Hybrid court unworkable in ‘Sri Lanka’ context: K. Sivapalan

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 September 2015, 22:41 GMT]
Internal investigations on violence against Tamils carried out by Commissions of Inquiry (CoI) with members appointed by Sri Lanka officials in the past have always been a failure. "The main reason for the failures can be traced to the absence of political will in successive Buddhist majority governments in ‘Sri Lanka’ to ensure accountability for grave violations of Human Rights of Tamil people," says K. Sivapalan, the exiled deputy chairperson of a Tamil rights group, North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR). Two of the commissions had “international” presence in 1963 and in 2006, in a hybrid context, but failed to deliver justice. As a lawyer who represented several victims from the Eastern Province, Mr Sivapalan says, for any criminal investigations to be successful, hearings of the courts will have to be held outside the island.
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ITAK youth wing leader urges Tamils not to be deceived by deviators

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 February 2015, 13:01 GMT]
There is no change in Sri Lankan military deployment in the Tamil homeland. On the contrary, the SL military seems to be enthusiastic about setting up bigger noticeboards than before along the border of Valikaamam North ‘High Security Zone’ said VS Sivakaran, the youth wing leader of Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) in a video interview this week. “However, a section among Tamils are being deceived to expect that there will be positive changes and that the SL military deployment would be reduced under Maithiripala Sirisena,” Sivakaran said. “But, this is not going to happen,” the ITAK youth wing leader said. The USA and India wanted to reverse the Chinese influence in the island. They needed a regime change, which they got. But, this has taken place at the expense of the political aspirations of the small nation of Eelam Tamils, he said.
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UNHRC urged against considering PSC route

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 January 2014, 12:33 GMT]
Genocidal Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s submissions to the UNHRC seek international pressure on the TNA and the UNP to take part in the deliberations of the deceptive Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). Rajapakse has not implemented even a single recommendation of his own Commissions and Committees so far. On what grounds can the International Community guarantee that a future for the Tamils lies in Sri Lanka, questioned a media release of the Tamil Action Front, New Zealand, on Tuesday. The media release signed by Mr. A. Theva Rajan reminded Tamils and the international community to never subscribe to the continuity of the catalogue of deceits.
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Rajapakse's media fears spread from TamilNet to Sinhala opponents

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 November 2011, 19:21 GMT]
"The ban on TamilNet is the first instance of what the Free Media Movement believes may soon be a slippery slope of web and internet censorship in Sri Lanka," BBC reported on 20th June 2007 when local reports indicated that access to TamilNet was blocked by unannounced directives to service providers from officials in Colombo. Four years later, Colombo, increasingly alarmed by proliferation of opposing views to the authoritarian trend of the governing Rajapakse family, has banned access to five websites, and initiated new registration procedures for local and foreign websites that intend to carry news on Sri Lanka, local reports said. The ban on TamilNet has continued for the last 4+ years without any protest from the local rights watchdogs, and Sri Lanka has been noted by media watchdogs as one of the worst offenders of media freedom.
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SLMM tilted balance in favour of Sri Lanka, against LTTE: Gajendrakumar

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 November 2011, 21:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), the peace keeping arm of the Norway facilitated peace process in the island, tilted the balance in favour of the Sri Lankan state and against the LTTE, wrote Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam in 2007, in an unpublished research paper on the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) he submitted to a foundation in the West. The IC could have used the CFA to pursue conflict resolution by maintaining the balance of power between the parties, but to the contrary it had used the CFA as a ‘counterinsurgency’ tool to reinforce the state and weaken the de facto state, so that the state could pursue yet another military solution to the conflict, he further wrote. The unpublished paper that reveals how the very idea of Norway’s peace facilitation was to ‘fail the peace facilitation’ in favour of state, is documented here for historical purposes.
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Wickremasinghe to meet Indian leaders

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 May 2011, 03:16 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), is to leave for New Delhi on Monday on a two day visit. Wickremasinhe is expected to hold talks with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, leader of the Congress Party Ms Sonia Gandhi, and several ministers in the Indian government, according to UNP sources in Colombo.
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Moragoda appointed special foreign policy advisor to Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 12:19 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka Minister Milinda Moragoda has been appointed special advisor on foreign policy matters to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse. Moragoda is to assume duties with immediate effect, according to Presidential Secretariat sources.
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UNP appoints team to study UN Expert Panel report

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2011, 15:09 GMT]
The main Sri Lankan opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided to appoint a team to study and report on the UN Experts Panel that was officially released by the UN Secretary General on Monday. The team will be headed by a UNP veteran civil servant Bradman Weerakon.
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Rajapaksa's LLRC seeks Buddhist Prelates guidance to prepare final report

