Monthly Archives: September 2011

UN human rights chief welcomes conviction of top Bolivian officials for serious crimes

The United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay today welcomed the decision by Bolivia’s highest court to convict several top
officials for their part in the deaths of over 60 people during anti-government protests in 2003, calling it an important step in the fight against impunity.

In what became known as “Black October,” 69 people were left […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 2, 2011 at 11:08 pm

UN Secretary General committed to Panel’s recommendations – Spokesperson

Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon told Lanka Independent this week the UNSG was committed to the recommendations in the Panel of Experts Report on Sri Lanka.
“…precisely because he instituted this report he takes it extremely seriously and far from distancing himself from it he is very much committed to the […]

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on September 2, 2011 at 3:06 pm

Sri Lankans back the Rajapakses amid western criticism says poll

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s decision last week to lift the country’s 28-year-old state of
emergency will likely further endear him to a public that almost universally supports him. It may also potentially ease some of the international pressure the country is under over its human rights record. More than 9 in 10 Sri […]

By Peter Cynkar | Published on September 2, 2011 at 12:41 am

“NO ONE SHALL BE SUBJECTED TO ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE”

As the world marks International Day of the Disappeared today (August 30, 2011), Reporters Without Borders notes that many countries are still violating international law on this matter, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance, which the UN General Assembly adopted in 2006.
Reporters Without Borders calls for the universal ratification […]

By Reporters Without Borders | Published on September 1, 2011 at 7:33 pm

Torture and its Prohibition in International Law

‘Man, when perfected is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all’
Aristotle -Politics
Torture (Latin torquere: to twist) has been described as infliction of severe bodily pain either as punishment or to compel a person to
confess to a crime or give evidence in a judicial proceeding. Among primitive people […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on September 1, 2011 at 8:26 am

Libya and peoples’ Power: The rise and fall of the military dictator

‘Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers, which they dare not dismount; And the tigers are getting hungry.’
Winston Churchill in his famous speech ’While England Slept’, which statement may have been inspired by
‘There was a young lady of Riga,
Who rode with a smile on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside
And a smile […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on September 1, 2011 at 8:08 am

Ranil Wickremasinghe’s scorecard… how does it read?

Assessment of performance of any officer/official or employee is of great significance not only to the body or company or any corporation or department or ministry that employs the officer/official; it carries even greater weight and consequence for the officer
whose performance is assessed. One of the main components of the assessment is the periodical intervals […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on September 1, 2011 at 7:26 am

Libyan lessons for Lanka

Influential individuals in the West have begun to refer to Sri Lanka in the same texts, indeed the same paragraphs as Libya. Take for
instance, an article in perhaps one of the two most influential publications of world affairs, the Foreign Affairs Quarterly, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, one of the oldest and most […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on September 1, 2011 at 3:12 am