By Nita Bhalla It was with a heavy heart I read the press release this morning. A desperately needed aid programme run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) – in English, Doctors without Borders – in Sri Lanka’s war-torn North has shut down after only 18 months of operation. I had visited the project ...

million. But Sports Minister Mahindananada Aluthgamage told BBC Sinhala ...

Let’s accept it, Sri Lanka made a statement to the world that we are open for business with Expo 2012, even though it had its limitations like the faulty air conditioner at the launch that grabbed media attention. Whilst some can say that the shine was taken off the event due to the very uncomfortable ...

By Firdous Syed DNA India: There seems to be no moral justification behind the United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council. The massacre of ‘40,000 civilians’ and continued persecution of Tamils is a fit case for international censure; even an international intervention could be justified. That the US, motivated, or ...

Reporters Without Borders calls on all members of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council, which began its 19th session yesterday, to pass a resolution condemning the Sri Lankan government’s violations of freedom of information and to demand an end to threats and violence against news media and human rights defenders in Sri Lanka. “For ...

A UN special envoy arrived Friday for talks with the new administration in the Maldives, as former president Mohamed Nasheed called for fresh elections after being ousted in what he called a coup d'etat, AFP reported. Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco reached the capital Male early Friday and was due to hold talks with new president Mohamed Waheed. “There will be a meetin...

The extrajudicial killing of civilians, surrendering soldiers and dissident journalists under the direction of the Sri Lankan government has been alleged by a former general in the Army who was extremely well-placed to comment on military activity during the island nation’s bloody civil war. The source, whose name is withheld for reasons of safety, had high-level ...

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Media organisations in Sri Lanka have urged the authorities to investigate all recent attacks on media personnel and institutions. The watchdogs say they will stage a protest on 25 January in Colombo against a series of attacks against media personnel in recent years. It will especially mark “Black January” during which many prominent media personnel ...

The newly elected president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has once again has predicted that at least five years will be needed to resolve its financial crisis. Upali Dharmadasa, who was elected uncontested on 03 January, said the SLC will get a considerable amount of income from future tours of other Test playing nations by ...

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Nothing is closer to the law of the jungle than a system of distorted laws and procedures” Haaretz Editorial (2.1.2012) President Rajapaksa won the Eelam War, with the help of countless others (including the imprisoned Gen. Fonseka). In fairytales, the hero who saves a country from some deadly peril is rewarded with ...

Below is an interview with Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleke published in the French Diplomatic Review – La Lettre Diplomatique (The Diplomatic Letter) Two years after the end of a three decades conflict, the lifting of the emergency rule in late August 2011 confirmed the beginning of a new era for Sri Lanka. With the recent discovery of ...

BBC: Hoteliers in a popular tourist destination in Sri Lanka have accused a local politician of blackmailing them and demanding ransom from hotels at the peak of a tourism season. The Hikkaduwa Hoteliers Association (HHA) told BBC Sandeshaya that the town’s Mayor, Winnie Kariyawasam

“…by clever and persevering use of propaganda, even heaven can be represented as  hell to the people, and conversely the most wretched life as paradise”. Hitler (Mein Kampf) By Tisaranee Gunasekara Impunity is illimitable.   If the law was allowed to take its normal course after the Kolonnawa mini-war, the Christmas Eve murder of a ...

More than 26,000 displaced people are yet to be allowed to resettle in their ancestral lands occupied by high security zones (HSZ) in Jaffna, according to Sri Lanka's main Tamil political party, the BBC reported.   The BBC reported that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has submitted a report

The BBC's Swaminathan Natarajan reports on escalating fears about a crackdown on media and political freedom in Sri Lanka.

Srilankamirror - The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said it is currently discussing with the international cricket players union to look for a solution to the non-payment of Sri Lanka player salaries. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has told the BBC Sinhala service in October that the players

Colombo is beefing up security ahead of the delivery of the verdict in the controversial white flag case against former army commander General Sarath Fonseka. While there are reports that a key witness against Fonseka has fled the country in fear on a Cathay Pacific Flight bound for Hong Kong, police have also moved in a ...

Following is the address delivered by Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama at the fourth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES IV) Plenary Session: In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, there has been a noticeable shift in economic clout, moving from the USA and the debt-plagued countries of the Eurozone, to ...

During the Leaders’ Forum of the 36th session of the UNESCO General Conference held on 26th October this year, Prof. Tissa Vitarana, Senior Minister for Scientific Affairs, made a statement based on the theme of the discussion “How does UNESCO contribute to building a culture of peace and to sustainable development”. Speaking at a plenary ...

OCTOBER 17, 2011: Status: Not Free Legal Environment: 23 Political Environment: 30 Economic Environment: 18 Total Score: 71 Despite the end of the government’s long-running war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group in May 2009, media freedom remained restricted in Sri Lanka, with journalists subject to myriad forms of legal harassment and physical intimidation. Altho...

Impunity lies at the heart of the Kolonnawa killings “A foul, dishonourable crew….” Giaccomo Leopardi (To Angelo Mai III) By Tisaranee Gunasekara In the Rajapaksa Security State, insecurity is the common condition of the rest of us… Impunity makes jungles out of civilised societies, where the big and the powerful prey on those smaller and ...

British defence secretary Liam Fox is facing renewed political pressure after emails and video footage emerged appearing to contradict his explanation of his working relationship with a close friend, Adam Werritty. BBC reports that video revealed Mr. Werritty, who has no official role

The plantation sector in Sri Lanka is “in turmoil” as a result of the recent hike in workers’ salaries, tea traders say. Jayantha Keragala, the chairman of Ceylon Tea Traders Association (CTTA) has told BBC Sandeshaya that the industry is not faced with an immediate crisis due

An effort made to harm the reputation of Sri Lanka using the Channel 4 documentary has failed. Sri Lanka was cleared of the allegations at a meeting held to raise awareness amongst all member countries of the UN regarding the Channel 4 documentary. The conspirators were made speechless by the answers offered by Sri Lanka. ...

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has sought financial help from the government and state banks. SLC treasurer Sujeewa Rajapakse told the BBC that the board has sought a grant from the two bodies. .

By Tisaranee Gunasekara Nazism offered….a society that had been scarred by deep divisions…a sense of lofty purpose, almost a national mission….” — Michael Burleigh (The Third Reich – A New History) Barring a last-minute judicial-intervention, the Rajapaksa plan to make ‘leadership training’ by army officers mandatory for all university-entrants will become a reality, this month. ...

By Tisaranee Gunasekara “The illusion of destiny extracts a remarkably heavy price”. — Amartya Sen (Identity and Violence) The mysterious leaking in Colombo of the Darusman (UN) Report was accompanied by a carefully choreographed outbreak of patriotic-hysteria. The President, in...

Extracts from report on Sri Lanka by advisory panel appointed by Ban Ki moon 2. Violations in the IDP Camps (a) Arbitrary detention of IDPs in closed camps 154. Civilians emerging from the conflicts zone were initially housed in a...

The BBC Sinhala Service, in asking for comments on the 2010 US Report on Human Rights in Sri  Lanka, gave me little notice, and suggested I could just glance through the synopsis with which the report began. As it happened, I was able to look through some of the rest, which was good, because I ...