THE CITIZEN – Ground level discourse – 2

THE CITIZEN 02 English – Final – Please Click Here to Download

THE CITIZEN – Ground level discourse

Purawasiya 01 – Click Here to PDF – Download Here

Click Here to PDF – Download Here “The Kahata”

A Brief Non-Exhaustive Commentary On Potential Policy Reforms Addressing issues faced by Malaiyaha Tamil Communities of Sri Lanka.

Initial framework for a broader policy discussion

Click Here to PDF – Download Here

BRIEF COMMENTARY RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF WATER RELATED CONFLICTS IN SRI LANKA

Click Here to PDF – Water Policy – Download Here

BRIEF COMMENTARY CONFLICTS IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN SRI LANKA

Click Here to PDF – Agriculture Policy – Download Here

BRIEF COMMENTARY RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF CONFLICTS RELATED TO LAND IN SRI LANKA

Click Here to PDF – Land Policy – Download Here

BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE PRESSING NEED FOR REGULATORY MECHANISM FOR MONEY LENDING INCLUDING MICROFINANCE IN SRI LANKA.

Click Here to PDF – Micro Finance Policy – Download Here

BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE PRESSING NEED FOR A LAW AND A NATIONAL POLICY TO RECOGNIZE AND SAFEGUARD THE RIGHTS OF ADIVASI COMMUNITIES IN SRI LANKA.

Click Here to PDF – Adivasi Policy – Download Here

A BRIEF REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES POLICY (OLP) IN SELECTED MINISTRIES & GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & PUBLIC PERCEPTION ON OLP IN SRI LANKA

Click Here to Pdf – A Brief Report on the Implementation of the Official Languages Policy (OLP)

Arunodaya – Click Here – PDF

CPA released its publication titled Right to Information: Issues and Challenges of Policy and Implementation which is an analysis of the recent use of the RTI Act by journalists. The publication includes hitherto unpublished case studies of RTI being used as an effective tool to raise concerns on a range of policy positions, and their implementation and highlights the paradox between policies in theory and experiences in practice. Journalists have presented their personal opinions and views based on their analysis of various social issues, some relating to a particular area or community. The report also contains an summarized analysis of the public calls to CPA’s RTI 113-030-463 hotline during 2021. A long-standing struggle and sustained advocacy of various human rights actors has led to the landmark
decision to introduce the Right to Information (RTI) as an integral part of the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This publication, supported by FNF, follows from more than a decade of advocacy by CPA to promote the Right to Information in Sri Lanka and then to support the effective use of this right by journalists and activists, in the public interest.

Please Click Here PDF – RTI – Issues and Challanges of Policy and Implementation

The Right to Information and Media Practice

Click Here – PDF – The Right to Information and Media Practice

Human Rights and Democracy in Sri Lanka

Threats to Journalists, Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society

Click Here PDF – Human Rights and Democracy

Policy Recommendations on Preventing Violent Extremism in Sri Lanka

Based on Virtual Discussions with University Undergraduates of Sri Lanka.

Click Here to pdf

OUR LAND, YOUR LAWS: Protecting the Rights of Sri Lanka’s Adivasis

Voice of Citizens E-Magazine – Click Here to PDF

The electoral system too needs to change
Dayasiri Jayasekara
Member of Parliament – Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)

In the current context of the country, the first thing that is mentioned is that 225 parliamentarians are not required. There, the main predicament is that this is a call made by some people at the protest site and not necessarily a clarion call from the entire country. Similarly, this current group of 225 was elected after the 225 parliamentarians were rejected in 2019 with the sentiments that the parliament should be bombed with all 225 members in it. However, it is the 225 elected after this saga in 2019 that are being asked to leave.

Actually, this is not a problem of a special number, I see it as an issue of trust and respect of the appointed representative, the conduct in parliament and the confusion as to what actually the representative is involved in once elected. The second issue is the rejection of the way politics have operated for the past 74 years. I see this as a conflict that emerged after the introduction of the open economy in 1977 and not as a problem of 74 years. Corruption was minimised in the governments before 1977 and the people were not as morally
corrupt.

We know that when C.W.W. Kannangara died, he was receiving a token payment. It was a society with the calibre of such politicians that suffered a major setback after 1977 with the introduction of the proportional representation electoral system and the open economy. Therefore, I believe that this is a situation that escalated over the political history spanning the last 40 years.

Proposal for a National Assembly A key suggestion that came forth from those involved in the agitation was the formation of a national assembly parallel to the parliament and the Cabinet, composed of professionals and the state should be governed taking into due consideration their suggestions and criticisms. This is similar to what we have also suggested. We have suggested that just as we are appointed to parliament, there should be a council that would consider the proposals of the professionals, and enable the exchange of ideas and wider discourse, in order to engage them in the governance mechanism. We see
this as a matter that is being discussed with a degree of a value proposition. As the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, our organizers are not appointed by the leader.

There are certain processes before the leader gives the letter. Because there is an interview panel, people come to that panel and their information is discussed and that is where we select the organizers for each seat. The party leader appointing a person is not a reasonable method. A big accusation from the people is that the list does not contain good candidates to choose at an election to cast their vote. In some districts, thieves, robbers, people accused of corruption, uneducated and people involved in various vices are part of the candidates’ lists. This is a serious matter, that there are no good candidates for the public to choose from.

We need candidates that can be accepted As political parties, we all have a responsibility to nominate people who are accepted by society. When people who have been accused of corruption, committed murder or accused of murder are nominated through a candidate list, the people do not have an opportunity to make a reasonable choice.

We are currently discussing several related issues at present. In the case of a constitutional amendment, the current electoral system should be reformed in line with what has been stated above. We are also discussing this matter and have presented a number of proposals. Representative democracy will be strengthened only by reinforcing the electoral reform process. I believe that the aspiration of the agitators can be achieved to some extent through this process.

Voice of Citizens

A constitutional equilibrium required for development
Patali Champika Ranawaka
Member of Parliament – Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)

The idea of a new constitution has reemerged. The reason is the 12 April 2022 declaration of State bankruptcy. Therefore, people have been pressed to seriously question their representatives and rulers considering the difficulties they are faced with as a result. This has surfaced as a discourse in society about a type of representation outside of parliament that represents democracy directly. When you consider the crisis in Sri Lanka, there are some historical aspects to it, but this crisis has escalated and matured to this point because the non-commercial loans obtained after 2010 were invested in projects that could not generate any income, while the wealth was plundered. Although the question of whether this calamity is a problem of the constitution is before us now, the issue of governance has also come to light as an issue behind this
catastrophic situation.

Even though the issue of the grievances or aspirations of the minority people has been at the centre of discussions during attempts to develop fresh constitutions in the past, the space now expands to deliberate on the issues of democracy, human rights and economic behaviour within a wider scope.

Regulation of development processes Generally, according to the definition of a constitution in political science, the elements of the economy are not reflected in the constitution. They are reflected in the various Acts. However, given the present context of the country, the need to introduce a certain degree of constitutional equilibrium in development without leaving room for the rulers to take arbitrary decisions, has been mooted. We have also suggested the National Physical Plan, the commission should be included in the constitution and ensure that development processes outside of its scope are prevented. In addition, traditional party politics have been seriously questioned.

Those who engaged in political revolutions in our country expected mainly to overthrow the system through an armed struggle and to establish a different social order and a system. They have failed. Therefore, it is not only the democratic system that has failed in Sri Lanka, even the armed insurrections have failed tragically. Also, when we consider countries like Cuba, concepts such as socialism that insurrections expected to establish, have been seriously challenged. Even though those social systems have fallen apart, these problems surface since there are people who still cherish and attempt to dwell on those memories.

Internal democracy of the parties Therefore, it should not only be about the economic system we adopt but attention should also be drawn to the party system and the unlimited powers wielded by the leaders of the respective political parties, the absence of democracy and democratic values within the parties, the tendency to remain without leaving when defeated, the despicable desire and attempts to repeatedly represent parliament, provincial council or local councils through heinous methods and the damage to the country due to nepotism. Attention should be paid to the impact on the country due to family politics. At present one-third of the parliament are relatives, while there is another group of people who have managed to increase their preferential vote count with ill-gotten wealth.

The influence of the media, especially the owners of the electronic media, that launch massive campaigns to send their preferred people to parliament and initiate processes to ensure that those who are not in favour or liked by the media owners are defeated and discredited. There is a wider discourse at present regarding the internal democracy of these political parties and the media outlets. Mass Media and illegitimate capital When it comes to mass media, especially electronic media, the frequencies belong to the people.

They are used in utterly despicable ways and means to misinform and mislead
people, and discredit people they don’t like, and promote their own favoured individuals and groups. Billions of rupees earned through illegal means such as drug trafficking, illegal stone and soil smuggling and government contracts, are invested in elections. These result in higher preferential votes. They are seated in the front row of the parliament today. In such a context, democracy and the value of the people’s vote have become a joke. It is our belief that internal party
democracy, external democratic processes and election processes should be strengthened in this constitution in order to have a real representation of the people instead of this politics of nepotism, corruption and puppets manipulated by the media. In our opinion, the Election Commission should be empowered and strengthened.

The Election Commission should reject party constitutions that do not guarantee internal democracy in the parties. Also, a tradition should be established in the country, in order to create a democratic environment where the main leaders would step down after an election defeat paving the way for other leaders to take over. Also, in the selection of candidates, the parties should be able to have a process of obtaining the preference and or considering the will of the party members from the regions. In some countries, primary elections are held for the candidates in order to select a candidate to represent a party at an election, and that is how presidential candidates and
prime ministerial candidates are selected. Such a process is essential.

Regulation of election expenses The second area is money. The Election Commission should have definite control over the use of finances. Most of the time, attention is paid only to the abuse of state property. The Election Commission should be entrusted to lay down specific rules and regulations for election campaigns that use not only state property but also ill-gotten wealth. Similarly,  attention should be paid to the usage of media. Even if there are some issues with print media, as far as mass media is concerned, electronic media is the most widely circulated and used media in the country.

The frequencies used by the media belong to the people of the country. The Internet belongs to the people. Therefore, it is essential to delegate power to the Election Commission to intervene and regulate Internet and electronic media usage in a specific and balanced manner. Otherwise, this will continue to operate in an extremely corrupt manner. The wider public should also develop political traditions outside the constitution. Instead of lamenting, ‘Oh, what happened to us or who is responsible for this mess’ after the country declared bankruptcy, we could have averted the disaster, if we had acted with some kind of understanding before these events unfolded. Therefore, the public should also understand and own these traditions. We need a party tradition where a winning presidential candidate would retire from politics after serving the legitimate term as a president and also where party leaders would step down after losing a main election and thereby, provide the opportunity for others to take the country forward. The country needs party traditions that abhor nepotism and illgotten wealth.

Disaster if constitution drafted only based on Aragalaya

Prasanna Ranatunga
Member of Parliament – Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)

The Constitution of our country has been amended 20 times since 1978. Most of these amendments were to fulfill the agendas of political parties or to serve individuals. That is why this has become an utter confusion with amendment after amendment added on. Therefore, people of the country, scholars and elders are of the opinion that a new constitution should be introduced in this country that is relevant to the times.

It is my suggestion that a brand new constitution should be brought that is relevant to the country by recognizing and understanding the needs of the people. When the presidential system is abolished, what will happen to the Provincial Council? – and how would the Provincial Councils be governed? – There are several issues that will surface…These things are intertwined with each other. We have to decide whether to make our country subject to a federal system or a unitary country. If we pursue federalism, when the presidential system is abolished, the federal system can be implemented through the provincial councils.

If the majority of the people of the country want this to be a unitary state, the president should have some powers to handle the provincial councils. This cannot be explained briefly this requires a broad dialogue. When I was in the opposition, I was in the constitutional amendment committee, we discussed for four years and still could not see an end. The constitution is not something that
can be drafted in two or three days.

We need to create a broad discourse in the country, since many people do not understand the constitution. They want to fulfil their daily needs and live. Therefore, I believe that we should create a discourse in this country, allow debates to take place and introduce a constitution suitable for this country. We
need everyone’s assistance with such a process.

Otherwise, the efforts will be futile. Today, except for the MPs who were
elected from the National List in the Parliament, all the others have been appointed by the people’s votes, as representatives of the people. Today, people talk about the agitation (Aragalaya) in the country in a big way. The activists reject all 225 parliamentarians. However, if the 225 leave, the next in line
on the list will be appointed. Therefore, this should not be the purpose of the Aragalaya. If you ask sixty leaders of the Aragalaya what the next steps are, they will tell you sixty different things. People who do not understand the
constitution speak at these forums.

When they were questioned by the media regarding their suggestions and proposals, they say that there are no such plans. Therefore, if we get restricted to the Aragalaya to develop a constitution the country will be damned
from the start. Instead, groups that have the expertise and sound understanding in this area need to be called, engaged in a wider discourse, and a constitution that guarantees the objectives of the people should be developed with good understanding and consideration from the perspective of the public.

Voice of Citizens

Step away from old systems, think afresh

M.A. Sumanthiran
M.P. – Tamil National Alliance

There have been calls for a radical change in our system of governance, people are requesting a system change, not just a change of heads, or a change of persons, but a change of the entire system. They are asking for an advanced model of democratic governance. This could be even called direct democracy. We have a system where representatives are nominated from the political parties and people have to elect from the nominated candidates with very little engagement regarding who will be nominated. Once these representatives are elected and assume office, they make all the decisions for a period of five years. People do not have the space to engage or interact in those decisions. So, there is a radical and revolutionary change necessary at both these levels. The type of radical change that is envisaged cannot be achieved under the present constitution.

Therefore, we definitely need a new constitution that is formulated as an out-of-the-box solution. We have to put aside the existing system and think fresh as we step into a reform process, not on any of the lines that we are used to so far. We need a new constitution if the system has to be changed completely. The present mechanism of selecting representatives should be changed. Currently, the political parties select representatives and nominate them to the people for election. In contrast, in the old voting system in the local governments, the people choose their candidate and presented that candidate to their political party. After the election, the assembly meets and decides how to form a government. According to the current system, the party with the majority votes or the most seats gets the power to form a government.

To change this system, the people have to choose their representatives and nominate them, and after those representatives are elected, if there is no government made up of those representatives, a committee system has to be formed. There is a discussion about such matters at present.

What is the People’s Council?

There need to be provisions for the people to engage in selecting the candidates to be elected by the public vote. Once these candidates are elected there needs to be a forum for the public to engage in the decision-making process. There is a need to create people’s councils so that the voice of the people and the representatives can be absorbed from the grassroot level upwards. When making decisions there must be a system where the people are consulted. If the people’s councils are functioning, before taking an important decision for the country, the decision can be discussed at the local levels and finally referred to the highest assembly. So, there will be greater involvement and engagement of the people in choosing representatives and also in the decision-making process. Major decisions cannot be left in the hands of the elected representatives only, it should follow a process of a participatory decision involving the public. This must be two-way consultation and the people’s views from the council can contribute to making the final decision. So, in this manner, we can strengthen democracy and engagement of the public instead of the representative democracy that we have right now.

