transcurrents.com

BY Namini Wijedasa

The Swiss government expressed serious concern to Sri Lanka about war crimes allegations against Gen. Jagath Dias, even making these the subject of demarches or formal protests lodged through diplomatic channels, an official document shows.

“The allegations against Mr. Dias were part of demarches to Sri Lanka in spring and summer of 2011,” says the response of the Swiss ministry of foreign affairs to a parliamentary question.
Continue reading ‘Effectiveness of Gen Jagath Dias may have made him a particular target’ »

By Namini Wijedasa

Why was Sri Lanka the last to know that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was sending the report of his panel of experts to the Human Rights Council?

“In a surprising turn of events, Sri Lanka was confronted with some information in the most peculiar circumstances,” remarked Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, head of the Sri Lankan delegation, before the HRC on September 12.
Continue reading ‘Govt pursues its deliberate ‘Kamikaze Mission’ to alienate many countries wielding influence over UN’ »

by Michele Kelemen, NPR

It’s the time of year when world leaders converge at the United Nations headquarters in New York. And this year, there will be a lot of talk about multilateral diplomacy — a priority for the Obama administration since it came to office.

Obama’s team has courted the world’s rising powers, even publicly backing India’s hopes to one day be a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. But now that India, along with South Africa and Brazil, have rotating seats on the council, U.S. officials and many human rights activists complain they’re not living up to expectations.
Continue reading ‘U.S. Underwhelmed With Emerging Powers At U.N.’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief…that mental lying has produced in society” – Thomas Paine – (The Age of Reason)

Like Rip Van Winkle, did President Mahinda Rajapaksa wake up, after years of guileless-slumbering – in time for the CMC election?

The President avows his government had “no intention of evicting tenement dwellers from Colombo city but was focused on providing them with better living conditions” (Daily News – 12.9.2011).
Continue reading ‘Presidential falsehoods about non-eviction are a warning to all Colombo residents’ »

by A. J. M. Muzammil

Elections are around the corner and the government’s dubious propaganda juggernaut has resumed its services of churning out nonsense; which at this point does not posses any credibility.

This time though, they are catering to an electorate that is discerning and their lies aren’t being consumed as readily as they would like. As is the case with lies, it’s becoming hard to keep track of and it’s becoming very evident. Desperation has set in and it appears that the wheels have started to come off the wagon.
Continue reading ‘Namal Rajapaksa Threatens Colombo voters with Eviction if they dont vote for UPFA’ »

Full text of press release, US Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka

In support of two critical issues – women’s entrepreneurship and the prevention of gender-based violence – the U.S. government recently awarded $100,000 grants to the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC) and the national NGO Women in Need (WIN). The grants, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will support training and start-up funding for budding female entrepreneurs in the South, and training and curriculum development on gender-based violence in the North.
Continue reading ‘U.S. Government gives two $100,000 Grants to Local Organizations Working on Critical Women’s Issues in the North and South’ »

The Asia division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has appealed to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka D.M. Jayaratne, to not proceed with a reported gifting of a baby elephant to the zoo in Manila, Philippines.

Elephants are extremely protective of their young. At the sight of our jeep, adults surround the infants. Around 175 jeeps carrying tourists visit Minneriya National Park every day – raising concerns about humans over-stressing the wild elephant population-pic: AlJazeera

According to a report by Associated Press (AP), the zoo in Manila where the calf would live is “decrepit and doesn’t have enough space for such animals”. The AP report further said,
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka plans of gifting elephant calf to celebrate diplomatic relations decried’ »

A coalition of non-governmental organisations has, by open letter of 16 September, called on the President of UNHRC H.E. Laura Dupuy Lasserre of Uruguay, to issue a President’s Statement inviting the Government of Sri Lanka and the UN Secretary-General to present to the Council the Panel of Experts report and the Government’s own investigations during the 19th regular session of the Human Rights Council in March 2012.

Laura Dupuy Lasserre, President of the Human Rights Council (HCR) and Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations Office at Geneva-photo by Jean-Marc Ferré

Full text of the letter as follows:
Continue reading ‘Sixteen non-governmental groups write open letter to President of the Human Rights Council concerning the panel of experts report’ »

Delegation member, Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the Daily News upon arrival back in Colombo that the Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva “successfully thwarted attempts to bring any proposal against Sri Lanka by clearly stating Sri Lanka’s position against such attempts”.

The minister also added that the Sri Lankan delegation “successfully canvassed the support of all 46 members attending the sessions by explaining the legal position against tabling the Darusman report showing that it was expressly formulated to advise only the Secretary General”.
Continue reading ‘Attempts to bring any proposal in Geneva against Sri Lanka thwarted-SL delegation to UNHRC’ »

Executive Summary of Debate & Key Quotes

A number of British Members of Parliament raised concerns regarding the state of human rights in Sri Lanka, during a backbench debate on ‘Human Rights in the Indian Sub-continent’ in the House of Commons on Thursday 15th September.

