Day: 21 February 2017

Keith Noyahr Abduction; Hickory Dickory, Gota In The Dock

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In a dramatic turn of events the investigation into the abduction of Keith Noyahr, the Criminal Investigation Department has found that the abductors had made phone calls to Gotabaya Rajapaksa just after the abduction. Former secretary to the MOD – Gotabaya Using the newly imported equipment the CID has managed to trace the call log details of the abductors’ and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Keith Noyahr was abducted and mercilessly assaulted in 2008. He fled the country with his family and out of sheer fear did not even make a statement to the…

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UK Government condemns destruction of Sri Lankan church

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The Government has condemned an attack on a church in northwest Sri Lanka, adding that the UK regularly raises concerns about human rights offences against Christians with the country’s Prime Minister. The church building was destroyed by Buddhist militants on 5 January.   Christians claimed they were threatened by the mob, allegedly led by a Buddhist monk. Some 200 witnesses said the mob carried sticks, iron bars and knives before ransacking the building. Despite the monk being identified by name by many of the witnesses, the accused remains free on…

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Activist found guilty of screening uncensored film

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KUALA LUMPUR: A local activist was found guilty by the Magistrate’s Court here today of screening a film that had not been approved by the Film Censorship Board. Magistrate Mohd Rehan Mohd Aris said the defence failed to cast any reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case against Lena Rasathi Hendry, 32, at the end of its case. The court set March 22 for sentencing and extended her bail. Lena Hendry who had formerly worked as a coordinator at the Community Communication Centre (Kosmas) was found guilty of screening an uncensored…

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Sri Lanka: Pledge to End Police Abuse Not Met

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(New York) – The Sri Lankan government has not met its pledge to curtail police abuses prior to the March 2017 session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today. Security sector reform was one of 25 undertakings by Sri Lanka in the Human Rights Council resolution adopted by consensus in October 2015. Members of the Sri Lankan police march with an elephant during Sri Lanka’s 69th Independence day celebrations in Colombo, Sri Lanka February 4, 2017. The Sri Lankan government has failed to repeal the…

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India will not press for merger of north, east Sri Lankan provinces: Jaishankar

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COLOMBO: India will not be pressing Sri Lanka to merge the Northern and Eastern Provinces to form a single Tamil-majority, Tamil-speaking province as envisaged by the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987, the Indian Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar told the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) here on Monday. He was reacting to a demand made by the leader of the Eelam Peoples’ Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) Suresh Premachandran, that India should honor its promise to keep the North and East united. It had even said that it would not allow a referendum to…

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British Council connects classrooms for 21st century teaching skills

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The British Council in Sri Lanka hosted media and guests at an event to celebrate UK-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue under the theme of ‘Responsible Education for the 21st Century.’ The event was held at the Mahaweli Reach Hotel in Kandy on Thursday 16 February. This initiative is linked to British Council’s Schools Programme, which aims to connect the UK and Sri Lankan school sectors to enrich education, promote global citizenship and build international trust and understanding. The programme helps teachers bring awareness and understanding of global issues to young people…

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Make Tamil mandatory for Sri Lankan lawmakers: Minister

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Mano Ganesan, who comes from the minority Tamil community, said legislators who can converse in only one of the two languages face difficulty in understanding the problems of all communities. Knowledge of Tamil language should be made legally compulsory for all Sri Lankan lawmakers so that they can understand the problems of all communities, a minister today said. Minister of National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Mano Ganesan said Sri Lankan parliamentarians should have bilingual capability, meaning they should know Tamil besides Sinhala, spoken by the majority of the population.…

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Army spies arrested over Lasantha Wickrematunge murder

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Five arrested military intelligence officers are suspected of killing prominent anti-establishment newspaper editor. Sri Lankan police have arrested five military intelligence officers on suspicion of killing a well-known anti-establishment newspaper editor and orchestrating attacks on other journalists and dissidents under the former regime, according to a legal source. Lasantha Wickrematunge, a sharp critic of former President Mahinda Rajapakse, was assasinated by unidentified gunmen while driving to work in the capital Colombo in January 2009. His killing sparked an international outcry and shone a spotlight on violence against members of the press in…

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Sri Lankan wins British Academy Film Award

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A Love Story – Winner’s acceptance speech, British Short Animation, EE British Academy Film Awards in 2017 EE British Academy Film Awards Winners in 2017 http://www.bafta.org/film/film-awards-winners-2017 Winner’s acceptance speech by Khaled Gad, Anushka Kishani Naanayakkara and Elena Ruscombe-King for A Love Story in the British Short Animation category ANUSHKA KISHANI NAANAYAKKARA:  Hi, my name is Nush. This is a really surreal experience.  All kind of thoughts in my head right now.  I haven’t prepared a speech. I just …I just want to say that, as filmmakers, I realise that I…

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