Constitutional reform must take this into consideration and make fundamental system changes instead of just tampering with the current constitution and strengthening democratic rule in the country. In order to implement these systems, we have to completely change the constitution, leave aside the existing system and think in a new innovative way and proceed with a reform process. The country has reached the stage where such a system is required although it is quite difficult to implement this system in practice since the people do not have a say or an opportunity for almost five years, to engage according to the current system after electing the representatives. The people who appoint the representatives do not have the provision to intervene and influence the decisions made by their representatives. This system is the reason for the deteriorated state our country has reached today.

Therefore, the engagement and participation of the people in important decisions will be the most critical aspect of a People’s Council. When the elected representatives are accused of corruption, the public should have the ability to look into the facts and remove the representative and appoint someone else. The new constitution will be an advanced democratic system only if such proposals are included and integrated into this new constitution. Although it is not easy to implement this system, if we are to strengthen democracy, we must create a mechanism that can achieve these objectives. We can obtain technical support since the modern world has found practical solutions to such problems in advanced democratic systems. If this does not happen the mandate of the people will continue to be distorted in governance.

Voice of Citizens

Political Party internal
democracy should be strengthened

Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
M.P. Jathika Jana balawegaya (JJB)

Sri Lanka is going through an extraordinary time at this moment, and we need to understand that moment correctly. The Aragalaya that we are seeing now has been calling for the transformation of our country, of our quality of social relations in fundamental ways. And it’s important that we pay attention to that. It’s important that we understand what the demands of the ‘Aragalaya’ symbolises in a larger political and social context. One of the biggest areas we think of, as the National People’s Power (NPP), that we need to deal with in this country, is the social contract between the rulers and the citizens and we think that this is a problem that has been unresolved in our country ever since independence.

In many ways, we’ve been struggling to define this relationship, to define this contract in a way that is equitable, democratic, and just, and many of the problems that we’ve been facing since independence, the Northeast conflict, the Southern insurrections and all Of these moments, the sort of significant moments of political upheaval in our country, have been the underlying issue has been that social contract. And we have still not really come together to form a social contract that works fairly for everyone. So, in that light, we think a new constitution is absolutely essential. We have come to the limits of this current constitution. We have severe problems with the existing constitution.

We critique the constitution, especially the executive presidential system, we think this can no longer be tinkered with and a new constitution is required. And we think one of the primary fundamental questions that the new constitution should address is the social contract between the rulers and citizens and the kind of relationship that should be – how do we ensure that there are no second-class citizens and that citizens feel included and part of the system, whatever their identity, whether it is in individual identity in terms of gender, sexual orientation or being part of a specific cultural, ethnic community. Whatever the identity is, there can no longer be second-class citizens in our country. So ensuring equality, equity, and social justice for all, irrespective of difference should be a primary fundamental principle in the new constitution. We also think that in redefining the social contract between the citizens and the rulers, one of the things that we need to think about is how to strengthen democracy, how to strengthen democratic structures in our society, and how to enable citizens to participate more actively in their own political systems and political

decisions.

So, we have several ideas that we are thinking about and we are discussing. None of these are final, but these are up for discussion. One or two examples that I can give is that we know that during elections, all political parties come up with manifestos that are simply forgotten after they get elected. Even right now, we see that problem where there was overwhelming support for a particular manifesto, and for a particular type of leadership that never materialized. It also does not consider the fact that citizens also change their minds and change their ideas about what is right and required.

However, there’s no opportunity that is given in our system to accommodate this change. We see that happening right now. So, there are several things that we propose to address – one is that we think a party that gets elected to power by presenting a particular manifesto has to be justiciable somewhere. So that there is some constitutional provision that is provided for a citizen who voted for a particular manifesto to hold them accountable. A party that comes into power by promoting a particular manifesto is bound to implement it and a citizen should have the right to go to court if necessary if that manifesto is being undermined or not implemented properly.

The other proposal we have is to have a provision with the right to recall a representative so that the citizens who elected a particular member do not have to wait for the end of the term of office in order to express their sentiments about a particular representative. If during that period the representative violates certain fundamental agreements or is accused of corruption, those who sent him to that position should have the ability to recall and call for new elections. We also think that matters like crossovers should be prohibited or crossovers should result in you losing your seat and having to be re-elected.

You cannot simply just cross parties and remain in your seat without your constituents being given a chance to accept or reject the position you have taken. So as the NPP, things like this in which citizen’s participation in this system is strengthened, are implemented at people’s councils at the local level where we are setting those, by getting the community to appoint leaders from within that community, representative of that community, who will then form an NPP council for that particular local area. So we have asked that the people’s councils include youth representation and women’s representation that is representative of that community, of the diversity within that community. Within our party structure, the councils will have the power to influence what happens within the party. Once we set this up properly, which we are in the process of doing, we think that they should be able to, for instance, propose nominations for elections in the future. They can suggest who should represent them in elections. Those ideas should come from the council’s input into policy input and into the manifestos that the party develops. So, we have a council at the very local level, at the polling division level another layer, and a district level representation.

Through this system, we’ll be able to influence the party at the national level so that there is a conversation and a dialogue that is enabled across the party. So the decisions are not just taken at the top and sent down to the bottom, but there is communication that goes both ways. So we think that democratising party structures, as well as enabling greater citizen participation in decision-making in matters of policy and politics is the way that we can democratize society. We are aware that a constitution can only do so much, and along with the constitution there is a need for political education, consciousness, awareness raising, and also opportunities for citizens to organize and engage if we really want to democratize our society. These should be priorities for reform in the months as we go forward.

Voice of Citizens

Sri Lanka Microfinance Crisis – Voice of Citizens Magazine

Please Click Here to PDF – Voice of Citizens Magazine

‘Purawesi Handa’ is a publication aimed at dissemination of the voices of citizens of this country and to build a wider discourse on issues significant to citizens. We believe that the social discourse that Centre for Policy Alternatives has developed over 25 years should be further intensified at this moment. Therefore, we aim to release this publication in all three languages and plan to publish these conversations as videos in social media. The drafting of a constitution is a very important feature for a country. It is evident that the genuine aspirations of the people living in this society were not represented in any of the constitutional development processes that took place from the Soul bury Constitution to the 1978 Constitution and from then until now. The constitution of 1972 did not seem to have understood the signal stemming from the insurgency of 1971. The 1978 constitution, which has been amended for the 20th time and is in force until now, was challenged by two insurrections in the north and the south during the period of more than 40 years.

The state failed to provide an acceptable fair solution to the northern people who demanded their rights as citizens until the problem escalated into a thirty-year war. More than ten years have passed since the end of the armed war and still there have been no solutions provided to those problems of the people. The rulers also failed to understand the messages emanating from the youth insurrection in the south during 88-89. It seems that none of the rulers for almost 75 years since independence have been able to understand the signals given from the society. The recent public agitation is one of the most pivotal agitations in recent history.

It had very positive as well as some negative aspects. What makes it unique is the non-violent and highly creative characteristic of the agitation. The uprising in the ‘71 and ‘88-89 were to some extent armed rebellions. The young people who contributed to the agitation this time can be considered the children of the ’88- 89 generation and grandchildren of the ’71 generation. Their method employed to display dissent was completely non-violent. They had the capacity and strength to assemble together in unity without the divisions of race, religion, class, rural-urban divides, gender, etc and there was equal value for all within the agitation.

The agitation reflected a number of such salient features. However, even after this agitation, it is sad that the government is attempting to continue with the same old mechanism without understanding the messages given by the people. It is clearly evident that there is a response of vengeance to the current agitation that led to the resignation of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister and finally the President. This is a situation that can develop extremely disastrous consequences. In such a context, our effort is to discuss the concerns for ‘making a system change’ voiced by the protesters. The constitution of a country should evoke respect and acceptance of all its citizens. The constitution drafting process is not limited to the work of the elite regime or political parties but should expand and be formulated with the inclusive participation of the public representing various strata of society and through a broad dialogue.

It cannot be completed simply in a couple of days. Not one draft but several drafts may have to be prepared and the final draft should be subject to a wide discussion among the public. Our effort, therefore, is to contribute to the dialogue on drafting of a new constitution. As the first stage, we inquired into how far the leaders of the political parties who are currently engaged in active politics are sensitive to the issue. We inquired regarding their thoughts on political reforms, strengthening democracy and internal democracy of political parties. It is our hope to conduct further conversations on similar subjects in the future. In particular, we hope to take the thoughts and opinions of experts and scholars to society and to engage in conversations.

Due to the challenging situation faced by the publications industry regarding printing, initially, we can only publish this as an electronic magazine. However, our expectation is to conduct open public discussions on these main subjects in the future.

We invite the university fraternity, professionals and interested citizens to join in order to enrich these conversations.

Editor

Lionel Guruge

Senior Researcher

Centre for Policy Alternatives

CHALLENGES OF A NEW CONSTITUTION

Sovereignty is the fundamental basis of the Constitution, which is the basic law of a country. The source of sovereignty is the people. Thus, the designing of the Constitution and potential subsequent reforms should essentially be based on the broad aspirations of the people of the country.

The recently launched ‘citizen’s struggle’ in Sri Lanka called for broader system change through social and political reforms in the country. We understand that, to this end, there should be a better comprehension of, inter alia, the socio-political policies, constitutional principles, and democratic processes to make the envisaged Constitutional reforms a meaningful effort for a system change in the socio-economic and political spheres.

We are bringing this program, the “Voice of the Citizens”, to you as an effort to effectively contribute to understanding the people’s aspirations broadly and comprehensively in the Constitutional reform process in the country. Thus, the voices of the people’s representatives are presented to you as an opening for much broader societal discourse.

CHALLENGES OF A NEW CONSTITUTION – Click Here to PDF

Journalists threatened by the MP and his wife

An MP and his wife have threatened journalist Samanthi Weerasekera over the phone regarding an article published in the Divaina newspaper regarding illegal constructions taking place in the Hanthana ecological zone in Kandy.

Hanthana, Kandy is an Ecological Protection Zone. Secretary of the Hanthana Conservation Organization Amit Senanayake has lodged several complaints with the Kandy Police, the Hanthana Management Committee and the Central Environmental Authority.

There is a land 300 feet above sea level which is reportedly owned by the wife of MP Lakshman Kiriella. Amit Senanayake has lodged a complaint with the Kandy Police alleging that trees had been felled and set on fire. According to the complaint, a case is being heard in the Kandy Magistrate’s Court. Journalist Samanthi Weerasekera wrote a feature article for the Divaina newspaper regarding illegal activities taking place in this eco-zone and it was published in the Divaina newspaper on Sunday, 3 January 2021.

“After the article was published, Minister Lakshman Kiriella and his wife spoke to me on two occasions in a threatening manner and asked me what my sources were for writing an article like this. MP. Kiriella’s wife asked me for the sources and then handed over the phone to the security guard, saying that she did not want to talk to me anymore. They have called the office of Minister Kiriella and inquired about me, ”said the journalist who faced the threats.

She has informed her newspaper about this but has not lodged a complaint with the police or any other party. Samanthi Weerasekera is the Kandy Staff Correspondent of the Divaina newspaper.

Severe difficulties due to non-completion of six roads

Residents of several rural areas in the Kamburupitiya Pradeshiya Sabha area in the Kamburupitiya Divisional Secretariat Division in the Matara District have been facing severe difficulties for the past one and a half years due to the deferment of the road developments after commencing carpeting work. People who use these roads are severely inconvenienced. The company that was awarded the contract said that they do not have the money to complete the work, and the road development work has stopped.

The road development work has stopped on the following road after the carpeting work commenced on 10.02.2020;

1. Polgahamulla – Baragahamulla – Narandeniya road
2. Ullala – Masmulla road
3. Lenabatuwa – Bibulawela road.
4. Pololpitiya – Hatamuna Road.
5. Narandeniya – Boraluketiya road.
6. Paragahathota – Bibulawela road.

Many areas including Yatiyana, Ullala, Mapalana, Masmulla, Bibulawela, Vitiyala, GamUdawa, Miriswatta, Athuraliya, Lenabatuwa, Sapugoda, Narandeniya are connected by these roads and people in these areas use these roads on a daily basis. The people are finding it extremely difficult to use these roads since some sections have been excavated, barricades erected, part construction of drains and also with large stones placed obstructing travel. This has caused great inconvenience to the locals using these roads.

The contractor for this road development project, ceremonially launched under the government’s national program of carpeting 100,000 km by 2020, is a contractor based in Tangalle. The Pololpitiya-Hatamuna road which is one of the main roads to be developed is an alternate easy access road from Akuressa to the Ingurupathwala entrance on the Southern Expressway. Highways Minister Johnston Fernando laid the foundation stone.

The people who have been suffering from this unfinished road work for nearly two years have informed the political authority of the district. In such a situation, the relevant contractor should be blacklisted as a defaulter and the contract should be awarded to another contractor, but for some reason the appropriate action is still being neglected and ignored.

Teacher Fatima Fasmida Rameesh discriminated because of the Abaya

Fatima Fasmida, a science teacher, joined the Sammuga Hindu Balika school in Trincomalee in 2013. Prior to that, she worked at the Muttur Muslim Central College. It is a common sight for teachers in many Muslim schools to come to school dressed in abaya, as the government has not yet prescribed a uniform for the teaching profession.

When teacher Fatima Fasmida first came to Sammuga Hindu Balika Vidyalaya in 2013, she was also wearing an abaya dress. However, Sulochana, who was the principal at the time, told Fatima Fasmida that the teachers at her school were not allowed to dress the abaya and that if she found it difficult, she should get a transfer done to another school.

Fatima Fasmida had gone to school in the Abaya dress for about two weeks. She had then come to the school on the notice of the principal wearing a sari and a scarf covering her head.

Meanwhile, another Muslim teacher from Kinniya was transferred to Sammuga Hindu Balika Vidyalaya and had disregarded the principal’s directive and continued to come dressed in the black Abaya dress. However, teacher Fatima Fashmida said that there has been no action against the teacher who had come in the Abaya in defiance of Sulochana’s principal’s order.

Taking this as a cue, Fatima Fashmida said that she too had once again changed into an Abaya instead of the Saree. Fasmida and three other Muslim teachers continued to work at the same college while the teacher who was in defiance to the order of the principal left for another school.  They have made sure to cover their heads with a scarf and avoided wearing the black abaya but used different colours. .

However, with continued protests from the school regarding abaya, they have taken steps to refer the issue to the Ministry of Education. Authorities have informed the four teachers that they will be temporarily attached to the nearby Zahira Muslim College until the matter is resolved regarding the Abaya dress. Accordingly, the Provincial Ministry of Education has taken action to integrate these teachers into Zahira Muslim College on 27.04.2018. Fatima Fashmida said that the Ministry of Education did not pay attention to this issue and continued to update the temporary transfers of teachers. Because of this, they have lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, considering this issue as a violation of their human rights.

