Colombo NGOs register complaint over threatening web report

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 March 2010, 12:02 GMT]
Executive directors of two NGOs, the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a Colombo-based think tank, and Transparency International, Sri Lanka (TISL), have written a protest letter to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse complaining about a news report in a Colombo website which said that "[Sri Lanka] state intelligence agencies have been compiling a list or lists of individuals supportive of the opposition, and that CPA's Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, and TISL's Weliamuna have been placed on that list. While noting that CPA "cannot independently ascertain the veracity of this report," the letter said, if the report is true then "there are reasonable grounds for fear about the physical liberty and safety of the individuals concerned."
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Emergency extended in Sri Lanka by another month

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 March 2010, 10:56 GMT]
The State of Emergency was extended by another month by the Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday. Ninety three parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its constituent parties voted for the extension and twenty parliamentarians from the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted against. The dissolved parliament was summoned by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to ratify his gazette notification issued last week to extend the emergency. According to the Constitution, the gazette notification should be ratified within ten days.
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Ban Ki Moon concerned over Sri Lanka's lack of progress

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 March 2010, 04:09 GMT]
Expressing concerns on the lack of progress on "political reconciliation, the treatment of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the setting up of an accountability process in Sri Lanka," United Nations Secretary General, confirmed that he intends to move forward on a group of experts which will advise him on setting the broad parameters and standards on the way ahead on establishing accountability concerning Sri Lanka, a UN News Center report said. "The accountability concerns possible breaches of international humanitarian law or abuses of human rights carried out during the conflict," the report said. Earlier, High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Navi Pillay, called on Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations itself, albeit with outside help.
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Nirupama Rao meets SL President Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 March 2010, 09:20 GMT]
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Sunday morning at the President's House. Both discussed several issues relating to the resettlement of the internally displaced people after the war. Sources in Colombo said the talks between the two also touched the subject on finding a political solution to the ethnic question. However no official communiqué was issued up to now on the talks.
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Indian Foreign Secretary arrives in Colombo on three day visit

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 March 2010, 03:44 GMT]
Three member delegation led by Indian Foreign Secretary Ms Nirupama Rao arrived in Colombo Saturday night around 10:30 on a three day official visit. She is scheduled to meet Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse and other government leaders and hold discussion on the resettlement of internally displaced Tamil families, and prospective political solution to Tamil national question, informed political sources in Colombo said.
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Experts to advise Ban Ki Moon on Sri Lanka's alleged war-crimes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 March 2010, 16:00 GMT]
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to ask a panel of experts to advise the world body on "accountability issues" relating to possible human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, Reuters reported quoting spokesperson Martin Nesirky as saying. Ban has said an investigation of war crimes allegations should be handled by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Navi Pillay, who has called on Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations itself -- albeit with outside help, Reuters added. Calling the action "unwarranted" Sri Lanka said, "[n]o such action had been taken about other states with continuing armed conflicts on a large scale, involving major humanitarian catastrophes and causing the deaths of large numbers of civilians due to military action."
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Sampanthan warns of ‘hidden agenda’ of Sri Lanka government

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 March 2010, 06:00 GMT]
“Sri Lanka government does not want any area in the island where minority community lives in majority. Hence the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse is implementing its ‘hidden agenda’ to colonize such areas with Sinhalese to reduce the majority of minority community,” Mr. R. Sampanthan, leader of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) and the chief candidate for the Trincomalee electoral district, said addressing representatives of Tamil civil groups in Trincomalee.
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Sri Lanka's democratic institutions in peril, says Seattle Editorial

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 February 2010, 19:52 GMT]
Noting that the "European Union recently dropped the island's preferential trade status because of human-rights violations," Seattle Times (U.S.) on Friday "says Sri Lankan media are not free to discuss the challenges, so the best hope is international attention." The writer, Peter Mountford, observes, "at the core of Sri Lanka's problem is a rotten constitution, which gives the president near dictatorial power. Opposition members in parliament are easily bought through cushy ministerial appointments, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the president."
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'Eezham Tamils to act for themselves'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 February 2010, 04:15 GMT]
Political, social and economic movements, firmly rooted in national aspiration and democratic in structure, but placed above pseudo electoral politics in the island and power machinations outside, are the need of the hour for Eezham Tamils in the homeland and in the diaspora. Specific tasks ahead of them range from infrastructural nation-formation to damage control of the on going ‘development’ onslaught. At least some core movements of Tamils need to keep collaboration, international crisis engineers and aid funds at arms length and hit the bullseye in alternative ways by independent and ingenious handling of the little resources of Tamils, writes Opinion Columnist Chivanadi. The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) that is meeting in London is expected to fill the vacuum Eezham Tamils face in the island and in the diaspora, he says.
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SLA soldier recovered dead in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 February 2010, 03:07 GMT]
The body of a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier with more than five bullet wounds was handed over to Jaffna Teaching Hospital Monday from Vettilaikea’ni in Vadmaraadchi East. SLA authorities claim that he had shot himself to death. Meanwhile, the newly appointed SLA commander for Jaffna, Major Gen. Kathurusinghe, met several civil society representatives 17 February in an effort to get their cooperation in integrating activities in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said.
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Ex-TNA parliamentarian Thangesvary to contest in UPFA ticket

