The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has urged the three main Buddhist Sectsin the country to reconsider their assertion that there was no need for a new Constitution for the country.
TNA MP MA Sumanthiran stated that when all political parties represented in the legislature had contributed towards the drafting of a new Constitution, the main Buddhist Sects
Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe is the target of a fire-hose of criticism. What I find most interesting is where this criticism is coming from and the larger truth it obscures.
The criticism comes from a network of lobbies and caucuses comprised for the most part of those who never stood up for the country and its protection during the greatest test it faced in its contemporary history: the onslaught of the separatist, terrorist and fascist LTTE. It comes
Eight years after the end of the war, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who have been in the State for decades, are still stateless persons. There are suggestions that thecamps should be shut and refugees who are willing to stay back
The government took further strides last week to address the human rights issue by deciding to appoint a committee headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to look at implementing the recommendations on Sri Lanka by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
This article consists of two parts the first of which is intended to contextualise, in the broader setting of recent political transformations witnessed in Sri Lanka, the proliferation of information on violence targeted allegedly by Sinhalese-Buddhists on the Muslims, which those responsible for disseminating such information often portray as a trend of intensifying rivalry between the two ethnic groups.
Four minority parties, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) led by Mano Ganeshan, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) led by Minister Rauf Hakeem, All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) led by Rishad Badiudeen and Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Douglas Devananda submitted a common set of proposals to the Constitutional Assembly Steering Committee.
All Members of Parliament should be mindful that passing a proposed new bill into law will be a clear case of betraying the country to the pro-LTTE Diaspora and the interested foreign parties backing them, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.
“A Bill has been gazetted to incorporate into the law of Sri Lanka, the provisions of the
Tamil Nadu is making a fresh push to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka as the Indo-Lanka fishermen dispute continues.
More Indian fishermen were arrested last week while poaching in Sri Lankan waters, forcing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami to demand the Indian government to get back Katchatheevu.
The Government of Japan has provided Sri Lanka grant aid worth approximately Rs.4 billion for two development projects which cover the areas of disaster management and capacity building of public sector officials.
In response to catastrophic floods and landslides occurred during rainy seasons, Japanese
The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), representing the political voice of the Tamil Diaspora worldwide, is disappointed that the joint declaration on enhanced cooperation between Australia and Sri Lanka, failed to address the plight of the Tamils with respect to their political and human rights issues in the country.
A former Sri Lanka Navy Commander accused Tamil Nadu (TN) of taking 50% of their fish catch by poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
Admiral Jayanath Colombage, responding to a question made by this reporter at a forum in Colombo yesterday said that TN has some 600 fish processing......plants. Their main export is shrimp, catering to market demand in the West, he said.
The Export Development Board (EDB) of Sri Lanka with the collaboration of the High Commission of Pakistan, organized a well attended seminar on “Business Opportunities with Pakistan”, recently.
The Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Dr. Sarfraz Ahmed Khan Sipra was the chief guest on the occasion. The seminar was attended by Commercial Secretary of the
Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake at the Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy Forum at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute. Picture by Roshan Pitipane
India has indicated an interest in investing over US$ 1 billion in the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port, along with other projects like the oil tank farm in Trincomalee, under a public-private partnership with the Sri Lankan government, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake.
The fundamental right to "the freedom of speech and expression including publication" in Article 14. (1) (a) of Sri Lanka’s Constitution, as well as the First Amendment to The United States Constitution, and other United Nations instruments, is being seriously undermined by the spate of hate speech prevalent in several countries including Sri Lanka.
Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, yesterday said those demanding a new lenient Counter Terrorism Law (CTL) to replace the Prevention of the Terrorist Act (PTA), however in the wake of attacks in the West had adopted stringent measures which were even tougher than the PTA.
The future of the SLFP, UNP coalition hinged on the outcome of the ongoing Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the Central Bank bond scams that had allegedly been perpetrated in Jan 2015 and March 2016, Enterprises Development State Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, MP, told Sirasa Pathikada programme hosted by Bandula Jayasekera yesterday.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said the government had not yet decided whether it would go for a brand new constitution or adopt provisions that did not necessitate a referendum.
The PM said so, speaking at the National Conference on Constitutional Reforms at BMICH in Colombo.
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals was not an option, but an imperative for a safe and security future of prosperity, opportunity and human rights for all, Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, said today as the Economic and Social Council opened its 2017 operational activities segment.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued orders to expedite the investigations pertaining to the 2012 Welikada Prison riot and called on the appointed committees to forward their reports and those found guilty are to be brought to book. In this regard the Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation Minister D.M. Swaminathan has been entrusted with the task
Developments unfolding in Sri Lanka over the last few weeks look ominously similar to those in 2013-14, when a surge in targeted attacks against minority Muslims and Christians went unchecked by the Rajapaksa administration. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, an umbrella organisation for civil society groups, has recorded 25 attacks on mosques and
The SLFP, UNP and the TNA have had discussions on the advisability of clearly defining the meaning of the word Ekeeya in defining the quintessential indivisible nature of the word 'State' wherever it is used in the draft of the new Constitution. The Sinhala word Ekeeya means unitary in English. Discussions are underway to include the same word in the Tamil version too, a senior Government official said yesterday.
Ratnapura District UPFA MP and Joint Opposition firebrand, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, in a letter to President Maithripala Sirisena, demands to know why the Progress Review Committee chaired by the President to supervise the progress of probes conducted by the state investigation agencies has failed to take action as regards serious charges against former President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Human Rights Commissioner Ambika Satkunanathan calls for the inclusion of specific socio-economic rights such as health, education and livelihood in the proposed new Constitution to enable the judicial intervention to guarantee required allocation of available resources.
The militant movement Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) is fully backed by the incumbent government, said United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa, who is the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, conceded that certain government elements instigated extremist violence against minorities during his father's governance.