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 April 2011, 13:34 GMT]
Members of Rajapaksa appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) had met the Mahanayaka Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters last week to seek guidance before preparing the final report scheduled to be presented by May 15, according to a news report published in English weekly Lakbima on Sunday. The Buddhist prelates exercise a dominant influence on the Sri Lankan regime.
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Wickremasinghe retains UNP leadership

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 March 2011, 11:31 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe has retained his leadership in the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and his contender Sajith Premadasa accepted a post of Co- Deputy Leader. Both agreed to amicably settle the dispute over the leadership that had been dragging for over several months at the party’s working committee that met on Wednesday evening at Sri Kotha, party headquarters.
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Send all party delegation to Jaffna to assess situation, says UNP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 January 2011, 13:54 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Tuesday made an appeal to the Speaker of the Sri Lanka Parliament to take immediate steps to send an all party delegation to the Northern Province to assess the ground situation amid complaints by that people in Jaffna live in fear psychosis due to the rise in abduction, killing extortion by armed gangs. EPDP, one of the Para military groups supporting the government state security machinery, has been accused of encouraging abduction, killing and extortion in Jaffna by civic groups. A recent disclosure of confidential note by a US ambassador revealed that the paramilitaries operate with impunity for criminal acts sanctioned by highest level officials in Colombo.
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UNP claims 20 UPFA parliamentarians to leave government

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 December 2010, 20:56 GMT]
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) in south Wednesday claimed about twenty government parliamentarians were holding discussion with its leadership to leave the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). UNP Badulla district parliamentarian Harin Fernando told a media briefing that the disgruntled UPFA parliamentarians, including some senior ministers, were ready to join the UNP under its new leadership.
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Sajith Premadasa vows to take UNP on victory path

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 December 2010, 20:30 GMT]
The son of the late president of Sri Lanka Ranasinghe Premadasa, addressing the UNP's convention held Sunday at the party headquarters Sri Kotha, has vowed that the UNP would "capture" the power from Rajapaksa family with the support of the masses. Sajith Premadasa is an elected parliamentarian from Hambantota district, the native place of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Meanwhile UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe said the party would give way to a new young set of leaders.
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Pakistan President Zardari arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2010, 14:47 GMT]
Pakistan President, Asif Ali Zardari, arrived Saturday evening in Colombo on a three day official visit, and was received by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), diplomatic sources in Colombo said. Ali Zardari will interact with Members of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Association and address a Business Forum comprising businessmen and corporate leaders during his state visit, according to the same sources.
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Ranil Wickremasinghe leaves to India

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 November 2010, 08:31 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Wednesday morning on a three-day visit to India. He arrived in Chennai, capital of Tamilnadu state during his first leg of the tour. He is expected to meet Tamilnadu political leaders during his stay in Chennai.
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Rajapaksa extends LLRC term for another six months

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 November 2010, 20:42 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has extended term of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) that is to expire at the end of November this year for another six months from 1st December, according to Lakshman Wickremasinghe, Media Advisor of the LLRC. The LLRC has already been discredited by three leading human rights agencies of the West.
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Political parties in UK condemn jailing Fonseka - Wickremasinghe

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 November 2010, 06:30 GMT]
The Only country in the world that has unseated a person who holds the post of Member of Parliament due to the ruling of a Military Tribunal is Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party(UNP), said addressing a meeting at Bopitiya in Katugampola Saturday evening. He added that during his recent visit to Europe he was told by members of ruling and opposition parties that a Member of Parliament cannot be removed from his seat by a decision of a Court Martial and a retired person from the military cannot also be punished under the military regulations.
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UNP leader Wickremasinghe, SL Minister Peiris visit Britain this week

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 October 2010, 04:09 GMT]
Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), is scheduled to leave for tour in Europe Sunday evening. During his stay in London he is expected to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Affairs Minister William Hague. He is also expected to meet the leaders of the main opposition Labour Party, UNP sources said. He is also to visit Norway and to hold talks with Norwegian Minister of International Development Eric Solheim.
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Swaminathan, Aswer nominated to PAC

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 October 2010, 08:54 GMT]
Two national list parliamentarians, a Muslim and a Tamil, have been nominated respectively by Sri Lanka Prime Minister and the opposition leader to the five-member Parliamentary Advisory Council (PAC) that is to be established under the 18th amendment to the constitution. The Prime Minister D. M. Jayaretna nominated A. H. M. Aswer from the national list of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the opposition nominated D. M. Swaminathan from the national list of the main opposition United National Party (UNP).
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Speaker to recommend 2 MPs to SL Parliamentary Council

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 September 2010, 03:13 GMT]
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa is to recommend two names from among Tamil and Muslim parliamentarians for approval to Sri Lanka’s President as nominees to the Parliamentary Council as Prime Minister D. M. Jayaretna and the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe failed to nominate as required by the 18th amendment within the stipulated seven day period, Acting Secretary General of Sri Lanka Parliament Neil Iddawela told media Wednesday.
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