MPs, representing the two largest parties at Westminster – Labour and the Conservatives – called for justice for all people in Sri Lanka and the establishment of an independent, credible and thorough investigation into the allegations of war crimes committed by Government and Tamil Tiger forces during the final months of the armed conflict in 2009.
Continue reading ‘British Parliamentarians debate human rights situation in Sri Lanka’ »

Best way to communicate to the world that Sri Lanka is serious about its obligations is to replace Gothabaya Rajapakse

Too late for words, Return to the middle path

By Dushy Ranetunge in London

This week, the UNSG advisory report, unfortunately and disparagingly referred to in Sri Lanka as the “Darusman” Report was formally sent to the UNHRC.

The consequences for Sri Lanka are enormous, as it struggles to put behind it the events leading up to May 2009.

The UNHRC will have to decide what action that it will take after considering the report and Sri Lanka’s representations. In recent months the UNHRC has ordered international investigations into Libya and Syria.
Continue reading ‘Rajapakse regime has been ducking and diving for too long and as a result lost all credibility before the world’ »

by Tamil Christian Congregation of Western Australia

In 1983, following the ethnic disturbances, a significant number of Tamil Christians from Sri Lanka migrated to Australia and many chose to settle in Perth.

cover of 25th Anniversary souvenir-designed by Jonathan Dawson

With this increase in numbers of Tamil Christians in Perth, some members of the Tamil Christian Community, especially the Sinnadurai and Selvanayagam families, promoted the idea of a Tamil community function to celebrate Christmas. An evening of Carols organised under the auspices of the Tamil Association of WA, was held at the Curtain University Amphitheatre in December 1985.
Continue reading ‘Tamil Christian Congregation of Western Australia celebrates Twenty fifth anniversary’ »

By Charles Haviland BBC News, Colombo

A group of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka led a crowd that demolished a Muslim shrine last week, the BBC has learned.

This incident took place on Saturday in Anuradhapura, an ancient Buddhist city and Unesco world heritage site.

The monk who led the group told the BBC he did it because the shrine was on land that was given to Sinhalese Buddhists 2,000 years ago.
Continue reading ‘Muslim shrine destroyed in Anuradhapura’ »

Remarks by Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict stressed at the Human Rights Council

During her presentation to the Human Rights Council, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Children and Armed Conflict expressed concern with regard to issues related to children and justice including the detention and prosecution of children in situations of armed conflict.

“States are increasingly arresting and detaining children associated with armed groups, either because they are a threat to national security or because they have participated in hostilities,” SRSG Radhika Coomaraswamy said during the session.
Continue reading ‘Children should be treated primarily as victims, not as perpetrators’ »

by Sri Lanka Department of Government Information, news.lk

The New National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Sri Lanka received sanction by the Cabinet of Ministers. The plan was tabled to the Cabinet by Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries and Special Envoy of the President of Sri Lanka on Human Rights.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka approves National Action Plan for Protection of Human Rights’ »

by Gomin Dayasri

Are we laying Sri Lanka as a tasty dish before the humanitarian lobby to devour? While we sleep soundly without attending to basic necessities, those faulting us for eliminating terrorism, are manufacturing overtime- lies, lies and more lies to discredit.

Postponing the day of reckoning is in the grip of our national past-time of procrastination.
Continue reading ‘Government must attend to the legitimate grievances of the Tamils and maintain good governance’ »

Blake says different country from what he last saw; Lauds progress made in disarming para-military groups

by Rasika Somarathna

The US government on Sep 14th commended Sri Lanka for the positive progress it had made on its recovery from a deeply damaging and longstanding conflict.

“This is a very different country from what I left in May 2009. Most IDPs have left Menik farm and the rest will leave as soon as de-mining is complete,” US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert O Blake told the media at the end of his three day visit to the country.
Continue reading ‘US lauds Sri Lanka’s post-conflict recovery’ »

Sri Lanka Department of Government Information – news.lk

The government of Sri Lanka will protest strongly against the taking up of the Darusman report at the United Nations Human Rights Council both in Geneva and the General Assembly in New York next week, External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris said.

