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Comments on the views of Rajpal Abeynayake and Nath Amarakoon on judicial review Basil Fernando The SLBC programme inappropriately entitled “People’s Power” is continuing with its misinformation campaign against basic principles of constitutionalism. On the programme that aired on the 13th of December, there were amusing misinterpretations of the constitutional history of the United States, […]

Professor Noam Chomsky is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was educated at the University of Philadelphia and at Harvard University as a Harvard Junior Fellow. He earned his PhD in Linguistics from the University of Philadelphia in 1955. He has […]

On the SLBC radio, in the mornings, there is a program that is inappropriately entitled “People’s Power.” It is just political stooge programming, which tries to take up some current issues and create justifications for government positions. It is a dull and boring presentation but, since some of the issues discussed and the interpretations given […]

Share| When I was leaving Pakistan for Hong Kong, after a long trip to different countries, I received some shocking news at Karachi International Airport. Mr. Solangi, the Director General of Radio Pakistan informed me about the news that Malala Yousufzai had been attacked by the Taliban and was in critical condition. The doctors were […]

एनडीटीवी के प्राइम टाइम में पीपुल्स यूनियन फॉर सिविल लिबर्टीज़ (पीयूसीएल) की राष्ट्रीय महासचिव कविता श्रीवास्तव ने कसाब को फांसी दिए जाने वाले प्रकरण पर अपनी बात रखते हुए कहा कि “हमें बड़े ही शर्म के साथ कहना पड़ रहा है कि हमें एक निर्दयी राष्ट्रपति मिले हैं जो फांसी की सजा दे देते हैं” […]

Once a ruler told one of his country’s citizens, Mr. Thinking citizen, you have told me some very beautiful principles. For example, you have said that any inquiry against anyone must be fair, and you have explained what fairness means. But you do not seem to understand that I do not like principles. The thinking […]

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted and proclaimed on 10 December 1948, the Human Rights Day presents an opportunity, every year, to celebrate human rights, highlight a specific issue and advocate for the full enjoyment of all human rights by everyone everywhere. The day is observed every year to ensure the […]

Next Saturday, the Bar Association will meet to discuss the resolution of non-cooperation with anyone who may be chosen to be the next Chief Justice in the event that the incumbent Chief Justice is impeached. While that matter is being considered, a question may also be asked as to whether any person with integrity and […]

The letter written by the senior and well-respected lawyer SL Gunasekara provides a very thought-provoking approach to dealing with the present impasse created by the government’s wish to proceed with the impeachment against the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, which they are doing irrespective of the request made by the Supreme Court to delay proceedings on […]

It is clear by now that the attempted impeachment is being done in a completely lawless manner. The present approach adopted for the inquiry is no different to a committee consisting of a man’s enemies being assigned to conduct a murder trial against him. Regardless of the man’s guilt or innocence, the enemies will ensure […]

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) inquiring into the allegations against the Chief Justice, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake in a surprising and shocking move informed her that during this inquiry no witnesses would be produced and therefore there would be no room for cross examination. An ‘inquiry’ without witnesses naturally cannot be an inquiry at all. The […]

The future of a judge who would have been the longest serving Chief Justice of the nation is grim in Sri Lanka. Widely alleged as politically motivated, the current move by the President to impeach her gives an opportunity to analyze the soundness of constitutional principles relating to judiciary in general and impeachment of judges […]

“Disability need not be an obstacle to success.” –  Stephen Hawking. Like many several years, this year too, on the eve of International Day of Disability human rights defenders and civil society leaders urged the government of Pakistan to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and implement its own […]

आज मुझे भी वह अँधेरी सुबह याद आ गयी। 2 और 3 दिसंबर 1984 की दरम्यानी रात, भोपाल के घोडा नक्कास में निवास करते हुए जब हमने भी जहर भरी हवा को लीला था। मैं भोपाल गैस त्रासदी का जिक्र कर रहा हूँ।  दुनिया की सबसे विनाशकारी औद्योगिक त्रासदी; जिसके बारे में आज तक यह […]

From 1962 there are literally thousands of people who have served sentences in Burmese prisons as political prisoners. The people resisted the military throughout this long period of about 60 years despite the ruthlessness with which the military dealt with every form of resistance. However there was continuous resistance and from one generation to the […]

We were one of the leading nations in agriculture and many other things in South East Asia. We have lost it all since the 1962 military takeover. Now advisors come from those countries, which were in very difficult position before 1962, to advice us on agriculture, and so many other things. Our health system has […]

Eighty eight journalists have been killed in Pakistan during last decade out of which 36 were shot dead in target killing. In 2012, ten journalists including one TV channel driver were killed in three provinces, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of the country as impunity against Pakistani media rises to unacceptable levels. According to the […]

In Yangon, I have been meeting many persons with long stories to share. Some of those whom we have met are the daughter of the first Prime Minister of Burma, who has returned after 35 years of exile in India.  I also met political activists released from prison after 22, 17 and 5 years. The […]

“The Holy Quran enjoins us to reflect on the verities of Allah’s created laws of nature; however, that our generation has been privileged to glimpse a part of His design is a bounty and a grace for which I render thanks with a humble heart.” Mohammad Abdus Salam The issue of Ahmadi’s in Pakistan appears […]

In an article entitled ‘Once judiciary is broken the Rajapaksas will use the court to destroy every remaining right or freedom’, Tisaranee Gunasekara makes the following prediction: If the impeachment succeeds without wounding the Rajapaksas, that will become the judicial norm in Sri Lanka. Once the judiciary is turned invertebrate, it too will begin to […]