http://antonyloewenstein.com/2011/04/03/what-statement-on-sri-lankan-crimes-does-tamil-victims-not-forgotten/

The recent public campaign against the Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka – I signed a statement alongside Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Ken Loach and others – was aimed to highlight Colombo’s gross human rights abuses and lack of accountability after the end of the civil war in 2009.

PEN is currently holding a series of events in London over the question of free speech, cultural events and boycotts. South African writer Gilliam Slovo writes in the Guardian over these questions and struggles with the proper response to state repression.

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http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/04/llrc-in-ampara-ignored-by-society-at.html
(April 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) visited Ampara on March 25 as a part of their last outstation session. The Commission also visited Buttala, Siyambalanduwa and Kalmunei in the following days. Immediately after their return it was announced that the LLRC had stopped public sittings and will focus on preparing the final report which is to be handed over to the president by May 15th, 2011.
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http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/04/nasty-man-appointed-to-do-malevolent.html
April 04, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Once the nasty campaigner who was on the spree of discrediting individuals questioning the LTTE is said to have been bought over by the Government of Sri Lanka to go on the spree to vulgarise all those campaigning against Sri Lanka in the western world.
The Scandinavian based rocker is said to have visited Sri Lanka couple of times since the defeat of the LTTE and have tied knots with the government on a financial deal to discredit the questioning activists.
Having maintained silence for nearly two years, the wrecker is said to have started his money spinning game to scandalise and destabilise the diasposa Tamil conscience by engaging in his specialist foul laptop game.
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http://gtfonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/claims-colombo-metropolitan-corporation.html

Claims the Colombo Metropolitan Corporation will further consolidate the power of President Rajapaksa

A new organisation called the Colombo Metropolitan Corporation (CMC) is set to further consolidate power into the office of the Presidency in Sri Lanka believes one government critic.
According to The Official Government News Portal of Sri Lanka, the CMC is set to
"assist the five Local Bodies in the city region namely the Colombo Municipal Council, Dehiwela- Mt Lavinia Municipal Council, Sri-Jayawardenapura- Kotte Municipal Council, Kolonnawa Urban Council and Kotikawatta- Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha"
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http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/04/making-barons-out-of-robbers-issues-of.html
File Photo

"If you remember, when you came into power you said, about opening up the economy, that you saw no harm in letting the robber barons come. Now you are trying to make barons out of robbers."


(April 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Two days ago, Sam Wijesinha, former Secretary-General of Parliament, had reportedly given a talk at the Open University of Sri Lanka on the subject of good governance. In his own inimitable style, he had made many anecdotal references to issues of governance in the past. Understandably, he was careful not to refer to the present. The above quote is also from him, but it was stated not at the Open University lecture but in a conversation he had with a journalist many years ago. Wijesinha had made that remark to the then President J R Jayewardene over some other issue. We quote that remark because of its relevance to our present time.

http://www.omlanka.com/ITAK-01-04-11.html
Respect the democratic verdict of Tamil people and resolve the ethnic issue”:Sampanthan

Tamil National Alliance Leader R.Sampanthan has appealed to all people to respect the verdict of the Tamil people in local polls held in predominantly Tamil speaking areas and to respond by resolving the ethnic issue.

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http://www.lakbimanews.lk/portal/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1057:llrc-on-its-final-lap&catid=40:news&Itemid=64

LLRC on its final lap

Requests govt. to releasenames of detainees

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) members met the Chief Incumbents of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters last week to seek guidance before preparing the final report scheduled to be presented by May 15.
They are processing the oral submissions made, and analyzing thousands of pages of transcriptions, said Media Advisor Lakshman Wickremesinghe.
“I think we have 300-400 pages of transcription from the last (outstation) session in Ampara. We have started cataloguing and analyzing thousands of pages of transcripts that have accumulated in the last year,” he said.

LLRC has already issued an interim report and has insisted that the government release the names of those who are detained in camps around the country.
In the final report, it is to address the most urgent issues faced by the residents in the North and East, the abductions, disappearances and financial aid.  The LLRC which was appointed in May 2010 obtained evidence from close to 100 civil, political, religious and military leaders in Colombo, and visited the North and the East to meet those who were directly affected by the war.

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http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/04/is-president-discourteous-manipulator.html

(April 03, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) ‘U.S. Embassy cables accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks reveal that Sri Lanka was excited about the proposal of concerted international action started in the first half of 2006 to curb the fund-raising and weapons procurement by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and wanted to bring India on board to operationalise the contact groups. The Americans believed that India “was on the same page” as them on what to do about the stalled peace process — “getting the President [Mahinda Rajapaksa] to fill in the details of a political solution to deflate LTTE claims that the GOSL [Government of Sri Lanka] was ignoring Tamil aspirations — and working to cut off LTTE access to weapons and money.’ (The Hindu April 1.2011).

APRSL to lure the contact group effort

This international contact group effort coincided with the appointment of the APRC. In June 2006, the All Party Representative Committee was established, under the chairmanship of the Minister Tissa Vitharana, leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. Its mandate was to reach consensus on a package of measures to guarantee the rights of Tamils.