Azath Salley released after he submits affidavit stating he had nothing to do with terrorism

This is what Azad Salley wrote at the end of D order

Former Deputy Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Azath Salley, was released yesterday afternoon, ending his eight-day detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

President Mahinda Rajapaksa revoked the controversial detention order under which the Muslim politician was held after Salley submitted an affidavit to the President in which he denied having supported or advocated any group to take up arms against the country.

Most countries who voted for US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC did so with other intentions – SriLanka FM

External Affairs Minister Professor G.L Peiris says Sri Lanka is being used as a stage by some countries to gain the support of the United States.Speaking at an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Colombo today the Minister said that Sri Lanka was aware that most countries who voted in support of a US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recently did so with other intentions.

Court orders full probe on mass grave

The Matale Magistrate today ordered a full investigation on the Matale mass grave and instructed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to submit a comprehensive report to court by the end of this month.
The Magistrate also ordered the CID to record statements from 13 petitioners in the Matale mass grave who had claimed that their relatives were believed to have been buried at the site.

Sri Lanka Today: Due Process & Civil Liberties or Security State?

 Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka 

“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”
‘The Second Coming’, WB Yeats (1919)
Must the Sri Lankan citizenry accept or acquiesce in the sacrifice, even in peacetime, of due process and civil liberties at the altar of an absolutist model of security?

Azad Salley conspired to mobilize Sri Lankan Muslims for an armed struggle - Defence Secretary

In a damning revelation, powerful Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has stated Muslim politician Azath Salley was arrested as he conspired to mobilize Sri Lankan Muslims for an armed struggle along with a Tamil group in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to our sister paper, Rajapaksa said intelligence agencies have uncovered evidence against Salley, who had been held in detention under a controversial detention order obtained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Sri Lanka: Intra-regime change has taken place; Gota drives the policy

Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Interviewed by Chamitha Kuruppu
“The ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ is in danger; it is increasingly overshadowed by the ‘Gota Chinthana,’” stresses Sri Lankan Diplomat and Political Scientist Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka.He warns that President Rajapaksa has devolved far too much of his power to those close to him. “I am not sure really whose hand is consistently on the tiller. I am not sure who is really driving policy.”Dr. Jayatilleka points out that the country is experiencing an intra-regime change.“The centre of gravity is shifting from the pragmatic populism of Mahinda Rajapaksa to a harder, harsher neo-conservatism, which is more visibly represented by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.”

Repeal of the PTA and if necessary enact legislation that is consistent with international standards - CPA

With the recent arrest and detention of opposition politician Azath Salley, Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has once again come under critical scrutiny. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and other civil society groups have condemned the use of the PTA to stifle dissent and reiterate this call yet again, urging for its repeal and replacement as set out below.

Detention order of President Rajapaksha to detain Azad Salley for 3 months

The detention order for Muslim politician Azad Sally was singed by the president Rajapaksha on the imaginary grounds of humiliation  the government and create religious disharmony .. read the detention order:

Militarization as a way of life: an ‘Orwellian’ note from Kilinochchi

By The Social Architects

Even though the protracted internal armed conflict has ended, community members have been unable to return to their day-to-day lives. Under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s militarization has continued unabated. The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has established numerous checkpoints and camps near peoples’ homes. Military personnel frequently patrol these areas – day and night. Sadly, the military’s intrusion into practically all aspects of civilian affairs remains a way of life in the conflict-affected North and East.

Buddhist extremists threaten to stop screening of TN films; Govt film corporation agrees to comply

Tamil People deprived of their film

Secretary of Ravana Balaya, Innekande Saddhatissa Thera threatened to stop the screening of films starring Tamil Nadu actors such as Vijey, Kamal Haasan, Sarath Kumar or Rajanikanth, saying "We will not say it unless we can actually do it." The Thera made his sentiments known at a meeting with Chairman of the National Film Corporation, Asoka Serasinghe, yesterday.

Still Homeless, Two Decades Later

Over two decades after they were forced to flee their homes in northern Sri Lanka, tens of thousands of Muslim IDPs still feel reluctant to return. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS

By Amantha Perera    

PUTTALAM, Sri Lanka, May 8 2013 (IPS) - The camp should not have been difficult to find. We were told to drive straight on the road that leads north away from the town of Puttalam, 140 kilometres from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, and we would come upon the settlement of internally displaced people.

Magistrates Court accepts 13 petitions for Matale mass grave

A mother who gave a affidavit speaking to media

13 petitioners presented affidavits when the hearing regarding the Matale mass grave was heard in Matale magistrates court today (8th). They asked through affidavits to carry out a test regarding the skeletal remains unearthed from Matale mass graves as they suspect the skeletal remains could be their relatives who disappeared during the 88 – 89 period.  

