Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Says His Choice For Presidential Election Candidate is Basil Rajapaksa But Mahinda Rajapaksa Is Yet To Take Decision. Sri Lanka’s former secretary to the defence ministry, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Tuesday suggested his former Economic Development minister Basil as the presidential candidate at next year’s elections. Emerging from the new Permanent High Court at Bar in Colombo where his trail was put off for December 4, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa accused the government of trying to create a rift among his politically ambitious siblings. Asked what he thought of reports that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was trying to promote basil over him (Gotabhaya), he said the reports were circulated by the government to create dissension within the family. “But, if you ask me, my choice for a […]

‘I’m an artist that draws on real life’: How M.I.A. got her name and political persona “Are you sure Steve shouldn’t be in this interview?,” M.I.A. said when I asked her how her new documentary came together. It was a fair question because, technically, the 43-year-old pop star had nothing to do with the making of Stephen Loveridge’s film, Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. But she was very much a driving force throughout the creation process thanks to more than 700 hours of personal video footage she handed over to the director eight years ago.  “When I handed the tapes over in 2011, I wanted to make an in-depth documentary about the Maya album, just because I had so much visual content around it and I felt that it was misunderstood,” M.I.A said. What was supposed to […]

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday alleged that President Maithripala Sirisena, in spite of being the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, was a prisoner in the UNP-led administration. SLPP Chairman Prof. Peiris asserted that President Sirisena was incapable of dealing with what he called an unprecedented police conspiracy. Addressing the media at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Office, Prof. Peiris emphasised that the government owed an explanation as regards its failure to take Deputy Inspector General of Police Nalaka de Silva, the senior officer in charge of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) into custody in spite of his alleged involvement in conspiracy to assassinate President Sirisena and wartime Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Prof. Peiris said that no arrests had been made though the alleged conspiracy was revealed […]

Some of these suspects have been imprisoned for more than ten years without charges. They too have a right to know what the charges are.  Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorale says that there are no political prisoners in the country, and cases have been filed against suspects arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. She made this comment while speaking to media after a discussion with the lawyers of the Kandy Court. Several suspects arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act have launched a strike, and their cases are being heard, she added. Delaying cases is a problem that affects the entire court system, not only them, she noted. She emphasized that a special discussion has been held with the Prime Minister, Attorney General and Opposition […]

By Manekshaw President Maithripala Sirisena has expressed concern over land and water issues in the North and East, at the meeting of the Presidential Task Force to look into post-war development activities in the North and East. The meeting was held with the participation of Leader of the Opposition and the TNA, R. Sampanthan on Wednesday at Parliament complex. In contrast to the adamant nature of the previous regime in releasing lands in the possession of the Armed Forces, President Sirisena has sent out a directive to his officials that legitimate lands of the people in the North and East should be released before the end of this year. It is in this backdrop, that the people in Keppapilavu in the Mullaitivu District in particular […]

Police Tell Courts That Former Navy Chief Wasanta Karannagoda Knew About Abduction and Murder of 11 Youths by Navy Personnel and is Allegedly Suppressing Evidence. The investigation into the abduction and the murder of 11 children has taken a new turn with fresh evidence showing the involvement of former navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda, a magistrate has been told. Criminal investigators told the Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne last week that Karannagoda intimately knew about the abductions and is continuing to suppress evidence and was keeping a tab on key navy witnesses. Karannagoda becomes the second ex-navy chief to face impending arrest over the abduction and killing of 11 children of wealthy families. They were abducted for ransom by a gang of navy officers, allegedly led […]

Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera recently presented the Appropriation Bill to the Cabinet which states that next year’s   State expenditure will be Rs 4,376 billion and the budget deficit will be Rs 644 billion which is 4.1% of the GDP. The highest amount of allocations under the Appropriation Bill, which is to be presented to Parliament by Minister Samaraweera on Tuesday (9), has been made for the Ministry of Defence. The allocation for Defence in the year 2019 is Rs 306 billion. A sum of Rs 221 billion has been allocated for the capital and recurrent expenditure of Provincial Councils. At the same time, capital expenditure of several Ministries including, Education, Health, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Finance, Fisheries, Agriculture and Megapolis and […]

The investigation into the abduction and the murder of 11 children has taken a new turn with fresh evidence showing the involvement of former navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda, a magistrate has been told. Criminal investigators told the Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne last week that Karannagoda intimately knew about the abductions and is continuing to suppress evidence and was keeping a tab on key navy witnesses. Karannagoda becomes the second ex-navy chief to face impending arrest over the abduction and killing of 11 children of wealthy families. They were abducted for ransom by a gang of navy officers, allegedly led by Hettiarachchi Mudiyanselage Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi. The children had been held at naval facilities in Colombo and Trincomalee between 2008 and 2009. Evidence uncovered the […]

