justice (CJ) and the prison riot at Welikada in which a number of prisoners died, have aroused considerable public interest over the recent past. The Government’s reactions and actions have come under the scrutiny of the people in what seems like an unofficial referendum. …

Continue reading ‘Circumstances Surrounding Impeachment of Chief Justice Are Worrying’ »

By Gagani Weerakoon Flanked by six of her lawyers, Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake arrived at the Parliamentary Complex yesterday to attend the hearing conducted by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), which decided to grant her time till 4 December to file objections in her defence.

By Chitra Weerarathne The Supreme Court yesterday granted leave to proceed with the fundamental rights violation applications, filed by three petitioners, complaining that the Impeachment Process, contained in Standing Order 78A, which sought to permit judicial or quasi judicial powers to be exercised by Parliament, contravened Articles 4 © and 3 of the constitution. The …

Continue reading ‘Fundamental Rights pleas Against Impeachment of Chief Justice Allowed to Proceed by Supreme Court’ »

By Chitra Weerarathne The Supreme Court yesterday said that it was not inclined to grant interim relief against the proceeding of the Parliamentary Select Committee, appointed to inquire into allegations against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake.

By P. K. Balachandran On paper, the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) has an impressive policy on the ethnic and religious minorities, with all the rights expected from a modern state guaranteed. But performance falls far short of promises in crucial matters, particularly in the political sphere. No wonder a delegation of the Ilankai Tamil …

Continue reading ‘Tamil Delegation After China Visit Says China Will Not Help The Tamils Secure Justice And Political Autonomy in Sri Lanka’ »

by Celina Cramer (Celina Cramer participated at the French-Sri Lankan Diaspora Youth Workshop “Post-War Reconciliation Dialogue for a Sustainable Peace”, which took place in Paris, on October 27th, 2012. She intervened as a panelist on the theme “Individual and collective identity(ies): between search and struggle”. The event was organized by What’s Next!, an independent forum …

Continue reading ‘The Struggles of Identity in Sri Lanka’ »

On November 22nd, 2012, Radhika Coomaraswamy, former Under Secretary General of the United Nations/Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, was awarded the Special Jury Prize 2012 by the Fondation Chirac for her actions in favor of the protection of children during armed conflict in the presence of Bernadette Chirac, wife of the former French …

Continue reading ‘Radhika Coomaraswamy receives Fondation Chirac Special Jury Prize 2012 in Paris’ »

The Supreme Court, has recommended the postponement of the Parliamentary Select Committee sessions that were to examine the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice, until the Supreme Court gives its determination on the interpretation of the constitution, as requested by the Court of Appeal.

By Dharisha Bastians Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice, is often depicted with a set of scales in one hand and a double-edged sword in another. Later replicas of this icon depict Lady Justice with a blindfold over her eyes. Through the centuries the statue has come to represent the moral force of the judicial …

Continue reading ‘Will Impeachment of Chief Justice Impact on 2013 Commonwealth Summit in Colombo?’ »

By Karu Jayasuriya M.P. (Salient Points made at Press Conference held by Hon. Karu Jayasuriya MP UNP Gampaha District on 21.11.2012) • People of this country suffer triple fears. • First is to eke out day to day life, secondly protection of lives, thirdly, the doubt they have whether they could get justice done in …

Continue reading ‘Law of the Jungle is Implemented at Times by this Govt’ »

By Frances Harrison (Frances Harrison, a former BBC correspondent in Sri Lanka, is the author of Still Counting the Dead: Survivors of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War (published in Canada by House of Anansi). It’s been called Ban Ki-moon’s Rwanda moment: a little-reported war three years ago on a tiny Indian Ocean island where tens of …

Continue reading ‘UN Possessed Reliable Information Showing Sri Lankan Govt Was Responsible for Majority of Deaths’ »

By Bob Rae (Bob Rae is Leader of the Liberal Party in Canada From 1999 to 2006, he served as chairman of the Forum of Federations and was an adviser to the Sri Lankan peace process) There was no doubt among those watching on the ground as the Sri Lankan army carried out its blitzkrieg …

Continue reading ‘Let There be no Doubt: A Sovereign Government Brutalized and Killed its Own Civilians.’ »

By Alan Keenan, Special to CNN (CNN Editor’s note: Alan Keenan is the International Crisis Group’s Sri Lanka project director and senior analyst. The views expressed are his own.) International attention on Sri Lanka has focused recently on a devastating report from the United Nations reviewing its own failure to protect civilians during the humanitarian …

