It is with profound sadness that we share the untimely passing of one of the most courageous and outstanding journalists of our time, Marie Colvin. Marie Colvin, 56, died alongside French photojournalist, Remi Ochlick, in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. Ms. Colvin’s unbounded courage took her behind the front lines of the world’s deadliest [...]

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Prof. Gamini Lakshman Peiris, who arrived in Geneva two days ago, has been dropped from the speakers’ list at the high level segment of 19th session of the UNHRC. A week ago UNHRC extranet published Mr. Peiris as the speaker from Sri Lanka at the high level segment. By Tuesday (Feb. [...]

A key minority Tamil political party in Sri Lanka has put conditions to take part in talks with other political parties aimed at solving the national issue. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said Wednesday that it will join a Parliament committee to discuss the political solution only after there is an agreement on talks already [...]

The Asian group, representing countries from Asia at the UN had come under pressure to withdraw their nominee to the Special Advisory Group on UN Peace Keeping. Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Major General Shavendra Silva has been nominated to the Special Advisory Group on UN Peace Keeping by the Asian [...]

Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), met with Collenberg, commander of the eastern military area command of the Sri Lankan Navy who came to China to attend the International Naval Escort Seminar, in Beijing on February 21, 2012, Chinese Defence ministry reports. Ma Xiaotian said that China [...]

Highly respected American Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, who was the main witness of the Sri Lankan army’s brutal killing of Seevaratnam Puleedevan and Balasingham Nadesan, political leaders of the Tamil Tigers and award-winning French photographer Remi Ochlik died when a shell hit the makeshift media centre in the Baba Amr district in Syria. Opposition-held [...]

Since the end of the conflict in 2009, a new phenomena has emerged. That of Buddha statues being erected along the A9 route that leads to Jaffna.   Keerimalai, a few kilometres to Dambakola Patuna, Kanagarayan kulam Buddhist stupa, Buddhist Statue built on a site, supposedly, visited by the Buddha, Buddha Statue IN Killinochchi and [...]

RELATIVE peace may have been established in Sri Lanka, but questions are being raised about the costs involved. A resolution is to be tabled at the forthcoming session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva following a preliminary investigation by the UN which found that Sri Lanka’s “conduct of the war represented a [...]

Yesterday on the 16th day of Walk for Justice the Team passed 32 km from Strassbourg (France) to Friesenheim. The pain in the legs of the walking men is increasing. But they still have their aim in mind, which is constantly encouraging them to reach Geneva on the 5th of March. They say that  “whenever [...]

As the government of Sri Lanka comes under increasing international pressure to implement recommendations submitted by a presidentially appointed war commission, IRIN asked national analysts which recommendations were most easily achievable. International human rights groups and, until recently, several governments, including the UK, US and Australia, widely criticized the lack of accountability in the report [...]

The British Home Office has paid over £1m, plus £1m costs, in compensation to 40 child asylum seekers, including some from Sri Lanka, who were wrongly held as adults in detention centers before 2005, the Guardian reports. The children, including 25 aged 14 to 16, from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Eritrea, [...]

A conference on human rights organized by the Centre for War Victims and Human Rights (CWVHR) was held in Toronto, Canada on February 18th. The conference titled “International Protection of Human Rights in the 21st Century and its challenges – Case Study on Sri Lanka,”was attended by 400 participants. Papers were presented by professionals, lawyers [...]

Several western diplomatic missions in Colombo are plotting to create anarchy in the country, alleges Sri Lankan minister Wimal Weerawansa. These diplomatic missions are working to show to the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva that there is lawlessness in Sri Lanka, he told the opening of a housing scheme for soldiers at Hettimulla [...]

Sri Lanka, which relies heavily on imports of Iranian oil, is feeling the impact of US-led sanctions on Tehran. Rising global prices, due in part to US-led sanctions against Iran along with the weakening of the Sri Lankan rupee, have led the price of kerosene to rise 49 per cent, diesel 36.9 per cent and [...]