“We will protest the taking up of this report at the UNHRC sessions strongly, in Geneva and when President Mahinda Rajapaksa and I visit New York next week for the General Assembly,” Prof. Peiris said.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka to address breach of procedure in presenting documents not sanctioned by the UN at UNHRC’ »

Targeting the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka

By Dayan Jayatilleka

The moving, multimedia memorialisation in the USA of the shock and suffering caused by the terrorist attacks of 9/11, on the 10th anniversary of those horrific episodes, provide a perspective on Sri Lanka’s war. Three thousand people were killed on 9/11. The response was to invade two countries: one Afghanistan, understandably, and the other, Iraq, unnecessarily, causing enormous death and destruction.
Continue reading ‘Whatever one may think of the administration of a country, is it fair or morally correct to urge an international boycott of it?’ »

by Melani Manel Perera

Resources are at risk. Residents in affected area want the government to enforce the law that regulates the maritime border and access to the waters of the two nations, which have been violated by Indian trawlers. The Fisheries and Defence Ministries show indifference to their plight.

“Every day, about 500 trawlers come from India. They destroy the seabed”-fishermen in Mannar-pic: AsiaNews.it
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka marine eco-system devastated by Indian trawlers whilst inaction by Defence and Fisheries Ministries’ »

Sri Lanka: Post-War Progress-Report By International Crisis Group

1. Post-war progress? Assessing government claims
2. What should be done?

1. Post-war progress? Assessing government claims

More than two years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, the political situation in the country remains deeply worrying. The unique opportunity the government has to build a lasting and just peace after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is being lost.
Continue reading ‘ICG: Post-war progress? Assessing Sri Lanka government claims’ »

via UN News Centre

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent the report of his panel of experts on accountability issues during the final stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka to the United Nations human rights chief and the President of the Human Rights Council.
Continue reading ‘UNSG sends Panel report to UNHRC along with Sri Lanka govt produced reports on the situation in North’ »

Excerpts from remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay at the opening day of the 18th UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva today:

Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council,

Yesterday we commemorated the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
We joined in remembrance of the victims of the attacks against the United States, as well as of all people across the world killed or injured by terrorists, who hold human rights in contempt.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka urged to comprehensively review all security-related legislation and detentions’ »

The primate research team of the Wildlife Conservation Society Galle (WCSG) has carried out research on
Southern Purple Face Leaf Langur (purple-faced leaf monkey).

The Facebook pages of WCSG are reporting that,

Twenty-six troops from rain forests and home gardens around Galle and Matara Districts have been observed during this study. While recording observations, the team found 30 individuals with unusual white colour morph in 14 troops.
Continue reading ‘New white colour monkeys observed in Sinharaja forest reserve’ »

Commencing 'the race to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games'-pic: courtesy ~ CGF:-May 2011

An evaluation team from the Commonwealth Games Federation has concluded that holding the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantota presents a medium to high risk. This has given the Gold Coast in Australia, the other contender, a distinct edge.

The team’s decision comes as no surprise. Hambantota is today an unnerving and incompatible mix of ambitious, gargantuan infrastructure projects and complete nothingness. To bring the city, and the district, up to scratch will need apocalyptical cash injections. Not only for sports complexes, ports, airports and roads but for hundreds of farming families who remain buried in poverty.
Continue reading ‘Hambantota: When can one expect returns for massive investment injected?’ »

Milinda Moragoda, UPFA Mayoral candidate, Colombo-pic: courtesy: UNDP.org

by Tissaranee Gunasekara

“Make us development orphans”. A slogan at the September 6th protest against Rajapaksa land-grabbing

The Rajapaksa plan to evict almost 70,000 poor families from Colombo and sell/lease their lands to favoured bidders has been put on the backburner – until the Colombo Municipal Council election is over. A protest which took place last week demonstrated that land-grabbing is not the exclusive problem of Colombo’s poor.
Continue reading ‘LG polls should be used to install some checks on Rajapaksa-power’ »

High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha and Hon’ble Governor of Central Province Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, in presence of Most Venerable Mahanayake Asigiriya, Most Venerable Anunayake Malawatte, Most Venerable Mahasangha and Hon’ble Diyawadana Nilame, unveiled a 16 feet high idol of Lord Buddha at the entrance of the International Buddhist Museum complex in Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Continue reading ‘Sarnath Buddha carved in India out of single beige-colored Chunar sandstone gifted to people of Sri Lanka’ »

Louise Arbour-pic courtesy: Reuters

by Louise Arbour

The first political decade of the new millennium began in the fall of 2001 on American soil and ended in the spring of 2011 in North Africa and the Middle East. In the course of that decade, the rich world became increasingly afraid – first of terrorism, then of financial insecurity – while the poor, countries and people, became increasingly assertive and hopeful.

This is, of course, a broad generalization. The people of Somalia are neither assertive nor hopeful. Neither is the government of Somalia, which doesn’t even exist. China continues to depict itself as either poor or powerful, as convenient, while the so-called emerging powers have yet to fully express the direction in which they will exert their economic and political might, individually and collectively.
Continue reading ‘Slaughter on the beaches of Sri Lanka, viewed by many as a successful chapter in the “War on Terror”’ »

Tamil film Azhagarsamyin Kutharai (Azhagarsamy’s Horse) is selected to be part of this year’s lineup at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Cameron Bailey, a programmer of TIFF says, “Watching a good film is like tasting a good wine or running your hand over a well-built piece of furniture: you can sense the maker’s thousand decisions instantly.”