The teachers first lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) in Trincomalee, but later forwarded it to the head office in Colombo.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has recommended on 19.02.2019 subsequent to seven rounds of investigations with all parties that the human rights of the teachers concerned have been violated by the school authorities and the school authorities should take immediate action to rectify the situation. .

Fatima Fasmida has filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeals, regarding  the school authorities arbitrary policy of not allowing teachers to wear the abaya to the school, which is part of their culture, and the silence of the education authorities and the refusal to comply with the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL).

During the hearing of this writ petition the Attorney General’s Department has agreed to reach an agreement between the complainant and the Ministry of Education. Abdul Rahim Ramesh, Fatima Fashmida’s husband, said that according to the agreement the education authorities had agreed to implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission and to reinstate the teacher to the same school with the salary increments.

However, the re-reinstatement of the teacher Fatima Fashmida to Sammuga College on 20.02.2022 ended when she came to the school in an abaya dress and there was a commotion at the school and she was re-attached to the Zonal Education Office. However, Fatima Fashmida continues to challenge the conduct of the authorities, including the Ministry of Education, for their inaction despite the fact that the Human Rights Commission and the courts have stated that her Human Rights have been violated.

Lakmal K. Baduge.

Teacher Fatima Fasmida Rameesh discriminated because of the Abaya

Fatima Fasmida, a science teacher, joined the Sammuga Hindu Balika school in Trincomalee in 2013. Prior to that, she worked at the Muttur Muslim Central College. It is a common sight for teachers in many Muslim schools to come to school dressed in abaya, as the government has not yet prescribed a uniform for the teaching profession.

When teacher Fatima Fasmida first came to Sammuga Hindu Balika Vidyalaya in 2013, she was also wearing an abaya dress. However, Sulochana, who was the principal at the time, told Fatima Fasmida that the teachers at her school were not allowed to dress the abaya and that if she found it difficult, she should get a transfer done to another school.

Fatima Fasmida had gone to school in the Abaya dress for about two weeks. She had then come to the school on the notice of the principal wearing a sari and a scarf covering her head.

Meanwhile, another Muslim teacher from Kinniya was transferred to Sammuga Hindu Balika Vidyalaya and had disregarded the principal’s directive and continued to come dressed in the black Abaya dress. However, teacher Fatima Fashmida said that there has been no action against the teacher who had come in the Abaya in defiance of Sulochana’s principal’s order.

Taking this as a cue, Fatima Fashmida said that she too had once again changed into an Abaya instead of the Saree. Fasmida and three other Muslim teachers continued to work at the same college while the teacher who was in defiance to the order of the principal left for another school.  They have made sure to cover their heads with a scarf and avoided wearing the black abaya but used different colours. .

However, with continued protests from the school regarding abaya, they have taken steps to refer the issue to the Ministry of Education. Authorities have informed the four teachers that they will be temporarily attached to the nearby Zahira Muslim College until the matter is resolved regarding the Abaya dress. Accordingly, the Provincial Ministry of Education has taken action to integrate these teachers into Zahira Muslim College on 27.04.2018. Fatima Fashmida said that the Ministry of Education did not pay attention to this issue and continued to update the temporary transfers of teachers. Because of this, they have lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, considering this issue as a violation of their human rights.

The teachers first lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) in Trincomalee, but later forwarded it to the head office in Colombo.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has recommended on 19.02.2019 subsequent to seven rounds of investigations with all parties that the human rights of the teachers concerned have been violated by the school authorities and the school authorities should take immediate action to rectify the situation. .

Fatima Fasmida has filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeals, regarding  the school authorities arbitrary policy of not allowing teachers to wear the abaya to the school, which is part of their culture, and the silence of the education authorities and the refusal to comply with the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL).

During the hearing of this writ petition the Attorney General’s Department has agreed to reach an agreement between the complainant and the Ministry of Education. Abdul Rahim Ramesh, Fatima Fashmida’s husband, said that according to the agreement the education authorities had agreed to implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission and to reinstate the teacher to the same school with the salary increments.

However, the re-reinstatement of the teacher Fatima Fashmida to Sammuga College on 20.02.2022 ended when she came to the school in an abaya dress and there was a commotion at the school and she was re-attached to the Zonal Education Office. However, Fatima Fashmida continues to challenge the conduct of the authorities, including the Ministry of Education, for their inaction despite the fact that the Human Rights Commission and the courts have stated that her Human Rights have been violated.

Refusing permission to report on District Coordinating Committee meeting proceedings is a violation of media freedom.

Journalists in the Kandy District say that not providing journalists the opportunity to cover the monthly Kandy District Coordinating Committee meetings is a violation of media freedom, the professional right of journalists as well as the right to information.

District Coordinating Committee Meetings are held every month at the Kandy District Secretariat with Parliamentarian Wasantha Yapa Bandara and Governor Lalith U. Gamage chairing the meeting.  Secretaries of the Divisional Secretariats of the Kandy District, Chairmen of the Pradeshiya Sabhas, Government Officials, and Members of Parliament and Ministers attend these meetings.

Several important matters including the progress of the work being carried out with the funds allocated for development activities in the district are discussed at these meetings. The discussion on the allocation of public money for development work, their progress, fraud and corruption at these meetings was a key source of information and news for a journalist. This also served an additional role for the journalist in monitoring the progress of the use of the public funds. However, the coverage of these meetings has now been blocked for journalists.

When the Chairman of the Development Committee and the Kandy District Secretary were informed about this, they said that journalists could not be summoned to the Kandy District Coordinating Committee meeting since the government in a circular has stated that journalists should not be given access to cover the relevant meetings.

In this context, at the end of the committee meeting, politicians would make some statements that are beneficial and serve their agenda and may not be relevant to the meeting, or important to the people.

Even though the authorities are opposed to the journalists attending these meetings, the media entourage of MPs, Ministers, employees of the Governor’s Media Unit, and journalists of the Kandy District Media Unit, photographers, and camera operators have the opportunity to attend the meeting. These are not journalists that take information to the people but those who are subservient to these politicians and serve them.  This is a clear indication that the flow of information to the public has been deliberately blocked.

The people appoint their representatives. Government officials are maintained at public expense. The people have a right to know the status of the development programs carried out jointly by these two groups. The public needs to be aware of the corruption, especially in the awarding of contracts. All that has been done is violate the right of the people to information.

Nihal Jayawardena Kandy

Closing the estuary

Kallarawa is a fishing village rich in fisheries resources located in the Trincomalee District. Yan Oya falls into the sea, from Kallarawa. Fishermen believe that the Yan Oya will bring a rich harvest to the Kallarawa Sea. The Kallarawa Sea is popularly known by fishermen as the Female Sea. The reason for this is that the fish in the high seas come to the mouth of the Kallarawa estuary for their breeding. The Kallarawa fishermen make a living by fishing in the Kallarawa Lagoon, which joins the Yangoya to the Sea during the dry season. Due to this it is a well known fact that Kallarawa fishermen are a group of fishermen who are well to do and do not have to depend on any one.

However, in 2011 a company that bought land near the estuary blocked the natural estuary with sandbags and diverted the Yan Oya. The fishermen say that the villagers of Kallarawa have been employed as daily wage for this purpose. The villagers of Kallarawa say that this company called Sentinel Realty is a hotel group owned by Milinda Moragoda.

At present, the Kallarawa joins the sea at a distance of about 800 m from the mouth of the estuary. Also, the estuary is not directly facing the sea and the tide is not flowing properly. Due to this, the fish that come to lay their eggs from the sea have to come to the lagoon. As a result there is a drop in fish breeding. Therefore the livelihood opportunities of the fishermen have been restricted. The few who are into fishing have now become labourers for large scale business owners.

Manel Podineris, Secretary of the St. Anthony’s Minority Fisheries Society, Kallarawa, said that the Coast Conservation Department and the Central Environmental Authority were reluctant to intervene despite repeated requests to the authorities to restore the Kallarawa estuary to its original form.

The Trincomalee Bureau of the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department has informed the Kallarawa fishermen to submit affidavits stating that the Kallarawa estuary had joined the sea from the original point and to produce evidence if they can for the flow of the Yan Oya estuary.

Accordingly, the affidavits and documents were handed over to the relevant institution by the Kallarawa St. Anthony Small Scale Fishermen’s Association on 14 March. The Kallarawa small scale fishermen are requesting the government to restore the Yan Oya, which fell into the sea near their village about 10 years ago, and the Kallarawa estuary back to its natural setting.

Give back the acquired farms!

Sathyanathan Yudharsanan has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on behalf of farmers affected by land acquisitions by the Forest Department.

He is a resident of Sittandi 02, Main Road, No. 51 / A, Batticaloa.

He said that this human rights violation had taken place in December 2021 and had lodged the complaint against the officials of the Forest Department. It further states that officials of the Batticaloa Forest Department, the Forest Department and local forest officials are particularly involved in human rights violations.

Officials of the Forest Department have taken possession of 6 acres of estate lands belonging to 10 farmers who have been living in the Wattawan area in the Koraleipattu South Grama Niladhari Division for nearly 30 years, destroying their livelihood and cultivating teak on those lands. As a result, landowners have been unable to cultivate maize, groundnuts and manioc, the complaint said.

The complainant pointed out that complaints have already been lodged with the Forest Department, the Divisional Secretary, the Government Agent, Members of Parliament and the Human Rights Commission.

The plaintiff stated that the action against the Tamil people as a whole was politically motivated and demanded that the land be returned and that livelihood facilities be provided to the victims.

The complaint was filed with the Human Rights Commission on March 3, 2022.

– Batticaloa Sathyanathan Yudharshanan

Arrested for posting Prabhakaran’s photo on face book

Wijayadasa, a resident of Vakarai, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission alleging that the police had arrested him for posting a photograph of LTTE leader Prabhakaran on his Facebook page.

Deva Adiran, a Batticaloa journalist who claims to have been arrested by the Vakarai Police, has lodged the complaint against the Police Department and the Ministry of Defense.

The arrest took place on November 11, 2020, and was driven by national and political policy.

It appears that such incidents, which affect the freedom of expression, are being subtly planned and carried out by the security forces. Such arrests are especially common in the North and East during the month of November, which is Heroes’ Day. It is a blatant violation of human rights for the security forces to violate such human rights on the internet and on social media, and the continued monitoring of such activities by the security forces calls into question the extent to which freedom exists in the country.

Threatening and arresting innocent civilians and journalists, claiming that it is an act of reviving an organization banned by the state, is a gross violation of human rights as a whole and requires an end to such barbaric acts targeting only one nation.

– Journalist Deva Adiran

Give official receipts in our own language !

Ravi Dennis Branson of Batticaloa has complained to the Human Rights Commission on behalf of his sister that non-communication in his mother tongue and non-issuance of receipts in Tamil is a gross violation of human rights.

The complaint was filed on March 14, 2022.

He is a resident of Shastriyar Road, Murakkottanchena, Batticaloa and has lodged a complaint against the Traffic Police and the People’s Bank.

Dennis Mahaka has brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission the incident that befell his sister on February 10 and the difficulties he faced at People’s Bank, a state-owned bank.

He said in his complaint,

‘A charge sheet was handed over for speeding on a motorcycle and talking on the phone. But because it was written in Sinhala only and the error was explained in Sinhala, it was difficult to know what the fines were and how much the fines were without proper understanding and realized that the language rights were completely affected.

Also, the officer working at the pawn branch of the People’s Bank branch was also a Sinhala speaker, making it difficult to communicate. We could not speak our language and do what was required.

He said that as a result of this incident, human rights were violated on the road and in the bank.

Everyone considers the issue of language rights to be normal. Therefore, the Tamil people in the North and East have to obtain government services in the midst of severe difficulties, he said.

If there is a facility to obtain any relevant form or receipt in their mother tongue when obtaining government services, the people can obtain those services without any hassle. But unfortunately due to the failure of the government to implement the Tamil language properly, the Tamil people across the country are facing severe difficulties and are unable to get proper service. Realizing this, he has requested through this complaint that steps be taken to resolve this issue and at least the forms, receipts and documents issued to the public be made available in their mother tongue.

He has pointed out in his complaint that the Human Rights Commission should put pressure on the government to do so.

– Batticaloa Ravi Dennis

Cattle grazing lands plundered for racial reasons!

Dilakshala Thurairatnam of Batticaloa has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission seeking the return of pastures for cattle.

She has made this complaint on behalf of an affected relative. Dilakshala, a resident of Sittandi, Irakkulama, has brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission the human rights violations taking place in the Milattamadu, Madavanai area in Batticaloa.

Describing the incident through her complaint, she said,

‘The above area is reserved for the farms of those who run farms. But residents of other districts are still trying to cultivate the land. Although it has been confirmed that it will not enter the area by force after the case is filed in this regard, it will be forcibly re-entered the area, ”he said.

She also pointed out that this violation has been going on since 2009. She says that there are eyewitnesses to the incident and that the Irakkulama Pradeshiya Sabha member is such a witness.

Her complaint, dated March 15, 2022, further states that these human rights violations continue due to racial and administrative weaknesses.

Despite the court’s ruling that it should not use its power to commit any atrocity, such incidents continue to be condemned as a violation of a court order and a further crackdown on victims.

She therefore called on the Human Rights Commission to intervene immediately and ensure justice.

The plaintiff has pointed out in his complaint that the nation was responsible for this incident and that it should be treated as repression and use of force against a nation. Oppression and repression in the country targeting a nation is inevitably a violation of human rights. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on behalf of the petitioner requests that a solution be found to the grassroots issue.

– Batticaloa Dilakshala

Stop arrests under the guise of commemorations!

Journalist Deva Adiran has requested the Human Rights Commission to allow the commemoration of the day of death.

He has lodged the complaint on behalf of his fellow journalist Wimalasena Lovekumar against the Ministry of Defense and the Kalkudah Police Station.

Mr. Deva Adiran has stated that the human rights of his fellow journalist have been violated due to the celebrations held on May 18, 2021 and that it has taken place due to race, language and political policies. He has also stated that it has taken place in Valachchenai Nagawatta area.

He further stated in the complaint,

‘Citi’s fellow journalists have been arrested and detained on charges of holding a celebration in Mullivaikkal on May 18, 2021 and have been released on conditional bail. They go to the interest on the last Sunday of each month and sign.

A case has also been filed in the Valachchenai court regarding this incident.

He called on the Human Rights Commission to take steps to ensure justice for these human rights abuses, to ensure that such incidents do not happen again, to hold celebrations and commemorate the dead.

The arrest of many people in connection with the commemoration of those who died in the war is a fundamental human rights violation. In particular, the security forces are committing human rights abuses in the North, using the Mullivaikkal celebrations as a pretext. The Human Rights Commission should pay attention to such repressive practices that prevent the honoring of the dead and the remembrance of their loved ones.

