Sri Lanka: Chief Justice’s impeachment hearing violates due process - ICJ

International Commission of Jurists 
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The impeachment process against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake ignores international standards and practice, says the ICJ. 

The ICJ urges the government of Sri Lanka to take immediate steps to uphold the independence of the judiciary and adhere to international standards and practice on the removal of judges.

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Anger over Sri Lankans' deportation

Bianca Hall | The Age 

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The Refugee Council of Australia's chief executive has called on the government to urgently halt the forced deportation of Sri Lankan asylum seekers.

Paul Power said there was compelling new evidence that members of the group were forcibly returned and denied the opportunity to have their claims for protection assessed. On Thursday, Fairfax Media revealed that members of the group sent back to Colombo and jailed had said the Australian government had not properly investigated their claims for protection.

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Sri Lanka arrests: Jaffna police detain 'terror' suspects

BBC Asia [Photo courtesy: Tamil Net]

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Police in northern Sri Lanka have made a series of arrests which they say are linked to combating terrorism, three years after the separatist Tamil Tigers were defeated.
Up to 25 people are being held, a top official told the BBC. Police are also reportedly hunting several students.

Espousing separatism is illegal in Sri Lanka. Suspects can be held without charge for 18 months.

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Sri Lanka chief justice walks out of hearing

By Amal Jayasinghe | AFP News

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Sri Lanka's Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake walked out of her impeachment hearing before lawmakers Thursday after complaining she was not being given a fair trial, legal and parliamentary sources said.

The move to impeach Bandaranayake, the country's first female chief justice, came after she scuppered a bill that would have given more powers to President Mahinda Rajapakse's younger brother Basil, who is economic development minister.

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Anti-Muslim monks: Sri Lanka redux?

By Alex Bookbinder | The Myanmar Times [Photo courtesy: vikalpa.org] 

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A number of years ago, I had an interesting conversation with a Myanmar monk who serves as a good example of the young and savvy face of Buddhism in the country today. As zealous about politics and technology as he is the tenets of his religion, he is a prolific blogger on political, religious and social issues.

Having corresponded with him for many months, I finally had a chance to meet with him at his monastery, and we discussed Myanmar’s ethnic politics during a tea-fuelled session lasting the better part of a day.

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Sri Lanka parliament speaker rebuffs Supreme Court summons

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal | Reuters 
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Sri Lanka's parliament speaker on Thursday rejected a supreme court summons to a parliamentary panel looking into a move to impeach the chief justice, deepening a crisis that has raised concern about the independence of the country's judiciary.
The stand-off in the south Asian state has raised the risk of a destabilising clash between the judiciary and President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government.

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Sri Lankan Army deserter gives insider account of torturing civilians

By Stewart Bell | National Post .............................................................................................................................................................................................

An officer in the Sri Lanka Army, who fled to Canada and claimed he was ordered to plant explosives at the home of an outspoken opposition politician, is raising new questions about military abuses committed during the island nation’s long civil war.

Captain Ravindra Watudura Bandanage, 38, deserted after flying to Toronto in October 2009.

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Jaffna University Tamil students boycott classes

By Charles Haviland | BBC News [Photo courtesy: Tamil Net] 
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Students at Jaffna University in northern Sri Lanka have started a two-day boycott of classes after clashes with security forces on Wednesday.
They say they do not feel safe after several were beaten and injured in the worst political disturbances since the civil war ended in 2009.

Security forces entered the university, disrupting students marking a commemoration of dead rebel fighters.

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Sri Lanka sends us a suspect emissary

By Peter Fabricius | IOL News .............................................................................................................................................................................................

The Sri Lankan government’s controversial decision to appoint, as its deputy high commissioner to South Africa, an army general accused of war crimes serves – if nothing else – to highlight that country’s inadequate efforts to consign its recent dismal civil war to history.

Sri Lankan high commissioner Winithkumar Shehan Rantavale confirmed speculation in the Sri Lankan media that General Shavendra Silva’s appointment to Pretoria was “in the pipeline”.

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Tamils demand army withdrawal after S. Lanka clashes

By Amal Jayasinghe | AFP [Photo courtesy: Tamil Net]
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Sri Lanka's main Tamil party Thursday demanded troops be withdrawn to barracks in the former rebel heartland of Jaffna after the worst ethnic violence since the end of the island's decades-long civil war.

About 20 students were wounded, seven of whom needed hospital treatment, in clashes with security forces at Jaffna University, underscoring tensions in the region despite the end of the conflict in May 2009.

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