Continue reading ‘Commonwealth Must Follow Canadian PM Stephen Harper on Sri Lanka Hosting 2013 Summit’ »

By Kath Noble Last week I felt like I had been transported back in time. We were back in those awful first six months of 2009, when I was by turns horrified at the plight of the people caught up in the fighting in the Vanni and disgusted with the way in which the international …

Continue reading ‘The UN Knew in 2008 that the LTTE Was Going to Use Civilians as Human Shields’ »

By Camelia Nathaniel reporting from Vavuniya A group of 23 ex-LTTE combatants, who had undergone the rehabilitation programme of the Ministry of Rehabilitation, received a huge boost to kick-start their new life last week, when Alliance Finance PLC facilitated their acquisition of three-wheelers without initial down payment and at reasonable rates payable in five years.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA In the matter of an application for a mandates in the nature of a Writs of Certiorari and Prohibition under and in terms of Article 140 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne President’s Counsel …

Continue reading ‘Full Text of Petition Filed by Jayampathy Wickramaratne Against Impeachment of Chief Justice’ »

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA In the matter of an application for a Writ of Prohibition under and in terms of Article 140 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Chandra Jayaratne, 2, Greenlands Avenue, Colombo 5. Petitioner Case No: CA/WRIT/ /2012

by International Crisis Group   Executive Summary of  ICG Asia Report 239 and Recommendations The Sri Lankan government’s refusal to negotiate seriously with Tamil leaders or otherwise address legitimate Tamil and Muslim grievances is increasing ethnic tensions and damaging prospects for lasting peace. The administration, led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party of Mahinda Rajapaksa, …

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Govt Refusal to Address Legitimate Tamil and Muslim Grievances’ »

Text and Pix By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai “Kantha Shashti”, known as the strictest fast is currently being observed by the Hindus all around the world. The fast began on the 14th of November, and will end on 20th of November, according to the Tamil Almanac. Devotees fast for six days to invoke blessings of Lord Murugan. …

Continue reading ‘Strict Hindu Fast of Kantha Shashti Underway Till Nov 20th’ »

By Katie DeRosa Nirangela and her husband knew when they boarded the MV Sun Sea, along with 490 other men, women and children, that they were in for a long and dangerous journey to Canada. The Tamil couple had waited anxiously for seven months in a muggy apartment building in the Silom district in Bangkok, …

Continue reading ‘Seeking Refuge Across The Seas:Experience of a Tamil Asylum Seeker’ »

By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. I was called up by the BBC when they received a leaked copy of the Report to the Secretary General on the work of UN Agencies in Sri Lanka during the conflict period. They wanted me to comment and, though they would not share with me what they had, I agreed …

Continue reading ‘I Have Tried to Suggest That We Work More Coherently With The UN’ »

By Muttukrishna Sarvananthan The National Budget is the financial strategy (expenditure and income) of a government towards achieving specific economic and social development goals during the forthcoming financial year and beyond.

By Hemantha Warnakulasuriya When we were conducting a Mobile Service in Modana, three Tamil women wanted to meet me to discuss problems relating to the Tamils in Italy. Two days earlier, I received an anonymous telephone call asking me to immediately stop my campaign against the LTTE and that they were following me and would …

Continue reading ‘How Tamils in Italy Wanted Mahinda Nominated for Nobel Prize For Liberating Them From LTTE’ »

Interviewed by Rohan Abeywardena (Sri Lanka Freedom Party organiser for the Batticaloa District Arun Tambimuttu like his late father, assassinated TULF parliamentarian Sam Tambimuttu stands up for his convictions and does not mince his words when he says that the 13th Amendment and the provincial councils need to go as the time has come to …

Continue reading ‘Only one Tamil From North or East Among 61 Ministers -Arun Tambimuttu’ »

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “Whatever I have to do to have my way, I will have my way”. Hitler (quoted in ‘The Germans: 1933-45: They Thought They Were Free – Milton Mayer) There is an unbroken thread linking the Rajapaksas’ ‘humanitarian operation’ with the Rajapaksas’ impeachment assault, the asphyxiation of the 17th Amendment with the planned …

Continue reading ‘Once Judiciary is Broken the Rajapaksas will use the Courts to Destroy Every Remaining Right or Freedom’ »