Notes by Cameron Bailey about Azhagarsamyin Kutharai:

In a lively Tamil village of the 1980s, a ceremonial statue of a horse goes missing. With a crucial holy symbol suddenly gone, the village falls into recriminations and comic chaos. Wonderful, naturalistic performances drive this brisk satire on the vanities and hypocrisies of south Indian village life.
Continue reading ‘Azhagarsamy’s Horse comes to Toronto International Film Festival’ »

First takeaways from Delhi blast

By Col. R Hariharan

Terrorists have struck once again in Delhi taking the historical count of such attacks to more than a dozen. Apart from the tragic loss of lives of innocent public, the repeated terror attacks in Delhi have exposed the soft underbelly of India’s fight against terrorism.

Unfortunately in our country one can almost predict the immediate response to terrorist attacks because it is so pedestrian – Prime Minister assures the nation terrorists would be brought to book, opposition leaders blame the government for its soft attitude to terrorism, media blames the police, and everyone calls it intelligence failure.
Continue reading ‘Delhi blast:’Galvanise the nation to fight terrorism is no easy task’-Col. R Hariharan’ »

pic: news.lk

The Sri Lankan government has rented the most beautiful and pristine natural areas for the next 99 years to build hotels, resorts, golf courses, facilities for seaplanes and aero-taxis. Mobilization of Catholics, religious and civil society against the expropriation of lands.
Continue reading ‘Colombo’s new development projects must protect, not destroy’ »

by Dayan Jayatilleke

The denunciatory critics of the Rajapaksa Presidency are at total variance with the overwhelming majority of Sri Lankan people, not only on domestic matters but also on Sri Lanka’s external relations.

The recent Gallup poll reveals that 9 out of 10 Sri Lankans approve of President Rajapaksa’s leadership; a colossal 91 percent which significantly exceeds the share of Sinhalese (74 percent) in the island’s population. The same Gallup poll shows that China is easily the most popular country among the Sri Lankan people.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka observes with admiration China’s steady, peaceful ascent to the summit of economic power’ »

by Sumanasiri Liyanage

In recent times since the end of the armed conflict, media, both print and electronic, has evinced an interest in seemingly petty things and events. In a way, this signifies that we live in a ‘normal’ time.

Is there an arsenic content in locally produced rice? Does the petroleum corporation sell diluted petrol and diesel? Is there a rock underneath the entrance to the Hambantota Harbour? Is the government going to sell wild elephants to private sector?
Continue reading ‘Government’s stability and strength shown at electoral outcome do not tell us the full story’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers” – Kenyan (Kikuyu) proverb

The Emergency is dead. Long live the Emergency Consequential Provisional Bill.

Ending the Emergency was a placatory exercise aimed at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva. Underneath this reforming veneer, the regime seems determined not to lose any of its über-powers. Post-Emergency, the far more draconian PTA, augmented by three new regulations, will fill the gap, until the new Emergency-replacement legislation is born.
Continue reading ‘Increasing dependence on China is exacerbating Sri Lanka’s problems’ »

Mohan Pieris

By Namini Wijedasa

The lapsing of the emergency does not mean ‘anybody can do anything he or she wants’, warned Mohan Pieris, outgoing attorney general, in an exclusive interview with LAKBMIMAnEWS. Excerpts:

Has the emergency lapsed and if so what happens to detainees, surrendees and the proscription of the LTTE?

The emergency regulations have lapsed. Therefore, certain consequential provisions have to be made for the above purposes. It is necessary that regulations be gazetted in terms of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to ensure the continuance of existing mechanisms. This also gives us time to put in place a new law.
Continue reading ‘Armed forces must be thanked for doing civilian work for free: Mohan Pieris, outgoing AG’ »

by Hasantha Wijenayake-courtey: LAKBIMAnEWS

When a country’s cabinet is habitually uninformed, it is no surprise that its citizens also know nothing. In Sri Lanka, governance is carried out on a need-to-know basis: only a coterie at the top needs-to-know.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced in parliament on August 25 that he proposed not to extend the state of emergency. He explained that he was satisfied administration could take place under normal law.
Continue reading ‘Story of jubilantly ending long stretch of emergency rule changed to one of sheer consternation’ »

By Shihar Aneez Reuters Fact Box

INVESTMENT CLIMATE: Post-war investments have picked up, with the first half of 2011 recording $413 million in foreign direct investment, almost double the same period in the previous year.

