Uncategorized

By Wimal Dheerasekera http://www.lankaenews.com/news/1953/en (Lanka-e-News -05.March.2017, 11.45PM)  There is only  one genuine norm that is  followed when going to war. It is to crush the enemy in front of you , or  if that is not possible , to die fighting  the enemy . On the other hand if the enemy is crushed, the victor  is the one who caused the defeat . In which case  the victorious soldier  earns the recognition of ‘war hero’ . Otherwise , the coffin is wrapped in the national flag and interred. In this engagement , how many were killed or got killed are  not  reckoned   as crimes. While that should be  the genuine aim and objective of a war , killing innocents exploiting the war and under […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Commodore D. K. P. Dassanayake, remanded in connection with wartime disappearance of 11 persons, neither functioned as Director Naval Operations (DNO) nor supervised special teams, commanded by two Lt. Commanders, R. P. S Ranasinghe (since then promoted Commander) and H. M. P. C. K Hettiarachchi allegedly responsible for the disappearances during the previous administration, according to navy headquarters records as well as statements given by senior retired and serving navy officers to the police. Ranasinghe was the senior officer in charge of naval intelligence in the East whereas Hettiarachchi was attached to reconnaissance team assigned to the then Navy Chief Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda.The former navy spokesman Dassanayake was produced in court last Friday (14). Besides, Dassanayake functioned as Acting Director, Maritime Special […]

By Chitra Weerarathne Magistrate R. K. Dissnayaka yesterday testified as the first witness at the contempt of court proceedings against the Venerable Galabodaatte Gnanasara Thera. He was the Homagama Magistrate on Jan. 25, 2016, when the Thera committed the alleged offence. At present, he serves as the Colombo Additional Magistrate. Senior Deputy Solicitor General Rohantha Abeysuriya led the evidence. Magistrate Dissanayake said the Thera had stood before his court and said, “War heroes are being jailed. LTTEers are freed. Bail should be given to the war heroes.” The priest who was not a lawyer, had been advised by a court officer to keep silent, but he went on disturbing the court, the Magisrate said. The Thera demanded that some officers attached to the military intelligence […]

By Skandha Gunasekara UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday claimed that several Joint Opposition (JO) MPs were sending out feelers to the Party seeking to ditch the Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition and cross over to President Maithripala Sirisena’s camp in the SLFP. “Many in the Joint Opposition are fed up with protesting and carrying out demonstrations. They have indicated that they want to join us,” Amaraweera added. The Minister made this observation while addressing a meeting of SLFP organizers in Embilipitiya. He said, several JO MPs had opined that continuous protests carried out by the JO against the government have proved to be negative. “These JO MPs have said, the JO protests had not benefited them in anyway and they are disposed towards supporting President Sirisena […]

By Mirudhula Thambiah Vanni District Parliamentarian Charles Nirmalanathan commenting on the recent caste issues in the Northern Province said that during the period of the LTTE they did not allow any sort of caste related problems to affect the communities in the North and East. They were 100 per cent against it. The LTTE Leader vehemently opposed such caste dominance. “I will also not accept such caste dominance. Therefore, it should be immediately addressed,” he said. Following are excerpts of the interview: ? Why did you condemn the Mullaitivu District Secretariat in a series of issues in the region, especially in the ongoing deforestation? A: Deforestation first began in Kulamurippu in the Mullaitivu District. According to the Forest Department statistics, around 300 acres of forest […]

Arguments  concluded on June 10, 2015 Highlights chronic delays prevalent in courts islandwide Daily News to file RTI’s to find causes for delays in courts Highlighting the issue of chronic delays and archaic procedure within the Justice system, the Fundamental Rights petition filed by Naomi Coleman, the Britisher who was arrested for adorning a Tattoo of The Buddha, was postponed close to a dozen times, after Judgment was reserved on June 10, 2015. The case was re-fixed on July 4, 2017, for argument on October 26, 2017. The case which drew international media attention was argued and concluded on June 10, 2015. Written submissions were filed a month later. However, the presiding Judge who reserved Judgment in the case retired as a Judge of the […]

Commodore D. K. P. Dassanayake involved in the disappearance of 11 persons during the closing stages of the conflict.  Government Minister pointed out that British Premier Theresa May’s recent vow to protect officers and men fighting terrorism at the expense of human rights laws (so he was correct in protecting Rajapaksha family from the War Crimes committed by them)   Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, had a heated argument with Ben Emmerson, QC, Special Rapporteur at the onset of a meeting over latter leveling unsubstantiated allegations at law enforcement authorities and the judiciary. Emmerson had a series of meetings over the past few days after his unexpected encounter with the Justice Minister early this week. At his meeting with the Justice Minister Emmerson accused […]

“I will seek to provide assistance in the discussion of the country’s counter-terrorism policy and legal framework, as well as in the preparation and drafting of relevant legislative acts, with a view to ensuring that measures taken by the Government are in compliance with international human rights law,” he had said before arriving in Sri Lanka colombo, Jul 13 For the first time, a special UN rapporteur today visited the Tamil political prisoners arrested under Sri Lanka‘s anti-terrorism laws in the Northern Province to get a first-hand information on their human rights situation. Ben Emmerson, the special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, is visiting the island nation since July 10 on a five-day trip following an invitation by the Sri Lankan government. His visit is aimed […]

By Prageeth Sampath Joint Opposition and SLFP Member of Parliament Prasanna Ranatunga says that they have clearly set forth their stand that the Unitary State and the prominence accorded to Buddhism in the Constitution cannot be compromised in the new Constitution. Excerpts: Q: Why are you getting ready for a snap election? A: We are ready for elections at any moment but the government is afraid of them. Q: Why did you launch your campaign in Trincomalee? A: It is only one of our planned rallies. Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people were urging us to hold a rally there. Q: While you are struggling to topple the government, they call off the elections. What is the reason for that? A: Government is afraid of the […]

Dr G K Nathan The Island at the Southern tip of Indian subcontinent is known by different names: Sri Lanka, Ceylon, Eelam etc., where Sinhala and Tamil people have lived for many millennia, but Sinhala language is the latest of the two in comparison with Tamil language, which is one of the few oldest living languages. Looking back, Indian subcontinent, Australia and Sri Lanka were part of the Lemuria continent  in the Indian and Pacific Oceans; it is also called Kumari Kandam in Tamil. The Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 revealed, along Tamil Nadu coast, part of archaeological remains that were swallowed by the rising ocean, many thousands of years ago. Also emerging recent archaeological evidence of old Tamil civilization in the West coast of Indian Sub-continent and in current […]