By MA Sumanthiran M.P. Why does a dark cloud of derision continue to linger in Sri Lanka with no signs of dissipating? The problem lies with our perceptions. Our political reality is mirror of how we as citizens view our neighbours, our government and ourselves. The political notion of ‘unity’ is hollow if we fail …

Continue reading ‘13th Amendment is not the Best the Govt can do Because it is not the Best Sri Lankans can do’ »

Dayan Jayatilleka Replies Peter Schalk Sweden’s Uppsala University’s Professor Emeritus Dr.Peter Schalk has recently in a note to “Tamilnet” critiqued Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka on the question of autonomy being possible within a unitary state. Prof. Schalk has been critical of Dr.Jayatilleka’s address at a seminar in Paris where the Ambassador had …

Continue reading ‘Is Autonomy Within a Unitary Structure a Structural Impossibility?’ »

by Randima Attygalle (Picture credit: Palmyrah Development Board) Tasting pinatu and sipping Palmta, whilst making a mental note of ‘what to take home’ among an exotic collection of thal petti (boxes made out of palmyrah leaves), mats, baskets and delicacies ranging from jaggery, kottei kilangu to thal wadei showcased at Katpaham was a phenomenal experience …

Continue reading ‘Palatable Delights of the Palmyrah’ »

By Ranga Jayasuriya (The government’s strongman in Jaffna, Minister Douglas Devanada says the president has expressed his commitment to ‘the 13th Amendment Plus’ as the solution to the national question. The president proposed it and I am for it,” he said. He spoke to Ranga Jayasuriya of LAKBIMAnEWS about a wide-range of issues including how …

Continue reading ‘I am the Govt Point Man Among the Entire Tamil Community Not Only in Jaffna Says Douglas’ »

by Arthur Wamanan (Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Douglas Devananda reiterated the government was committed to a meaningful implementation of the 13th Amendment accusing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) of misleading the people. In an interview to The Nation Devananda alleged the TNA continued to make the same mistakes as it had done …

Continue reading ‘President Wants to Improve 13th Amendment not Repeal It -Douglas Devananda’ »

United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian Jayalath Jayawardena, recuperating at the Sri Jayawardenepura hospital after a heart ailment had an in important visitor: President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who turns 67 today. Newspapers showed pictures of Rajapaksa at Jayawardena’s bedside, clasping his hands and wishing him a speedy recovery. It is not certain whether Opposition UNP Leader Ranil …

Continue reading ‘Firmly Entrenched in Power Mahinda Must be Pondering Where to From Here?’ »

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene It did not take much prescience to foretell that parliamentary privilege would be formally wielded to prohibit public discussion of the PSC process with the commencement of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to consider the impeachment of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka this week. The Speaker’s warning to party leaders …

Continue reading ‘Core Question is Whether This is an Impeachment or Inquisition of The Chief Justice?’ »

D. M. Jayaratne Prime Minister (November 18th is the 67th birthday of President Mahinda Rajapaksa) The year was 1994 when the UFPA Government was formed after 17 years of UNP rule. The victory ushered an era free of post-election violence, a time of joy and happiness enabling the entire population of the country to breath …

Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Must be Careful in Choosing His Trusted Lieutenants’ »

by Dr A.C.Visvalingam The Citizens’ Movement for Good Governance (CIMOGG) has emphasized repeatedly that there is a strict need for the Constitution and all subordinate laws to be honoured not only by the citizenry but equally so by the People’s representatives. A few of the issues raised by us previously have acquired a particular importance …

Continue reading ‘Have All The MP’s Submitted Annual Returns of Their Assets and Liabilities as Required by the Law?’ »

By Gomin Dayasri The contents in the charge sheet are indeed damning and affect the office of the Chief Justice. Charges are such that it is strategically required to respond rapidly with a defense, before faulty perceptions gets ingrained in the mind of the public. Ordinarily, defendants do not flash around their defenses by revealing …

Continue reading ‘Lawyers for the Chief Justice Took an Unusual Unorthodox Route by Directly Accessing the Public’ »

by Rajan Philips The impending impeachment of the country’s first female Chief Justice must not be treated as a purely constitutional issue. It is fraudulent to say that impeachment is right because it is constitutional. On the contrary, it must be said that it is wrong even if it is legal. In fact, what is …

Continue reading ‘Impeachment of Chief Justice:The Brotherhood of Power vs. the Sisterhood of Justice’ »

