Monthly Archives: July 2012

Weakness in government’s short term winning strategy

The one day visit of Indian National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon to Sri Lanka is revealing of the power structure in the country in relation
to Indian priorities. He met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The shortness of the visit made it imperative that choices had […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on July 5, 2012 at 2:18 pm

Rise in child abuse cases this year in Sri Lanka – cops

Sri Lanka has seen a rise in the number of underage children being raped or abused this year, the police said yesterday.
Over 700 incidents of rape or abuse of children were reported during the first six months of this year, police spokesperson Ajith Rohana told Xinhua. He said this was out of a total of around […]

By IANS | Published on July 5, 2012 at 7:01 am

US, EU condemn Sri Lanka for shutting down news sites

5 July 2012, 15:27 AEST: Sri Lanka has drawn condemnation from the United States and the European Union for shutting down two independent news websites. Authorities say they have been defaming the president and reporting in an “incorrect and vulgar manner.”
In March, mobile news alerts about the military and the police were also censored. The decision comes as […]

By Gloria Kalache | Published on July 5, 2012 at 5:40 am

Tightening the noose: Sri Lanka’s MOD justifies continued harassment of media

Websites propagating false news sealed-MOD .
The Defence Ministry said in its website that acting on a court order the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officials,
yesterday (29th June) sealed an office in Rajagiriya where two websites involved in propagating false and unethical news on Sri Lanka were being operated from.
It also said that “these two websites were […]

By | Published on July 3, 2012 at 5:39 am

Address academics’ concerns about future of education, universities

July 1, 2012, 7:54 pm: We as a group of Emeritus Professors and former members of the academic staff of Sri Lankan State universities wish to record our grave concern at the deteriorating situation in our national universities and reports of threats of violence against members of the academic community. We are shocked by the alleged […]

By | Published on July 3, 2012 at 5:30 am

Sri Lanka: Surveillance and intimidation of Dr Nirmal Dewasiri

Since 19 June 2012, human rights defender and Teachers Union leader Dr Nirmal Dewasiri has been subjected to surveillance and intimidation.
Nirmal Dewasiri is the President of the Federation of University Teachers Unions (FUTA) and the Secretary of the Arts Faculty Teachers’ Association of the University of Colombo (AFTU-CU). He has been active in campaigning for […]

By | Published on July 3, 2012 at 5:22 am

‘We even need permission to bury our dead’: Sri Lanka’s war legacy lingers

Post-civil war Sri Lanka may be on an upward economic curve but, for Tamils in the north, military control remains a way of life
Three years after its civil war, Sri Lanka has emerged as a middle-income country on course to meet most of the millennium
development goals. GDP rose by around 8% during 2011 and tourism […]

By | Published on July 3, 2012 at 5:06 am

Rajapakse government continues its witch hunt against media and dissenting voices

Saturday, June 30, 2012 » 07:50pm: Sri Lankan police have sealed off an office that runs independent and pro-opposition news
websites, arrested nine workers and seized computers and documents, says the government and a media rights group in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists.
A government statement said that ‘police officers, acting on a court […]

By | Published on July 1, 2012 at 11:40 am

US asks Sri Lanka to stop ‘harassing’ media

Saturday 30 June 2012: The United States yesterday joined rights groups in demanding that Sri Lanka stop “harassing” media organizations, a day after police shut down opposition news websites and arrested nine employees.
The US embassy in Colombo said it was closely following Colombo’s shutting down of the websites and the arrest of employees, including several […]

By AFP | Published on July 1, 2012 at 11:28 am

The galaxy of goons in Sri Lanka’s violent political culture

For, be the constitution of a government what it may, if there be within its jurisdiction a single man who is not subject to the law, all the rest are necessarily at his discretion – Jean Jacques Rousseau. Discourse: What is the Origin of Inequality among Men, and is it authorized by Natural Law?
This column […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on July 1, 2012 at 10:52 am