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 February 2010, 18:02 GMT]
Kathiraman Thangesvary, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in the dissolved parliament is to contest in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) with five new faces in the Batticaloa electoral district, media circles in Colombo said Monday.
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Former Speaker crosses over to SLFP

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 February 2010, 21:29 GMT]
Former Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament and UNP parliamentarian W.J.M.Lokubandara on Saturday crossed over to Sri Lanka Freedom Party at a function chaired by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Bandarawela.
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Maha Sangha Convention put off due to government’s threat-UNP charges

[TamilNet, Thursday, 18 February 2010, 01:58 GMT]
The main opposition the United National Party (UNP) Wednesday accused that the Maha Sangha Convention summoned by the Mahanayake Theras of four chapters on February 18 to consider the current volatile political situation in the country was postponed due to the threat by two deputy ministers of the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse.
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“Rajapaske is the cause, not the solution”: Sydney Morning Herald

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 February 2010, 02:05 GMT]
The ushering of the perceived “post-war” era in Sri Lanka, bridled with hopes of prosperity blindly predicated by global powers has instead revealed the reality of a “dictatorship [that] must be watched with alarm by the democratic world” stated the Sydney Morning Herald in an editorial piece on Friday. Citing the arrest of presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, described as “a textbook case in abuse of incumbency”, the temporary imprisonment of election commissioner Dayanada Dissanayake and continued intimidation of journalists, the editorial warned of a “new rebellion, this time among the Sinhalese majority on the lines of previous Marxist insurgencies”. The paper also urged Canberra to re-evaluate its co-operation with Sri Lankan authorities in stemming in the tide of Tamil refugees seeking asylum in Australia, describing President Rajapakse as “the cause, not the solution”.
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IGP orders withdrawal of security to MPs in dissolved parliament

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 February 2010, 01:54 GMT]
The security provided to all Members of Parliament (MP) who served in the dissolved parliament has been withdrawn with immediate effect on the instructions of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasuriya. He said the withdrawal follows the recent dissolution of Parliament after which all MPs become ordinary citizens. Leaders of the political parties are to lose their police security due to the IGP’s order, sources in Colombo said. Meanwhile, opposition MPs said government parliamentarians continue to enjoy the police security even after the IGP’s instruction.
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Court discharges pro-JVP weekly editor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 February 2010, 13:11 GMT]
Gangodawila Magistrate Tuesday discharged the editor of pro Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Sinhala weekly “Lanka”, Chandana Sirimalwatte as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that took him into custody on January 29 failed to file any charges against him, legal sources said.
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Fonseka files election petition challenging Rajapakse’s second term

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 February 2010, 13:05 GMT]
General (retd) Sarath Fonseka filed a petition Tuesday morning in the Supreme Court challenging the election of incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse for a second term in the presidential election held on January 26 this year. General Sarath Fonseka in his petition cited several malpractices including the misuse of State media, electronic and print, misuse of the State machinery and other election malpractices at polling booths and counting centres, legal sources said.
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Theological premises of Maha Sangha raise questions

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 February 2010, 10:24 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government should overlook the alleged crimes committed by General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, as the government has taken in its fold 'criminals' such as Karuna and Pillayan, who 'massacred' Bhikus at Aranthalawa, launched a bomb attack on Dalada Maligawa and killed Sinhalese civilians and military personnel. Hence the government should overlook the alleged offences committed by the Sri Lankan Genreal (retd) Sarath Fonseka, who almost lost his life to 'safeguard the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka' and so it surely can overlook the alleged offences committed by him, said a statement signed by the chief prelates of the four chapters of the Buddhist Maha Sangha. Tamil circles question whether the statment outlines the principles of 'practical theology' of the Maha Sangha in the island.
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Rajapaksa's son enters Sri Lankan politics

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 February 2010, 05:53 GMT]
A news release from the government of Sri Lankan on Friday said Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal Rajapaksa ventured into politics at an auspicious time in the midst of religious observances conducted by Buddisht monk Ven. Devalegama Dhammasena Thero, the chief incumbent of Tissamaharama Rajamaha Vihara.
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Media Ministry comes under President Rajapakse

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 February 2010, 13:32 GMT]
President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday took over the Ministry of Mass Media and Information on a request made by the incumbent minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. The minister said he had made the request to the President in order to concentrate on the parliamentary election propaganda on behalf of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
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