Forwarded Statement

17th May 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) registers its disquiet over the contents of a letter addressed to it by the Editor of the Lanka Dissent website, Indika Gamage on 16th May 2008. In it, Gamage alleges that the Lanka Dissent (LD) website (http://lankadissent.com) is a recent victim of cyber-crime in […]

Desmond Tutu May 15, 2008 9:00 AM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/desmond_tutu/2008/05/no_right_to_be_there.html It would seem self-evident that a country which tortures and kidnaps its own people has no place on the world’s leading human rights body. Apparently not: Sri Lanka, despite repeated criticism for its human rights record, is running for re-election to the UN human rights council, with […]

IFEX – News from the international freedom of expression community ALERT – SRI LANKA 9 May 2008 Authorities attempt to prevent foreign media from covering elections in Eastern Province SOURCE: Free Media Movement (FMM), Colombo (FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: Attempt to bar foreign media from covering Eastern province PC election […]

Subject: UK: Missed Chance to Charge Sri Lankan Rights Abuser Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 17:51:27 -0400 For Immediate Release Karuna Case Could Have Been Landmark for International Justice (London, May 9, 2008) — The British government’s failure to file criminal charges against a former Tamil Tiger leader for grave human rights abuses in Sri Lanka […]

The death of the 28 April 2004 incident at Kruesae mosque and other places along 4 Deep South provinces, which lead to 108 deaths by hands of state officers on the same day, led to a question of Thai judicial system particularly the extrajudicial killings of 28 persons at Kruesae mosque and another 19 youths […]

Having been criticized by some leading states in the human rights field such as Canada and the Netherlands during the Universal Periodic Review session, Indonesia’s good faith in human rights clearly needs to be questioned once again. The question that needs to be asked is does Indonesia know the quintessence of human rights? On April […]

(Geneva, April 9, 2008) We, the Indonesian NGO Coalition on Universal Periodic Review (UPR), express our utter disappointment and deep regret over the UPR review of Indonesia. Widely shared hopes and expectations of a transparent, meaningful and constructive UPR process were shattered amidst a farcical showing of self- and mutual exoneration statements and loaded questions […]

Posted on March 9, 2008 by FMM 8th March 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) expresses its concern that number of journalists have being taken in for questioning on 7th and 8th of March with some of them held incommunicado for hours. Most of the journalists arrested were associated with www.outreachsl.com, a news […]

CMU STATEMENT President Mahinda Rajapakse’s New Year message to the nation requires consideration in relation to the prospect that he has held out to the people of this country for this year. This is what he has said: “We hope changes that would occur in this New Year will have a favourable impact on the lives […]

(New York, March 6, 2008) – The Sri Lankan government is responsible for widespread abductions and “disappearances” that are a national crisis, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch urged the government to reveal the whereabouts of the “disappeared,” immediately end the practice, and hold the perpetrators accountable. Since […]

International Independent Group of Eminent Persons FOR RELEASE ON 06 MARCH 2008 Colombo, 05 March 2008 REF: IIGEP-PS-005-2008 Contact: IIGEP Public Information Office Colombo Hilton Residence, Suite 705 No. 200, Union Place, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka Tel: +94 (0) 11 2300306/8/9 Email: iigep@iigep.org Website: http:// www.iigep.org/ PUBLIC STATEMENT THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION’S PUBLIC INQUIRY PROCESS SO FAR FALLS […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Just behaviour and justice in religious […]

I. Recommendations Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (1)  calls on the Human Rights Council to fulfill its duty to promote and protect the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms in Pakistan by recommending and monitoring: 1. The immediate, unconditional release of detained jurists, including: Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Court Bar, […]

Audio Recording Calls Into Question Government’s Commitment to Fair Elections   (New York, February 15, 2008) – In an audio recording obtained by Human Rights Watch (http://hrw.org/audio/2008/urdu/pakistan0208.htm), Pakistan’s Attorney General Malik Qayyum stated that upcoming parliamentary elections will be “massively rigged,” Human Rights Watch said today. In the recording, Qayyum appears to be advising an […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontiers forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission CHINA: Hu Jia formally charged for “inciting subversion” Reporters Without Borders said today it was outraged […]

Accountability Watch Committee Kathmandu, Nepal Press Statement Thursday Jan 31, 2008 Our attention has been drawn towards the recent reports in media that a meeting of the high-level political task force under the coordination of Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction held on January 28 made a decision, and recommended the government to establish a Truth […]

Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières Press release 29 January 2008 SRI LANKA IRRESPONSIBLE COMMENTS AND ACTION BY MINISTERS ENDANGER JOURNALISTS Reporters Without Borders appealed today to President Mahinda Rajapakse to rein in various government ministers whose inflammatory comments and incitements to violence have serious threatened the safety of dozens of Sri Lankan journalists. “Mr. President, […]

ALERT – SRI LANKA 28 January 2008 High government official advocates censorship, SOURCE: Free Media Movement (FMM), Colombo **For further information on the Mervyn Silva incident, see IFEX alerts of 7 January 2008 and 31 December 2007** (FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: Sri Lankan Defense Secretary openly states he is in […]

Joint Statement Today the ravages of the ethnic conflict are taking centre stage in the country, and the absence of good governance in general is marked. In this context, the agreement among the three relevant smaller political parties, the JVP, TNA and JHU, to fill the vacancy in the Constitutional Council is a positive development. […]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, issued the following statement today: Geneva, 24 January 2008– In this celebratory year of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I welcome the 7th ratification required to bring the Arab Charter on Human Rights into force. All States have ratified at […]