Since the end of its civil war against the ruthless Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in 2009, the Sri Lankan regime’s own reputation for ruthlessness has grown. At its heart are the three Rajapaksa brothers – President Mahinda, defence secretary Gotabhaya (“Gota”) and Economic Development Minister Basil
– controlling a formidable military force that has quashed all resistance […]

In the thirty-something years that Sri Lanka fought with itself, profound changes were wreaked on the country. Its institutions have been greatly weakened and some of the best achievements since independence frittered away.
In the 1960s, East Asian countries such as Singapore and South Korea visited Sri Lanka to study its social support system that provided […]

Colombo is beefing up security ahead of the delivery of the verdict in the controversial white flag case against former
army commander General Sarath Fonseka. While there are reports that to avoid the immediate heat, a key witness against Fonseka has temporarily fled the country in fear to Singapore on a Cathay Pacific Flight bound for […]

Thank you so much for inviting me to speak at the National Bureau of Asian Research’s launch of their heralded Strategic Asia volume. I am
particularly pleased to have this opportunity given that this year’s title is Strategic Asia 2011-12: Asia Responds to Its Rising Powers – China and India.
I want to salute the National Bureau […]

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 […]

“When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers” – Kenyan (Kikuyu) proverb
The Emergency is dead. Long live the Emergency Consequential Provisional Bill.
Ending the Emergency was a placatory exercise aimed at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva. Underneath this reforming veneer, the regime seems determined not to lose any of its über-powers. […]

REPUBLISHED
Is there value in ousting Ranil?
When a political party faces a series of defeats over a considerable period, there is a tendency for
internal conflicts to occur. The UNP, the main opposition party which was expelled from power in 1994 is still struggling to come out of that chasm for nearly 17 years. There is a general perception that the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]