(Transcript of BBC Newshour Interview with Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. on 13 Nov 12) Razia Iqbal: Why (did) the Govt of Sri Lanka want the UN to go? Was it because you couldn’t protect them or did you have another reason? Rajiva Wijesinha: Well in fact we didn’t want them to go. In Sept we …

Continue reading ‘“We Asked UNFPA and UNHCR to Stay Along With the Red Cross but They Said We Are Going to Leave”- Rajiva Wijesinha’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “No questioning arises from subservient lips”. Andrée Chedid (For Rushdie) Ideally Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike would have prevented her husband from accepting Rajapaksa largesse; ideally. Ideally, the Supreme Court would have resisted the 18th Amendment; ideally. Ideally the term-limit provision would be in place and a post-Rajapaksa future just five years away; …

Continue reading ‘It’s Not Mahinda vs. Shirani but the Rajapaksas vs. the Rest’ »

(FULL TEXT OF STATEMENT BY THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT) A host of questions can be raised following recent events regarding the Chief Justice of our country. A survey of developments involving the independence of the judiciary can go way back to the 1972 Constitution, to the de facto sacking of judges by the 1978 Constitution, …

Continue reading ‘The Attempt to Remove The Chief Justice’ »

Exclusive By Matthew Russell Lee UNITED NATIONS, November 15 The scandal of the UN’s amateur blacking-out of portions of its report on its actions and inactions in Sri Lanka in 2009 which pointed the finger at envoy Vijay Nambiar, ex-humanitarian chief John Holmes and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon himself is worse that Inner City Press …

Continue reading ‘Executive Summary of UN Internal Report on Sri Lanka’ »

By Dharisha Bastians Hulftsdorp or the village of Hulft, named for Dutch Governor Gerard Pietersz Hulft, became synonymous with the law only after the Supreme Courts of Ceylon were moved there by British Governor Sir Fredric North. At the time, North faced massive resistance from members of the Judiciary about the move from Colombo Fort, …

Continue reading ‘No Member of Ruling Family Has Signed Impeachment Motion Against Chief Justice’ »

By Sandya Ekneligoda (Sandya Ekneligoda, wife of journalist Pradeep Ekneligoda who involuntarily disappeared more than 1000 days ago, writes to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader and Leader of United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremesinghe, on behalf of the families of the disappeared in Sri Lanka, reminding them …

Continue reading ‘1000 Days After Disappearance of Pradeep Ekneligoda:A Petition to the Powers That Be.’ »

By Justinian Amartya Sen once noted, reportedly with a high degree of exasperation, that South Asia’s developmental obstacle was the region’s politicians. By this he meant, not all and sundry, but those who enjoy sufficient political clout to decide the course of a nation State. Sen must have been exasperated by Indian politics whereas if …

Continue reading ‘We Are a Nation With Its Core Values Lost and Our Sense of Justice at Its Lowest Ebb’ »

By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. (Text of a presentation by Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, MP at the International Conference on India-Sri Lanka Relations: Strengthening SAARC Centre for Indian Ocean Studies (CIOS) Osmania University, Hyderabad, November 8-9, 2012 ) It is clear that Sri Lanka stands today at a cross-roads. Following the successful conclusion of the war against …

Continue reading ‘Confusing Advocacy of Restorative Justice for the Minorities With Determination to Demonize the Architects of Military Victory’ »

By Chathurika Rajapaksha (Chathurika Rajapaksha participated in the French-Sri Lankan Diaspora Youth Workshop “Post-War Reconciliation Dialogue for a Sustainable Peace”, which took place in Paris, on October 27th, 2012, as a panelist on the theme “The role of the Diaspora youth in Sri Lanka’s peace building process”. The event was organized by What’s Next!, an …

Continue reading ‘Acknowledgement of Unity in Diversity Arising From Religious and Ethnic Differences in Nation Building’ »

Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka participated as a panellist at a conference entitled “ Sri Lanka & South Asia : New challenges for a regional policy” organized on November 7th, 2012, at the CNRS, the prestigious French National Centre for Scientific Research. The conference gathered intellectuals and scholars from various fields. The event was organized in partnership …

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(New York) – The United Nations secretary-general’s internal review on UN action in Sri Lanka should lead to specific and concrete measures to ensure the UN takes all needed measures to prevent mass atrocities in future conflicts, Human Rights Watch said today.