Construction work for runway at Sri Lanka’s second International Airport, Mattala in the Hambantota District-pic: news.lk

Large investments in ports have come primarily from China, the main actor in Sri Lanka’s post-war redevelopment.
Continue reading ‘Will big investments in Sri Lanka trickle down and boost per-capita income?’ »

President Mahinda Rajapaksa greets members of the public as he takes a walk along a street during celebrations in central Colombo-pic courtesy: HindustanTimes

Sri Lankans’ approval of their president’s job performance likely reflects their happiness to finally have peace in their country and a vision for the rebuilding of their nation

by Peter Cynkar

WASHINGTON, D.C. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s decision last week to lift the country’s 28-year-old state of emergency will likely further endear him to a public that almost universally supports him. It may also potentially ease some of the international pressure the country is under over its human rights record. More than 9 in 10 Sri Lankans surveyed in April 2011 say they approve of Rajapaksa’s job performance, as they have since the civil war ended in 2009.
Continue reading ‘Utilising popularity of President Rajapksa to ‘reintegrate disenfranchised portions of the population is imperative’: Gallup’ »

The US State Dept. Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner during daily briefing on Sept 1st urged Government of Sri Lanka to charge or release prisoners still held in custody after the lapse emergency regulations at the end of August. He also added that the US State Dept. is “looking at the legislation going forward and studying its implications”.

Excerpts from the transcript of daily briefing:
Continue reading ‘US State Dept. urges GoSL to charge or release prisoners still in custody’ »

‘There must be restorative justice, retributive justice is old-fashioned’

Most allegations against Sri Lankan Army ‘nonsense’

by Nirupama Subramanian

Sri Lanka can initiate inquiries into allegations that have been levelled against its Army of war crimes in the final stages of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009 only if it is provided specific instances with prima facie evidence, a parliamentarian from President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ruling alliance has said.

In an interview to The Hindu in Chennai, Rajiva Wijesinha, who was nominated to Parliament by the ruling alliance following the 2010 elections, said the majority of the soldiers had “behaved impeccably.”
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka will initiate war crimes inquiries if provided with specific instances and prima facie evidence: Rajiva Wijesinha MP’ »

by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha

The following was sent to a Sri Lankan media outlet that wanted a comment on the NDTV article given below. It was also sent to the NDTV website but its moderator strangely refused to upload this clarification alongside the innacurate report.

I think the report is not to bad, in that internal inconsistencies will prevent it from being too misleading. But, to sum these up -
Continue reading ‘‘NDTV refused to upload clarification alongside the innacurate report’ on Sri Lanka Army’ »

Mr Rajapaksa says army would act against anyone making trouble just as it defeated 'terrorists'

An opposition MP in Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka says many people there are in a state of panic and afraid to go out at night because of the security forces’ behaviour.

Reports say the police and army beat up 20 people when taking action against a crowd who had been chasing some strangers they accused of acting suspiciously.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Army admits using physical force on ‘grease devil’ protesters’ »

Thousands of disappearances during the civil war remain unexplained

Translated from French-International Catholic News Agency

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka in Colombo asked the government to investigate the disappearances of priests and lay Catholics during the Civil War. Despite the completion in May 2009 of the civil war between Sri Lankan forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which has torn Sri Lanka for over thirty years, thousands of disappearances remain unexplained.
Continue reading ‘Catholic Church in Sri Lanka urges investigation into the disappearances of priests and lay people’ »

pic: courtesy of AsiaNews.it

The appeal launched for the World Day of the disappeared. The women are asking the government to investigate a case without looking at ethnicity or religion. With 12 thousand missing persons, Sri Lanka is the second country with the highest number of disappearances in the world.

“Help us to find our children, without looking at our ethnicity or religion.” This is the appeal launched by Tamil mothers, yesterday, on the occasion of World Day of the disappeared.
Continue reading ‘Tamil Mothers: Help us find our children’ »

Reuters, Asia News, BBC, The Economist and Al Jazeera have written on steps reportedly being taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to allow the holding of suspects without any charges.

BBC Sandeshaya reports that according to Justice Minister Rauff Hakim, “new laws will be in place with the expiry of similar provisions under the country’s controversial emergency laws”.

Following are excerpts from Reuters, Asia News, BBC Sandeshaya, Al Jazeera and The Economist on the announcement to lift the emergency and the mentioning of proposed new amendments by Sri Lankan ministers and officials:
Continue reading ‘New laws in lieu of the old: Another “state of emergency”’ »

by Julian Ranetunge

A few months previously, my school in the UK advertised that a scholarship would be available for a student to embark on a volunteering programme during the summer holidays.

