“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 Karu Jayasuriya As a Sri Lankan ex-Army Officer and a person who believes strongly that those who have contributed towards the welfare of this nation should be shown unending gratitude, Thursday was one of the saddest days of my...

from BBC News online Sri Lanka's president has endorsed the 30-month jail term of former army chief Sarath Fonseka, an official in the president's office has told the BBC. Mr Fonseka was found guilty of breaching arms procurement guidelines on...

Sri Lanka's president endorses the 30-month jail term of former army chief Sarath Fonseka, the president's office tells the BBC.

Sri Lanka's president endorses the 30-month jail term of former army chief Sarath Fonseka, the president's office tells the BBC.

There is no need for a federal political solution in Sri Lanka, BBC Sandeshaya quoted UNP General Se..

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...

Government of Sri Lanka says that suspected Tamil Tiger detainees cannot be treated under the same law as everyone else. Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardhana told the BBC

By Swaminathan Natarajan BBC Tamil The temple has number of statues and stone carvings depicting the life of Buddha. Official celebrations are taking place in southern India for the 1,000th birthday of one of the grandest temples ever built on...

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 ...

While the forthcoming hearings by Sri Lanka's Lesson and Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) at the former LTTE stronghold Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu are to be held in public, BBC has been "blocked from covering the public hearing," BBC said Friday. "A senior defence ministry official

The BBC has been blocked from covering public hearings about Sri Lanka's civil war in former rebel-held territory.

The BBC has been blocked from covering public hearings about Sri Lanka’s civil war in former rebel-held territory.

Sri Lanka's defence ministry blocks the BBC from reporting on public hearings in former rebel-held territory.

An explosion in Sri Lanka has killed at least 60 people, most of them policemen, officials say. A military spokesman said vehicles carrying explosives accidentally blew up at a police station near the eastern city of Batticaloa. The explosives were...

Sri Lanka is in the top among the World Giving Index. It is the 8th country in the world which has registered a high level of contentment. This is revealed in a survey conducted by the UK’s Charities Aid Foundation. The survey took place in 153 countries. It covered 95 percent of the world’s population. ...

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...

A leading Sri Lankan cricketer has been investigated by the anti-corruption unit of the ICC, BBC understands.

A leading Sri Lanka cricketer has been investigated by the anti-corruption unit of the world cricket governing body, BBC Sport has learned.

A Sri Lankan cricketer was investigated by police after arousing suspicion during the World Twenty20 tournament in England, BBC learns.

BBC World Service In 1989 Appapillai Amirthalingam was assassinated at his home in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. He was a politician - the most prominent democratically-elected leader of the Tamil community....

Sri Lankan housemaids say hundreds of them in Saudi Arabia had been harassed by embassy officials.

By a special correspondent Exclusive to BBC Sinhala service The alert and watchful eyes of weary soldiers scanned every vehicle passing through the checkpoints. Broken, torn buildings tower over the tiny UNHCR tents on the gardens and court yards. Hanging...

The eminent panel is obsequious to the gray haired gentleman that takes the stand. He sits with his back to the crowd, thick with reporters from the BBC, Reuters, and India. The man is Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the first star witness and the first with any real power. It is palpable

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill….” - George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-four) Some months ago, Defence Secretary and Presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapakse threatened to send the former Army Commander, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, to the gallows. When BBC’s Stephen Sackur asked about the possibility of Gen. Fonseka testifying about...

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,...