Author: Karu

Families of the Disappeared President Brito Fernando gives astatement to the Commission to Investigate into Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) regarding the complin filed lst year alleging “reasonable suspicion” that a bribe has been obtained to withdraw the indictment against former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda in the abducion nd killing of 11 Youths by Navy case BY Pamodi Waravita Families of the Disappeared President Brito Fernando gave a statement to the Commission to Investigate into Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on Monday (10), following a complaint the…

ByD.B.S.Jeyaraj A solemn, low key memorial event was held in Trincomalee town on Sunday January 2nd. Relatives and friends laid flowers and lit candles and lamps in memory of five Tamil youths killed in Trincomalee town on Jan 2nd 2006. The incident that happened sixteen years ago for which justice was not done is widely known among human rights circles as the “Trinco – 5” case of Sri Lanka. It is regarded as an emblematic case of impunity. So much so that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms.…

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj In a significant political move, seven political parties mainly representing the Sri Lankan Tamils of the Northern and Eastern provinces have written a joint letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his help to fully implement the provisions of the 13th amendment to the Constitution. As is well known the Provincial Councils scheme was a consequence of the 13th Constitutional Amendment. The 13 A itself came into being due to the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 29th 1987. Salient paragraphs from the joint letter pertaining to the specific…

By Thambu Kanagasabai –   Thambu Kanagasabai The 1987 13th Amendment, a conceived and delivered baby of India under the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 for adoption by Sri Lanka has been lying in the constitution of Sri Lanka partly implemented and mostly ignored by the Sri Lankan Governments since then. This 13th Amendment is now activated and given new life and blood by the Tamil leaders due to the deteriorating and worsening political situation of Tamils in the hands of the current Government of Rajapaksa’s family. It has to be noted that the election manifestos of…

By Chandra Jayaratne – Chandra Jayaratne You committed in the oath of office to comply with your duties and responsibilities as President in an honest manner and as per the Constitution and the Law of the Country. The Constitution you agreed to safeguard and follow states that “in the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable; and that the executive power of the People shall be exercised by the President of the Republic elected by the People”. Thereby it becomes your inalienable duty to safeguard and protect…

By Kumarathasan Rasingam –  Kumarathasan Rasingam It is high time for the United Kingdom to recognize its failure and realize that the sufferings of the Tamils started immediately after the British left Sri Lanka in 1948 and find justice and freedom to the oppressed Tamils who are now at a great loss of lives, land, resources, human rights etc. United Kingdom knows well that Sri Lanka is an Island that once [before the British conquest of Jaffna Kingdom consisted of different Kingdoms – Sinhala and Tamil inhabited from time immemorial by two…

By Suranimala –  The Rajapaksa family cannot be credited with intelligence or wisdom. But, they have village cunning. Cunning can deceive an ill-educated mass who have been led to believe that the Country is in peril, “Buddhism is in danger and the Sinhala race will be a minority”. That is the slogan, which of course is stuff and nonsense, but a great sell. Not done out of belief but out of great convenience. Why? It works for the Rajapaksas. It is pertinent to recall the words of Robert Knox. “The Cingalese have a high…

by Tisaranee Gunasekara “There is something in human history like retribution; and it’s a rule of historical retribution that its instruments be forged not by the offended but by the offender himself.”Marx (The Indian Revolt) The 2015 presidential election; as analysts and astrologers proclaimed and predicted a Mahinda Rajapaksa victory, a beggar in Galle made a bet that the winner will be Maithripala Sirisena. At the 2010 presidential election, the beggar had voted for Mahinda Rajapaksa. In the after years, whenever President Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa or Parliamentarian Rajapaksa was…

ByD.B.S.Jeyaraj Much concern is now being shown by political parties representing the minority (numerical) ethnicities of Sri Lanka over the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. As is well known it is the 13th Constitutional Amendment which ushered n a certain quantum of devolution to the country through the setting up of Provincial Councils. 13 A itself was due to the historic India-Sri Lanka agreement signed by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayewardene on July 29th 1987. The Indo-Lanka Accord at that time brought an…

Nevertheless, one must realize that change does not come spontaneously; it does not manifest itself without proper and clear leadership. If allowed to grow at its current pace and character, one might have to live with anarchy instead of the change that he or she so willfully expected. This is precisely the dilemma the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today faces. The people’s awareness of changing political realities and the emergence of impromptu social media pundits and spontaneous beginnings of ‘movements’ are the very fuel a clever and inspired leader would not ignore…

