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EXPEDITE POLICE INVESTIGATION INTO ACCUSED EDITOR

Details: Created on 04 April 2011

The editor of Lanka E News Bennet Rupasinghe was arrested by the police on March 31, 2011 and denied bail till his next court appearance on April 8, 2011. This website has been under severe attack for over a year. The arrest of the editor follows an arson attack against the office of the website that destroyed its equipment in January this year. One of its reporters, Prageeth Eknaligoda has been missing for over one year now with the police completely failing to make any progress in the matter.

STATEMENT OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL PEACE COUNCIL IN REGARD TO THE INVESTIGATION BEING CARRIED OUT ON IT

Details: Created on 23 March 2011

Last week, the Executive Director of the National Peace Council was called to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lanka Police. He was informed that the CID wished to carry out an investigation regarding the organization's sources of funding, its partners and the activities it was carrying out. CID officers asked questions about the work of the National Peace Council and asked for further information. This investigation was preceded by adverse media commentary in both the state media and sections of the private media that NPC together with other non -governmental organizations continue to be funded by foreign donors despite the end of the war and claiming that they are serving the interests of their funding partners.

FIRST CITIZENS PEACE AWARD TO DR PAIKIASOTHY SARAVANAMUTTU

Details: Created on 15 February 2011

The Citizens Peace Award for 2010 of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka has been awarded to Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives. Dr Saravanamuttu was selected from 52 nominations received after the award was announced in November 2010. The National Peace Council is happy that its inaugural selection should be of a person who holds a leading position in a well known civil society organization and has distinguished himself and his work by courage, risk-taking and consistency over many years.

REPEATED ATTACKS ON MEDIA SEND NEGATIVE MESSAGE OF DEMOCRACY ON RETREAT

Details: Created on 02 February 2011

The arson attack on the Lanka E News office is a deplorable continuation of the series of attacks on media establishments and personnel who have been critical of the government in their outlook. In the past few years there have been a regular pattern of attacks that have included the murder and disappearance of senior journalists and physical attacks on them and on media establishments. In January last year, a senior journalist of Lanka E News, Prageeth Ekneligoda, disappeared without a trace which lends credence to the specific targeting of this media institution.

STRONGER CIVIL SOCIETY AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE NEEDED TO DEAL WITH THE FLOOD CRISIS

Details: Created on 17 January 2011

Recent heavy rains across Sri Lanka have caused flooding and landslides that have left tens of thousands homeless, caused several deaths and affected over a million people. The flood crisis continues to be serious. The worst affected areas are in the East of the country which was previously devastated by long years of war and by the Tsunami of 2004. In comparison to the Tsunami, even though the number of persons who lost their lives is significantly less, the

HAVE NATIONAL ANTHEM IN BOTH SINHALA AND TAMIL LANGUAGES

Details: Created on 14 December 2010

There are reports that the government has decided that the national anthem would be sung only in Sinhala at all official and state functions although the Constitution of Sri Lanka states that both Sinhala and Tamil are official languages. It is also reported that a government directive to use only the Sinhala version will soon be sent out which will mean that even in the Tamil majority parts of the country, where Sinhala is not commonly spoken, the people will have to sing the anthem in a language they do not understand.

CHANGES WE LIKE TO SEE IN THE PRESIDENT'S SECOND TERM

Details: Created on 19 November 2010

President Rajapaksa took his oaths today to the most powerful position in the Sri Lankan polity. He has won the confidence and trust of a majority of the general population as the commander-in-chief of the Sri Lankan armed forces who provided overall leadership to eliminate war and terrorism from the country. Unlike his predecessors, President Rajapaka will not face any armed or territorial challenge to his government's rule in his second term. With his reputation and powers the president is well positioned to steer the country on to a new path of peace and democracy. From a peace building and even a development perspective the main challenge facing Sri Lanka is to come up with a political solution to the ethnic conflict after the war. This includes the active acceptance that all communities be they Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims have suffered, been displaced at various points in time and need to be compensated and re-empowered as individuals and communities.

HIGHER RATIONALE FOR COMMISSION ON " LESSONS LEARNT AND RECONCILIATION"

Details: Created on 21 October 2010

The National Peace Council recently took the opportunity to make its submissions before the Presidential Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation. This Commission was appointed in May 2010 to look into the reasons why the Ceasefire Agreement and peace process failed, to prevent the recurrence of conflicts as had occurred and address issues of compensation to those who were victims. The Commission was appointed in the context of the international call for an independent international commission to investigate the allegations of human rights violations and war crimes committed in the closing stages of the war.

INADVISABLE TO RACE THROUGH WITH ONE SIDED CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

Details: Created on 06 September 2010

The government has decided to amend the constitution in a manner that concentrates more power in the already over-powerful institution of the Executive Presidency and to obtain parliamentary ratification by September 8, 2010. The constitutional amendments seek to remove the two term limitation on the Presidency and to replace the 17th Amendment to the constitution with an alternative that vests more power in the President. If the government sticks to its plans the constitutional amendment process will have taken less than two weeks from the time of its presentation to the general public to its implementation. Countries with stable and successful political systems have engaged in mass education and public consultations for a considerable period of time prior to changing the Constitution.

CONCERNS OF PEOPLE OF NORTH AND EAST NEED TO BE ADDRESSED

Details: Created on 06 August 2010

As part of its programme to promote reconciliation after the war, the National Peace Council last week brought down a group of thirty journalists from the North and East to the South. Previously these journalists had engaged with groups of media and civil society activists from the South who had visited their areas. During their visit to the South the journalists met with government officials as well as with a range of other political and civil society actors. Their positive interactions in the South, including both Colombo and Galle, showed them the positive potential there is for normalcy and reconciliation.

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