The demand of all is to change the perception that all those who died in the war were terrorists. Clearly this is a repression based on race and language. It is unfortunate that the government refuses to commemorate war veterans as they are Tamils ​​while holding state ceremonies to commemorate war veterans.

– A request from journalist Deva Adiran

Ticket issuer that violated media freedom!

Trincomalee-based journalist Aliyar Mohamed Heath, 46, has complained to the Human Rights Commission that his human rights record was violated when he went to cover the fraudulent issuance of parking tickets.

He has lodged the complaint against the person who issued the parking tickets stating that the incident took place on 25-05-25 2021 in front of the Trincomalee District General Hospital and that there are video footage to prove it.

He says of the incident:

‘When I went to collect information about the illegal issuance of tickets in the parking lot in front of the Trincomalee General Hospital, the person who issued the tickets threatened me with death using inappropriate words. He also uses inappropriate language for those who go to the general hospital. The Trincomalee Municipal Council has been informed that the proceeds from the issuance of tickets can be paid to the Trincomalee Municipal Council as they have no income during the travel restrictions. The government’s rule that public buildings or parking should not be charged has also been violated.

He pointed out that media freedom as well as personal freedom had been violated due to this incident.

– Journalist Aliyar Mohamed Heath

Two journalists arrested for posting Heroes’ Day on Facebook

Batticaloa journalist Deva Adeeran has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that two fellow journalists were arrested for leaving a note on Heroes’ Day on Facebook.

He said the first to be arrested was Kanapathipillai Mohan, a resident of Chenkaladi. The second is a resident of Kinnayadi Valachchenai area and a case has been filed against him and he has been granted bail.

Adiran further stated in his complaint that he had been arrested on charges of publishing information about the LTTE and its leader in the face book and making notes on social media to revive the LTTE.

He says that race and language are the reasons for this and that he has lodged this complaint against the Police Department.

His request is to take steps to prevent such incidents from happening again and to take necessary steps to bring justice to the victims.

– Journalist Deva Adiran

Political party member violates human rights!

The complaint was lodged by his brother on behalf of his fellow journalist and brother L. Devapradeepan, seeking justice for the human rights violations committed by a member of a political party at the Vantharumulai public market.

The complaint was lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka by journalist Deva Adiran.

He claims that Velupillai Nandakumar of the Sri Lanka People’s Front has committed this human rights violation.

According to the complaint, my brother, a Tamil correspondent of IBC Media, who had gone to cover the protest in front of the Vantharumoolai Public Market, was assaulted by Velupillai Nandakumar, a member of a political party who had come there and he had to be hospitalized for three days due to the assault.

He says this was done with the intention of sabotaging the campaign for political reasons.

He called for legal action to be taken against the incident and for action to be taken to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.

– Journalist Deva Adiran

Allow development committee meetings to be covered!

Journalist Lakshmanan Deva Adiran (42) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) requesting that arrangements be made to cover the District Development Coordinating Committee (DDLC) meetings held at the District Secretariat.

The complaint was lodged by the head of the Eastern Provincial Journalists’ Forum, located at 6/8, Old Kalmunai Road, Kalladi, Batticaloa, in a situation where permission to cover Coordinating Committee meetings has been suspended.

He has lodged this complaint against the Divisional Secretariat, the Government and the District Secretariat. Mr. Adiran called 2021 the year of human rights violations issued by the government circular and pointed out that the reason for this was administrative weaknesses.

He requested that the media be given an opportunity to inform the outside world about the demands of the people by allowing journalists to cover the Development Coordinating Committee meetings held at the District Secretariat.

– Journalist Deva Adiran

Security forces try to intimidate and paralyze civil society activists!

Batticaloa District Civil Society Activists’ Forum Chairman S. Sivayoganathan (52) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that he was arrested and tortured in connection with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). has.

He is a resident of No. 4, 141/03, 4th Cross Street, Thiraimadu, Batticaloa.

Speaking about human rights violations, he said,

‘During the past year, I have been interrogated three times by the PTA, twice by the CID and twice by the police (Batticaloa and Thirukovil). I have not been involved in any crime under the law of this country. However, I am being questioned in connection with the Prohibition (LTTE). Human rights violations took place in my home and in their offices. This is a violation of a fundamental right.

He further stated that investigations are being carried out by the Pottuvil court and that ethnic and political policies have contributed to such atrocities and human rights violations.

He said there were eyewitnesses and documentary evidence of this human rights violation.

He demands that justice be done to him and that he be acquitted of these false charges.

He pointed out that as a social activist working for the welfare of the people, the government was trying to stop its repressive practices as well as violence.

Mr. Sivayoganathan also said that he was under stress due to such threats from the security forces and that his activities were limited due to this.

– Civil society activist Sivayoganathan

Violence against women must stop!

Ubadharani (22) from Batticaloa has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission regarding the violence against women in the institution.

Kiran, a resident of School Street, has filed the complaint against the investigating officer of the institution where she works.

She said that she was unable to work freely and that she was being obstructed and threatened while walking on the road and that her human rights were violated last year.

Through this complaint, she has demanded that appropriate steps be taken to enable her to work freely and prevent violence against women.

She further calls to end such acts of violence and harassment against women in the workplace and for action to be taken to address the problem without resorting to violence.

– Upadharani

Harassment of the Bank manager

Rajeshwaran Yasho, 30, of Batticaloa, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that his bank manager was harassing him.

She has filed this complaint against the manager of the People’s Bank in Vavunathivu.

Yasho says that when he goes to the bank to get his needs met, the bank manager harasses him and uses abusive language.

She points out that he is behaving like this for personal reasons and therefore cannot work freely in the bank.

Yasho, a resident of Ichchativu, Navatnadu, further stated that he did not come forward to reveal such matters to the society due to fear.

She called for a change in the situation and for an environment conducive to working freely.

– Batticaloa Yasho

Harassment by men in social work –  Provide security!

Arulanandam Ganga (29) from Batticaloa has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission alleging that she is facing problems due to being a social worker.

Ms. Ganga, a resident of Navarkadu, Karavetty, points out that her human rights are being violated by men everywhere she goes.

She added in her complaint,

I have a lot of problems in the society where I work. For example, phones emit inappropriate words. She also says that some men cause various problems while working in the society and it is not safe for a woman to travel alone.

She has asked the Human Rights Commission to provide her with adequate protection. She has mentioned 2022.02.10 as the date of human rights violations.

– Ganga Batticaloa

Give a solution to the injustice caused by the housing project!

Lakshman Bhavanandini (35) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that his human rights were violated due to a housing project.

She is a resident of Mandapathadi, Kannankuda. The complaint is against the Housing Authority and Mandapathadi Grama Niladhari Divya.

In that complaint she further states,

I’m been married for 7 years but I’m unfortunate to not have a home to live in. It has been 4 years since the money given in 2018 claiming to be a housing project (Sarana Sarama) but we have not been given a house. However, she has stated in her complaint that houses have been given to other people. Also, even though the loan has been taken and half completed, there are no relevant documents. There are 17 such families including me. They are staying at their relatives’ houses.

We need to get money for the village housing project. Roads also need to be repaired. She also requests that documents relating to housing be provided.

– Bhavanandini Batticaloa

Police harassment on sister’s wedding day!

Bhavanandini (35), a resident of Batticaloa, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that she was obstructed by Vavuniya Police on her sister’s wedding day.

She is a resident of Mandapathadi, Kannankuda and has lodged this complaint against the Vavunathivu Police.

She said in her complaint,

‘My sister’s wedding was held on 26.11.2020. We were building a shed for it. The police took us to the police station and questioned us, thinking that we were building a shed on the occasion of Heroes’ Day. The next day, after checking the documents of the Grama Niladhari and the Health Officer, we were released. Has been done.

She called on the Human Rights Commission to take steps to prevent such an inconvenience in the future.

– Bhavanandini Batticaloa

Samurdhi manager acting in a partisan manner!

The Vavunathivu Samurdhi Manager has stated that he is acting in a partisan manner. Idayavadani (31) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.

She lives at 5th Cross Street, Vavuniya and has lodged a complaint against the Vavunathivu Samurdhi Manager.

‘It is unfortunate that the Samurdhi Manager gives priority to his closest relatives. That is why ordinary people like us suffer. The Samurdhi amount is given to the public in installments of 8 months and 4 months. Not all money is paid either; Two and a half; “People are afraid that no one will talk about this,” she said, complaining and asking for a solution.

The complaint made by Idayavadani further states that the equal rights of the people should be ensured and that they should receive the Samurdhi benefits properly every month.

Idayawadani – Batticaloa

Muslim journalists have no land due to ethnic differences!

Batticaloa journalist AH Abdul Hussain (54) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission alleging that lands were not given to Muslim journalists in the Batticaloa district due to ethnic differences.

A resident of Khair Road, Eravur, he has lodged a complaint against the District Secretariat and the District Secretary, alleging that the human rights violation took place in March 2021.

Lands have been given to 32 journalists in the Batticaloa district. His complaint also states that none of the Muslim journalists were involved in it. He says that there are documents, pictures and documents in the media section of the Divisional Secretariat as evidence for this.

Hussein said he had complained to the Human Rights Commission in June 2021 about the discrimination and that an investigation was underway, but no solution had been found.

Through the complaint, he has demanded that racial discrimination be stopped and that lands be given to Muslim journalists.

– Journalist Abdul Hussain

Military intelligence and surveillance robs me of my freedom!

K., a resident of Batticaloa, said that Army intelligence officers would chase him and take pictures wherever he went. Mr. Sadasivam (80) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.

He says he has not been able to function freely because of intelligence officials’ actions.

He has lodged this complaint against the Sri Lanka Army at No. 9, Thamaraikeni Road, Batticaloa.

He said that he would continue to face this persecution for the sole reason of being a Tamil.

‘I go to any political event in the Batticaloa district and the intelligence officers follow me and take pictures. This is an obstacle to my freedom. I have to limit my work. Unable to travel freely. That’s why I’m afraid something will happen to me. ‘.

He called on the Human Rights Commission to take action to prevent this.

– Batticaloa Sadasivam

Police and officials who do not respect the dignity of people!

Batticaloa resident P. Megalanathan (37) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that people in police stations are discriminated against on the basis of race, language and gender.

He has filed this complaint against the police and police authorities.

The police do not treat people properly; Do not speak Tamil; Using inappropriate words; People are being bullied. He also says that there is discrimination on the basis of gender.

He lives in Jeevapuram, Palaiyadithoni, Batticaloa and has stated that these human rights violations continue.

He further added that the people should be treated fairly and their rights should be protected.

Megalanathan – Batticaloa

Inability to engage in media work with freedom because of the constant threats and intimidation

Batticaloa District Journalist Vs. Mr. Shakthivel (40) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.

He has filed four separate complaints calling for journalists to be allowed to work independently.

Mr. Shakthivel, a resident of Wannier Road, Kaludawalai, Batticaloa, had stated in his first complaint that he had been threatened by an officer of the CID.

Commenting on the incident, he said, “An officer of the CID called me and threatened that I had published a story about him and that others would inquire about him.” That is.

He has filed the second complaint against former Government Agent PMS. Is against Charles. He had lodged a complaint with the Batticaloa Police Headquarters against the Government Agent for publishing false news on websites. “I was questioned by the police,” he said. This incident happened in 2016.

In the third complaint, he said, “The Batticaloa Media Center threatened me with a pamphlet containing my photograph.” He said that it had happened on 20.11.2020 and that he had lodged a complaint with the Batticaloa Police.

He said in his fourth complaint,

On 23.01.2020, 7 journalists including myself were threatened with death by publishing pamphlets from the Batticaloa Media Center office located in the Batticaloa Central Bus Stand building. A complaint has been lodged with the Batticaloa Police in this regard.

Who made this threat? Why did they do that? Through this complaint, he calls for legal action to be taken against them.

He further points out that he is constantly receiving such threats that he is unable to continue his media activities.

He called on the Human Rights Commission, media organizations and the security forces to come forward to provide adequate protection to journalists as such issues continue to arise when public statements are brought to the fore.

– Batticaloa Journalist V. Shakthivel

Provide water facilities without racial discrimination!

Delina (18) of Batticaloa has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission alleging that fundamental rights have been violated due to the non-provision of water which is one of the basic needs.

She is making this complaint on behalf of the people of the Ranamadu area in Batticaloa.

Delina, a resident of No. 15, Boundary Road South, Thandaveli, Batticaloa, has lodged a complaint against the Water Supply and Drainage Board alleging that the people are in dire need of water, which is a basic need.

She further stated in her complaint:

‘Water is something that man needs. Everyone has the right to access water. No one can take away that right. The water supply to the surrounding Sinhalese people has been provided, but racial discrimination is so rampant that it is impossible to provide water to the villages where the Tamils live. ‘

She further called on the Human Rights Commission to intervene to provide immediate water to the people of Ranamadu and to solve their problems.

Delina complains that the Batticaloa Municipal Council should take action to drain the water as the mosquitoes breed on the road due to the retention of water during the rainy season. She points out that this problem persists for approximately 4 months after the end of the rainy season.

– Delina in Batticaloa

Elder brother who appeared for the sibling suffering from stress due to the behavior of the principal

R.Ravindran, a resident of 30/3 Thamaraikeni, Batticaloa has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that his brother was suffering from depression due to the principal’s actions.

He has lodged a complaint against the principal of Sithandi Maha Vidyalaya.

The principal always assigns different kinds of tasks to my brother, falsely accuses him and as a result, he is suffering from depression.

Ravindran said he had complained to the Zonal Director of Education about the incident, citing personal vengeance, administrative weaknesses and political policies.

– Ravindran from Batticaloa!

Denial of the right to information!

K Suriyakumari (45) a resident of Trincomalee, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka stating that the use of the Right to Information Act has been obstructed.

The complaint was lodged by a resident of 39/8, Tamil School Street, Chinakuda, based on a human rights violation that took place on December 19, 2021 in the village of Tennamaravadi.

The Kuchchaveli Police, including the Kuchchaveli Pradeshiya Sabha in the Trincomalee District, have filed a complaint against the area.

“When I went to get information about the Tennamaravadi village in the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretariat, I could not get the information because the police intervened and obstructed me,” he said.

She points out that the reason for avoiding such information is racial as well as linguistic discrimination.

She added that at present the security of journalists is at a minimum and that the authorities are deliberately obstructing access to information from the public.

Authorities are taking various measures against the use of the Freedom of Information Act. This is also an act against human beings who are a violation of human rights.

– Journalist Suriyakumari

Lawsuit against publication of news articles is a violation of media freedom!

Aliyar Mohamed (45), a resident of Trincomalee, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that the police had filed a case against him for making false news reports related to a priest’s tiktok video.

He resides at 26/1, Saradha Street, Trincomalee and works as a local journalist for the mainstream media and has lodged a complaint against former Uppuveli Police OIC Dayan.

