SRI LANKA: Confusion about the meaning of independence
[AHRC] On February 4, Sri Lanka will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from the British colonial empire. There is hardly any mood to celebrate in the country, however. Beset by enormous economic hardships and price hikes, by ever unprecedented levels of blatant corruption and abuse of power, rejection of adherence to the Constitution…
Read MoreUS cast doubts on Free and Fair elections
[BBC] The United States does not believe that free & fair elections can be held in Batticaloa if one party is allowed to bear arms says the US Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Robert O Blake. If one party is allowed arms and threaten and intimidate other parties and other contestants free and fair elections can…
Read MoreIndia’s Emerging Strategic Security Paradigm and Sri Lanka Policy
[SAAG] The Sri Lanka government has formally ended its ceasefire agreement signed in 2002 with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It only regularises an existing state of war that had been going on since December 2005. It is a sad development because it shuts the door on the peace process sponsored by the…
Read MoreGovt. ‘responsible’ for killing MP
[BBC] Sri Lanka’s parliamentarians from the ruling coalition and the opposition have accused the government of being responsible for killing Tamil MP, T Maheswaran. Colombo District United National Party (UNP) legislator T Maheswaran, has been shot dead at a Hindu temple in the capital, Colombo. Maheswaran, a former minister and an outspoken critic of government’s…
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