Monthly Archives: January 2012

The Expropriation Act has resulted in great injustice

‘A ruler with a depleted treasury eats into the very vitality of the citizens and the country. A ruler, who impoverishes his own people or angers them by unjust exactions will also lose their loyalty Impoverishment, greed and dissatisfaction are engendered among the subjects, when the ruler among other things
(i) fails to give what ought […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on January 15, 2012 at 11:20 pm

US files suggestion of immunity report in War Crimes case against President Rajapakse

BREAKING NEWS:The United States today (January 13) filed a Suggestion of Immunity in the War Crimes case against Sri Lanka’s
President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The US said in a status report filed today it recognized the immunity of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is the President and sitting head of state of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Determination […]

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on January 14, 2012 at 9:28 am

Sri Lanka bans 30 websites, registers 45

NEWS: The government has registered 45 news websites in line with a disputed decision taken late last year to regulate websites.
Government sources said that the Mass Media and Information Ministry would issue letters of registration to 45 out of 80 websites, which had sought approval from the government.
The government last November ordered news websites to […]

By | Published on January 13, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Canada sticks to summit boycott in Sri Lanka – LLRC Report not good enough

Canada remains steadfast in its intention to boycott next year’s Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka unless “real progress” is made in that country following its
reconciliation report that Canada says failed to address human rights concerns stemming from the civil conflict in 2009.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that actual change must occur […]

By | Published on January 13, 2012 at 10:54 am

The Final Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission – A response

The concluding report of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was finally made public in mid-December, after multiple delays and an
interim report that went mostly unnoticed.
Stifled public sphere
The Commission’s report has sparked considerable debate within an increasingly stifled public sphere, rejuvenating conversations in Sri Lanka about governance, human rights, and a permanent political […]

By Lanka Solidarity | Published on January 13, 2012 at 10:42 am

Washington can be a frontline for international combatants

Despite differences that spurred civil war and cost tens of thousands of lives, the Tamils and the Sinhalese from Sri Lanka have at least one thing in common: a love of tea.
But some Tamil Americans say they are cautious when they go to Dupont Circle’s Teaism because their archenemies — the ethnically Sinhalese Sri Lankan […]

By Emily Wax | Published on January 13, 2012 at 3:07 am

Rajapakse government is a whited sepulchre

Good evening I like to thank the Platform for Freedom and all those who are here, for not only keeping Lasantha’s memory alive, but for also fighting for justice, on his behalf.
It has been 36 months now since Lasantha was killed. The investigation, despite the evidence in the hands of the police, has been nothing […]

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on January 12, 2012 at 11:10 pm

The legacy of Lasantha Wickrematunge and Sri Lanka’s freedom of the Press

“We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard”Voltaire
In the days of television, internet and cellular phones, a period spanning three years seems like an eon as far as the number of events that occur during a twenty-four hour period is concerned. Life […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on January 12, 2012 at 10:21 pm

Businessman Thirukumar Nadesan attacked with sticks and slippers in India

NEWS: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s relative Thirukumur Nadesan was yesterday attacked by MDMK activists with sticks and footwear when he was
coming out of a house after a ‘pooja’ at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, an official said.
“It is an unfortunate incident. It should not have happened. However, he is on his way to Colombo,” Vadivel Krishnamoorthy, […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on January 11, 2012 at 10:50 am

Phone hacking scandal: Cameron willing to give evidence

David Cameron will attend the Leveson Inquiry into press standards if summoned to give evidence, Downing Street has said.
The revelation comes as three editors of broadsheet national newspapers are to face questioning at the official probe, ordered by the Prime Minister following the exposure of illegal phone hacking at the News of the World.
The Daily […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on January 10, 2012 at 10:04 am