A case has been filed in the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court alleging that the Uppuveli OIC had summoned him for questioning following a report that a priest had been arrested for publishing a false video on the distribution of goods through the Tiktok application during the travel restrictions imposed by Kovid. The date on which the case was filed in the complaint is 2022.05.25.

The complaint states that this human rights violation took place on 05.02.2021 and that the news articles published in Hiru, Derana and Swarnavagini are evidence.

Journalist Aliyar Mohamed

Take steps to ensure media freedom!

Local journalist L. Rifaideen, 60, has complained to the Human Rights Commission that he was attacked by an unknown group of young people who went to cover the Kinniya bridge ferry accident.

He has lodged the complaint against the Police Department, the Divisional Secretariat, the SP in charge of the Trincomalee Division and the Kinniya Divisional Secretary.

There he was traveling in a vehicle with the head of the Jamalia Mosque, a local journalist, in a vehicle at the time of the Kinniya bridge ferry accident on 20-21-11-21, while a group of unidentified youths interrupted my work. Not only that, I tried to snatch the phone by squeezing my neck. My car was hit hard. All this happened while the police were waiting. They left me after I showed my identity card. ‘

He further added that this was due to administrative weaknesses and political policies. He said that there was video evidence as well as an eyewitness account of the incident.

He also called for action to be taken to ensure media freedom.

– Journalist Rifaidin

Submit police reports in Sinhala and Tamil!

Logini, 42, of Lingagahar in Trincomalee, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) requesting that police reports be submitted in Tamil.

She has lodged this complaint on behalf of the victim, residing at No. 1414, 1st Lane, Linga Nahara.

She has lodged the complaint against the Trincomalee Police Headquarters and the Nilavali, Chinakuda and Uppuveli police stations.

She also pointed out that the reason for these human rights violations was administrative weaknesses and language issues.

She emphasized that there were police reports to support this, and said that reports should be made in the language of the complaint.

She also stressed that the police should be instructed to provide reports in both languages ​​as part of the advanced administrative system, adding that it is regrettable that the right of all to obtain police reports and government documents in their own language is still being violated.

– Gender Nahar Logini asks

Threatened for reporting sand mining news!

Mr. Achchudan, who lives in Trincomalee, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) alleging that he was threatened by the news of the escalating illegal sand mining in Trincomalee.

Achchudan (42), a journalist residing at 56 CEB Road, Trincomalee, has stated in a telephone conversation in 2019 that this human rights violation had taken place.

Official and informal sand mining activities have increased in the Trincomalee District recently. He emphasized that the letter was not a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into the allegations, but rather a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into the allegations.

He also condemned such acts which are harmful to the environment.

Those who load sand have acquired enough money and authority to threaten journalists, while those who are supposed to protect resources are silently waiting.

Therefore, he called for the creation of an environment in which journalists can work freely against the restrictions on media activism.

– Journalist print

Sections of society alienated and  embarrassed with Sinahala only forms!

Trincomalee journalist Mohamed Azwer Mahaka (45) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) alleging that the police have provided a form prepared only in Sinhala language, causing inconvenience to minorities.

He resides at 36/14, Thakkiya Road, Trincomalee and has lodged this complaint on behalf of the victims against the Police Department and the IGP.

He has pointed out that the Tamil Muslims who do not know the Sinhala language have found it very difficult to fill in the form as the form printed by the Police Department for collecting family details is only in Sinhala. He says the form has been distributed across the country.

He has stated that it is an administrative weakness to act without considering the people who are not familiar with the Sinhala language and that he has written evidence for that.

– Mohamed Azwer Trincomalee

Uppuveli police threaten the freedom of journalists!

Journalist Aliyar Mohamed Heath has complained to the Human Rights Commission that his human rights have been violated by the police filing a case against him for publishing a news story.

He has lodged the complaint against the Uppuveli OIC.

His complaint alleges that the police have violated media freedom by prosecuting him as a journalist who is free to exercise his fundamental rights under Article 14 of the 1978 Constitution, subject to the rules and regulations of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Heath resides at No. 26/1, Saradha Road, Trincomalee. Affiliated with media institutions.

He further states,

‘When I went to give a statement on the summons of the Trincomalee Uppuveli Police on 20-08-05-2021, the police had filed a case under criminal law (BR / 629/01 / PC / 21) against me in connection with a report made last June. Also, I am afraid of the arrest of S. Hayakkiriwan, a journalist living in Trincomalee, by the police on 20-25-25-08 in connection with a similar case. ‘

He called for a proper investigation into the incident and for steps to be taken to curb such activities which threaten media freedom.

– Journalist Aliyar Mohamed Heath

People experiencing difficulties with sand permit delays!

Mr. Vidushan (32), a resident of Trincomalee, has lodged a complaint alleging that the Department of Mineral Resources is facing problems due to delays in the sale of sand licenses.

Settled at Sivan Kovil Road, Trincomalee, he had lodged the complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on behalf of the public, against the District Secretariat and the Mineral Resources Officers.

The District Mineral Resources Department states that due to the indefinite delay in issuing licenses for the sale of sand annually, the sand yard owners in the district have been prevented from carrying out their business properly. He pointed out that this situation has been seen since the beginning of last year and that this injustice is due to the administration and political policies.

He added that the timely issuance of the permit would greatly reduce the inconvenience caused to the public.

– Trincomalee Vidushan

Harassment due to human rights activities!

Human Rights Activist Bharathidasan – Batticaloa

Mr. Bharathidasan (64), a resident of Batticaloa, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that he was being harassed by the security forces for engaging in human rights activities.

Many have stated in the complaint that he, as the head of the NGO Inayami in Batticaloa, was being questioned about his human rights activities during the period 2019-2021.

He had lodged the complaint against the Batticaloa ASP and the officer in charge of investigations at 15/4 Adhikar Road, Batticaloa.

He added that investigations and threats during his tenure as head of the NGO were still ongoing.

He said that the incident of human rights violations took place on November 06, 2019 and pointed out that the reason for these actions of the security forces was their involvement in human rights activities. He says this is a major problem facing human rights activists.

Mr. Bharathidasan pointed out that constant searches and interrogations as well as various pressures from the security forces were a major obstacle to his work, and stressed that the security forces believed that repression of human rights activists could prevent the revelation of human rights abuses. He also said that this was not good for Sri Lanka, which was showing the international community that it respects human rights.

Through this complaint, he has demanded that the Human Rights Commission take appropriate action to ensure that the intelligence services do not interfere in the activities of human rights activists in the future.

Human Rights Activist Bharathidasan – Batticaloa

Opportunity required to complete the course that stopped halfway!

He said that his human rights had been violated due to an incident that took place while he was studying for a diploma course in management launched by the Ocean University campus. Mr. Gangasudar (32) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.

Many residents of Thamaraikeni, Batticaloa have filed this complaint against the Ocean University Batticaloa Campus and the Sri Lanka Ocean University.

In that complaint, he said, “In 2016, I was studying for a diploma course in management over the weekend at the Ocean University’s Batticaloa Campus. I complained to the evaluation committee that when the resource person was teaching in conjunction with Mathematics and English, many of the students who attended the course were taught in English without explaining certain parts of Mathematics in Tamil. Shortly after the complaint was lodged, the director of Sagara University, who had returned from Colombo, forced me to withdraw my complaint and threatened to remove me from the diploma if I did not do so. ”

He cited other students and members of the inquiry committee as eyewitnesses, pointing out that human rights abuses had taken place at the Ocean University campus and that administrative weakness had contributed to this.

Mr. Gangasudhar said that he had to withdraw from the diploma course due to threats from a high ranking official and that he was discriminated against in the class.

Through this complaint, he is requesting the Human Rights Commission to provide him with an opportunity to complete his diploma as a remedy for the injustice done to him.

– Gangasudhar in Batticaloa

Harassment at the hands of an incompetent administration!

Krishika, a journalist based in Batticaloa, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that she was facing problems due to the actions of an incompetent senior official who did not know the administration.

The 23-year-old resident of Kanakupillai Road, Navatkuda, Batticaloa is working for the IBC Tamil Media Institute.

She has filed this complaint against S. Daranika, an executive officer of the company.

In her complaint, Krishika said, “That authority does not respect the staff. They are not allowed to work freely. She does not understand how to talk to other employees. It puts undue pressure on everything. In short, employees are treated like animals. Talk to the staff to confirm these facts. They work there with great frustration. ”

She said that these human rights violations had been taking place in the IBC Tamil Service since 2015, adding that this was due to a lack of administrative discipline and ignorance.

Employees remain silent about this for fear of losing their jobs. They avoid doing so because it affects family life as well.

In making this complaint, she calls for the creation of an environment in which one can work freely.

– Journalist Krishika

Public lands should be released!

The lands of the people occupied by the army have not yet been liberated. Shanmugam Thavaseelan, a resident of Mankulam, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that this is a blatant violation of their human rights.

He is a resident of Mankulam, Panichchankulam area and has lodged a complaint against the Sri Lanka Army and the Commander of the Mullaitivu Security Forces Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe.

At the end of the war in 2009, when the people were being resettled, the army seized their lands. He said in the complaint that the failure of the army to release their lands even after 12 years was a gross violation of the human rights of the people. He pointed out that human rights violations had taken place in 2009 and that it had taken place in Koppapulavu.

He has stated that there was no point in informing all parties in this regard. He further stated that a case has been filed in the Mullaitivu court in 2018 but the people have not yet received a solution and the Human Rights Commission should take immediate action to release the lands of the people.

– Shanmukam Thavaseelan

Media ID is a threat to the security of journalists!

Mullaitivu-based journalist Jegadeeswaran Dishanth, 29, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that he was constantly threatened by the security forces for reporting on issues related to the common good of the people.

He has lodged the complaint against the Mallavi police and Army personnel serving at the security post.

Mr. Dishanth, a resident of Nattankandal, Poovarasankulam, Kombawattakulam, Mullaitivu, says that his media freedom has been restricted due to intelligence surveillance.

He has made this complaint based on a recent incident, but he says that such threats have been made since 2015.

According to a complaint received from the people of the area, when they went to take a photo to cover the Nattankandal Bridge, they pointed out that the members of the military security post there had obstructed their activities and that they had faced many such incidents.

Describing the complaint to the Human Rights Commission, Mr. Dishanth said,

“I and another fellow journalist were on our way to cover the news in Mallavi and Pandianwewa when the soldiers at the army checkpoint stopped us and checked our luggage. Although they showed us their identity cards claiming to be journalists, they did not allow us to leave the place. A few hours later the army officer in charge of the area came and allowed us to leave. This is an impediment to our use of the media. ”

He further added that he was not able to act freely due to the continuous harassment by the security forces and was acting with the mentality that he would face a threat at any time. People tell their problems to journalists and ask for their help in solving them. But there is a conflict with the security forces in providing media coverage for such issues. The reason is that they think that the ideas raised by the people who have been suppressed by the security forces and have lost their freedom of speech may be a problem. Therefore, it is widely believed that obstructing journalists from covering public protests as well as covering events and taking photographs is a deliberate act.

He said that journalists working for the benefit of the people were being closely monitored and that when two individuals claiming to be members of the CID tried to obtain information from him, he asked them to show their identity cards and told him to come to the nearest army camp to obtain complete information. He says.

Deshanth said many were doing their part in the face of threats, fearing for their safety in the event of the loss of their two brothers in the war, and that despite a number of organizations being informed about this, no solution had been found.

Dishanth says that in some cases, the identity cards issued to journalists have become a problem for them and that the security forces are misbehaving in showing their identity cards and verifying their identities.

– Journalist Dishanth

Political retaliation for news coverage!

Mullaitivu journalist G.S. Sapthasangari (36) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.

She is registered at 99, Selvapuram, Murikandi, Mullaitivu and has lodged a complaint against the Divisional Secretariat and the Mankulam Samurdhi Development Department. She said human rights violations had taken place in 2019 and that Oddusudan Divisional Secretary D. Akilan and Mankulam Samurdhi Development Bank manager were involved.

“I reported on the deforestation that took place during the period of good governance with the intervention of Mrs. Shanthi Sriskandarasa, a former National List MP who was the Chairperson of the Mullaitivu District Development Committee. As a result, her followers, who had suspended the government housing scheme I had received, filed a lawsuit through the Puthukudiirippu Pradeshiya Sabha alleging that I was constructing an unauthorized building. So far no payment has been received from the housing scheme, ”she said in her complaint.

She complained to the Jaffna Human Rights Commission that the matter had not been resolved, but said there was documentary evidence of the violation. It also points out that the issue is still unresolved and no investigation has been conducted into it.

She has filed this complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka requesting that justice be done to her as soon as possible.

Organizations advocating for the rights of journalists should pay attention to such situations faced by journalists in news reporting. This is purely political revenge. Therefore, the aggrieved party stated that the use of free media was under threat.

– Journalist Sapthasangari

Complaints regarding illegal sand mining not investigated!

Journalist Subramaniam Baskaran has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that no investigation has been carried out into the alleged illegal sand mining.

Baskaran (47), a resident of Old Kandy Road, Murasumottai, Kilinochchi, has lodged a complaint against the OIC of the Kilinochchi Police and various complaints.

He points out that human rights violations took place on January 28 and March 3, 2022, and attributed it to news reporting.

The recorded telephone conversation is presented as eyewitness testimony.

He stated that he had been threatened by a person who was illegally dumping sand on January 28, 2022 and March 3, 2022. He had lodged two complaints with the Kilinochchi Police on two occasions regarding the tipper used there, but no investigation has been carried out so far. .

It is unfortunate that the police authorities in charge of the area have not been active in dealing with the illegal activities taking place in the area. At the same time, the security of journalists who report on such illegal activities is threatened and they become targets of gangs involved in illegal activities. This threatens their lives and property and threatens the safety of their families.

Victims say they have no choice but to complain to the Human Rights Commission about threats and intimidation in reporting such incidents. They also demanded that the Human Rights Commission intervene immediately.

It is an encouragement to the security forces to act responsibly and responsibly against such illegal activities which cause great harm to the environment. It is unfortunate that the security forces, which are supposed to maintain law and order, bow down to injustice when the media and the people stand up for justice.

Although a complaint has been lodged with evidence regarding this illegal activity, the complainant says that the police should be condemned for not taking appropriate action.

– Journalist Subramaniam Baskaran

Serve justice and pay compensation!

Mr. Jayalakshmi (36) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) alleging that the HRC has not yet carried out an investigation into the death threats and theft of property.

Many residents of Kilinochchi, Ambalkulam and Kanakendran Colony have lodged complaints against the Kilinochchi Police and the Kilinochchi OIC.

Many have stated in the complaint that he had received death threats in connection with an incident and had been chased away with a knife and sticks and his belongings had been stolen. The complaint was filed on October 19, 2021. Three eyewitnesses have testified that the incident took place in Kilinochchi and Ambalkulam. The documentary evidence is the police complaint. The complaint has been lodged with the Human Rights Commission but has not been investigated.

Mr. Jayalakshman has requested the Human Rights Commission.