By Isabel Hilton The UN will never be a perfect organisation: nothing so ambitious could be, and the organisation will tend to be blamed for the failures of its member states. But it has advanced many fundamental humanitarian principles, of which the responsibility to protect must count as one of the most important. Nothing can …

Continue reading ‘Massacre in Sri Lanka Shows UN Has Not Learnt Lessons from Failures in Rwanda’ »

By Col. R. Hariharan (retd) [This article includes extracts from the valedictory address delivered by the author at the International Conference on “India-Sri Lanka Relations: Strengthening SAARC” organised by the Centre for Indian Ocean Studies, Osmania University Hyderabad on November 8 and 9, 2012.] Introduction There is a widespread feeling of pessimism among South Asians …

Continue reading ‘Three National and Notional Issues Affect Relations Between India and Sri Lanka’ »

by Mark Leon Goldberg The top story buzzing around the UN today the soon-to-be-released report on the failure to protect civilians caught in the final days of the Sri Lankan civil war. Parts of the report were already leaked to the BBC, and Ban Ki Moon is expected to make it public tomorrow. The short …

Continue reading ‘Systemic Failure by UN to Prevent Killing of 40,000 Ethnic Tamils in Five Months During 2009’ »

By Kath Noble There was one thing that everybody was sure of on Friday afternoon as news of the riot at Welikada prison broke – there would be a lot of bodies. And so it happened. Twenty-seven deaths had been announced by Saturday morning. The stand-off lasted for an hour, as inmates somehow managed to …

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By Lyse Doucet Chief International Correspondent, BBC News Hundreds of thousands of Tamils ended up trapped in a tiny strip of land The United Nations failed in its mandate to protect civilians in the last months of Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war, a leaked draft of a highly critical internal UN report says.

(Press Release on the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake -13 November 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka) The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) expresses grave concern over the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. A number of reports in the press reveal that several charges against her have now been …

Continue reading ‘Impeachment Motion Against Chief Justice Has Factual Error Regarding “Groundviews” of CPA’ »

By Karu Jayasuriya M.P. (Brief Notes on the Media Conference held by Hon Karu Jayasuriya UNP Member of Parliament for Gampaha District on 13th November 2012) 1. Yesterday a statement made by the present Commissioner General of Prisons appeared in an English Newspaper. He has proposed that the Prisons should come under the control of …

Continue reading ‘Prisons are Brought Under Military in Dictatorships and not in Democracies like Sri Lanka’ »

Two men were arrested and placed in custody since Sunday, in the investigation of the murder of one of the leaders in Paris of the former rebel separatist Tamil Tigers, said on Monday sources close to the investigation.

By DEBARSHI DASGUPTA • ”Mumbai rapist Mohammed Ansari got bail after 20 cases of robbery and molestation. No bail for Sadhvi Pragya & Col Purohit” • ”If India had this paid media before 1947, we would still be under British rule.” • ”Instead of being defensive, Gadkari should expose what pro-Cong intellectuals say of Vivekananda.” …

Continue reading ‘Right Wing Hindus who Launch “Anonymous” Vicious Attacks Against Liberal Views on Internet’ »

(Text of a Press Release Issued by the British Tamil Forum) The World Tamil Conference held in London in the British Houses of parliament last week endorsed a historic resolution, stressing “the United Nation member states to urgently set up an ‘international independent investigation’ into the complete conduct of the Sri Lankan State against the …

Continue reading ‘Tamil National Alliance and Transnational Govt of Tamil Eelam Support Resolutions at Tamil Conference in London’ »

By Hemantha Warnakulasuriya In Italy, like in other Western countries, the LTTE had established a very powerful network of agents and was carrying out a massive campaign of misinformation which helped them to collect funds. Their headquarters in Italy was situated on the island State of Sicily, in the southernmost part of Italy. The capital …

Continue reading ‘The LTTE Worked Hand in Glove with the Mafia in Sicily’ »

by I. P. C. Mendis It is now common knowledge as to the circumstances in which the 13th Amendment to the Constitution came into being.. The fact that it was introduced under duress and was forced down our throats is not in dispute. Nor is the position that although India ostensibly displayed to Sri Lanka …

Continue reading ‘13th Amendment Must be Rehashed Carefully With Adequate Safeguards to the Minorities’ »

by Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. I am sorry about the current attempt to impeach the Chief Justice, since it seems to me rather like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. What makes it worse is that those responsible for the impeachment motion seem to be going after the wrong nut.

by Kumudini Hettiarachchi The dust has settled not only on the humiliating defeat that Sri Lanka faced at the T-20 in October but also on the bitterness that fans felt over the loss. Just a few weeks before though at another cricket match, it did not matter who won or lost, but that a game …

Continue reading ‘Ananda College, Jaffna Hindu College Reach Across North – South Divide By Playing Cricket For Sivagurunathan Trophy’ »

By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. The Universal Periodic Review has come, and gone, and as usual there seems to be general satisfaction in Sri Lanka as to how it went. I have no doubt that the generally excellent team sent from Sri Lanka performed well, and gave sensible answers to the questions raised.

