Monthly Archives: October 2011

Sri Lanka is not a free country says Freedom House

OCTOBER 17, 2011: Status: Not Free Legal Environment: 23 Political Environment: 30 Economic Environment: 18 Total Score: 71
Despite the end of the government’s long-running war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group in May 2009, media freedom remained restricted in Sri Lanka, with journalists subject to myriad forms of legal harassment and physical intimidation. Although the constitution
provides for freedom of expression, it […]

By | Published on October 18, 2011 at 12:04 am

Lawlessness and gun culture prevails in Sri Lanka: Now the murders of father, mother and two children in Udawalawe

While the whole nation was shocked by the multiple killings at Mulleriyawa, another set of gruesome murders have been reported from Puhulyaya, Panahakaduwa, in Udawalawe. A father M K Lalith (37), mother R Indrani Gnanalatha (32), son M K Dilan Chathuranga (12), daughter M K Nadeeka Sevuwandi (8) were killed due to a shooting which, […]

By | Published on October 17, 2011 at 10:17 pm

Country trapped by Government’s winning formula

Government grip over ethnic majority
The final phase of the local government elections held on October 8 demonstrated that the government had not lost its grip over the ethnic majority electorate in the country. Wherever the Sinhalese outnumbered the Tamils and Muslims the government won comfortably. These elections also
showed that the government’s electoral strength was not […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on October 17, 2011 at 9:56 pm

Sri Lankan diplomat named in war crimes brief

Sri Lanka’s current high commissioner to Australia has been named in a submission containing allegations of war crimes.
The submission handed to the Australian Federal Police by the Australian chapter of the International Committee of Jurists (ICJ) contains allegations about war crimes committed in 2009 during the final stages of the Sri Lankan government’s bloody war […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on October 17, 2011 at 9:22 pm

Political Violence in Sri Lanka

‘The function of a leader is to make his people free of fear’ – Pundit Nehru in Discovery of India
This column dedicated to the notion of making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia turns its spotlight today on another malpractice: Political Violence and Fear Psychosis, that is affecting the aspirations of Sri Lankan society to live […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on October 17, 2011 at 12:04 am

The Golden Key Swindle and the Liability of the Central Bank

‘There is reason for fearing that men and women will be taught that dishonesty, if it can become splendid, will cease to be abominable’– Anthony Trollope in his Autobigraphy (1883)
The famous English Novelist, Anthony Trollope wrote the above words after he was disgusted by what he perceived as a decline of ethical values in
British public life […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on October 16, 2011 at 9:45 pm

Fox bows to pressure and resigns

Liam Fox resigned as UK defence secretary on Friday afternoon after a week of allegations about how he secretly retained an informal adviser who was funded by several business groups.
The decision marks the fall of an experienced Tory minister who first served in government in the 1990s and is a flag-bearer for the rightwing of […]

By | Published on October 15, 2011 at 12:00 am

BREAKING NEWS: US Court grants permission to serve summons on Rajapakse via Tamilnet

WASHINGTON DC, 13 OCTOBER 1431hrs: The United States District Court a little while ago granted
Plaintiffs Manoharan et al their motion to serve summons on Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse by publication or alternative means. President Rajapakse is being accused of war crimes.
In granting Plaintiff’s motion filed October 1, judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the Plaintiffs were […]

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on October 14, 2011 at 2:54 am

Bharatha Lakshman’s murder – only a symptom, the disease is much more acute and dangerous…

“Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.”– P. J. O’Rourke American political satirist
Only a symptom
What happened on the afternoon of the Election Day, Saturday, […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on October 13, 2011 at 11:17 pm

Migrant Domestic Workers in Jordan: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

The fate of millions of migrant workers in the Middle East has been all but forgotten amid the Arab Spring. Migrant domestic workers, the nannies and housekeepers from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia, desperately need another revolution.
These women provide valuable domestic services that are in high demand. Yet they remain excluded from labor laws […]

By Christoph Wilcke | Published on October 13, 2011 at 10:54 am