– Jayalakshmi

Mandatory transfers annually to public servants to prevent financial irregularities

Abdul Aziz Yasoor (49) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) seeking his intervention in granting transfers to public servants as they continue to work in the same place, causing various irregularities.

Many residents of Vavuniya, Veppankulama and Pattanichur have lodged complaints against the Samurdhi Department and its director.

Annual transfers of public servants are not subject to the intervention of political party or ruling party members and heads of development committees. Accordingly, he has pointed out in his complaint that financial frauds and various irregularities occur when a public servant works in the same place for many years.

He says that such people are violating the human rights of the general public and as a result many human rights violations have taken place in Vavuniya during the period 2020-2022, adding that there are eyewitnesses and documentary evidence in this regard.

Political interference in public administration has made it impossible to serve the people without discrimination. Due to these discriminations and irregularities, the public has to face many difficulties in accessing services. Their confidence in the public service has also been eroded. Another point raised through this complaint is that innocent ordinary people who come to get services are being harassed for unfair reasons. He added that officials working on poverty alleviation projects such as Samurdhi would never be allowed to extort money from subsidies without making it their primary duty to serve the public.

Therefore, public administration should take place without political interference. Abdul Aziz Yasoor also called on the Human Rights Commission to take steps to ensure that the people receive the assistance and livelihood they deserve.

– Abdul Aziz Yasoor

Resettlement needs basic facilities!

Mr. Navaratnam Kabilan has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that there are plans to evict resettled people from a village north of Kanjiramottai in Vavuniya.

Many have lodged complaints against the Forest Resources Department, the District Forest Resources Officer and the Vavuniya Forest Resources Department office at No. 10, SEO Lane, Jaffna Road, Vavuniya.

Although the villagers of Kanjiramottai in the Vavuniya North Divisional Secretariat Division had no shortage of facilities, they were displaced by the war and lived in other areas. They were resettled after the end of the war amid protests from the Forest Department. But they were not allowed to live on basic amenities. In their complaint, Kabilan said that they were inconvenienced by not being able to get electricity in this situation and that they were trying to evict them without providing proof of residency.

Although the people have informed the divisional secretaries about this human rights violation against the people of the area since 2018, many say that they are still living without land documents.

Mr. Kabilan pointed out that government officials were violating the rights of these people for reasons such as race and political policy, and requested the Human Rights Commission to allow the people to continue living there, requesting the Forest Department to intervene and provide land documents. As.

The racial discrimination of the officials of the Forest Resources Department has caused great dissatisfaction among the people of the area. There is a general perception that such acts, which hinder resettlement in their ancestral lands, could create an unfavorable environment due to ethnic divisions and ongoing human rights abuses.

– Navaratnam Kabilan

Human rights violations due to delimitation in the area!

Mr. P. Satheesan has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka regarding the injustice caused to the people due to the delimitation of the area.

Satheesan, a resident of Vavuniya, Nelukulam, Pudaiyalpitiya, No. 225 / 3A, has lodged the complaint against the Forest Resources Department and the Forest Department official. He has stated that human rights violations took place on November 26, 2021 in the Katkulam area in Vavuniya.

He further added that this was due to administrative weaknesses.

Residents of Katkulam-2 village in Vavuniya have been living within the boundaries of the Vavuniya district and now they belong to the Anuradhapura district.

Accordingly, on behalf of the affected people, many are requesting the Human Rights Commission through these complaints to remove the crown that includes those people in the Vavuniya District.

He also called for solutions to the problems faced by the people due to administrative weakness.

– P. Satheesan

Impact on media freedom!

Vavuniya journalist K. Gokilan (38) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that he was obstructed while covering a ceremony at the Archaeological Department.

He had filed this complaint on March 8, 2022 against the Department of Archeology. He has also stated that human rights violations have taken place due to political reasons violating media freedom.

He further stated in the complaint that when he went to collect news related to archeology at Kachchan Samanankulam in Vavuniya, the officials of the Department of Archeology obstructed him from shooting the restored artefacts and only gave him a short time to shoot the unreformed artefacts. . Many say that they have been questioned by higher authorities for providing information to the workplace about this.

Through this complaint, he has appealed to the Human Rights Commission to make the public aware of the need to protect artefacts and to take steps to protect them from destruction.

– Journalist Gokilan

Security forces crack down on civil society organizations under the guise of Prevention of Terrorism Act!

Mr. J. Yatson, a civil society activist, has complained to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka that the repression of civil society organizations by the Prevention of Terrorism Act has made it impossible for them to serve the people.

Mr. Yatson, a resident of Pallimunai West, Mannar, said he had complained to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on several occasions about the repressive policy, but the Human Rights Commission had not taken any action. Therefore, according to the majority, this is a complaint filed against the Human Rights Commission.

He has lodged the complaint against the offices of the Regional Human Rights Commission located in Colombo and Mannar, Vavuniya.

He said that his organization based in Mannar, which deals with various issues facing the people such as missing persons issues and land issues, has launched a planned crackdown and threats.

In particular, Mr. Yatson said he had been taken to the fourth floor on several occasions and interrogated for hours, claiming that he had the right to be questioned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and that he continued to pressurize his organization to register with an agency operating under the ministry.

He emphasized that the letter was not a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into the allegations, but rather a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into the allegations. He also pointed out that this repressive program is increasing day by day.

Mr. Yatson also points out that security forces are prone to arbitrary actions such as frequent inquiries into financial information, intensive checks on the receipt of funds, and repeated office searches, even when his organization has no allegations, summoning him to the 4th floor for questioning and questioning. He also said that detention for hours under the guise of doing so has become a normal occurrence.

Ebenezer called on the Human Rights Commission to intervene and take appropriate action. Many say that these repressive actions have made it difficult for them to carry out their duties and that they have to face problems such as not having a good mindset to work and fear for the safety of their families.

Mr. Yatson expressed concern that no action had been taken so far, although several embassies and human rights organizations other than the Human Rights Commission had been notified. Mahu did not forget to express his displeasure that the institutions that obtained such information did not come up with any further action or solutions in this regard.

Mr. Yatson called on the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to investigate and take appropriate action against such civil rights violations.

Yatson – Civil society activist

Fishermen’s livelihood disrupted due to wind mills

Journalist n. U.S. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has drawn the attention of fishermen to the loss of their livelihoods due to the installation of windmills by Polyster Bachchek.

Polyster Bachchek, a journalist residing at Pesala, Part 8, Mannar, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on March 6, 2022 against the Ministry of Renewable Energy, Power and Energy.

Thirty-two wind turbines have been set up along the coast from Thottaveli to Nadukkuda in the Mannar Divisional Secretariat Division, resulting in the loss of livelihood to fishermen in the area who were engaged in seasonal fishing in the area. He said in his complaint that the fishermen had lost their livelihood due to the declining fish population. Although it has been pointed out that the construction of this wind power plant will affect the fishermen, many who say that the construction was done by force have stated that the people have expressed their displeasure over the construction of many more wind turbines.

Mr Bachchek described the project as a period of human rights abuses from 2015, when it was launched, until its opening ceremony in 2021, citing eyewitnesses and people in the area.

Authorities opposed the protest with all available police forces, special services and the army. ”

On behalf of the affected people, Mr. Bachchek called on the Human Rights Commission to refrain from constructing wind power plants in such a situation and to ensure the livelihood of the fishermen.

Many human rights are violated by any development project that affects the livelihood of the people. And in such a way, acting in such a manner without caring about the livelihood of the people is the biggest injustice done to them. Realizing this, journalist Polyster Bachchek, who speaks on behalf of the people, has filed this complaint in the hope of doing justice to the people affected by the project.

N.U. Polister Buchchek

Release the motorcycle and refund the bail!

Journalist Solamalai Ketheeswaran (43) has requested the Human Rights Commission to take action to recover the bail and the motorcycle.

He said that he was arrested by the Navy on suspicion and later released and requested the Human Rights Commission to assist in recovering the motorcycles and bail seized at the time of his arrest.

Ketheeswaran Mahaka, a resident of Pallankotte, Nanattan, Mannar, was arrested by the Navy on December 29, 2005 in the Talvupadu area in Mannar and detained in prisons such as Anuradhapura New Magazine and Welikada after three months of interrogation in the Terrorist Suppression Division. He was released on Rs. 100,000 bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court in 2008 and was released by the Vavuniya District High Court in 2010.

According to the complaint, the motorcycle seized at the time of his arrest and the bail of Rs. 100,000 have not been returned yet.

He has lodged a complaint against the police and the Terrorist Suppression Division. He said that not returning his property and money was a violation of human rights and that no action had been taken despite informing the relevant parties on a number of occasions.

Mr. Ketheeswaran has expressed his displeasure over the non-timely return of his property, which had been detained on suspicion for so long, to the Anti-Terrorism Division, and requested the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to assist in obtaining his property.

Ketheeswaran said that he had been subjected to this injustice on the basis of race, political policy and language, which had contributed to human rights abuses.

– Journalist Solamalai Ketheeswaran

Navy controls the main road to the village – human rights of the villagers, violated!

The road leading to Mullikulam village in Mannar is under the control of the Navy and the people living in that village are unable to travel freely. Mr. Lambert has complained.

On March 6, 2022, a journalist living in Moore Street, Mannar, addressed the Human Rights Commission. Mr. Lambert, 34, complained that human rights were being violated by the villagers.

He has made that complaint against the Navy. Due to the war situation in the country, the village of Mullikulam in the Musali Divisional Secretariat was captured by the Navy and the people were resettled after the end of the war.

However, due to the fact that the main road used by the people is already under the control of the Navy, the people have to use the jungle roads for commuting. The complaint further states that they use that route with fear on a daily basis.

He points out that human rights have been violated in this manner since the resettlement of Mullikulam village.

Mr. Lambert’s primary request is to make arrangements for people to return to their villages safely.

Despite extensive resettlement in the North and East during the post-war period, the security forces have not completely liberated those areas. Their activism and conquests can be seen in many other places, just as the Navy occupied the main road to this village.

The people of this village are well aware of the dangers of using the jungle road. Many people like children, young children and women use this route and they are likely to face various inconveniences. Accidents are more likely to happen at night. Their security has been jeopardized by the military itself, which is there to ensure the safety of the people.

Aware of the situation, Mr. Lambert, on behalf of the villagers, complained to the Human Rights Commission that he hoped the Commission would intervene and take appropriate action.

– Journalist S. Mr. Lambert

I was attacked for exposing illegal activities!

The victim had lodged a complaint with the Adampan Police regarding the illegal activities in the area. Mr. Mayukaran filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on March 7, 2022.

Journalist Mayukaran was systematically attacked by some involved in such incidents as he was exposed to news related to illegal activities such as drug trafficking and sand mining. He has lodged a complaint with the police but no legal action has been taken so far. Citing his wife as an eyewitness, he expressed his displeasure that the police had not taken any action in the incident.

When the media exposes people involved in illegal activities, it is easy for the police to expedite legal action against them, but in this case the police refrain from collaborating with journalists and stand by them, proving that they are acting in a partisan manner. Mahu says this is a very problematic situation.

The security forces must act on behalf of journalists and the public who expose illegal activities. It’s fair. But the bias of the police in this case raises various issues.

In his complaint, Mayukaran called for the protection of freelance journalists. Journalists face serious threats and life-threatening exposure to illegal activities, which also affects their family life.

The fact that the police have not yet taken any legal action regarding the attack on Maukaran gives great impetus to those who engage in illegal activities and gives them more space to carry out their illegal activities without hindrance. It encourages people to engage in anti-social activities, and why do not the security forces pay attention to such incidents which set a false precedent for the society? Does not taking action show that there is no reduction in the risks that journalists face?

Maikaran’s failure to take a proper stand on the attack has again raised questions about his security. By naming his wife as a witness to the incident, his family may also have been threatened by this illegal gang.

– Journalist A. Mayukaran

Innocent people subjected to injustice as a result of language !

Journalist R. Jeevagan has brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka the human rights violations that have taken place during the filing of the charge sheet against a shepherd.

Mannar, Adampan, Andankulama. Jeevagan (32) had lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on March 6, 2022.

He said that when a person was arrested and later produced in court for allegedly entering cattle within the premises of the Wildlife Department, he filed a chargesheet regarding the felling of trees on the land belonging to the department and violated his human rights.

The complaint was lodged against the district officers of the Forest Resources Department and the Wildlife Department. According to the complaint, the incident took place on February 6, 2022 in the Sirunavatkulam area.

Mahu pointed out that language and administrative weaknesses contribute to such incidents. However, he emphasized that such incidents are more prevalent in the Mannar area and that many civilians are being targeted for extortion, especially with the aim of extorting money from innocent civilians.

Jeevagan, who has been a journalist for the past seven years, said it was “regrettable” that some government officials were seeking revenge against innocent civilians.

He further added that despite being aware of such human rights violations, they could not be made public and if so, the victims would be subjected to further repression, retaliation and intimidation. He said that many people were unable to present their case due to language issues, adding that journalists were being threatened for exposing such injustices to the public. He also pointed out that such problems arise especially when the news of sand mining and deforestation is brought closer to the public.

He called on the Human Rights Commission to take appropriate action in this regard and to intervene in such injustices to the public and seek justice.

– Journalist R. Jeevagan

Language issues violates human rights!

Journalist Joseph Nayan has complained to the Human Rights Commission that human rights are being violated by those who speak the sister language.

Joseph Nayan (27), a journalist residing at No. 82, Shanthipuram, Mannar, made the complaint on March 10, 2022, stating that the officers working in the offices of the Department of Wildlife Resources, the Department of Wildlife and the Department of Archeology in the Mannar District work in sister languages. That communication problems have arisen as a result.

He said that human rights had been violated during the period 2021-2022 due to language issues, administrative weaknesses and language policy.

In the complaint, Mr. Joseph Nayan demands that all institutions should ensure the right to language. At a time when the implementation of the Tamil language in Sri Lanka has become a common problem, this problem has been exacerbated by the activities of sister-speaking government officials in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where the majority of Tamils ​​live. As the top officials of the departments work in the sister language, those who can only transact in Tamil have to face various difficulties in fulfilling their needs and hence their rights have not been violated. As a solution to this, the government took steps to improve the Tamil language skills of Sinhala public servants and to improve the Sinhala language skills of Tamil public servants.

Appointing officers who can work in the Tamil language to serve in areas where the Tamil population is predominant will bring many benefits and the projects launched by the government will be able to reach out to the people without any change. Launching such a program will provide an opportunity to prevent human rights abuses.

– Journalist Joseph Nayan

Help people with special needs!

Journalist K. Priya has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, requesting that steps be taken to support the livelihoods of persons with special needs, focusing on their problems.

K., a resident of Periyamadu, Mannar. Priya (42) had lodged the complaint against the Sri Lankan Army and the Ministry of Social Services on March 6, 2022.

She further called for the release of lakes and lakes rich in resources to facilitate the livelihoods of the people and to facilitate the needs of persons with special needs as well as others.

