The state has a right under international law to ensure its national security and to defend itself against armed attacks…. Those ends do not however justify all means to achieve them; all actions for those legitimate purposes must comply with the requirements of international law…”— The Darusman Report

Ne plus ultra (Not further beyond): the inscription believed to have been carved on the Pillars of Heracles (Straits of Gibraltar), warning seafarers against venturing any further. In politics there is a ‘Ne plus ultra’ line which cannot be crossed with impunity.

“The New Democratic Party fully supports the recommendations made in the recently released independent UN Panel Report on accountability during and after the war in Sri Lanka.

“The UN Report reveals that “there are credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law were committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The Free Media Movement will host a seminar titled ‘Media’s Role and Responsibility Towards Building a Strong Democratic Nation’ and launch the book ‘Martyrs of the Freedom of Expression’ in Sinhala, Tamil and English, compiled by Seetha Ranjanee on behalf of the Free Media Movement, to mark World Press Freedom Day.

April 29, 2011

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake, Jr. will travel to Maldives and Sri Lanka April 30-May 5, 2011. He will meet with government officials, civil society representatives, and political leaders in both countries.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has released to the public the report of the Expert Panel he appointed to advise him on human rights issues in relation to the last phase of Sri Lanka's war. The panel of experts has called on the UN Secretary General to immediately set up an independent international mechanism to investigate credible allegations that both the Sri Lankan government and LTTE committed serious human rights violations, including some that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the months before the decades old civil war ended in 2009.

A Pugoda magistrate's court ordered the country's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to suspend Lanka eNews within Sri Lanka while it tries the site's detained journalist Shantha Wijeysooria for contempt of court, according to local and international news reports. Wijeysooria was detained Monday and remanded into custody during a hearing today until May 12, the reports said. The charge, which related to an article about a magistrate of the court, Aravinda Perera, was upheld despite the website's apology for publishing it, according to the reports. The website said it would appeal the decision.

IN RECENT years the default mode for Sri Lankan diplomats has been a posture of affronted national dignity beneath a mask of outraged, sanctimonious innocence. This week, after the publication of a report by a panel of experts for the United Nations on the final stages of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, some were recalled to Colombo for “consultations”. Maybe they are brushing up their indignant-repudiation skills.

via www.mea.gov.lk

The Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris addressed the Colombo-based diplomatic corps at the Ministry of External Affairs in Colombo today to convey the response of the Government of Sri Lanka on the substantive aspects of the Darusman Report. The Minister stated that the Government of Sri Lanka was no longer constrained to comment substantively as the Report is now in the public domain.

The Foreign Office welcomed the UN Panel of Experts report on the alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the military conflict in Sri Lanka.

The UK has consistently called for an independent and credible investigation to address these allegations which is why we fully supported the decision of the Secretary-General to establish the Panel of Experts.

The Government of Sri Lanka refers to the release by the UN Secretary-General of the “Darusman Report” on accountability in Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka reiterates its position that the “Darusman Report” is fundamentally flawed in many respects and that among other deficiencies, the Report is based on biased material, which is presented without any verification.

Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations

(Apr 25, 2011) The United States welcomes today’s public release of the UN Panel of Experts’ report on Sri Lanka. We appreciate the detailed and extensive work of the panel and believe it makes a valuable contribution to next steps that should be taken in support of justice, accountability, human rights, and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. We commend the Secretary General for his decision to release the report publicly.

Guardian UK Editorial, Jun 27, 2011

When Richard Goldstone, the judge who headed a UN fact-finding mission to Gaza, partially recanted last month – an act that was disowned by fellow members of the mission – the saga was used as Exhibit A in the case against the UN. The organisation, it was claimed, was so inherently biased against Israel that it lacked the moral authority to investigate it. Where was the Goldstone report about Sri Lanka, some asked?

Sri Lanka and human rights activists around the world are in an uproar over a report released by a United Nations panel this week on the final months of the island nation's bloody civil war. The survey may prove illuminating, so far as it goes, in terms of understanding what happened during those violent six months in 2009. The greater risk is that the international response will tip Sri Lanka closer to losing the peace.

(text of SJV Chelvanayakam Memorial lecture 2011)

I consider it a great honour to have been asked to deliver the Thanthai Chelva memorial oration this year. Last year too I had the honour of delivering the key-note address at the annual commemoration ceremony held in Jaffna on the 26th of April. Today, I am doubly delighted since Thanthai Chelva’s true disciple Mr Sampanthan presides over this event. I am truly humbled by this singular honour bestowed on me.

Super slim Kate-Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, 29, the princess-to-be has a worry over her engagement ring with Ratnapura sapphire. Kate has slimmed down so much that she had to shrink her famous engagement ring to fit her finger as the dazzling sapphire and diamond band is too big for her size H finger. Princess Diana too wore it on the same finger.

Prince William & Kate-Catherine Elizabeth Middleton ~ pic: http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/