Election Commission​er warns the Secretarie​s of the Political Parties

Election Commission​er warns the Secretarie​s of the Political Parties[ Monday, 04 July 2011, 04:18.21 AM GMT +05:30 ]The Commissioner of Elections Mahinda Deshapriya told Political Party Secretaries that he could take action on hear say or their press releases or news reports in the media exposing any instances of interference by the Army in the election campaign for the forthcoming local elections in the North.

The Commissioner made the observation when the General Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake as well as the General Secretary of the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) Tilvin Silva complained that political Party representatives were not being allowed by the government to campaign freely in the North.

The Commissioner also assured the Political Party Secretaries that he would do his utmost to ensure that the local elections were conducted in a free and fair manner on Saturday July 23, so that it may meet the expectations of the majority of the people in the country.

The General Secretary of the UPFA Minister Susil Premajayantha, General Secretary of the LSSP Minister Prof Tissa Vitharna, General Secretary of the United Socialist Alliance Siritunga Jayasuriya and several other were also present at this meeting.

The Election Commissioner said that if they substantiated their claims soon after they had complained to the Police he could take prompt action to inform the Defense authorities through the Inspector General of Police N. K. Illangakoon to take necessary action.

The meeting was held at the Elections Secretariat in Rajagiriya.

Deputy Commissioner of Elections (Administration ) M. M. Mohammed said that the Commissioner had stated that under the new provisions of the Local Government Elections Ordinance disabled voters should forward their applications before July 15 to permit someone else the authority to cast their vote at the forthcoming local elections.

Additional Commissioner of Elections(Provincial and Local) W.P.Sumanasiri requested those voters who do not have the National Identity Card or other Officially recognized Identity cards which are compulsory for voting purposes to forward their applications through their respective Grama Niladharis before July 13.

The Commissioner of Elections on Friday instructed Elections Secretariat officials to hand over the Postal voting packets to the Postal authorities on Friday for postal voting to take place on July 12.

Sumanasiri said that the forthcoming Local Elections would be held according to the Electoral Register for 2010 and around 3 million voters were eligible to cast their vote for the 64 local bodies being contested on July 23.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammed said that the Polling cards would be delivered on July 06 with Special delivery on Sunday July 10.

< submit_url = '';

UN warns of action in absence of Lanka probe

The UN�s human rights chief warned Sri Lanka not to take too long in probingwar crimes allegations, saying failure to carry out a credible inquiry couldlead to international action.

 

�There is now a high level of expectations expressed by member states that SriLanka should seriously inquire into these allegations� of prisoner executionsand assaults, said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

 

�But this should not be an open-ended process,� she stressed, noting that aprevious Sri Lankan internal inquiry �failed to complete its task, neverpublished its report and never led to a single prosecution.�

 

�If that should be the case again, there is an intention for the internationalcommunity to take further action. I certainly believe that the Human RightsCouncil should actively consider this matter,� said Pillay.

 

Pressure has mounted on Colombo since Britain�s Channel 4 broadcast adocumentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies offemale Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted.

 

A recent UN report accused government forces of war crimes, alleging that theyexecuted rebel leaders who had surrendered.

 

An estimated 100,000 people were killed in the nearly four-decade-long Tamilseparatist conflict, which began in 1972.

 

Pillay�s remarks echoed that of the United States, which on Tuesday urged SriLanka to move quickly to address allegations of war crimes.

 

Colombo has questioned the authenticity of the Channel 4 footage but said thata local panel, known as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, wouldtake action if the allegations are proven, AFP reports.

America warns Sri Lanka

America warns Sri Lanka[ Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 03:11.52 PM GMT +05:30 ]America had requested the Sri Lankan government to take immediate attention in regard to the war crimes charged against Sri Lanka. Failing Sri Lanka will have to face international pressure and other relative actions, was the warning given by American State Department.

The statement consisting a warning was published by American State Department yesterday. If investigation are not processed, Sri Lanka will have to face actions taken by the State Department was mentioned in the warning statement.

Meanwhile the Sri Lankan government officials are advancing activities in regard to this matter. The American State Department stated, such actions will originate goodwill between the races. America insisted on this, after the video images telecast over the Channel 4 TV Channel regarding Sri Lankan war crimes.

< submit_url = '';

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges

The United States urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to address allegations ofwar crimes, warning of rising pressure for international action if it does not.

 

The State Department stopped short of endorsing calls for an internationalinvestigation into the bloody finale of the island�s civil war in 2009, sayingthat domestic authorities have primary responsibility to ensure accountability.

 

�We continue to urge the government of Sri Lanka to quickly demonstrate thatit is able and willing to meet these obligations as it seeks reconciliation,� aState Department statement said.

 

�We hope the Sri Lankans will themselves do this, but if they do not, therewill be growing pressure from the international community to examine otheroptions,� it said.

 

Pressure has mounted on Sri Lanka since Britain�s Channel 4 broadcast adocumentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies offemale Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted, AFPreports.

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges[ Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 02:52.26 AM GMT +05:30 ]The United States on Tuesday urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to address allegations of war crimes, warning of rising pressure for international action if it does not.

The State Department stopped short of endorsing calls for an international investigation into the bloody finale of the island's civil war in 2009, saying that domestic authorities have primary responsibility to ensure accountability.

"We continue to urge the government of Sri Lanka to quickly demonstrate that it is able and willing to meet these obligations as it seeks reconciliation," a State Department statement said.

"We hope the Sri Lankans will themselves do this, but if they do not, there will be growing pressure from the international community to examine other options," it said.

Pressure has mounted on Sri Lanka since Britain's Channel 4 broadcast a documentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies of female Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted.

The United Nations has said that up to 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the fighting and a recent UN report accused government forces of executing rebel leaders who were said to have worked out a surrender.

An estimated 100,000 people were killed in the nearly four-decade-long Tamil separatist conflict, which began in 1972.

Sri Lanka's government has questioned the authenticity of the Channel 4 footage but said that a local panel, known as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, would take action if the allegations are proven.

The documentary also pointed to abuses by the Tamil Tigers, who were known for suicide bombings during their decades-long insurgency. Sri Lankan officials said the Tigers kept civilians as human shields during the final offensive.

With urging from the Tamil diaspora, a number of US lawmakers have called for the State Department to exert greater pressure on Sri Lanka.
In Britain, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt recently warned that the international community would revisit "all options available" to press Colombo over its rights record.

<<

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges

Sri Lanka News-Adaderana-Truth First - US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges    June 29, 2011  10:09:AM --> Home Archives Feedback Contact Us --> Print this -->

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges June 29, 2011  07:14 am

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

The United States urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to address allegations ofwar crimes, warning of rising pressure for international action if it does not.

 

The State Department stopped short of endorsing calls for an internationalinvestigation into the bloody finale of the island�s civil war in 2009, sayingthat domestic authorities have primary responsibility to ensure accountability.

 

�We continue to urge the government of Sri Lanka to quickly demonstrate thatit is able and willing to meet these obligations as it seeks reconciliation,� aState Department statement said.

 

�We hope the Sri Lankans will themselves do this, but if they do not, therewill be growing pressure from the international community to examine otheroptions,� it said.

 

Pressure has mounted on Sri Lanka since Britain�s Channel 4 broadcast adocumentary that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies offemale Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted, AFPreports.