Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan president seeks extended term without elections
By Panini Wijesiriwardena, June 23, 2009
In an extraordinary, anti-democratic move, the ruling coalition has begun to sound out amending the constitution to allow President Mahinda Rajapakse to remain in office beyond his six-year term witho...
Sri Lankan president dissolves human rights investigations
By Sarath Kumara, June 22, 2009
In another demonstration of the government’s contempt for legal and democratic rights, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has dissolved the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that he appointed t...
Sri Lankan Tamil detainees still held in terrible conditions
By Sarath Kumara, June 20, 2009
Despite legal challenges by detainees and expressions of concern by UN and international aid agencies about growing dangers of disease, the Sri Lankan government is continuing to hold nearly 300,000 T...
Two legal cases challenge Sri Lanka’s mass detention of Tamil civilians
By Nanda Wickremasinghe, June 19, 2009
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court this week postponed two cases challenging the violation of the basic legal rights of Tamil civilians interned in military-controlled camps in the island’s north.
Further signs of Sri Lanka’s shift into China’s orbit
By K. Ratnayake, June 18, 2009
Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse this week made his first trip abroad since the army’s military victory over the LTTE to Burma. Rajapakse’s visit indicates a turn to other countries, particu...
Sri Lankan government hands greater powers to Chief of Defence Staff
By Sarath Kumara, June 17, 2009
A Bill presented to parliament will create a new Chief of Defence Staff post with substantial powers, further strengthening the military’s role and consolidating the politico-military cabal that now...
Sri Lankan government threatens Tamil parliamentarians
By K. Ratnayake, June 16, 2009
The Sri Lankan government last week threatened to strip four Tamil parliamentarians of their seats. Coming in the wake of the LTTE’s defeat, the threat is a further sign that President Mahinda Rajap...
Sri Lanka: Jaffna residents speak out over increasing military repression
By our correspondents, June 15, 2009
While the Sri Lankan government celebrates its defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Tamils in Jaffna face continuing military repression.
Sri Lankan police interrogate doctors who witnessed war crimes
By Nanda Wickramesinghe, June 13, 2009
The Sri Lankan government is continuing to detain and interrogate three doctors who risked their lives to provide medical care to thousands of Tamil civilians caught in fighting between the army and t...
Sri Lankan Chief Justice questions legality of Tamil detention camps
By Sampath Perera, June 12, 2009
Just before he retired last week, the Sri Lankan Chief Justice declared that the detention of hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians in internment camps was unlawful.
Sri Lanka: JVP vehemently opposes any concessions to Tamils
By Wije Dias, June 11, 2009
The leader of the opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has warned the Sri Lankan government not to “betray” the army’s victory over the LTTE.
UN chief calls for inquiry into Sri Lankan war crimes
By K. Ratnayake, June 10, 2009
Amid signs of growing pressure from the Western powers and media, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon last Friday revived calls for an internationally-monitored investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka...
