The government of Sri Lanka is dominated by the family of the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. By occupying 9 ministerial roles, including 7 out of 30 positions on the cabinet, the Rajapaksa family controls nearly
Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka, 30th January 2010 A series of recent events connected to the presidential election last week give rise to extremely serious concerns about the state of democracy in
Two days after he was declared the winner of this week’s election, Reporters Without Borders appealed today to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to put a stop to arrests and intimidation of journalists working for
UN Secretary-General Should Work for Independent International Investigation United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and key international actors should take steps to bring accountability for Sri Lanka’s grave human rights violations so that the
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission The common candidate for several opposition parties, retired general Sarath Fonseka, has made an appeal to the President of Sri Lanka to ensure security for
Tension surrounds today’s presidential election, especially for the press, which has had to face many obstacles. Use of the state media to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s campaign for another term has been accompanied
The Sri Lankan government’s ‘magnanimity deficit’ (see my article of October 13th for Global Brief) in the aftermath of the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is creating a high
The Secretary-General strongly regrets the decision of the Sri Lankan Government to expel Mr. James Elder, Spokesman for UNICEF in Sri Lanka. The Secretary-General expresses his full confidence in the work of the
By LAKHDAR BRAHIMI & EDWARD MORTIMER For the Singapore Straits Times It has been three months since Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse declared the country “liberated” from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
How many targets can the Government of Sri Lanka set itself? When he announced the victory, President Rajapaksa said 80% would be released in 180 days. Then, he and other Government ministers tried