By Udaya Gammmanpila Pompeia was the second wife of Julius Caesar. Caesar divorced her because of rumours of her opprobrious behaviour. Roman guards caught a youth disguised as a woman inside a religious function restricted to women organized by Pompeia. According to the rumour, Pompeia managed to take him inside since the youth was her …

Continue reading ‘Chief Justice Shirani Like Caesar’s Wife Pompeia Must be Above Suspicion’ »

By Thisara Devasurendra (Thisara Devasurendra participated in the French-Sri Lankan Diaspora Youth Workshop “Post-War Reconciliation Dialogue for a Sustainable Peace”, which took place in Paris, on October 27th, 2012, as a panelist on the theme “The role of the Diaspora youth in Sri Lanka’s peace building process”. The event was organized by What’s Next!, an …

Continue reading ‘Gap Between Current Situation and Diaspora Beliefs Could Harm the Reconciliation Process in Sri Lanka’ »

by Theruni Sebastiampillai (Theruni Sebastiampillai participated at the French-Sri Lankan Diaspora Youth Workshop “Post-War Reconciliation Dialogue for a Sustainable Peace”, which took place in Paris, on October 27th, 2012. She participated as a panelist on the theme “Individual and collective identity(ies): between search and struggle”. The event was organized by What’s Next!, an independent forum …

Continue reading ‘How Does a French Citizen of Sri Lankan Origin with a Tamil Father and Sinhala Mother Define her Identity?’ »

By Ravi Sundaralingam Immense excitement and euphoria followed among the Tamil Expatriate Communities when the LTTE was given the status of being the Lankan Tamil Leadership and taken to the capitals of Western Countries by the Norwegians. After the demise of the LTTE, Tamil MPs were taken to see Switzerland and other European countries, bringing …

Continue reading ‘TNA Visit to Guangxi is an Exercise to Bring About Accommodation Between Victors and the Destroyed in Sri Lanka’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Any who have borne her ill now have ample opportunity to bring against her whatever accusations they please…. All the indictments retain their force and validity however perfect her answers to them… The judges invent clever devices to build up new proofs of guilt to convict her to her face, so that …

Continue reading ‘The Witch-Trial of Sri Lanka’s First Female Chief Justice’ »

By Damith Wickremasekara and Skandha Gunasekara It all began on Friday (9) afternoon, with heavily armed Special Task Force (STF) personnel in search of banned items such as mobile phones, tobacco, alcohol, narcotics, etc among prisoners serving life and long sentences at Welikada jail. The search operation involving more than 200 STF personnel started around …

Continue reading ‘27 Dead and 59 Wounded in ‘Welikada War’’ »

By Kishali Pinto Jayewardene It is heartening to witness an element of angry vigor emanating from Sri Lanka’s legal profession against the pending impeachment of the country’s Chief Justice. The resolutions issued by the general membership of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka yesterday expressing concern over the impeachment and the indignation displayed by provincial …

Continue reading ‘Bar Association Resolutions Over Impeachment Issue Show Decency and Sanity is Not Yet Lost in the Country’ »

The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka will stage its first ever performance in Jaffna on November 17th as part of the Japanese Embassy’s 60th anniversary celebrations. The Concert titled “Music from Around the World” will will feature three excellent Japanese professionals as the conductor – Keiko Kobayashi, the main soloist (Clarinet) Ado Kihara and the …

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By Dr.Nihal Jayawickrama On 14 March 1984, Mr Neville Samarakoon, the first Chief Justice to be appointed directly from the unofficial bar within living memory, made an ill-advised speech at an inappropriate venue. President Jayewardene, who had appointed him some six years earlier, decided that he should be removed from office. Article 107 of the …

Continue reading ‘When President JR Jayewardene Tried To Impeach Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon’ »