The award was named the ‘Johnny Sutton Memorial Award’, after a recent graduate of the school. Johnny had passed away after contracting a fatal disease on an arduous mountain-climb, and the award was financed by his parents. With the words carpe diem at the forefront of my mind, I sent a proposal to the powers that be, outlining a trip to an orphanage in Sri Lanka.
Continue reading ‘Two weeks at an orphanage: ‘Are you Sri Lankan or British’?’ »

Writer Arundhati Roy - file photo courtesy of: The Hindu

“I am skeptical about the legislation (Jan Lokpal Bill) itself for a good number of reasons. I think the legislation is a dangerous piece of work,” Ms. Roy told CNN-IBN in an interview.
Continue reading ‘Video ~ Anna Hazare’s anti-graft campaign: Civil society used public anger in their favour-Arundhati Roy’ »

The Madras High Court stayed the execution of the former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins for eight weeks and IBN Live poses the question, ‘Should Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins get clemency’? to Subramanian Swamy-President of Janata Party, Vaiko-Leader of MDMK, Cho Ramaswamy-Editor of Thuglak, D R Karthikeyan-former Director of CBI, R Vaigai, Senior counsel who is representing the convicts in the Madras High Court.

Also adding to the ‘Talking Point’ on IBN Live is the question-”Is an inordinate delay actually going against the spirit of the law?”;
Continue reading ‘Madras court stay order: Will final judgment be based on law or political overtones?’ »

by Sumanasiri Liyanage

Although some members of the UPFA government indicated vaguely a few months ago that Emergency would be lifted fully at the end of this year, the President’s announcement that he and his government had decided to do so with immediate effect and depend on normal laws to maintain law and order came at an unexpected moment and as a result, it has received a mixed response.
Continue reading ‘Lifting Emergency: Focus should be on gradual transition to a system that is just, democratic and humane’ »

Murugan with Nalini

The murder of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 stunned India – but it was also a personal tragedy for a young girl who had yet to be born.

Haritha Murugan’s parents were arrested days after the murder and convicted of plotting it. She was born to the couple in prison in January 1992 and has met them once since that time.
Continue reading ‘Daughter’s plea for Rajiv Gandhi murder plotter’ »

Attorney Ram Jethmalani along with MDMK leader Vaiko arrive at Madras High Court to represent Rajiv Gandhi's assassins in Chennai on Tuesday, Aug 30- pic: PTI

Jethmalani later told reporters that the delay of 11 years in deciding their mercy plea was “mental torture” for the convicts. “You make him suffer thousand times.
Continue reading ‘Video: Madras high court stays death sentence of three convicts for eight weeks’ »

Members of various Tamil organisations protesting against the death sentence given to the three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case in Chennai, on Aug 30-pic courtesy: PTI

Preparations have begun at the Vellore Central Prison for hanging Murugan, Santhan, and Perarivalan — convicted for their involvement in the 1991 assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

Jail officials have fixed September 9 as the date for the executions. The mercy petitions of the three were rejected by President Pratibha Patil earlier this month, 11 years after they were filed, and the Union Home Ministry has notified her decision to the Tamil Nadu government.
Continue reading ‘‘Just punishment for crimes such as the Rajiv Gandhi murder must be a lifetime in prison’’ »

The long afterlife of war in teardrop isle

by Shyam Tekwani

IT IS the first truth of war, however deplorable, that civilians die. The first casualty in war is the civilian. The real victims of war are the civilians. Particularly in civil wars, which are about national survival.

In a war zone, they are everywhere, fleeing on foot, on bicycles or handcarts or on somebody’s back, through drenching rain or blazing sun. Wandering around in circles, with no destination, to escape the hail of gunfire and rockets, all with just one question to ask: when would this madness end?
Continue reading ‘‘Killing Fields’ weakens its case and invites an investigation into its own credibility and accountability to journalistic norms’ »

Indian Newspapers editorialize the announcement by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament last week to lift Emergency regulations

The Finishing line: Calcutta Telegraph

Two years after its decisive victory against the Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government has announced its intention to allow the state of emergency in the country to lapse.
Continue reading ‘Emergency removal timed to generate good publicity-Calcutta Telegraph ~ Clarification needed on unknown number of people still detained-The Hindu’ »

Photo by Photosightfaces - courtesy: The Granta

By V. V. Ganeshananthan

In the case of September 11 2001, communal loss is – comparatively, at least -well understood. Everyone saw or could see those deaths; they were on the news even as they happened; the broadcast was part of their lasting tragedy. Few perceived denial of the deaths as rational. The people who had killed them made sure there was plenty of physical evidence. No one fought the act of mourning and was taken seriously.

Not so with what I saw from a great distance eight years later: the deaths of Tamil civilians at the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Continue reading ‘‘Military losses honoured in public ways – civilians, also Sri Lankan citizens, remain unmourned’’ »

pic courtesy: flickr-Members of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s foreign minister left on Sunday on a two-week mission to shore up diplomatic support ahead of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting, where the Indian Ocean nation is expecting to face a fight over Western-led pressure for a war crimes probe.

