UPFA moves to impeach Chief Justice

The ruling party of Sri Lanka has begun procedures to impeach the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake for allegedly violating the country’s constitution. 117 signatures have been collected from across President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) against Bandaranayake after she ruled against a parliament bill. She ruled that the provincial councils in the country, including in the Tamil dominated Northern and Eastern provinces, needed to approve needed to approve development budgets before they came to parliament. Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told...

Sri Lanka continues farce at its 2nd UPR

Today, Sri Lanka faced the 14th session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council for the review of its human rights record. Several countries criticised Sri Lanka’s progress on human rights and called on the government to investigate past and continuing violations. A total of 99 countries spoke at the review, which was opened by a statement by the Minister for Plantation Industries and the President’s Special Envoy Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe, who detailed ‘progress’ made by the government and answered questions sent in advance by 20 countries. However, several subsequent statements made by states criticised the human rights situation on the island and demanded further investigations into violations.

'Empty promises on human rights for decades' says Amnesty

Speaking on the day of Sri Lanka's UPR at the UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International's Sri Lanka expert, Yolanda Foster, said that Sri Lanka's promises on human rights should not be accepted by the international community. Foster said, “ Sri Lanka has been making empty promises about human rights for decades . This was made clear by a number of countries which questioned Sri Lanka’s lack of progress in ending human rights violations during the review,” “Three years after the end of the civil war, the government continues to stifle dissent through threats and harassment , and has failed to take steps to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions .” “Four years after the UN’s first review of human rights in Sri Lanka, there has been virtually no progress – as shown today - on any of the commitments the government made to end arbitrary detentions,” “The persistent lack of justice in these cases is shocking and flies in the face of repeated promises by the government for the past six years that it would investigate them properly. Victims’ families won’t believe the government until some practical action is taken. As a very basic first step the 2007 commission’s findings should be made public,”

Tamil asylum seeker facing deportation wins reprieve

A Tamil asylum seeker at Maribyrnong Detention Centre in Melbourne, Austrlia, who was facing deportation to Sri Lanka today and attempted to take his own life in the early hours of this morning (see here and here ), has won a last minute reprieve , only a few hours before he was due to be flown home. The Federal Court in Sydney decided to overturn an earlier court decision on the man, who is known as "Anjan" and said to be in his 40s. News of his attempted suicide had earlier prompted several refugee solidarity activists to form a community blockade outside the detention centre, preventing the police from attempting to deport the individual. In a statement released prior to news of the reprieve, the Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, said : “We are extremely concerned about the fate of this asylum seeker,” “Sri Lanka remains a dangerous place for anyone deemed to be an opponent of the Rajapaksa regime. The use of torture is systemic."

World bank withdraws funds over lack of progress

The World Bank has withdrawn its offer of financial assistance to two parliamentary oversight committees - COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) and PAC (Public Accounts Committee), citing a lack of progress on changes the government agreed to implement in return, reports DailyMirror . The World Bank had agreed to provide a package of US $494,000 and to assist in developing the capacity of the parliamentary secretariat liaising with them which included two foreign traning programmes for committee members. The aim was to make positive changes in the laws and regulations that govern public...

Bishop of Mannar calls for recognition of Tamil nation

The Bishop of Mannar has stated that the 13 th Amendment is “fundamentally flawed” and has called for the recognition of the Tamil people as a nation as crucial to bringing about peace on the island. Speaking via Skype at a side event at the 14 th session of the Universal Periodic Review currently underway in Geneva, Bishop Rayappu Joseph told the audience that, “Our solution does not lie in the 13 th Amendment but on the Tamil nationhood to be recognised. We are not a minority. From the beginning of history there have been two nations, that must be recognised.” The Bishop then went on to state that the 13 th Amendment was “fundamentally flawed” and called for the Tamil people to have the “right to rule”. Bishop Joseph also commented on many other issues, telling the audience that despite testifying to the Sri Lankan government several times that a recorded 146,679 people were missing from the end of armed hostilities in May 2009, he was yet to receive a response. He also stated that crimes such as extra-judicial killings had to be investigated, saying, “We know the people behind these crimes… there must be accountability”. Commenting on the Sri Lankan government’s prohibition on commemorating those that had died in Tamil areas, the Bishop said, “There are a lot of people walking like skeletons… They have lost their mind, they need to heal… A lot of money is spent on celebrating the war but where are our people? We are not allowed in our areas, Mannar for example… to grieve our dead people. The dead must be respected and justice served.”

Curious change of tone in Jaffna

The Mayor of Jaffna and Jaffna’s District Government Agent have announced their appreciation of the Sri Lankan Army’s presence in Jaffna. Both speaking at a prize-giving ceremony organised by the Army for Year 5 students, Mayor of Jaffna, Mrs Yogeswari Patkunarajah is reported to have said : “At one time we all saw the Army as enemies; times have changed and today we have become a community of integrated Sri Lankans living alongside our brothers in the Army.” Mrs Patkunarajah also pointed out the numerous educational facilities provided for free by the government, claiming that: “While...

'Progressive' government to challenge capitalist 'conspiracy'

Speaking at Sri Lanka Insurance Cooperation’s Silver Jubilee, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has voiced his defiance against economic conspiracies to topple his ‘progressive’ government. Recalling challenges faced by the government in nationalising the Insurance Cooperation, the President urged employees of government managed corporations to show more commitment to improving profitability. "People will approve our decisions when these institutions are managed profitably," he is reported to have said. Rajapaksa further said that protecting national companies was much more challenging than selling...

HRW - 'Approach Sri Lanka with skepticism'

Human Rights Watch has called on United Nations members to hold Sri Lanka accountable for wartime abuses at the upcoming Universal Periodic Review, later this week. In a statement released on Tuesday, the New York-based NGO gave a detailed rebuttal to Sri Lanka’s 2012 UPR submission, addressing areas of media freedom, anti-terror laws, intimidation of human rights activists, the use of torture, disappearances, the plgiht of internally displaced persons and accountability for war crimes. The statement went on to say, “UN member countries should express grave concern about these failures and...

Rains pound North-East as cyclone Nilam approaches

12:43 GMT Mullativu. Photographs Sri Lanka Red Cross Society A depression in the bay of Bengal, has intensified into a mini cyclone - named cyclone Nilam - which is said to be approaching the North-East and India. The Meteorological Department in Sri Lanka, said last night that it was approximately 100km from Trincomalee. This morning, the Met Depart has stated the cyclone has changed course and is likely to pass over Kankesanthurai this afternoon.

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