Monthly Archives: October 2011

Is the Sri Lanka Police in need of further training

‘Man, when perfected is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice he is the worst of all’Aristotle- Politics.
In pursuance of the notion of making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia, this article attempts to reflect on the aspirations of the Sri Lankan society, among other things, to bring forward suggestions for […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on October 13, 2011 at 10:35 am

Journalists in Sri Lanka face growing government control

The most challenging aspect of investigative journalism is the physical danger….
see full article published in the IRE Journal, USA here ire journal p1 IRE journal p2

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on October 13, 2011 at 5:39 am

A Letter to Lasantha’s Widow

As Lasantha’s widow Sonali by now you may be weary of the flood of well-deserved tributes to a compassionate and undoubtedly heroic friend, partner and social commentator, and perhaps you even look forward to being left alone to measure and fathom for yourself the personal loss to yourself and your family. It is hard for […]

By Martin White | Published on October 13, 2011 at 5:01 am

Continuing the Struggle

Her husband, editor of a newspaper in Sri Lanka, was fatally attacked. Now in exile in New York City, Sonali Samarasinghe presses forward with their fight for press freedom and justice in their native country. Posted: Friday, May 20 2011
On January 8, 2009, Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor-in-chief of the Sri Lankan paper the Sunday Leader, was murdered in […]

By Gena Chung | Published on October 13, 2011 at 4:22 am

FULL ACCOUNTING TO DEAL WITH WAR CRIMES CHALLENGES

Today the Sri Lankan government is under international pressure on account of alleged war crimes that were committed in the last phase of the war
and to be accountable according to international standards. Legal cases against Sri Lankan government representatives have been filed in US and other international courts alleging war crimes and serious human rights […]

By National Press Council | Published on October 12, 2011 at 11:46 pm

Public Appeal – For MPs without firearms and a “Cleaner” parliament in Sri Lanka

The shoot out in broad day light in Mulleriyawa area on the day of the elections (08 October, 2011) between MP Duminda Silva, also the Supervisory
MP of the Defence Ministry and Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, Presidential Adviser and Director General for Trade Unions, that led to the death of Premachandra and 03 others, is no issue, the government can be […]

By Kusal Perera | Published on October 12, 2011 at 8:33 pm

Rudd lobbied on Sri Lankan abuses

The head of Amnesty International has personally urged Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to get behind calls for an independent international
investigation into Sri Lankan war crimes.
Amnesty secretary-general Salil Shetty told Mr Rudd during a meeting in Canberra on Tuesday that the Sri Lankan government’s own inquiry into the country’s civil war was a sham.
“We know what […]

By Adam Gartrell | Published on October 12, 2011 at 8:14 pm

CHOGM a chance to hold Sri Lanka to account

In late September, the government of Sri Lanka released 1,800 former Tamil Tiger fighters. Colombo claimed they had been rehabilitated as President
Mahinda Rajapaksa told them at a ceremony in the capital:
“I hope you will work for peace and ethnic harmony in this nation of ours. We must not dwell on the bitter past, but look to […]

By Antony Loewenstein | Published on October 12, 2011 at 7:30 pm

The PTA must go: Several regulations tantamount to torture and cruelty

Does the Prevention of Terrorism Act need to be amended or repealed?
‘Very happily, the more the law is looked into, the more it appears founded in equity, reason and good sense.’- Lord Mansfield (1705-93) on English Law:
Although the President of Sri Lanka has recommended the lifting of emergency regulations in Sri Lanka, it has been reported […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on October 11, 2011 at 7:55 pm

UNP, from the Party of the Minorities to a Minor Party

Analysis is paralysis
Analysis is paralysis. If one attempts to over analyze the just concluded local government elections, one would miss the obvious point. Out of twenty three local bodies of which seventeen were for municipal councils and urban councils, where traditionally the UNP has been strongest since Independence, only Colombo has been secured by the […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on October 10, 2011 at 3:52 am