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris is scheduled to meet leaders from Singapore, Jordan, the Non-Aligned Movement and crucially, South Korea, the home country of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, a ministry statement said.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka seeks allies’ support ahead of U.N. rights meet’ »

BBC Sandeshaya

US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake’s visit to Sri Lanka has been postponed due to Hurricane Irene, the US embassy in Colombo said.

Mr Blake was due to arrive in Colombo on Monday.
Continue reading ‘Irene stops Blake visit to Colombo’ »

The United States Government, through coordination with the Government of Sri Lanka Ministry of Health, will fund the renovation and reconstruction of four hospitals located in the Northern Province.

Left to Right-USAID Program Officer Catherine Webber, Acting Secretary of the Health Ministry Dr. Palitha Mahipala and Capt. Dean Gomes, of the U.S. Army at the signing ceremony

The U.S. Government remains committed to supporting Government of Sri Lanka efforts towards reconstruction and reconciliation in former conflict zones.
Continue reading ‘US to fund renovation and reconstruction of hospitals located in the Northern Province’ »

by Robert McCrum

Michael Ondaatje: The divided man ~ Novelist and poet Michael Ondaatje, who won the Booker prize for The English Patient, draws on his own extraordinary life to conjure up evocative tales of duality and displacement

Michael Ondaatje - pic by : Jeff Nolte courtesy: The Observer/Guardian UK

The eyes of Michael Ondaatje, prize-winning author of The English Patient, are a baffling window on the inner man: the brilliant, pale sapphires of a witty Dutch burgher set in a 68-year-old Tamil frame.
Continue reading ‘Double vision: a Canadian citizen, Michael Ondaatje is still ‘profoundly Sri Lankan’’ »

The Sri Lankan government must follow up its repeal of the state of emergency by removing repressive legislation such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), Amnesty International said.

Earlier this week, Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised to remove the state of emergency that has been in place in the country for nearly three decades.
Continue reading ‘Repressive laws remain despite end to state of emergency in Sri Lanka-Amnesty International’ »

By Saman Mannikkaarachchi in Ampara

People in Panama allege that officials from the Ampara Divisional Secretariat have forcibly taken over 850 acres of land belonging to the Panama villagers.

Panama lagoon, Ampara district ~ courtesy: SIT Study Abroad - sit.edu/

Villagers told this correspondent that the Defence Ministry is reportedly setting up a navy base there and question the validity of setting up such a base when the war had ended over two years ago.
Continue reading ‘Land in Ampara belonging to Sinhala and Tamil villagers forcibly taken for navy base and tourism development’ »

courtesy: lakbimanews.lk

“They should believe us” – Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Interview with India Today)

The saga of the ‘Rock of Hambantota’ is of pivotal-importance in understanding the working of the Rajapaksas’ regime.

Whenever the UNP, the JVP or the media mentioned the existence of a huge rock blocking the entrance to the Hambantota Port, the regime reacted with spluttering-outrage. The Rock was dismissed as a malignant lie.
Continue reading ‘Whatever Rajapaksas say at a given moment is the truth’ »

A.J.M. Muzammil

STATEMENT-A.J.M. Muzammil–Mayoral Candidate for Colombo-United National Party

I am deeply humbled and extremely honoured to accept the nomination the United National Party has bestowed on me as its Mayoral candidate.

The Colombo Municipal Council has been a bastion of the UNP for generations; thereby proving time and time again that the trust the people have placed in the UNP is steadfast. It is an enduring symbol, a torch, passed on from generation to generation ensuing a victory for all UNP’ers.
Continue reading ‘Colombo City should be beautified but not by leaving its people destitute and homeless’ »

Bumper paddy production in Sri Lanka’s former conflict areas has averted an expected national rice shortage, experts say.

Paddy field, near Mullaitivu - pic: UK Department for International Development-Feb 2010

Twin floods in January and February inundated more than 200,000 hectares of paddy land in the eastern and central regions of the island nation, destroying more than 700,000MT of the primary harvest estimated at 2.75 million tons. The main cultivation season runs from October to March.
Continue reading ‘Ample Northern paddy harvest averts rice shortage for Sri Lanka’ »

Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia-pic courtesy: AP via The Hindu

A U.S. statement says Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake will meet in Sri Lanka with government and non-governmental officials, university students and political leaders.
Continue reading ‘US Envoy to Hold Talks in Sri Lanka on Alleged War Crimes’ »

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday lifted strict wartime emergency laws that have drawn criticism from the West and India, saying the advent of peace since the end of civil war in 2009 made them unnecessary.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament in Colombo November 22, 2010: pic: courtesy-Reuters-Dinuka Liyanawatte

A 10-member group of school boys from St. Patrick’s College Jaffna, accompanied by their principal Fr. Jero Selvanayagam and teacher Mr. Berty Bannister, returned to Sri Lanka on August 23 after their successful and productive visit to New Delhi, India from 15th – 22nd August and called on Acting High Commissioner Shri Vikram Misri to convey appreciation to the India Sri Lanka Foundation for facilitating their visit as part of the Student Exchange Programme.

