Yearly Archives: 2011

Human Rights groups urge UNHRC to fulfill its responsibilities towards ensuring accountability in Sri Lanka

Sixteen Human Rights Organisations today (September 16, 2011) called upon the current President of the UN Human Rights Council to provide leadership to the Council towards ensuring accountability in Sri Lanka. They also urged the President to issue an official statement acknowledging the transmission of the UN Panel of Experts Report on Sri Lanka by […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 16, 2011 at 10:56 pm

Exposing the sham: Sri Lanka guilty of deception in lifting of Emergency

Much has been said about the recent decision of the Government to end the Emergency in Sri Lanka. Some welcomed the move and
others are yet to make any pronouncements. This short essay is an attempt to examine the implications of the decision of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) together with the nature and effect […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on September 16, 2011 at 10:25 pm

UK concerned about credibility of LLRC, warns Sri Lanka it will revisit all options if no progress by year’s end

The eight report (13 July 2011) of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the Human Rights work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the FCO’s
response was presented to British Parliament by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by Command of Her Majesty in September 2011. The report addresses issues relating to Sri Lanka from […]

By | Published on September 16, 2011 at 9:35 pm

Sri Lanka’s government under pressure – Turning the screw

Sep 15th 2011, 15:00 by The Economist online | THE United States is not in the business of threatening its friends, said Robert O.
Blake, US assistant secretary of state, in Colombo on September 14th. But, he added, smiling placidly, there will be pressure. If a domestic commission appointed by Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s president, does not […]

By | Published on September 16, 2011 at 8:39 pm

Sri Lanka govt restricts religious freedoms in practice says US report

The US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour released its report on Sri Lanka on September 13, 2011.
The International Press Freedom Report covers the period from July-December 2010 and states that while Sri Lanka publicly endorses religious freedom it is not applied in practice. Below is the full statement.
The Constitution
The constitution and […]

By | Published on September 16, 2011 at 7:10 am

ICG slams Sri Lanka government, calls on HRC to endorse int’l inquiry into war crimes: Lifting emergency laws hoax

(1) Post-war progress? Assessing government claims
More than two years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, the political situation in the country remains deeply worrying. The unique opportunity the government has to build a lasting and just peace after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is being lost. The government […]

By | Published on September 14, 2011 at 11:23 pm

Ban sends UN Panel of Experts Report on accountability in Sri Lanka to HRC

NEW YORK: After months of speculation and pressure by rights groups the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon sent his Panel ofExperts Report on Sri Lanka’s last days of the war to the Human Rights Council today (Monday September 12).
The UN Panel Report states there is credible evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity […]

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on September 12, 2011 at 10:10 am

Unifying tasks for a future Northern Provincial Council

Improved climate after end of war
The government media gave headline prominence to the fact that Sri Lanka has made an impressive jump of 10 places to 52nd from 62nd in the rankings of the latest Global Competitiveness Report (2011-2012) issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This is a further improvement from the 2009-2010 report […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on September 11, 2011 at 10:44 pm

Self Regulation in the Media: Some Thoughts From Experience

“For Methods of Regulation let fools contend; for what is Best Administered is Best” (Adapted from Macaulay)
I am indeed honored to participate at this First National Conference on the subject of Self Regulation in the Media. When I look at the distinguished audience, my concern is whether I am worthy to deliver this key-note address […]

By Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria | Published on September 10, 2011 at 7:01 am

Experts call Elephant survey in Sri Lanka a farce,condemns govt decision to offer elephants to temples

Even though the national elephant survey has ended with much fanfare and some media hype, questions have now been raised as to whether the Wild Life Conservation Department (WLCD) carried out a full and scientific survey on Sri Lanka’s wild elephants with the help of experts or whether it carried out a hurried and haphazard […]

By Nirmala Kannangara | Published on September 10, 2011 at 4:37 am