Revealing that human rights violations have been taking place in this area for a long time, she stressed that there have been reports of human rights violations in areas such as Sannar, Ichchalavakkai and Mannar districts and that the public has evidence of them.

He said that only part of the tank had been released after he had complained about it, adding that people with special needs should be provided with the means to meet their economic needs and live like others.

Especially those with special needs living in the North and East after the war are in a tragic situation. They too have become part of society, acknowledging the brutality of war. Therefore, it is unfortunate that such a group is forgotten and development plans are drawn up.

The irresponsibility of the Ministry of Social Services, which is supposed to work for the betterment of the society, as well as the military, which is deployed for the protection of the people, cannot be condoned in this regard. Therefore, it has been pointed out that the above two parties cannot take away the responsibility of taking steps to improve the living standards of persons with special needs and releasing lands, tanks etc.

– Priya – Journalist

Take steps to provide lands to the public!

Failure to reach a settlement regarding the land issue in the Alakattu area in Agaththimarippu, Mannar. Am. Mr. Rishan had lodged the complaint on March 6, 2022.

He had lodged the complaint with the Musali Divisional Secretariat, Silawathura. Rajiv against the Chairman of the Pradeshiya Sabha Aligath Sufihan and its Secretary Masjidul Hairat. It also states that the cause of this crisis is administrative weakness.

Agaththimarippu In 2013, the Musali Divisional Secretariat held a Land Kachcheri for the people living in the Alakattu area and issued LDO licenses. However, the Divisional Secretary on behalf of the government is also refusing to hand over the lands to the public as some people living in the area have intervened and said that according to the land plan on 27.11-2020, while the people were clearing the lands, a group representing the church had attacked them with swords. He was also targeted and beaten with clubs. His complaint also states that a case has been filed in connection with the incident. The case was filed on 27.11.2020 for human rights violations.

The complaint states that the public were eyewitnesses to the incident and that the complaint was made to the police as documentary evidence, documents related to the case, letters and other documents related to the case, and that they knew nothing about the current status of the case pending in the Mannar court. It also states.

Mr. Rishan’s complaint alleges that the people should be given land and allowed to live on LDO licensed lands.

Journalist Rishan has brought this issue to the attention of the Human Rights Commission for the benefit of the general public.

– Journalist Ega Am. Rishan

Threatening with a firearm and obstructing the work of the media!

Journalist Sulanshan says he was threatened with a firearm while covering the news.

Sulakshan, 29, a resident of Thondamanaru, Main Street, had lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on March 7, 2022 regarding the attempted arrest of a police officer at gunpoint.

The incident took place on the second day of December 2021. When he went to the Point Pedro court premises to cover the news, a Point Pedro police officer who had a confrontation with him tried to arrest him by pointing a firearm at the Point Pedro police station, alleging that this was an abuse of power.

He further stated that he has CCTV footage of the incident as evidence. In a complaint lodged with the Human Rights Commission on December 3, 2021, Mr. Sulakshan sought protection and justice for the case being heard.

Many journalists have complained about the security forces’ frequent harassment and intimidation of journalists while covering the news. This is a human rights violation and such acts take place in a context where there is no justifiable reason. There have also been numerous complaints of journalists being threatened at gunpoint, assaulted or severely warned in protest of such incidents. The sole purpose of making such threats is to undermine the activism of journalists.

Bringing the news to the people in a proper manner is a major role of journalists. They do the work in the face of various difficulties and the price they pay for it is high. No one has the power or the right to handcuff journalists who hold this huge responsibility for the public. In comparison, journalists like Sulakshan are in a precarious position of not being able to perform their duties fully in the context of the various threats and human rights abuses faced by journalists working in the Northern Province after the war.

In such a backdrop, more attention should be paid to ensuring security. The main demand of all journalists, including Sulakshan, is that steps be taken to ensure justice in this case and that the relevant parties take steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.

– Journalist J. Sulakshan

Continued threats for ex combatantsl!

Journalist Yogeshwaran has complained to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) that he continues to face intelligence threats for the sole reason of being a former rebel. He claims in the complaint that his human rights are being grossly violated.

Yogeshwaran, 42, a resident of Wattu East, Sittankeni, said, “I am a former rebel and it is a great threat to me to keep calling and asking for information.

He called on the Human Rights Commission to provide security for himself and his family as he feared such a threat.

Journalists like Yogeshwaran have always been the target of intelligence, as many former LTTE insurgents have been rehabilitated and are now living normal lives. Therefore, they are vulnerable to threats and harassment. Being ex-rebels, the intelligence services have been harassing them from time to time over issues such as investigations and access to information.

Against this backdrop, he has been subjected to the kind of repression that makes him unable to fulfill his media responsibilities due to being a former rebel. Moreover, people who have relations with him and come to see him for various purposes are also at risk of becoming targets of the intelligence service.

In the post-war period, many ex-rebels are now accustomed to normal civilian life, but the intelligence and security forces have been tempted to view them as terrorists for security reasons. This is a blatant violation of human rights.

It has been 10 years since the end of the war and they have been contacted by phone and in person from time to time to get information about the LTTE.

Accordingly, it is a serious matter that former insurgents like journalist Yogeshwaran continue to be monitored and persecuted for past events. Against such a backdrop, they continue to carry out their media mission in the face of threats from the security forces, even as a group deprived of fundamental rights as well as liberties.

– Journalist c. Yogeshwaran

Prabhakaran’s grave and media repression!

Journalist R. Wijewardena, a resident of Aladi Lane, near the Sivan Kovil in Valvettithurai, has stated that he is under severe pressure from the security forces for the sole reason that his residence is located in the area behind the LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s grave. Mr. Mahinda (33) had lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on March 07, 2022.

He points out that the CID and the military are acting in a way that violates his human rights, and that he suffers severely on Heroes’ Day almost every year. Mr. Mahindan also pointed out that his media activities have been hampered by his constant surveillance by the security forces, adding that the most recent incident was when he went to Madagal to photograph a festival and was severely threatened by the Army.

“My house is located in the area behind the tomb of LTTE leader Prabhakaran, so every year as Heroes’ Day approaches, my house is searched and my belongings and telephones are searched. On such days, relatives are afraid to come to our house. It cannot be cleaned; the threat of cleansing is serious. ” Etc. are also mentioned in his complaint. He further added that despite informing the authorities, they would not take any action and there would be no shortage of trouble by November 26.

In his complaint to the Human Rights Commission, Mr. Mahindan has demanded that steps be taken to prevent the seizure of his mobile phone and to clear the jungle in front of his house.

The threat and harassment of this journalist and his family on security grounds for the sole reason of living next to Pirabaharan’s grave is to be strongly condemned, and the fate of Mr. Mahindan is subtly repressed by the security forces against journalists and the public in the North. Another illustration of how it is being launched.

Acquisition of a mobile phone for security reasons is a violation of fundamental human rights. Atuvatika does not want a journalist to point out the need for a mobile phone. It may contain subject matter, relevant evidence and sources of information. Therefore, the continuous seizure of the mobile phone is an act that prevents his use of the media. This makes it impossible for him to carry out his role without fear of freedom. In such a context, it is difficult to guarantee that data and information contained in mobile phones acquired without the prior consent of the court or the permission of the owner will not be misused.

– Journalist R. Mahindan

Police officers obstructing work!

Journalist Sornalingam Varnan (32) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on March 7, 2022 alleging that a constable (PC 92646) of the Yahapanaya Police Station had obstructed his duties.

The incident took place on February 21, 2022 at the Governor’s Office, Jaffna.

According to his complaint, the police had obstructed him when he went to cover the protest by pre-school teachers in front of the Governor’s Office in the Northern Province and the authorities of the Governor’s Secretariat had obstructed the journalists who covered the news without any order. Mr. Varnan pointed out that this was due to an administrative weakness and included the details of two eyewitnesses to the incident and the Thinakkural newspaper (Jaffna Zone) as documentary evidence. They were intercepted by police as they tried to enter the office with protesters. If they were not allowed to enter the office, the journalists asked the relevant authorities what solutions would be given to the protest and asked the police officer to inform them. The police officer then said that he could not be allowed to enter at all.

Mr. Varnan’s complaint states that when the Assistant Secretary to the Governor was informed about this, he stated that he had not issued such an order.

Mr. Varnan, who has been a journalist for five years, complained about the incident due to the repressive treatment of journalists by the security forces. He points out that despite the approval of the authorities and the media, the police and other security forces are obstructing their work.

He said that the arrival of the security forces in the post-war period had been seen to be affecting the activities of the free media and that this incident was a good example of this.

Mr. Varnan did not forget to mention that the repression of the media by the security forces, even if they speak Sinhala or Tamil, continues.

Journalist Sornalingam Varnan

Kankesanthurai police obstruct by displaying videos!

A complaint was lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on 7 March regarding a human rights violation of obstructing the work of journalist Rajaratnam Darshan (25) while covering news related to the protest launched by the fishing community alleging that the arrest of fishermen in the Madagala area was illegal. He had stated in the complaint that a Kankesanthurai police officer had videotaped him and threatened.

Darshan, a resident of Sulipuram, Sulipuram West, has included a photograph of two eyewitnesses and documentary evidence of the threat. He said that he had informed the editor about this and that the news about this incident has been posted on the  internet and he thinks that there may be an administrative reason for this. He also stressed that those who threaten journalists by showing videos in future should be brought to book.

It has become common for journalists to be photographed and videotaped for security reasons, and such incidents have created a dangerous situation for journalists across the peninsula. According to them, these actions could become weapons used against them  in the future. Journalists attending rallies, conferences and agitations especially in Sri Lanka, are regularly monitored by the security forces and the military. They point out that this situation is evident during the war and in the post-war period and that it violates their freedom and rights and is a violation of human rights. Photographing and videotaping does not require prior approval from the media. In a situation where no one has the right to photograph or videotape without the consent and consent of the individual, the security forces have resorted to forcible intimidation and intimidation of journalists.

What is the purpose of videotaping? What are the photos taken for? It seems that the security forces have shied away from the responsibility of explaining. Interference with the freedom and privacy of journalists for security reasons should be condemned. They demand that legal action be taken to prevent such acts.

All journalists are of the view that the activities of the security forces, which operate with the attitude that ‘Tamil journalists are terrorists’, should be condemned.

Journalist Rajaratnam Darshan

Journalist Thangaraja Kandeeban, 42, a resident of Ambattan, Kudattanai, Jaffna, has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) regarding a human rights violation he encountered while covering the news. He lodged the complaint on 7 March against N. Dayananda, an official of the Ministry of Fisheries involved in the violation of his human rights.

The complaint was lodged regarding the obstruction and threat he received while covering the news of the fishermen’s agitation that was launched in front of the Vadamarachchi East Divisional Secretariat on 01 February. He has also requested the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to provide him with protection.

Kandeeban further stated that it was difficult to proceed with the complaint since he did not have any eyewitness accounts and that he has to consider his own safety in the face of the ongoing media repression.

As a freelance journalist, he does not appear to have complained to his superiors about the incident. He says that complaining to officials is of no use and since he has to continue to work with the government officials, he is concerned for his personal safety.

He says he is constantly threatened by anti-social elements as he is identified for gathering and exposing news about illegal activities, stressing that he is well known to the authorities and minor employees and is therefore more likely to face problems. . He further added that he had requested the Human Rights Commission to ensure his safety.

Freelance journalist Thangaraja Kandeeban

Government officials who regard Journalists using the Right to Information Act as rivals!

A complaint was lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on the 7 March 2022, by Coomaraswamy Selvakumar (48), a journalist residing in Jaffna, Kopay, Kopay Central, stating that his human rights had been violated by government officials and that he had encountered problems when he sought information from the Kopay Divisional Secretariat through the Right to Information Act. His complaint has been lodged against Divisional Secretary Subhashini Madialagan and Kopay Samurdhi Development Officer Anthony.

He stated in his complaint that this problematic situation arose in connection with a request made through the Right to Information Act. Selvakumar said that he had been threatened by the authorities using various officials and that they have made false allegations on facebook.

He added that the office assistant had threatened him and his wife several times while they were walking down the street.

The complaint also included eyewitness and facebook posts as evidence.

He says that when requesting information from government officials under the Right to Information Act, journalists are subjected to various pressures and threats by government officials who consider them as their rivals. Selvakumar further said that when information is requested from government officials, they use minor staff to threaten thinking that they will be exposed with the details found out from the RTI..

Selvakumar holds a special place among the journalists who have exposed to society the frauds and corruption taking place in state institutions using the Right to Information Act. The information he has revealed has been released to the society through the face book. However, he says that his account has been blocked so far and he has not been able to activate facebook as usual.

It has become a major headache for government agencies and officials to disclose information on fraud, corruption and misuse of state institutions through this Act. He further added that the incident in Kopai was the latest in a series of incidents that he has to encounter when using the Right to Information Act..

Revenge against journalists for political purposes!

Journalist T. Vinojith (36), a resident of No. 15, Second Lane, Pottapadi Road, Kokuvil East, had lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on 7 March alleging that his human rights has been deliberately violated based on an incident that took place 11 years ago.

He has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) against the Police Department for commencing an investigation into an incident regarding a fundraiser to treat a visually impaired girl. His complaint has revealed that is a result of personal vendetta for political reasons and that the Wadu Kotte police officers have been involved in human rights violations. Vinojith emphasized that justice should be meted out to him in this case and that another statement on the incident had been obtained on 16 January, which was a complete violation of his human rights.

He said the allegation was based on an incident in which he had helped to publicize a request of a man to raise money for the daughter’s medical treatment and that there was no evidence to support the allegation, adding that the complaint says that he had threatened the person 11 years before. He also stated that the police have commenced investigations following this complaint lodged against him.

Vinojith further states that all bank accounts are in the name of the complainant and inquires how he could fraudulently withdraw money from this account. He further states that the police were acting in a manner that would tarnish his reputation and bring him into disrepute among the villagers. He emphasized that there was a political hand behind the incident and said that the politician was also involved in the plot against him and his fellow journalist who had helped publish the appeal.

Vinojith said that this was a conspiracy by the politician who considers journalists to be his rivals. Therefore, this is an attempt to undermine the entire media fraternity in Jaffna by such threats and that the security forces were supporting it.

Human rights violations for exposing financial irregularities!

Ratnam Thayabaran (50), an international journalist based at Uma Bhavan, 15th milepost, Udupitiya, Jaffna, said that an attempt was made to arrest him based on a complaint made ten years ago, regarding a relief project implemented by a bank in 2011. The complaint was lodged with the Human Rights commission on 7 March.

The complaint was lodged against the Sri Lanka Police, particularly the Jaffna District Deputy Inspector General of Police, including details of alleged violent of human rights.

In the early part of 2021, statements were obtained from a group including Ratnam Thayabaran and fellow journalist T. Vinojith regarding a complaint lodged at the Wadukotte Police Station. Thereafter, plans were hatched to arrest him in January 2022, however, after obtaining anticipatory bail against his arrest from Mallakam Court, his passport was returned and he was released on a personal surety bail of Rs. 500,000.