A 10-member group of school boys from St. Patrick’s College Jaffna, accompanied by their principal called on Mr.Vikram Misri, Acting High Commissioner after their successful visit to India from 15th – 22nd August under student exchange programme of India Sri Lanka Foundation
Continue reading ‘Student Exchange Programme between St. Patrick’s College Jaffna and St. Francis De Sales Senior Secondary School, New Delhi’ »

by Dushy Ranetunge at Maalu Maalu

Pasikudah and Kalkudah are exotic beaches, where you can walk 30 to 50 yards into the sea. Waves are almost non-existent, making the sea look more like a lagoon

Exotic

Its wide sandy beaches have attracted generations of Sri Lankans and the end of the war has once again begun attracting tourists in large numbers.
Continue reading ‘A visit to Pasikudah: Memo from ‘Maalu Maalu’’ »

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Tamil New Year will once again be officially observed in Tamil Nadu in midApril instead of Thai Pongal day in midJanuary as being done now

~ Happy Tamil New Year Wishes ~ written in Tamil

[click here to read in full, on ~ dbsjeyaraj.com]

courtesy: lakbimanews.lk

Sri Lanka is currently rocked by reports of ‘Grease Yakka” (Grease devils) suddenly appearing in rural areas and terrorising villagers. Traditionally a grease yakka is a prowler in the dark who attacks women; he is said to wear only a loin cloth and cover his body with oil to escape capture. Already five lives have been lost in more than 30 incidents of vigilantism against grease yakkas by paranoid villagers.
Continue reading ‘Can Sri Lanka get out of the ‘Grease Yakka’ syndrome of political paranoia?’ »

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Hello Friends

A disturbing phenomenon in recent times has been the widespread panic in many parts of Sri Lanka about alleged attacks on women by unknown persons posing as devilish monsters.

Cartoon on Sri Lankan newspapers about the ‘Grease Devils’ ~ courtesy via: http://twitter.com/DushiYanthini

Reports in the media refer to them generally as “Grease devils” in English-“Kreese Pootham” in Tamil and “Thel Yaka” in Sinhala. This descriptive title is due to the fact that the assailants are said to be daubed in grease or some sticky,oily substance that makes their bodies slippery like eels thus making it difficult for people to cath hold of them. [click here to read in full ~ on dbsjeyaraj.com]

Soldiers deployed to quell unrest sparked ‘Grease Devils’

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka on Monday deployed soldiers to quell unrest sparked by a fear of nighttime prowlers known as “Grease Devils”, after at least five died over the past two weeks in a wave of vigilantism and clashes with police across the island nation.

Sri Lanka Army in Puttlam ~ pic courtesy: Tamilwin

Continue reading ‘‘Government can justify continuation of emergency by showing that police can’t control civil life’’ »

via Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, US State Dept.

Overview: In 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka announced formally the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. While there were no terrorist incidents within Sri Lanka in 2010, there were continuing concerns that the LTTE’s international network of financial support might still be functioning; therefore, most counterterrorism activities undertaken by the Sri Lankan government were targeted at countering terrorist finance.
Continue reading ‘US State Dept. Country Reports on Terrorism 2010: Sri Lanka’ »

by Mano Sekaram

Dear Friends,

Having spent many holiday’s of my childhood in Jaffna the trip last week was a particularly nostalgic trip down memory lane for me. After 30 years we drove down the A9, passing the towns Omanthai, Mankulam Murukandi Paranthan Pallai.

Gen Hathurusinha at Vayavilan school in the High Secuity Zone - Sep 2010 - pic: np.gov.lk

Kodikamam and Meesalai …these names echo in my memory never forgotten. Then almost like an old friend rising to greet you, we approached Jaffna, it is astonishing how most things are still the same
Continue reading ‘If military commander Gen Hathurusinha contests he would get more votes than Minister Devananda in Jaffna’ »

by Arundhati Roy

If what we’re watching on TV is indeed a revolution, then it has to be one of the more embarrassing and unintelligible ones of recent times.

Social activist Anna Hazare drinks water during his fast at Ramlila Ground in New Delhi. Photo: PTI

For now, whatever questions you may have about the Jan Lokpal Bill, here are the answers you’re likely to get: tick the box — (a) Vande Mataram (b) Bharat Mata ki Jai (c) India is Anna, Anna is India (d) Jai Hind.
Continue reading ‘Anna Hazare: While his means maybe Gandhian, his demands are certainly not’ »