Polls chief warns of court action against media
Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has warned the media they may face charges of contempt before the Supreme Court if they do not follow the 21-point guidelines given by him.
Breakthrough in Lasantha probe
A serving Army Major General, now on an overseas posting, has been re-called to Sri Lanka as CID detectives continued their investigations into the murder of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga.
Sri Lanka to amend law on NGOs
The Sri Lankan Government is to amend the Act which deals with Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) with the objective to enable the concerned agencies to probe their activities and take appropriate action against them, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka told the Daily Mirror online.
Someone sends a message saying that there is heavy police presence. Then phones are picked up and calls are made. “Barricades are being brought in. Student protest, apparently”. A few calls later, we have a rough idea of where it’s going to be. We change plans of heading back to office, and tell the tuk-tuk driver to take us to Colpetty.
Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions in peril, says Seattle Editorial
Noting that the “European Union recently dropped the island’s preferential trade status because of human-rights violations,” Seattle Times (U.S.) on Friday “says Sri Lankan media are not free to discuss the challenges, so the best hope is international attention.
Sri Lanka’s dissenting voices ‘silenced’
When Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected president of Sri Lanka in January, media organisations and human rights groups said they hoped the suppression of dissenting voices would end. But those hopes have not materialised.
Order sought against EC on polls violence
The Centre for Policy Alternative (CPA) is to go to the Supreme Court, seeking an order on the Commissioner of Elections, to prevent the repetition of the election violence that had allegedly taken place during the recently concluded Presidential Election.
Unidentified persons threw stones continually, attacking the office of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) former parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran Friday night causing damage to the tiles and windows of the office, sources in Jaffna said.
SLPP persons harass senior Tamil journalist Parameswaran in Jaffna
Persons of Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP), a constituent of ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), caught and held N. Parameswaran, a senior Tamil journalist in Jaffna peninsula, the correspondent of BBC Tamil service and Daily Mirror, Saturday from 9:00 a.m til 9:30 in front of the SLFP office located at Veampadi Veethi in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said.
Sri Lankan Intelligence Infiltrates Facebook
According to informed sources within Sri Lankan intelligence, Sri lankan intelligence officials are now infiltrating on facebook to collect information on supporters of Sarath Fonseka and critics of Mahinda Rajapakse.
Searching my temple, a place of worship, for explosives was an insulting act, says the venerable Keeniyawala Palika Thera, chief incumbent of the Nugegoda Nalandarama Temple.
So far there has been no news about him The Police have after a month since his disappearance. Led by Two Inspectors of the Homagama police headquarters, two police groups have been appointed in this connection, according Police media spokesman SP Priyantha Jayakody.
‘Firewall’ system installed to bloc news web sites
A ‘firewall’ system has been installed by Sri Lanka telecom to bloc web sites says a very reliable source. This has been carried out as a combined operation by the government through Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) and a group of Chinese intelligence experts who have been got down to develop a regulatory framework for advanced telecom technology known as next generation networks (NGN).
Sri Lankan Journalist Missing for One Month
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) appeals to Sri Lanka’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has recently also assumed the role of Media and Information Minister, to do all in his power to investigate the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda and ensure his safe return to his family.
When Panadura Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake asked Panadura North Police to point out what crime has been committed by drawing election symbols on the road, the police were dumbfounded and they said they would refer to Election Act and inform the Court.
‘Journalists Against Suppression’ speak on fate of democracy
A seminar on the theme ‘Suppression of the media and fate of democracy” organized by ‘Journalists Against Suppression’ was held at the Public Library Auditorium in Colombo yesterday (22nd) which was attended by a large number of people including journalists and intellectuals.
A close confidante of Lankaenews freelance journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, on the basis of anonymity, said a powerful government minister and a Provincial Council member were involved in Eknaligoda’s abduction
EKNELIGODA’S WIFE, CHILDREN FILE HABEAS CORPUS
A petition was filed requesting a writ order to be issued to the police to produce Prageeth Ekneligoda, the missing freelance journalist of the Lanka E-News website before the Court of Appeal. The wife and two children of Prageeth Ekneligoda filed this writ of habeas corpus on Friday.
President halts cyber censorship
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the suspension of a plan by Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator to censor anti-government websites by blocking access to it with Chinese assistance, informed sources said.
Sri Lanka: Disappearance of human rights defender Mr Pattani Razeek
Front Line is gravely concerned by reports of the disappearance of human rights defender, Mr Pattani Razeek, managing trustee of the Community Trust Fund (CTF) and member of the Executive Committee of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA).
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION SRI LANKA 