The United States said Thursday it wanted Sri Lanka to take “concrete steps” on reconciliation as the Colombo government vowed mass protests against US-backed calls for a UN censure on human rights. Sri Lanka has faced strong international criticism over the bloody finale of its civil war in 2009 but has avoided censure at the UN […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s speech to the nation on Independence Day provided an indication of his two major concerns for the future. One concern was the persistent international pressure on
his government on human rights issues during and after the end of the war. The other concern was the efforts to destabilize the government through mass agitation […]

On February 14 a young fisherman, Anthony Fernando, was shot dead while he was engaged with a number of other fishermen in protesting the increase of oil prices which would seriously affect the livelihood of fisherfolk. A
large group of policemen led by the Deputy Inspector General of Police for the North Western Province, Ravi Wijegunawardena, […]

Doesn’t anyone read public opinion polls anymore? Don’t they make news anymore? I’m not referring to opinion polls run or commissioned by the government – any government—or its affiliates, but opinion polls in reputed non-state publications, especially those on vital topics. Surely no topic could be more topical than the international moves being made on […]

He is not just if he decides a case arbitrarily, the wise man should decide after considering both what is right and what is wrong –The Dhammapada-Justice
It was reported in the media recently that the Maldivian President had resigned following events that took place in the Maldives subsequent to the arrest by the
Maldivian army of a […]

This is a statement by 147 Muslim civil society individuals from communities and groups across Sri Lanka, including the North and East. The Statement calls for
“immediate action by Muslim politicians and civil society representatives to take collective responsibility and to devise mutually agreed upon ways and processes for moving forward.” It also responds to issues […]

There are indications that the US Government will support a resolution at the forthcoming March session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that, among other things, will call on the Sri Lankan government to implement the recommendations of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton is reported to have […]

As world class singers of Sri Lankan Tamil parentage go, MIA isn’t half as good as a new voice, Bhi Bhiman, an American singer of blues–tinged folk music with a
voice as clear and mournful as the whistle of a lonesome train coming ’round the bend. MIA’s flair for the theatrical far outstrips her singing talent. […]

THERE are signs that the international community is gearing up for action to hold Sri Lanka accountable for alleged war crimes committed by its forces at the end of
the brutal civil war against the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.
A resolution is being prepared for next month’s session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva […]

“It is unlikely that in making his overstatement on development that the President was seeking to downplay the achievements of the past by his illustrious predecessors in the governance of the country. In the 1950s there was the Gal Oya development scheme that opened up the vast territories of thick jungle land in the east […]