Thayabaran’s complaint alleges that his human rights had been violated by obtaining a statement again on 16 January 2022, based on an incident that took place 11 years ago. He has produced the names of three eyewitnesses to prove the allegation and has presented the court restraining order, his statement and the complaint as relevant documentary evidence.

Thayabaran, who has made journalism his profession since 2000, said it was a “planned conspiracy”. He said that although the law stipulates that allegations of financial misconduct should be investigated and concluded within two years, the re-investigation of the case by the police is a threat to himself and the media community as a whole.

Commenting on the background of the incident, Thayabaran said that he compassionately considered a request of a Wanni resident who had come in 2011 seeking Rs. 37,000 to buy air tickets to take the daughter to India for eye surgery. Thayabaran had published this story in the media and the man from Wanni has received seven million and five hundred thousand. According to a complaint received from this man’s wife stating that he was misusing the funds, the media representatives had requested him to provide One million five hundred thousand rupees for the children suffering from poverty. He gave the money and it was published in the media as a news article. Meanwhile, during the period 2016-to 2017, he again requested media publicity saying that his daughter needed help. The journalists rejected the request knowing that he was already committing fraud. He was outraged and with the support of the security forces, had resorted to action against the media and journalists.

Thayabaran assumed that discrediting and removing him, could pose a threat to the Jaffna Media Center and journalists as a whole and that the security forces were also using this incident as a weapon. He described this as a “gross violation of human rights” and said it was “impossible” to do so without the support of the security forces.

දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ කමිටු රැස්වීම් වාර්තාකරණයට ඉඩ නොදීම මාධ්‍ය නිදහස උල්ලංඝනය කිරීමක්

මාසිකව පැවැත්වෙනල මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ කමිටු රැස්වීම් ආවරණය කිරීමට ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට අවස්ථාව ලබා නොදීමල ජනමාධ්‍ය නිදහසල මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ගේ වෘත්තීය අයිතිය මෙන්ම තොරතුරු දැනගැනීමේ අයිතියද උල්ලංඝනය කිරීමක් බව මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ මාධ්‍යවේදීහු ප්‍රකාශ කරති.
දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ කමිටු රැස්වීම් සෑම මාසයකදීම මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම් කාර්යාලයේදී පැවැත්වෙන අතර මෙහි සම සභාපතිවරු ලෙස පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී වසන්ත යාපා බණ්ඩාර සහ ආණ්ඩුකාර ලලිත් යූග ගමගේ යන මහත්වරු කටයුතු කරති. මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයට අයත් ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම්කාර්යලවල ලේකම්වරුල ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවල සභාපතිවරු ඇතුළු රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් හා මැති ඇමැතිවරු මෙම අවස්ථාවට සහභාගි වෙති.

දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ සංවර්ධන කටයුතු සඳහා වෙන් කෙරෙන මුදල් මගින් සිදුකරන වැඩවල ප්‍රගතිය ඇතුළු කාරණා රැසක් මෙහිදී සාකච්ඡාවට බදුන්වෙයි. මහජන මුදල් සංවර්ධන වැඩ සඳහා වෙන් කිරීමල ඒවායේ ප්‍රගතියල වංචාල දූෂණ ආදී මහජනතාවට වැදගත් කරුණු රැසක් සාකච්ඡා වන මෙම රැස්වීම මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ගේ ප්‍රධාන පුවත් මූලාශ්‍රයක් වූ අතර එම කටයුතු අධීක්ෂණයට ලක් කිරීම ජනමාධ්‍ය සතු කාර්යභාරයක් ලෙසද සැලකිය හැකි ය. එහෙත් මෙම රැස්වීම් ආවරණය කිරීම මේවන විට මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට අවහිර කර තිබේ.

මේ සම්බන්ධව සංවර්ධන කමිටු සභාපතිවරයා හා මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම්වරයා දැනුවත් කළ අවස්ථාවේ ඔවුන් පැවසුවේ රජය මගින් චක්‍රලේඛයක් මගින් ආදළ රැස්වීම ආවරණය කිරීමේ අවකාශය මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට ලබා නොදීම නිසා මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ කමිටු රැස්වීමට මාධ්‍යවේදීන් කැඳවිය නොහැකි බවයි.
මෙම පසුබිම තුළ කමිටු රැස්වීම අවසානයේ දේශපාලනඥයින් තමන්ට අවශ්‍යය ප්‍රකාශ කිහිපයක් මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට ලබාදීමට පෙළඹී සිටින අතර ඒවා කිසිසේත්ම ජනතාවට වැදගත් වන රැස්වීමට අදාළ කරුණු නොවන්නේය.

මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට පමණක් මෙම රැස්වීමට සහභාගි වීමට අවස්ථාව ලබා නොදීමට බලධාරීන් පියවර ඇතත් මැති ඇමැතිවරුන්ගේල ආණ්ඩුකාරවරයාගේ මාධ්‍ය ඒකකවල සේවකයින්ල මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික් මාධ්‍ය ඒකකයේ මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ල ඡායාරූප ශිල්පීන් හා කැමරා ශිල්පීන්ට රැස්වීමට සහභාගි වීමට අවකාශ තිබේග ඔවුන් මහජනතාවට තොරතුරු ගෙනයන පුද්ගලයින් නොවන අතර මහජන නියෝජිතයින්ට හා නිලධාරීන්ට සේවය කරන අයයිග මෙමඟින් පැහැදිලි වන්නේ හිතාමතාම ජනතාවට තොරුතුරු ගලායෑම අහුරා තිබෙන බවයි.

මහජන නියෝජිතයින්ව පත්කරනු ලබන්නේ මහනතාවයිග රජයේ නිලධාරින් නඩත්තු වන්නේ මහජන මුදලිනිග මෙම දෙපිරිස එකතු වී සිදුකරන සංවර්ධන වැඩසටහන්වල තත්ත්වය දැන ගැනීමේ අයිතිය ජනතාවට තිබේ. විශේෂයෙන් කොන්ත්‍රාත් පිරිනැමීම් ආදියේ සිදුව තිබෙන දූෂණ වංචා පිළිබඳව ජනතාව දැනුවත් වීම වැදගත්ය. ඒ සියල්ල අහුරා දමමින් සිදුකර තිබෙන්නේ තොරතුරු දැන ගැනීම සඳහා ජනතාවට ඇති අයිතියට වැට බැඳීමකි.

කල්ලරාව ත්‍රීකුණාමලය දිස්ත්‍රීක්කයේ පිහිටි මත්ස්‍ය  සම්පත බහුල ධීවර ගම්මානයකි.යාං ඔය මුහුදට වැටෙනුයේ,කල්ලරාවෙනි.යාං ඔය හේතුවෙන් කල්ලරාව මුහුදේ සරු මතස්‍ය අස්වැන්නක් ලැබෙන බව ධීවරයන්ගේ විශ්වාසයයි.කල්ලරාව මුහුද ධීවරයන් අතර ප්‍රකටව ඇත්තේ,ගැහැණු මුහුද නමිනි.මහ මුහුදේ මසුන් සිය අභිජනනය සදහා කල්ලරාව මෝය කටට පැමිණිම ඊට හේතුවයි.කල්ලරාව සුළු පන්න ධීවරයන් මහ මුහුද රළු වන වාරකන් සමයේ යාංඔය මුහුද හා එක්වන කල්ලරාව කලපුවේ ධීවර රැකියාවේ නිරතව ජීවිතය ගැට ගසා ගනිති.මේ හේතුවෙන් කල්ලරාව ධීවරයන් කිසිවෙකුටත් අත නොපාන ධීවරයන් පිරිසක් බව ප්‍රකටය.

කෙසේ වෙතත්,2011 වසරේ මෙම මෝය කට ආසන්නයේ ඉඩමක් මිළදී ගන්නා එක්තරා සමාගමක් මෙම ස්භාවික මෝය කට වැලි කොට්ට ගසා අවහිර කොට යාංඔයේ ගමන් මග වෙනස් කිරීමට කටයුතු කර තිබේ.ඒ සදහා කල්ලරාව ගමේ ගම්වාසීන්ම දෛනික වැටුපට යොදවා ගෙන ඇති බව ධීවරයන් කියා සිටිති.සෙන්ටිනල් රියලටි නැමැති මෙම සමාගම මිලින්ද මොරගොඩ මහතාට අයත් හෝටල් සමාගමක් බව කල්ලරාව ගම්වාසීන් කියා සිටිති.

මේ වන විට කල්ලරාව මෝය කට මුලින් තිබු ස්ථානයේ සිට මීටර් 800 ක පමණ දුරකින් මුහුද හා එක්වේ.එසේම පෙර පරිදි සෘජුවම මුහුදට මුහුණලා මෝය කට පිහිටා නැති බැවින් වඩදිය බාදිය නිසි ලෙස සිදු නොවේ.මේ හේතුවෙන් මුහුදේ සිට බිත්තර දැමීමට පැමිණෙන මසුන්ට කලපුවට පැමිණිමට භාදා සිදුව තිබේ.

එසේම මෙම තත්වය මත කලපුවේ මසුන් බෝවීමද සීමා වී තිබේ.මේ නිසා වාරකන් සමයේ කලපුවේ ධීවර කටයුතු වල නිරත ධීවරයන්ට සිය රැකියා අවස්ථාව අහිමි වී ඇති අතර,මේ වන විට ගම්මානයේ දිවි ගෙවු සුළු පන්න ධීවරයන් රැසක් මාදැල් මුදලාලිලාගේ කම්කරුවන් බවට පත්ව තිබේ.තමන්ට අයත්ව තිබු කල්ලරාව මෝය කට නැවත පෙර පරිදිම සකස් කර දෙන ලෙස බළධාරීන්ට අවස්ථා කිහිපයකදීම ඉල්ලීම් ඉදිරිපත් කලද,වෙරළ සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්මේන්තුව හා මධ්‍යම පරිසර අධිකාරිය ඊට මැදිහත්වීමට අකමැත්තක් දක්වන බව කල්ලරාව සාන්ත අන්තෝනි සුළු පන්න ධීවර සමිතියේ ලේකම් සී.මානෙල් පොඩිනේරිස් මහත්මිය කියා සිටිති.

Diamond Leadership Study on Women Political Empowerment in Sri Lanka (2019/2020)

The Centre for Policy Alternatives together with the Sri Lanka Democratic Governance Assistance Project (SDGAP) of USAID conducted a study to analyze the progress of women’s advancement in Sri Lanka as well as factors supporting and barriers hindering it in Sri Lanka. The Diamond Leadership Model (DLM)  focuses on women’s empowerment at three levels (High, Mid and Low) and measures the effectiveness of women’s leadership in the legislative, executive, judicial and security sectors. This study frames key recommendations based on its findings which will help the government and civil society institutions working on women’s leadership and political empowerment, to design and implement their respective programs and policy initiatives more effectively.

This study consists of two components; one involves collecting available data of women holding leadership positions in four sectors to generate the Women’s Power Score (WPS). The 12 indicators of the DLM combined to generate the Women’s Power Score (WPS) of Sri Lanka. To account for women’s representation at different tiers of all four sectors of governance, weighted scores for each sector are calculated. Women’s share of positions in the High tier is weighted three times as much as women’s share of positions in the Low tier, and women’s share of positions in the Mid-tier are weighted twice as much. The total score is divided by 6 to find the country-level WPS.

The quantitative part of the study comprises of finding the above-explained WPS which included a primary quantitative data collection mainly via desk research. Desk research covered relevant data published in official websites, authenticated previous studies and reports, national libraries including parliament library, national newspapers, and public documents available in respective government institutions. With the data received, the women’s power score was measured, and an analysis carried out in comparison with other countries in which this study has been applied.

The qualitative research included a series of face-to-face interviews with 48 key individuals in which their ideas on women’s political empowerment in the country were brought into perspective. The findings were gathered through structured questionnaires for each sector, then analyzed to explore the non-numerical factors that underlie women’s advancements among other prospects.

The project offered an advanced understanding of the nature and extent of women’s leadership and political empowerment and examined the actual share of women’s representation using 12 indicators that cover three tiers; high, mid, and low positions in four government sectors; the executive, legislature, judiciary and security. It helped identify major trends and challenges about women’s leadership in Sri Lanka based on the DLM.

FINAL_DLM Study_Sri Lanka_30_09_2019

Study of the Responsiveness of Public Authorities to Email Applications under the
Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016.

Click Here – PDF

The complaint on violation of Labour Laws

Application form for Complaint

Click Here – PDF

”The report of a study done on the progress of effective implementation of the Right to information Act”

Report PDF Link –  (E) Research Report On RTI Complaints and Responses

Selection of Teachers to follow Teacher Educational Courses conducted in Teachers’ Training Colleges – 2018/2019

Applications are invited from non-graduate and untrained teachers, who fulfil the qualifications as per the Circular No. 28/2016 issued by the Ministry of Education.

Teachers/teacher assistants, who have not yet completed the formal training should send their applications prepared as per the Circular No.28/2016 by registered post to reach, “Director of Education, Teacher Education Administration Branch, Ministry of Education, Isurupaya, Battaramulla” before 27thof April 2018.

• Download the Circular from Here
• Download the Application Form from here
• Download the Instructions from here 

Sri Lanka Central Bank Annual Report 2017

Volume I

Preliminary Pages

List of Acronyms

Part I

Key Economic Indicators

Key Social Indicators

Chapters

1. Economic, Price and Financial System Stability, Outlook and Policies

2. National Output, Expenditure and Income

3. Economic and Social Infrastructure

4. Prices, Wages, Employment and Productivity

5. External Sector Developments and Policies

6. Fiscal Policy and Government Finance

7. Monetary Policy, Money, Credit and Interest Rates

8. Financial Sector Performance and System Stability

Major Economic Policy Changes and Measures : 2017

Statistical Appendix

Special Statistical Appendix

Volume II

Preliminary Pages

Part II

Accounts and Operations of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Part III

Administrative Measures Adopted By The Government And The Monetary Board During The Year Relating To The Functions And Operations Of The Central Bank And Banking Institutions In Sri Lanka

Part IV

Major Legislative Enactments of 2017 Relating to the Functions and Operations of the Central Bank and Banking Institutions in Sri Lanka

LOCAL AUTHORITIES ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, No. 16 OF 2017

PDF link : Click Here

Information Application

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Acknowledgment

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Register of Information Requests

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Decision to Provide Information

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Rejection of Information Request

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Extension of time period to provide information

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Communication to Third Party

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Acceptence of Appeal

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Act No 12 of 2016 Register of Appeal

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Appeal to the Designated Officer

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Register of Rejection of Requests

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Details of the Information Officers

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Appeal to RTI Commission

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Sri Lankan Recognized Political Parties

PDF link : Click Here