By Dr. S. Narapalasingam The current moves of the powerful government in post-war Sri Lanka are mainly for sustaining the wartime military strength, preventing the resurrection of the smashed LTTE and developing the infrastructures, notably the roads and rail network,...

By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya The External Affairs ministry has just issued a statement (Fri. Nov 5) indicating that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to London, in response to an invitation to address the Oxford Union, has been postponed “to a more suitable...

Labor Minister Gamini Lokuge has denied allegations leveled against Sri Lanka by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). He has said the government has honored all it’s commitments on labor conventions ratified by the government of Sri Lanka. Responding to allegations made by the ITUC, Minister Lokuge has been quoted in the media that when ...

By Lee Yu Kyung It seems no one bothers about “them” in Sri Lanka. No lawyer or rights groups in the country dare to talk of “their” basic rights. Do they deserve to be abandoned or “disappeared”? Alleged former members...

The UN panel of experts appointed by the Secretary General on Sri Lanka has called for written submissions. The panel was set up to inquire into the alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka. The BBC has reported

By Saroj Pathirana Activists have criticised India's decision to invite Sri Lanka's president to attend the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Delhi. Sri Lanka's government said President Mahinda Rajapaksa would be the guest of honour at Thursday's event. The move...

“Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people…” — Charlie Chaplin The Dictator By Tisaranee Gunasekara President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s speech to the UN General Assembly consisted of the usual banalities and platitudes, with one outstanding exception. That exception was a perniciously riveting idea symbolic and symbiotic of the Rajapaksa ethos, a transformative concept which, if ...

“Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together in new shapes of your own choosing.” -George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty -Four) The end was never in doubt; President Rajapaksa would confirm Gen. Fonseka’s jail sentence and the bête noire of the Ruling Family would be duly incarcerated. Only the blindly optimistic would have...

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people…” — Charlie Chaplin ~ The Dictator President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s speech to the UN General Assembly consisted of the usual banalities and platitudes, with one outstanding exception. That exception was...

By Saroj Pathirana BBC Sinhala in Colombo Nilmini Jayasinghe says she is determined to take part at the London Olympics despite her failure at the most recent world championships. Nilmini Jayasinghe - pic: SundayObserver.lk...

by UNROW Human Rights Impact Litigation Clinic American University Washington College of Law INTRODUCTION Justice and accountability are of utmost importance following mass atrocities such as those committed in Sri Lanka during its 25-year civil war. An estimated 80,000–100,000 people...

By BBC Sandeshaya Prsidient Mahinda Rajapaksha has engaged in constructive bilateral talks with a number of heads of state now in New York, says Presidential media co-ordinator Vijayananda herath. President Rajapaksa is in New York to attend the United Nations...

By Charles Haviland BBC News, Colombo People in northern Sri Lanka have told a war inquiry that family members who served with the Tamil Tigers disappeared after surrendering. They said their loved ones went missing at the end of the...

“It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.” — Voltaire Where do we go from here? The paranoia increases by the day. First came the reported disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda (missing since January 24 this year), then the statement made recently by reinstated Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva who reportedly stated at a ...

Sri Lanka is still denying civilian deaths by Peter Bouckaert Director of Emergencies Division, Human Rights Watch During the Vietnam conflict, the US military developed some creative ways to increase the numbers of Viet Cong insurgents it claimed to have...

Report To Congress on Measures Taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and International Bodies To Investigate Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka, and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Such Efforts Office of War Crimes Issues Report August 11,...

By Dr.A.R.M.Imtiyaz [Abstract: Symbols are emotional and they play significant role in all aspect of human communities, including electoral politics. Symbols are deadly in nature because they can provoke deadly violence and war crimes. In Sri Lanka, Sinhala politician and...

By Athiyan Silva Further evidence has emerged in recent weeks of the continuing political disintegration of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was militarily crushed in May 2009 by the Sri Lankan military. Several reports indicate that...

World media reporting on the record achieved by Murali has hailed him for re-inventing the sport. International media published various reports on Muralitharan who became the first bowler in the history of test cricket to achieve the milestone of 800 wickets. BBC said that Murali re-invented

It is entirely possible that Muthiah Muralitharan will play the second Test against India, although he has announced his retirement after the first. If he claims just seven wickets in the Galle match he would tally 799. An impressive enough figure, but if the temptation to become the first bowler to claim 800 Test wickets ...

By Oliver Brett It looked like a Test match that would attract only cursory interest in a calendar so bogged down with international fixtures. But now Sri Lanka’s match against India in Galle starting on July 18 will be a very special one, bringing to an end the phenomenal test career of one of the ...

By Vangeesa Sumenasekara One of the central weaknesses of the recent debate or discussion in Sri Lanka around the strange term "private" universities apropos its possible consequences to the men and women living within the national boundaries of Sri Lanka...

from BBC News A Sri Lankan minister says he has begun a hunger strike outside the UN's Colombo offices demanding that it stop its probe into alleged war crimes. Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa's announcement follows two days of demonstrations outside...

By Charles HavilandBBC News, Colombo On a leafy Colombo corner, surrounded by hundreds of his nationalist supporters and Buddhist monks, Sri Lankan cabinet minister Wimal Weerawansa burns an effigy of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Mr Ban is a figure of...

Pradeep Amirthanayagam was installed as the Golden Jubilee President of the Rotary Club of Colombo West yesterday (3). The glittering event was held at the Cinnamon Grand, amidst a large and distinguished gathering comprising of parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps and the business community. Performances by Soul Sounds and the Police Band added to ...

Current moves undermine further Democracy in Sri Lanka By Dr. S. Narapalasingam The Government of Sri Lanka has been successful in brushing off the alleged accusations of war crimes during the final stage of the war and violations of the...

BBC Sandeshaya The detained former military commander in Sri Lanka says he is prepared to meet the special panel appointed to advice the UN chief on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka. Gen Sarath Fonseka told BBC Sandeshaya that...

The Sri Lankan Government has shown deep concern over what are called ‘Buddha Bars’ in international restaurants, states the BBC’s Thamil Osai. ....

By S.V.Kirubaharan, France The recent BBC series of hard talk programmes on Sri Lanka presented by Stephen Sackur was well-received globally. This telecasting has shown the good, bad and ugly sides of Sri Lanka...

from the BBC: The Sri Lankan foreign minister has said that a UN panel on human rights will not be allowed into the country. GL Peiris said that there was "no need" for the panel to come to the country...