There is a possibility of defeating the regime in 2022, which doesn’t necessitate the interesting proposal of lawyer Sunil Watagala of the JVP, of the early dissolution of Parliament, nor does it depend entirely on ceaseless street demonstrations over economic grievances. That possibility will be provided by the President’s project of a new Constitution. It will be perfectly possible to call for and win a massive ‘No’ vote at a referendum in this year of the avoidable economic torture of the citizenry. Not even Augusto Pinochet was able to survive…

ByD.B.S.Jeyaraj Much concern is now being shown by political parties representing the minority (numerical) ethnicities of Sri Lanka over the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. As is well known it is the 13th Constitutional Amendment which ushered n a certain quantum of devolution to the country through the setting up of Provincial Councils. 13 A itself was due to the historic India-Sri Lanka agreement signed by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayewardene on July 29th 1987. The Indo-Lanka Accord at that time brought an…

“One day, I was in Kelaniya with the thero of Misisawetiya. Then you (Mahinda Rajapaksa) came like a lion. Misiawetiya Thero said, ‘Look there’s a lion coming.’ I said, ‘Not a lion. Mahinda Rajapaka is a culture. Mahinda Rajapkasa is a civilisation…” Medagoda Abeytissa Thero (Lanka News Web – 24.8.2020) Independent Sri Lanka experienced three waves of weaponsation of Buddhism. The first was when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike embraced the Buddhist Commission Report. D.S. Senanayake had refused, on Constitutional grounds, a request by the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) to appoint a…

On Friday (17), Fitch Rating, an international credit rating agency, dual headquartered in London and New York, downgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CC,’ from ‘CCC’. Of the 124 countries ‘credit rated’ by Fitch, Sri Lanka stands right at the bottom at the 121st position and is the only economy with the unenviable credit rating of ‘CC’. A ‘CC’ rating stands ninth out of a total of 11 Fitch ratings in alphabetically descending order which means that the lower one goes in Fitch’s ratings lists, the…

By Laksiri Fernando – Dr. Laksiri Fernando Sri Lanka is within a serious economic and political crisis which has been unprecedent in its recent history. While the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide has aggravated the situation, most of the root causes are within the country related to bad management of the economy, exports and imports, the trade balance, balance of payments, foreign and domestic loans, dollar-rupee value, consumer prices, and many other economic variables. Even if the management of key economic variables is not the sole responsibility of the politicians, the management of public economic policies…

Country is in a dire predicament Prorogation of Parliament not appropriate at this hour Ready to support Govt. to get out of this mess  Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Gayantha Karunatilake, in an interview with the Daily Mirror, responds to questions about the present economic plight of the country, prorogation of Parliament and the conduct of MPs in the House.  Q When talking about the current precarious situation of the country, some people blame the inefficiency of the government for it. The government, instead blames the pandemic. What are your views…

Sri Lanka is heading for a potential default, and the greater concern is whether it would be a disorganized default, which might happen when the government runs out of its temporary measures of liquidity infusion It is not clear how Sri Lanka would pay up US$ 6.9 billion of foreign loan payments next year. The Indian calculations of geopolitical leverage, a key concern for every Indian commentator, would also be temporary The government has so far resisted the calls, including by its own ranks, to go to the International Monetary…

BY Pamodi Waravita  The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has called on the Government of Sri Lanka to reflect on recent messages conveyed by the US and the wider international community through the newly imposed sanctions by the US State Department on two former Sri Lankan Army officials. “Sri Lanka is in the midst of many crises. The trajectory it is heading – increasing authoritarianism and militarised governance; further marginalisation of Tamil, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian communities; and the debilitating financial crisis and the economic challenges engulfing the people – has…

Ven. Dr. Omalpe Sobhitha Thero says the government should understand the message displayed recently by the graduates of the University of Colombo. Speaking to reporters in Embilipitiya, he said that the steps taken by the academics receiving their degrees during a convocation ceremony at the Colombo University is being praised by the intelligent people as an extremely exemplary and noble deed. He said that through their action the academics of the university have well demonstrated the courage and self-respect as academics, scholars and intellectuals. “We saw that the process of…

PRESS STATEMENT 17 December 2021, London GTF calls for deep reflection of the messages conveyed by the US and urges for meaningful course correction in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is in the midst of many crises. The trajectory it is heading – increasing authoritarianism and militarised governance; further marginalisation of Tamil, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian communities; and the debilitating financial crisis and the economic challenges engulfing the people – has the potential to seed new conflicts in the country. Sri Lanka’s credibility as a trusted member of the international community…