Search Results for: sri lanka

Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]

The year 2024 is an important one for Sri Lanka. It is a presidential election year, and a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council to gather evidence of international crimes for use in future prosecutions is due for renewal. After the public ousters of the former-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2023, Ranil Wickremesinghe [...]

The Sri Lankan Parliament passed a controversial bill Wednesday, which has been condemned by opposition politicians and several human rights groups for curtailing free speech in the country. The Online Safety Bill aims to tackle cybercrimes such as child abuse, data theft and online fraud. However, human rights organizations warned that the bill poses a [...]

In a press conference Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, one of twelve members of Parliament’s Select Committee to deal with the “drug menace,” vowed to continue the controversial anti drug campaign Yukthiya amid human rights concerns. The campaign was announced in early December 2023 via press conference. In a message directed to the [...]

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court invalidated on Wednesday, for the first time ever, a presidential pardon to former member of Parliament Duminda Silva. In a unanimous ruling, the court found that there was “no legal basis or even a factual basis to uphold the decision made by” former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to pardon Silva. Silva and [...]

The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday that 21 Indian fishermen, who were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy due to alleged involvement in illegal poaching in Sri Lankan waters, were repatriated from Sri Lanka to Chennai, India. Fishing is a bone of contention between India [...]

Several Rohingya refugees in Sri Lanka protested outside the UN refugee agency’s office this week due to the announced closure of its Sri Lanka office at the end of 2024. The refugees also submitted an appeal to UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday, calling for the agency not to abandon them without arranging [...]

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that the Court of Appeal of Qatar has decided to commute the death sentences of eight Indian nationals working for Doha-based Al Dahra Global. According to the MEA, the detailed judgment from the Court of Appeal has yet to be released. The MEA also stated that the [...]

Sri Lankan Prison Commissioner Gamini Dissanayake announced earlier this week that President Ranil Wickremesinghe pardoned over 1,000 prisoners because of the Christmas holiday. The exact number released was 1,004, comprising 989 men and 15 women. A majority of those who were pardoned by the president Sunday were those accused of being unable to pay outstanding [...]

The Sri Lankan government announced Friday the establishment an independent Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation through an act introduced in Sri Lanka’s Parliament. The government stated that the commission is intended to “ensure an inclusive process in developing legislation that strengthens and safeguards national unity through truth, transitional justice, reconciliation, reparation and social cohesion.” The [...]