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Suggesting perhaps that the creative imagination of the cartoonist is catching up with the reality of Sri Lanka the Daily Mirror yesterday carried this cartoon as an illustration for its editorial ent...

Sri Lanka’s second international airport has been built in the arid zone, in close proximity to several animal and bird sanctuaries. To protect the airport from animals and birds, the authoritie...

For a law enforcement agency the elimination of thuggery is one of the simplest things to do. For thugs are cowards and they crawl and beg for mercy whenever they find that there is a strong enough wi...

The publically known facts about the mass grave at Matale is that the remains of 154 persons were discovered in this grave, that the remains show injuries which indicate that they were all murdered an...

Dear friends, I wanted to make sure you’d all seen the petition Avaaz launched today on Sri Lanka http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_reward_for_the_island_of_fear Based upon the response rate they will...

CIJL Newsletter N°3 – April 2013 EDITORIAL Every two years, the leaders of the Commonwealth of Nations assemble at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the association’s ...

Basil Fernando A seven-year-old child, Pushpakumara Wijekoon from Kegalle, went to school as usual and left around 1 pm. He walked to the junction where his father usually picked him up on his cycle t...

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was recently quoted as saying that he will take stern action to see that the judiciary will remain ‘pure’. This statement raises many questions. The test of a g...

Sunday, 21 April 2013 02:24 Bishop of Mannar, Most Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph said he never stood for the separation of the country nor rejected any viable political solution to the national question. Th...

REFERRING to the Statements we have previously issued expressing our grave concern about the flawed impeachment process by which Chief Justice Bandaranayake was removed from the office of Chief Justic...

A Reflection by Bishop Duleep de Chickera Over the past months Sri Lankans have been educated on two Arabic words: halal and haram (that which is permissible and not permissible). Unfortunately the c...

The International Bar Association in the executive summary of their report entitled, ‘A Crisis of Legitimacy‘ issued in March 2013 makes the following recommendation to the Commonwealth: T...

Wednesday, 03 April 2013 02:34 The Attorney General is reported to be collecting statistics on incidents of rape and child abuse. Though this has come a little too late it is commendable. We are sad t...

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Vidana Mahaduralage Somarathne, a farmer by possession, was illegally arrested, detained and severely tortured ...

We reproduce below the inauguration address of Upul Jayasuriya, president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, delivered on 30th March 2013. Ven. Maha sangha, Your Lordships Judges of the Supreme Cour...

An article from The Sunday Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Kishali Pinto Jayawardena With a foreign policy in tatters, the judiciary and the legal system in deep crisis and the st...

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the full text of the speech of former Supreme Court Judge C. V. Wigneswaran at the 39th Annual Convocation of BASL. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ...

In a very recent order from the Supreme Court of India the court, among other things, stated as follows: For this Court, the life of a policeman or a member of the security forces is no less precious ...

“When a dog howls at the moon, we call it religion. When he barks at strangers, we call it patriotism.” — Edward Abbey Another howler has emerged from Sri Lanka. And, neither laughin...

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Ms. Kumarapperuma Arrachige Dileeka Shanthi Kusum, a 33-year-old mother of two was beaten in public by the Chairman...