Is Jaffna our first military town? - Editorial, Ceylon Today

The prospect of 'Gaza' of the Sri Lankan kind emerging in the Northern territories is beginning to appear increasingly inevitable. The government's decision to acquire well over 6,000 acres of privately owned land in the Jaffna peninsula has only made it look even more plausible an event in the aftermath of the 30-year-old war.

Jaffna: CVK Sivagnanam's house attacked

CVK Sivagnanam

The residence of Mr CVK Sivagnanam, a veteran civil activist and joint-secretary of the Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK), has been attacked Tuesday night around 11:45 p.m. by alleged operatives of the SL military in Jaffna. Mr Sivagnanam narrowly escaped from the squad that stoned his residence.

Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) will not be repealed - Govt

The government yesterday ruled out the possibility of repealing the Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) despite requests by opposition political parties.
In response to a question by Opposition United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne told Parliament that though the LTTE was militarily defeated, there were attempts to revamp the organisation in different parts of the world.

We are racists; and It is Muslims who drugs, pills, birth control vials, and heroin the most - JHU Leader

“It is true we are racists. It is true we are religious fanatics. Yet, we are not the authors of racism and religious fanaticism in this country,” Dr. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, Leader of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) said.
“When racial and religious issues spring up, we too make emotional utterances. If we have committed any indiscretions, we humbly request the defence establishment to summon us and question us on that,” he added.

Justice for killed journalists – Waiting for Godot

Journalist Subramaniam Sugirtharajan, killed 24 Jan 2006

Ranga Jayasuriya
In the long list of assassinations, abductions and assaults of media personnel,  Subramaniam Sugirtharajan (35), a freelance journalist of  the Tamil newspaper Sudar Oli is  only a footnote. He was gunned down, while waiting in front of his residence in Trincomalee for a bus to go to work on 24 January 2006.  A father of two, he was an   employee of the Ports Authority.

Condemn the Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Azath Salley and Call for his Immediate Release

Public Statement / 7 May, 2013
We the undersigned, vehemently condemn the arrest and detention of Former Deputy  Mayor and General Secretary of the National Unity Alliance (NUA), Azath Salley, by a team of officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID), on Thursday, 2 May 2013 morning, and call for his immediate release in the absence of any demonstrable evidence.

Northern PC election: A back ground document

Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA)

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) undertook a field visit to Jaffna andKillinochchi districts in April to assess the rule of law and human securitysituation in the areas. The CPA team spoke with a cross section of actors including Government officials, politicians, humanitarian agencies, civil society, media and community groups.1

Minister Rajiwa Wijesinha's Liberal Party launches a pettion to President Rajapaksha to limit the Cabinet to 20

Sri Lanka: one of the largest cabinet of ministers in the world

His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa,
We, the signatories of this petition, call on His Excellency The President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to introduce a Constitutional Amendment to limit the size of the Cabinet to 20, with no more than 20 Cabinet Ministers and no more than 20 other Ministers of Junior Ministerial rank.

What is sauce for Azath Salley is not sauce for Bodu Bala Sena

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has reportedly obtained a detention order to keep Azath Salley, the former Deputy Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), in custody, for an additional three months, according to the family of the detained politician. Salley has been kept in custody by the CID since last Thursday (2) after he was arrested under the much loathed and despised Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and 120 of the Penal Code. He has been accused of inciting ethnic disharmony.

Activists opposed to Devananda attacked in Jaffna

A 12-member squad that came in 4 motorbikes attacked 48-year-old V. Sahadevan, the president of a newly formed group named War Affected Peoples' Movement (WAPM) and 35-year-old Puvilan Pushparaja, the treasurer of the group near Jaffna District Secretariat around 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Freedom of expression and the PTA in Sri Lanka

Robinhood
Robinhood raises concern over the recent arrest of Azad Sally by the CID. This evil act characterizes the Rajapaksa regimes witch-hunt against opposition politicos. Azad Salley was arrested by the CID on the 2nd of May 2013 morning under the prevention of terrorism act (PTA). Government Media spokesperson Lakshman Hulugalle stated that Mr. Sally was taken into custody for making provocative statement and instigating communal hatred among ethnicities.

Implement the 13th Amendment in full - TMVP

The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) has decided to push for devolution of powers to the provinces.
TMVP spokesman Azad Maulana said that the decision was taken at the TMVP May Day meeting held last week in the east.
Maulana told The Sunday Leader that the party would urge the government to fully implement the 13thAmendment to the Constitution and through that to devolve maximum powers to the provinces.

A sand loot worth of Rs 4,000 million by Douglas Devananda’s NGO

 Vadamarachchi: the  sand robbery

Geophagia – Maheshwari Trust  by V. Sagadevan
A sand loot worth of Rs 4,000 million in Vadamarachchi East is now on process in past four years,to rob the money of thousands of millions of people .Who can question against this?