Mahinda and Basil Rajapaksa Meet Maithripala Sirisena at SB Dissanayake’s Battaramulla Residence To Discuss The Removal Of Ranil Wickremesinghe As Prime Minister and Form New “Coalition” Govt. At present the SLFP has 23 members in the Government, whilst the ‘Joint Opposition’ has 54, besides the 15 breakaway SLFP MPs sitting in the Opposition. That totals 92 MPs, still short of a simple majority of 113, short by a sizeable 21. Among those to be asked to join the caretaker grand coalition would be the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) though it is not immediately clear they would accept the offer. In a move that appeared to appease the TNA, Sirisena has asked that lands in the north should be returned to their […]

http://epaper.dailynews.lk/art.asp?id=2018/10/06/pg05_1&pt=p&h= Obviously there are two ways to think of the environment. firstly the attitude of the poor who is demanding from the surrounding without thinking of the damage done. The other is the civilized with a consciousness about the survival of the environment.  This doesn’t mean there’s only one way to divide the attitude of humans to the environment. There are in fact countless ways of understanding and engaging with the world around us. In the entire history humans, spread through out the world,  many ways humans reacted with the  environmental cake, so to speak: according to the ‘needs’ of the moment, envisaged futures, later give rise  cultural habits practices philosophical frameworks, theories of being etc. We need not go into all that here. What […]

https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/british-politicians-discuss-justice-tamil-genocide-conservative-party-conference British politicians discuss justice for Tamil genocide at Conservative Party conference | Tamil Guardian The British Tamil Conservatives (BTC) hosted their annual reception at the Conservative Party Conference on this weekend, where ministers and parliamentarians came and pledged to work towards justice in Sri Lanka. www.tamilguardian.com The British Tamil Conservatives (BTC) hosted their annual reception at the Conservative Party Conference on this weekend, where ministers and parliamentarians came and pledged to work towards justice in Sri Lanka. The event, which in recent years has become a popular fringe event at the conference, attracted many senior members from the British government and the Conservative party. Former Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils and Chief of Staff of the Dept for Housing, Communities […]

Mangala claims to have halted UN investigation and saved Rajapaksa Finance minister Mangala Samaraweera claimed his government was able to halt a United Nations investigation into human rights violations committed by the military and saved former president Mahinda Rajapaksa from facing trial at an international tribunal – Tamil Guardian. Sri Lanka’s police chief pulls out of controversial visit to Scotland A controversial visit to Scotland this week by Sri Lanka’s police chief has been cancelled at the last minute after organisers appeared to bow to external pressure. Sri Lanka’s Tamils have long accused police there of using torture to crush its independence movement – Scotsman. Political prisoners at Magazine prison join hunger strike – 750,000 cases pending in courts Forty political prisoners at Colombo’s Magazine prison have […]

This is the only OP ED that matters and firmly sets out the course Her Majesty’s Government will plot at the March 2019 UNHRC session, while many light weight diaspora media actors and impotent Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka publish poorly written articles in their own name to attract attention. Meanwhile those involved in working very closely with the incumbent Conservative government working quietly lobbied hard for this behind the scenes. http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Why-does-reconciliation-in-Sri-Lanka-matter-to-the-UK–156376.html Minister Field and High Commissioner James Dauris visiting a mine field Next year Sri Lanka will have enjoyed 10 uninterrupted years free from the misery of armed conflict. Whatever your view on how Sri Lanka has progressed since, that very fact alone is one to cherish. I know how deep the scars from […]

https://world.einnews.com/pr_news/464132617/tgte-welcomes-uk-minister-mark-field-s-visit-to-sri-lanka-urges-to-help-bring-justice-to-tamil-victims-of-war-crimes TGTE Welcomes UK Minister Mark Field’s Visit to Sri Lanka – Urges to Help Bring Justice to Tamil Victims of War Crimes “If Sri Lanka fails to fulfill its commitments to UNHRC by March 2019, it is important that Sri Lanka be referred to International Criminal Court(ICC)” Giving more time to Sri Lanka will not bring justice to Tamils. More time will only serve to encourage Sri Lanka and other countries who commit abuses to feel comfortable in committing atrocities.” — Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, October 5, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) invites Mr. Mark Field, the Minister of State for Asia, Pacific, Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, to seek a deep understanding of the plight […]

“Governor Cooray is on the Run hiding from the Tamil protesters” said one organizer of the protest. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, October 5, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — Sri Lanka’s Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray is visiting London. Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) announced that it will hold protest against Governor’s public event. So far Governor Cooray is evading protesters by changing his event venues. “He is on the Run hiding from the Tamil protesters” said one organizer of the protest. As the representative of the Sri Lankan Government in the war effected Northern province, he is being accused of not caring about the Tamil war victims and instead help facilitate the presence in the Northern Province, very large number of Sri Lankan Security forces, who have […]

A group of around 43 LTTE detainees commenced a hunger strike at the Colombo Magazine Prison yesterday, according to the Prison Commissioner. These detainees are said to have commenced the strike demanding that their cases be expedited. Meanwhile, last month, eight Tamil political prisoners at the Anuradhapura prison, launched a hunger strike demanding that they be released following a quick rehabilitation programme. A number of Tamil political prisoners are still in prison for years under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), without charges being filed against them. Meanwhile, speaking to the Daily News, TNA –MP Dharmalingam Sidharthan said the TNA leadership had met with the Justice Minister on Tuesday and held discussions regarding the release of these Tamil political prisoners. He said that the Justice […]