By Easwaran Rutnam  The United States has questioned China’s trade deals with Sri Lanka and asserted the need to ensure that global standards of free trade and a fair investment climate are in place for the benefit of Sri Lankan and US businesses. The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz noted that the US believes partnerships between countries… Continue reading "US questions China’s trade deals with Sri Lanka"

The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has accused the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka of severely violating diplomatic protocols during an interview with local media. Issuing a statement, the embassy said the Ambassador from a third country had openly played off China- Sri Lanka relations in the interview. While it’s always not surprising to see the US interfere into a… Continue reading "Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka attacks US envoy"

By’ Victor Ivan The country has got caught in a whirlwind of anarchy. Although there are dictatorial aspirations and tendencies looming in the air, they are not likely to materialise and secure a firm foothold against the whirlwind of anarchy. The anarchy that sweeps the country will shatter both the limited democracy that prevails as well as the dictatorial aspirations.… Continue reading "The extent of ignorance of Sri Lanka on the subject of constitution making."

Colombo, September 22 (ENCL): C.V. Wigneswaran MP and leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Koottani (TMTK) has said in a letter to Michelle Bachelet Jeria, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, that Sri Lanka’s statecraft is a potential threat to regional peace and development. “The record of successive administrations demonstrates clearly that the developments you have identified are intrinsic to Sri… Continue reading "Wigneswaran tells Bachelet: Lanka’s statecraft is a potential threat to regional peace"

Colombo, September 27 (newsin.asia): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to “address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect, within a united Sri Lanka, including by carrying forward the process of reconciliation with the implementation of the 13Amendment to the Constitution” is “heartily” welcomed by the Tamil people… Continue reading "Tamil National Alliance believes Modi’s call for ‘justice’ significant"

By Shamindra Ferdinando Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) lawmaker Dr. Rajitha Senaratne early this week revealed that a civil society outfit had prepared the 19th Amendment to the Constitution enacted in 2015. Dr. Senaratne said that the government had accepted the document handed over by the civil society, the former minister said. The then government readily endorsed the proposals as it… Continue reading "Rajitha says 19A wholly civil society product, vows to save it from SLPP"

Are you an extremist, separatist and a terrorist?  Reply: By nature I cannot be an extremist, separatist nor a terrorist. I love humanity. I love all beings. There are no White and Blacks, Westerners and Easterners, Chinese and Indians, Sinhalese and Tamils in my perception. They are all humans. But I also love Truth. Anyone prevaricating Truth, deceiving the people, stating… Continue reading "Is Former Justice C.V. Wigneswaran – Member of Parliament, an extremist, separatist and a terrorist?"

“If the public do not have access to remedy a grievance against the unlawful exercise of powers by an all-powerful President the only remedy will be to take arms against the State” – Bar Association of Sri Lanka Committee Report on the 20th Amendment (5.1, p3) A rousing accolade from a great friend blew a hole below the waterline of… Continue reading "BASL alert: 20A means ‘the only remedy will be to take arms against the State’"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded (and how!) in a virtual bilateral summit with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Pleasantries were exchanged first. They did the we-are-old-friends number. Rajapaksa listed recent Indian gifts, said ‘thanks.’ Modi eventually got down to business. He called on the new government ‘to work towards realising the expectations of Tamils for equality, justice, peace… Continue reading "13th Amendment is non-negotiable if there’s to be peace and reconciliation"

The UK’s new student route and child student route will open on 5 October 2020 to the best and brightest international students from across the globe. As a result of coronavirus, some overseas students are choosing to defer their entry onto courses in the UK until the spring semester of 2021. Introducing these new routes now means that students will… Continue reading "New UK Student Visa routes for Sri Lankans"

By Raj Gonsalkorale – Raj Gonsalkorale Sri Lanka’s debt to GDP ratio is expected to be more than 90% this year, and Moody’s have downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit rating by two notches, saying the South Asian nation would be hard-pressed to secure funding to service its huge foreign debt. Sri Lanka was pushed down from “B2” (high credit risk) to “Caa1”… Continue reading "A Constitution For The Country Or A Few Individuals?"

