May 19 will mark the 4th anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s three decade long civil war, but with the absence of a joint commemoration to remember all who lost their lives in it as recommended by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). The end of the war has greatly improved the lives [...]

Statement May 7, 2013 We the undersigned, vehemently condemn the arrest and detention of Former Deputy Mayor and General Secretary of the National Unity Alliance (NUA), Azath Salley, by a team of officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID), on Thursday, 2 May 2013 morning, and call for his [...]

The arrest of former Deputy Mayor of Colombo and leader of the newly formed Muslim Tamil National Alliance Azath Salley under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) highlights the vulnerability of those who stand in opposition to the government on the question of the civil and political rights of the country’s ethnic and religious minorities. [...]

The government has made moves to acquire over 6381 acres of privately owned land in the Jaffna peninsula, which it says is for a public purpose. The public purpose is presumably for the security forces. The pasting of notices on trees in Valikamam North under section 2 of the Land Acquisition Act coincides with preparations [...]

A prominent Muslim politician and government critic arrested today in Sri Lanka must be immediately released or charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offence, Amnesty International said. Azad Sally, the leader of Sri Lanka’s newly formed Muslim Tamil National Alliance, was reportedly taken into custody on Thursday morning by the intelligence services for unknown reasons. [...]

A Statement by Women’s Action Network Ashraf Nagar’s inhabitants can trace back their history to 1952 when it consisted of the following small villages -Aalim Nagar, Vilankadu, Kasangkeni, Muthiriyadiwattai, Pallak Kadu, Sinna Pallakkadu, Kattu Vattai, Ali Mudakadu and Aalim Chennai. Ashraf Nagar’s name was changed in the year 2006 to Oluvil first division and even [...]

I am the 43rd Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. As the Chief Justice, I have an obligation and an unwavering duty towards the judges, lawyers and the citizens at large of my country. I stand here before you today having been unjustly persecuted, vilified and condemned. The treatment meted out [...]

BASL Statement (8th January 2013) The Bar Association of Sri Lanka strongly, unequivocally and with no reservations whatsoever condemns the decision to take up for debate the impeachment motion against her Ladyship the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani A.  Bandaranayake based on the findings of the Parliamentary Select Committee which was quashed by the Court of Appeal  and determined to [...]

Statement issued by the Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka. The Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka exercising exclusive jurisdiction to interpret the Constitution vested under Article 125 of the Constitution has held that the Parliamentary Select Committee procedure which found the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake guilty was unconstitutional. The [...]

On 26th September, 2012 at the request of the National Issues Committee of the OPA, I drafted a press statement which was issued by the then President on 27th September under his signature and was thereafter unanimously approved by the OPA Forum on 28th September 2012. Sad to say, the only apparent result of that [...]