Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

October 23, 2011, 9:36 pm

by Rohan Abeywardena

The country`s national carrier SriLankan is now running the risk of being barred from Europe, from where the bulk of its income is derived, allegedly due to some negligence on the part of the airline`s engineering division.

Informed aviation sources said unknown to most people here, a Sri Lankan Airbus A-340 was detained in Paris for nearly nine days last month after civil aviation authorities there discovered lose rivets around its engines. Later after the necessary repairs attended to by Air France engineers, the same aircraft was found to have a fuel leak.

A speech by Sri Lanka`s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa during his visit to the UK has been cancelled after the Oxford Union Debating Society expressed concern over protests by the Tamil community.

The cancellation has sparked protests in Sri Lanka`s capital where government supporters tried to overcome police barricades outside the British High Commission in Colombo.

Both the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lanka`s government have been accused of committing `crimes against humanity` by human rights groups during the last year of its 26-year long conflict.

Nov 19th 2010, 14:07 by A.R. | COLOMBO

THE re-inauguration of Sri Lanka`s powerful president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on November 19th was accompanied by impressive displays of drumming, artillery fire and flag twirling not to mention an enormous rice pudding. Some residents of Colombo grumbled about unusually lavish spending on the event (and closed roads that caused snarl-ups for much of the week). After hearing out the president`s ceremonial speech, a local think-tank called for him to use his second term to seek reconciliation with the Tamil minority.

A majestic moment for an ever more powerful ruler
Nov 18th 2010 | COLOMBO AND JAFFNA

Cheshire Cat, with drummer boys.WHAT to give a president who wants for nothing? Sri Lanka`s mustachioed ruler, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who turned 65 on November 18th, has a thriving personality cult, helped by propaganda that gives him sole credit for the crushing of Tamil rebels last year, after nearly three decades of civil war. He won a second presidential term in January. His party romped home in parliamentary polls. And he has since had the constitution rejigged to scrap term limits and make his office mightier.

Prashanth Sellathurai of Australia (C), Max Whitelock of England (L) and Thuang Chan of Singapore (R) pose during the medal ceremony after winning the gold, silver and bronze respectively in the Artistic Gymnastics Men Pommel Horse Final at Indira Gandhi stadium in New Delhi on October 7, 2010.

As a Sri Lankan military offensive destroyed the last remnants of the Tamil Tiger separatist insurgency in May of last year to end a quarter century of bloody civil war the country faced a problem at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The European Union (EU) was trying to move a resolution critical of Sri Lanka, and calling for an investigation into rights violations during the offensive. Sri Lanka`s representative at the Council, Dayan Jayatilleka reached out for support from two friendly nations, India and China. The result was that instead of a resolution censuring Sri Lanka, 29 members in the 47 member Council adopted a resolution commending the government. Only 12 voted against it, and six abstained.

Water supply to several areas in Colombo has been temporarily disrupted after the main water pipeline near the Diyawanna Oya was ruptured due to a vehicle collision. The Defender vehicle involved in the accident is rumored to belong to a high ranking government Official. Pic by Eranga Perera.





The vehicle is reported to have skidded off the road and gone down the bridge near the Diyawanna Oya close to the Parliament and had hit the water pipeline below the bridge causing it to burst. The pipeline travels from the Ambathale Water Purification Plant to Dehiwala and other parts of Colombo.

The main opposition Sri Lankan United National Party (UNP) has accused the authorities of undermining democracy by intimidating parliamentarians.

It says that Mangala Samaraweera, the first foreign minister under Mahinda Rajapaksa`s presidency, has been unfairly questioned for hours by the police.

Mr Samaraweera has admitted responsibility for printing a poster depicting the president as a dictator.

NEW DELHI The first foreign athletes arrived in India`s capital on Friday as controversies continued to plague the Commonwealth Games, with Australia`s Olympic Association president saying India shouldn`t have been awarded the event and several high-profile athletes withdrawing from the competition.

John Coates, who played a key role in Australia winning the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, said Friday that the Commonwealth Games shouldn`t have been awarded to Delhi in hindsight. The problem is the Commonwealth Games Federation is under-resourced. It doesn`t have the ability to monitor the progress of cities in the way the (International) Olympic Committee does.

This is statement from the AHRC is for your information.

August 31, 2010
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission:-

The Asian Human Rights Commission states that words are inadequate to express the magnitude of the folly contained in the suggested amendments to the Constitution of Sri Lanka by the Sri Lankan government. Given the availability of a two thirds majority for the government these amendments will be passed. However, these amendments will take Sri Lanka completely outside the orbits of constitutionalism as it is understood by a liberal democracy. It also takes Sri Lanka outside the possibilities of the maintenance of the supremacy of the law. The distinction of legality and illegality will now be abolished by the Constitution itself.

War Crimes in Sri Lanka
Asia Report N 191
17 May 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) repeatedly violated international humanitarian law during the last five months of their 30-year civil war. Although both sides committed atrocities throughout the many years of conflict, the scale and nature of violations particularly worsened from January 2009 to the government`s declaration of victory in May. Evidence gathered by the International Crisis Group suggests that these months saw tens of thousands of Tamil civilian men, women, children and the elderly killed, countless more wounded, and hundreds of thousands deprived of adequate food and medical care, resulting in more deaths.

People blame MR and his family members for ruining the country.
But, They really work hard to develop some poor families from Hambantota.