By Jayampathy Wickramaratne – Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne PC Ask Indian lawyers what the worst judgment of the Indian Supreme Court has been and a large majority would surely say ADM Jabalpur (Additional District Magistrate, Jabalpur v S. S. Shukla, also known as the Habeas Corpus Case, reported in AIR 1976 SC 1207). Many of them would also point out that ADM Jabalpur was overruled 42 years later… Continue reading "ADM Jabalpur And 20A: Now Or Never For Sri Lanka"

As the Twentieth Amendment Bill is brought before Parliament – and challenged in the Supreme Court – there are two critical sets of questions we need to seriously consider. These are, firstly, how will the Bill once passed change the nature of Sri Lanka’s constitutional democracy, and secondly, does the government have a mandate to make these changes? There reflections… Continue reading "Some Reflections on the Twentieth Amendment Bill"

An operation has been launched to unite all Tamil MPs in the current parliament into one organization. Political sources say that discussions are underway regarding this. But Dougles, Pillayan, Viyalendran and Angajan Ramanathan, the first ever Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP elected from the Jaffna electorate will not join and they will work for the Sinhalese and support the… Continue reading "‘Tamil MP’s who split and contested the election’ was the master piece of Rajapakshe!"

Former IGP Pujith Jayasundara testified for the third day yesterday (24) that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter attack had yet to uncover many undisclosed facts. Accordingly, Jayasundera requested the Commission to find out who was the intelligence officer who went to meet the terrorist about half an hour before the bomb was detonated at the Dehiwala Tropical… Continue reading "Who was the intelligence officer who went to meet the terrorist half an hour before the Dehiwala blast?"

Former President Maithripala Sirisena has to take the sole responsibility of the coordinated terror attack that took place on April 21, 2019, and the tragic incident was a well planned attack, former IGP Pujith Jayasundara yesterday informed the PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks. Testifying before the Commission Mr. Jayasundara added that after he had received the report about the April… Continue reading "Former President Maithripala Sirisena solely responsible for Easter Sunday carnage : IGP"

The ruling made by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene not to allow Akkilai Illangai Tamil Congress ( AITC) MP Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam to raise a question relating to holding a remembrance of late LTTE member Rajasuriya Patheepan (Thileepan) caused an uproar in Parliament today. The uproar began when Speaker said the MP cannot be allowed to raise the question as there was… Continue reading "Uproar in House over MP Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam’s question"

Party to compile report  Discussions will take place in next two weeks, will consider different opinions among party members  Says there is time to discuss and make decision Condemns all Easter Sunday attacks opinions targeted at former President Sirisena  By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will decide its stance on the proposed 20th Amendment to the… Continue reading "SLFP admits 20A proposals require improvement"

By Yogan Yoganathan – If anything, the TNA may be blamed for resting on its laurels. The party was so sure that Tamils would march to their tune that they hardly campaigned for the vote at the last general election. They even engaged in backbiting. In bed with the UNP, they hardly challenged the UNP when it neglected the people. Party leaders… Continue reading "The TNA Wakes Up To Challenge Centralization & Autocracy"

(Washington D.C.; September 24, 2020) — PEARL is deeply concerned by reports that a Sri Lankan court has banned commemorations of Lt. Col. Thileepan, who died while conducting a hunger strike for Tamil rights in 1987. PEARL condemns the arrest, pursuant to the ban, of those involved in organizing remembrance activities and stands in solidarity with the protests planned in… Continue reading "PEARL condemns Sri Lanka’s latest assault on Tamils’ right to remember"

Following the report of UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Greif, the UK Human Rights Counsellor, Matthew Forman, expressed ‘concern’ and ‘profound disappointment’  over Sri Lanka’s progression on transitional justice. In the statement, Forman reiterated the UK’s “profound disappointment” at Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw support for resolution 30/1. Read… Continue reading "UK Human Rights Counsellor questions Sri Lanka’s ‘commitment to transitional justice’"

Former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said today that the Opposition in Parliament is now playing the ‘race card’ like the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) did when it was in the Opposition earlier. In a Tweet, he also said that what Sri Lanka needs is an alternative vision and not a duplicate of the present regimes xenophobic and racist/majoritarian policies.… Continue reading "Opposition now playing ’race card’ like SLPP did earlier: Mangala"

The Actg. Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka at UN replying to the United Nations Special Rapporteur’s report during the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non- recurrence on 17 September 2020, said that the United Nations reports was “unacceptable” Madam President, As this Council is aware, in November last year, the… Continue reading "Not a reflection on the situation currently prevalent in Sri Lanka"

By Dr.Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Most importantly it set limits on the power of the president to dissolve parliament, removed his/her legal immunity and required that he consult with the prime minister before acting in a number of instances as well as that the President’s Office and that of the Prime Minister be audited by the Office of the Auditor General. Consultation… Continue reading "Should the 19th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution be tampered with?"

By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka I am proud that the Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka, of which my father was the Founder-President, was one of nine media industry bodies/organisations to express “deep concern” over aspects of the 20th Amendment and their potential to “negatively impact Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions”. Mervyn de Silva would have endorsed the statement, had he lived. He founded… Continue reading "Sinhala society is building a Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka"

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) appointed to probe the Easter Sunday terror attacks today issued stern warnings to former President Maithripala Sirisena and three others. The former President, his private Secretary and the three Auxiliary Bishops of Colombo were warned to refrain from making statements to media refusing remarks made by witnesses testifying before the Commisison. The PCoI yesterday issued… Continue reading "PCoI on Easter attacks warns Maithripala"

Democratic People’s Front and Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader  Mano Ganesan What is the Tamil Progressive Alliance’s (TPA) stance on the 20th Amendment? Before we go into the rest of your questions, let me establish the fact that the Tamil Progressive Alliance is now working closely with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), which is a political party that Sajith Premadasa, Patali Champika Ranawaka,… Continue reading "Debating draft 20th Amendment | Minority parties weigh in"

The 19th Amendment transformed the office of President, which was previously vested with absolute executive power, into a constitutional Head of State who was required to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Constitutional Council in respect of his constitutional functions. It also required the Cabinet of Ministers to be drawn only from among Members of Parliament.… Continue reading "The 20th Amendment Bill – Lest We Forget"

By Ameer Ali – Dr. Ameer Ali The rapid erosion of that historic image of Sri Lanka, as peaceful, beautiful, resourceful and tolerant multiethnic and multicultural island may said to have reached its nadir when thugs in saffron robes are allowed to roam around the country as Buddhist priests slapping priests from other faiths and beating and locking up government officers, while… Continue reading "Thugs In Saffron"

ECONOMYNEXT – The government is determined to follow procedure and not make any changes to the 20th Amendment to the Constitution before it reaches the Committee stage in Parliament, a highly placed source in the Prime Minister’s office said. “The legal process is that the proposal is gazetted and once approved by Cabinet it can be tabled before Parliament,” the… Continue reading "20 Amendment – the Government determined to stay the course"

By Gajalakshmi Paramasivam 24 September  2020 On 22 September, my media Energy took me to the Rediff article ‘India’s Dilemma in Sri Lanka’ by Dr Badrakumar. How I got there – I cannot remember. Why it came to me – I know through my own assessment of myself through my true Sri Lankan position. I accumulated Energy through the Hindu… Continue reading "19th Amendment is Rajepakshes protection from handing over Sri Lanka to the Chinese."

By Veluppillai Thangavelu – Veluppillai Thangavelu The whereabouts of thousands of persons missing after arrest by the armed forces during the war remain unresolved. The government continues to give the stock answer that there are no persons in custody and, therefore, presumed to be dead and not among the living. The mothers and relatives of the missing persons have been holding demonstrations and… Continue reading "Ghosts Of Mullivaikkal Will Continue To Haunt The Rajapaksas Till They Depart To The Other World!"